Increasingly though, with all the work businesses deliver remotely without any face-to-face interaction, there is a need to be trusted, and a large part of that involves presenting the right image. This is where a set of services like ours can really help smaller companies. SME’s can project the image of a much larger business through effective telephone answering services. Most small businesses are limited by the size of their own operation. In many ways, they are guilty of thinking small and acting small. Perhaps that attitude can be understood, as few small companies get the opportunity to work with the Government and/or FTSE 100 companies. But, the Government have official SME quota’s to satisfy and if it’s a pleasant experience for the buyer, contracts may extend beyond any perceived tick-box exercise. But, small businesses need to think beyond their limitations, whether they are looking for more retail customers or large corporate clients. In essence, like attracts like and big attracts big, and if a business can project the image of a larger corporation, the chances of it winning business from the same larger organisations increase. So, why don’t large businesses already work with small ones? The main reason why large organisations prefer dealing with large companies over small is the insecurity of the person making the buying decision. If a staff member hires a small business and it fails to deliver, his or her job is very possibly at risk because they chose to deal with someone outside the norm. However, if a large business fails to deliver, this one-off failure would be attributed to unprecedented circumstances outside of that same persons control. SME’s are often more than capable of delivering better results than their larger peers, however, because of their actual size creating a perceived weakness – there is a greater pressure on them to prove their worth. Telephone answering services can make small businesses seem bigger The main objective of any SME who wants to attract larger customers is to make their business appear larger than it is. The image can be achieved by using an effective telephone answering service like ours. It is critical though that the service makes customers feel they are talking to the company directly, and not an outsource company or even worse, an automated system which is essentially nothing more than a fancy voicemail system. This is important as automated answering services can put customers off; people know they are essentially free, so attach little benefit to them. But, if you partner with a service that includes knowledge based administration, like NMTs, where its team take the time to learn your business, the end customer experience can appear seamless. Location of the business is important too Another important element to consider is your location, which is vital to the perceived value of the business. Being firmly established in a suitable office or geographical location, like Covent Garden, can help cultivate your bigger business image too. And although serviced offices are plentiful throughout the UK, depending on the stage your business is at, it may not be realistic to either pay for one or relocate your staff there. A Mail Forwarding Service can satisfy the same requirement at a fraction of the cost and work well with a telephone answering package. Changes like these, although simple, can help small businesses improve the image of their business in the eyes of customers and peers. In this competitive environment everything counts and small businesses must innovate to attract larger clients if this is what they want. Image is everything, and it is especially crucial in winning contracts from large organisations. If a small business has the ability to deliver top quality results, it should not be restricted by its size, perceived or not. Until next time…
Michael Bolt
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