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As a small business retailer, one of the key differentiators that you have is the relationships that you build with your customers. And, a lot of this hinges on how your business is perceived Being on the shop floor, or having regular staff, allows your customer to build trust. Find out 11 Ways To Make Your Business More Professional The psychology behind building successful, ongoing relationships with your customers, is based on three foundations. Know. Like And Trust. It's like dating. Firstly, your customer needs to get to know you. You can do this through social media, through your shop windows, through marketing and advertising. It could be as simple as them walking past your store each day. Once they know who you are, they want to like you. They want to know that you signify the person they want to be perceived as. When they purchase something from you, it says something ABOUT them to the rest of society. Then comes trust. This is the big factor that can often be the difference between buying and not, or having a relationship, and not. Here are four ways that you can get started, to build trust and create a professional impression Start with how you communicate. Do you use a gmail address? If so, what does that tell the customer about you. They may be wondering if you really own that brand, or is the email actually FROM that brand? Have they been scammed? Your business email should you're your domain name after the @ sign. Eg sales@yourbusiness. So if you receive an email me, it comes from [email protected]. Next, look at how your staff are presented. Do you offer them a uniform? Do they have to dress in specific colours? A simple way to unify staff is to have branded aprons. This creates a sense of security and authority for customers, knowing they've picked the right person to ask for help. It also keeps your team accountable. When you're wearing the company outfit, you have to behave in a certain way, right? Speaking of dressing, the third way is about you. Whilst the world shouldn't revolve around how we dress, make sure you think about what you wear and how you act, when you're at casual events. You never know who a potential customer is, so when you're in social situations, remember that you are the face of your business. And my fourth tip is to be consistent and accountable. Whether we're talking dispatch times, alerting a customer that their special order has arrived, or simply returning a phone call, ensuring that you are consistent in your communications is key. You know who it feels when a company says they'll call you back and they don't. It's frustrating and makes you less likely to shop there in the future. Put a process in place where staff have to record customer callbacks or updates. By appearing more professional to your customer, but still delivering that amazing customer service and our passion for products, you may find that these few little tweaks bring massive rewards to your bottom line. If you've found this information useful, come join the Bringing Business To Retail community. We're a bunch of retailers chatting all things business. Best of all, it's free. Find out 11 Ways To Make Your Business More Professional Until next week Be profitable