The Number 1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional

The #1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional

By Denise Hall (C) 2003

Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy?
Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally,
yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we
all understand how that can happen.

But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it
opened in the morning and the place looked liked it had
been ransacked? What would you think?

You'd probably think it wasn't very professional-looking.
If a rack of shirts was haphazardly thrown together, with
all the styles, colors and sizes mixed up, you'd probably
walk right past it without giving it a second glance.

If a sales associate wouldn't answer your questions or help
you find something, you would consider that unprofessional,
too, not to mention rude.

When we do business in the offline world we expect a
professional appearance and professional manner from those
who deal with customers. The same is true for online
businesses.

Your business depends on how professional you are. Your
website, your customer service and the appearance and
quality of your work all reflect upon you, the business
owner.

Two key factors of professionalism:

1. Good Customer Service/Relations

2. Quality Appearance and Writing Skills

Recently I had problems submitting information to several
websites. After trying for several days I finally e-mailed
for technical support. (After all, the website owners had
messages posted that said to contact them at any time.)

I didn't expect an immediate reply to my inquiries. I know
they're busy running their businesses, and dealing with
other people, too. But I have yet to receive any replies.

Where is the customer service? Why would I want to do
business with someone who seems to be ignoring me? At the
very least, if it typically takes them more than a couple
of days to reply to e-mail, support questions or other
requests, they should post that information on their
website so customers/visitors know what to expect.

Without good customer service, you're shooting yourself in
the foot. Don't expect customers to buy from you if you
can't afford them some common courtesy.

A professional appearance is mandatory to your business,
also. How many times have you read an ad or article that
had numerous spelling or grammatical errors?

We're not perfect. We all make mistakes. But if we
frequently had those little red check marks on our
composition papers in school, we should probably use spell
check and have someone proof-read our copy before sending
it into cyberspace.

A prime example is a website I visited a few months ago. As
I started reading about the product the owner was selling I
noticed an error with the use of the word "our." The site
said "When you use "are" product....." OK, one little
mistake. No big deal.

However, as I continued reading, I discovered the webmaster
referred to "are" products and "are" website on the whole
page! Not once was the correct word, "our," used.

Frequently I read ads and articles that contain many
spelling or punctuation errors. For instance, "Thinking
back to when I first started my business. I had no idea how
or where to begin."

I'm not a teacher, but I can see that it should be one
sentence, not two. The writer cut off the first sentence
before actually finishing it. It's like the train of
thought came to a screeching halt. (In this case, I'm the
writer giving you an example. So if this sentence resembles
someone else's work, it was not done intentionally.)

The correct way to write it is "Thinking back to when I
first started my business, I had no idea how or where to
begin." It's one flowing sentence. Now it tells you what I
was thinking.

Another option is to change it just a bit to make it a
complete sentence. "I think back to when I first started my
business" or "I remember when I first started my business."
Then continue to the second sentence.

I'm not wanting to demean anyone or be overly picky. Ads,
web pages and articles just look much more professional
when written with no errors, or at least very minor ones.

Many customers will shy away from a website or ad that
seems poorly written or put together. The customer may see
the business owner as an amateur, therefore their product,
company or service may not be worth much.

Do your customers expect perfection? No. But they do expect
professionalism. You're running a business, so you're
supposed to be a professional. If you give a professional
appearance, they'll believe in you and your business.