New clients haven’t had the chance to judge you by your work yet, so naturally they are going to formulate their views based on their early interactions with you. These views can make or break a deal and sway whether new clients become loyal customers.
It is important therefore to create a positive tone right from the start and these three key areas will set you off on the right foot.
Office Space
An initial meeting with prospective or new clients will probably take place at your office. A clean, bright, well designed and welcoming space can make all the difference to how you are viewed. This is in part because if the space creates the impression that your company is prospering, people are more likely to trust you with their business. In addition, it’s because it is human nature for us to judge appearances and a well-cared for office space implies that the people who are employed there take equal care in every aspect of their working lives.
This is why for start-ups and smaller businesses it can be beneficial to work from a serviced office. Serviced offices are fully maintained, they have comfortable break-out areas, they are well stocked in terms of equipment and furthermore they have reception staff whose priority is welcoming visitors and creating a good impression from the outset. This can be more difficult to achieve if you are running a skeleton staff in your own office, as employees can often be overstretched and important maintenance and supply issues fall through the gaps.
A further advantage to serviced offices is that you can find yourself based in a much more prestigious part of town than if you had to lease a whole building. This is possible even in the capital, where rents are at their highest, as this Guide to Serviced Offices in London from Skyline Offices demonstrates.
Client Hospitality
If clients are visiting for several days then you have a further opportunity to create a great impression. Guest houses and hotels can be a good choice as long as you know they have excellent reviews. There is nothing that will make a client cranky faster, than an uncomfortable night and poor breakfast.
A more cost effective option and one which will give your clients much more space to relax, is the serviced apartment route. These are naturally larger than a room in a hotel and they have kitchen areas so that guests can cater for themselves. In addition, serviced apartments usually have parking which makes life much easier and fast broadband so your clients can continue working into the evening if they need to. As Signet Apartments highlights on their website, their team goes out of its way to provide the personal touch. This can make all the difference when someone is staying away from home on business and it will certainly make the trip a pleasant one for your clients.
Reliability
The final part to creating a good impression, particularly with new clients, is that you need to start as you mean to go on. If you promise a quote or a deliverable by a certain date, ensure you follow through and meet expectations maybe even ahead of time, if that’s possible.
Reliability is one of the most under-estimated qualities in business, but delivering on small issues will mean overall you are more likely to deliver on the project as a whole. As this article from Entrepreneur outlines, reliability is key to customer loyalty.
It is also important to involve all your staff in this process, so that they understand what is expected of them and why. If there is clarity in this area you are likely to find your staff more proactive, more engaged and ultimately more productive. These qualities are not only excellent ways of impressing your new clients but are vital to the success of your business over the long haul.
