Startups often struggle to be taken seriously as commercial ventures, especially in the early days when the official premises is a single office, and they only have 5 employees. However, this can create a chicken or the egg situation. Where you struggle to get clients and business because you aren’t being taken seriously, but you can’t be taken seriously because you are struggling to get clients. It can really seem like a catch 22 situation. Happily, there are some ways to break out of this frustrating cycle and steer your startup back towards success. Reason to find out what they are.
Business plan
The number one way to get your startup to be taken seriously, even if it’s still just in the planning stage is to have a business plan. Startups may be attractive because they are easier to get off the ground than lumbering operations, but if you haven’t got a professional looking plan set down. One that outlines what your goals are, and precisely how you are going to get there, nobody is ever going to give you a second look.
Not customers, not investors providing funding, not even banks will see you without a decent business plan. As no plan usually equates to no clue on how to move forward, and that generally won’t get people interested at the ground level. Something else that is going to leave your operation looking like an amateur hour production, not a serious contender.
Qualified employees as you as CEO
Next, getting good people on your team can really help you be taken seriously as a contender in the business world. This may be in the form of folks that have official qualifications in the area that you are specializing in. Or those that are known as experts in their field whether they have qualifications or not.
It can also really help to ensure that you have some educational clout behind you, as the founder of the company. Even it’s if just the business side of things that you are going to be looking after. Yes, you may be pretty busy starting up a company, and you haven’t got time to get qualified, but courses like this online business bachelors degree prove otherwise. These demonstrate that you can study at your own pace, and even do the course on a part time basis. So you don’t have to put your business plans on hold, while you still working toward that kudos that can be so valuable in the business world.
Good branding
You may be a mom and pop outfit but do you clients and supplier really need to know that? Absolutely not, and to be taken seriously in the business world it’s best if they don’t. To achieve this, it’s helpful to get your company’s brand on target from the very beginning.
That means identifying the values that you stand for, the lifestyle that you represent and the colors and images that will be used to represent your company. Of course, to do the latter, it is always best to employ a professional graphic designer. Yes, I know you might be very good at drawing or evening knocking out an altered image or two on Photoshop. But there is no quicker way to look like an amateur outfit that presenting with poorly drawn or constructed logo. After all, this is the thing that most customers come to identify your brand with. So it just makes good business sense to make it good and make it count!
Blow the competition out of the water
Another way to get your startup to be taken seriously is be so darn good that client and competitors can’t help but sit up a take notice of you. To do this, you really have to blow the competition out of the water! That means having the best product possible. One that changes the face of the market, and shakes up everyone around you.
Customer service is also super important when wanting to get an edge on the competition. This is because your product is only half of the experience you will have with your customers. The other part is the interaction they have with your team, and how easily any problems they had, got solved. You can have a great product, but lousy customer service will let you down every time. Meaning your startup will struggle to be taken seriously.
There for it is in your interest to improve customer service as much as possible. To do this try a two pronged approach. First, devote more resources to it, allowing your staff to dedicate time to ensuring that each and every customer is happy with the resolution at the end of the process.
The second is to look at how well your IT is serving you, and whether you could increase your customer’s experience by making it more interactive or user-friendly. Remember, that customers now have a very high expectation for the experience that you will be provided as they have many examples to compare this to. So to be taken seriously you need to make sure yours measures up.
Dominate the market
Lastly, a great way of getting your startup to be taken seriously by clients and competitors alike is to do your best to dominate the market.
This means putting in place great sales strategies such as special offers, calls to action, and utilizing repeat custom. All to ensure that if anyone even thinks of the item that you produce, they also think of your company.
This sort of thing can be seen with the company Hoover, where the actual word for vacuuming was replaced in some places by Hoovering. Google is another example of this for the modern age. As we don’t just search for something on the internet, we Google it. It is by creating such solid connection as this in the public’s mind that you can come to dominate the market, and a market leader is always something that will be taken seriously.