This document provides 10 tips for improving a business's image and perception. The tips include dressing professionally, having a professional phone greeting, leaving clear voicemails, designing a good logo with a professional artist, ensuring consistent branding across all marketing collateral, hiring a professional to design your website, using a business address rather than a home address, securing a professional domain name and email address, carefully proofreading all written communications before releasing them, and observing proper email etiquette with correct grammar and avoiding abbreviations. Following these tips can help present a sharp, successful, and professional image to attract customers and inspire confidence in your business.

1. 10 Tips To Improve
Your Business Image
Romanovici Ana
TIDE 131

2. As you focus on growing your
business, do you consider the
relevance of the way your
business is perceived as
important?

4. Your goal in personal and business
presentation is to avoid negative
distractions to move others past the
outside and focus on the inside, so that the
attention is on you, your business and
what you have to say. You want to be
noticed, recognized and have a positive
influence on others.

5. If you fail to present a sharp,
successful, professional image, why
should your prospect expect to get
anything different from your product
or service?

6. 1. Dress for success
 if you look like a professional, you will
be perceived and valued as a
professional and inspire confidence.
Be simple and professional and avoid
extreme fashion that can be
distracting.

7. 2. Phone Appearance
 What is the perception of your callers? How is
your phone answered? Several studies have
indicated that a very high percent of the opinions
people form about us, when speaking to us on the
telephone, are based on the tone of our voice.
Only a small percentage is based on the actual
words we use. Be sure your initial greeting is
professional. Even better, have your calls
professionally answered by a trained professional
that radiates a positive tone and spirit. If callers
like what they hear, chances are your business will
be perceived as knowledgeable and confident.

8. 3. Voice Mail Messages
 When leaving a message for someone,
leave a complete message including your
name and phone number. Be concise and
give them enough information so they can
respond to you without talking to you
first, but do not ramble. Speak slowly and
repeat your number at the end of the
message so the message does not have to
be replayed to get your number.

9. 4. Logo
 A good logo is important for branding
value and recognition. A clean, simple
unique logo is usually the best way to go
for longevity and success. A logo should
reflect your company’s personality. This is
not something you should do yourself. A
professional artist will make sure your
design reflects your corporate personality,
while maintaining a clean and
professional look.

10. 5. Marketing Collateral
 Appearance is reality in marketing and it
must look as professional as you. All of
your materials should follow fundamental
design principles, should look clean and
simple, have a branded feel, and use
professional images. It is also a good idea
to appoint one person in charge of all
collateral, so that branding and your
image is consistent.

11. 6. Website
 The look and feel of your website sets the
mood and readies the visitor to listen. It
defines your image as a player in your
industry. It should be simple and elegant and
guide the visitors eyes to what is important.
It is worth the investment to hire a
professional to ensure you do not fail to
engage the visitor, or risk coming across as
technically unsophisticated. Your website
may be the visitor’s only impression of who
you are.

12. 7. Business Address
 Nothing adds credibility to a website better
than showing the physical address of the
business on the contact page or on the page
footers. A physical business address versus a
home address or Post Office box is important
to your visitors’ perception in determining if
they believe you are a reliable business.
Additionally, you should have a professional
private meeting place and avoid business
meetings in the public coffee shops and
restaurants.

13. 8. Email Address
 Take the time to secure a domain name
and email address. Using generic
addresses such as @yahoo.com,
@gmail.com, etc. does not project a
successful business image. People may
think you are out of touch, tentative about
your business or not technically
sophisticated.

14. 9. Written Communications
 The transparency of a professional document
or response affords a company some of the
best exposure they can get. Mistakes that are
not caught and get into print or published
online reflect badly on not only the writer,
but on the entire organization or publication
as well. When a document has inaccuracies,
readers tend to distrust everything, including
the statistics, opinions, and facts. Be sure
that you check your facts, proof read, spell
check and find an objective reader to check
over your work before it is released.

15. 10. Email Etiquette
 Much like the rules for business letters, be
sure that you use proper grammar and
punctuation. Avoid abbreviations and
symbols such as smiley faces; they are not
perceived as professional in business
communications. Fill the email address of
the person it is addressed to last, so you do
not accidently send it before you are ready.
Never write an email when you are upset;
use the “sleep on it” rule so you do not write
something you will later regret.