Usually when a company starts trading thoughts are focussed on getting customers for their product or service.
While companies generally start small, selling to a local customer base, back-office functions are equally important.
Making sure the marketing is right, website is looking good, cash flow is sound and that there is a bank account to process anticipated sales creates the foundation for growth.
One of the questions our clients frequently raise is;
How do I/we establish credibility in new and existing markets?
Today for instance a client mentioned that he has been advised many times to post x times a day every day on social media. He kept asking;
“why this should be so without any clear reason being proffered except it was the right thing to do?”
In essence the posting can help to establish and underpin credibility by providing continuous visibility and messaging– a positive action and outcome. This certainly helps when new or existing businesses are looking for new suppliers or customers.
Making yourself visible in this uncertain world through posts or articles is a way to show the depth of knowledge and experience the company/organisation or person possesses.
In essence leaders and companies need to ‘take a brave pill’ by making original and at times thought provoking comment. It is a good foundation for future work and collaborations, a platform for discussion and a way to make sure your credibility is established. Writing and posting with integrity and authority shows confidence in your product or service.
A colleague of ours, Paul Sims from Blue Bear told us:
“Better than any SEO work is to get into that creative space, that good place you love about what you do and talk about that, promote that. That energy is positive, upbeat and its really what you are all about. So go for that that excites you. The excitement is like a fire that spreads and people notice that too! You are the captain of your destiny and your luck, success and happiness comes only from within you.”
A note of caution:
It takes a long time to establish credibility, of doing what you say you are going to do and when you say you are going to do it. The three main tenets of customer requirements of Quality, Cost and Delivery hold true, and sellers need to be mindful of this. A missed delivery date or providing an article that wasn’t quite as described could damage the credibility of any organisation. Add in poor customer service, lack of knowledge of local customs, even lack of expertise in exporting or importing shows how a company doesn’t really value its customers, or care about its reputation and its future.