Legitimacy Matters: Making Your Business More Desirable

You might have built up what you think is a great little business, but it isn’t enough to convince yourself that is the case – you need to convince your customers that you not only a great business, but even more importantly, especially if your business is new, that you’re a legitimate company too.
The vast majority of customers are only ever going to do business with companies and individuals they trust, and that’s why, whatever your business is legitimacy matters. The good news is, it isn’t that difficult to make your company look more professional and feel more legitimate. Here are a few ideas to help you with that:
Register Your Company
First of all, if you haven't already, officially register your company. You can find out more about Company Formation here, or you may need to do some research to see how to register in your own country/state if that information isn’t relevant to you. It’s important you do this because, if customers can see that your business is registered, they are more likely to consider it to be legitimate and safe to use.
Have Your Own Business Phone Line and Email Address
If you work from an office, then you’ll probably have your own phone line at least already, and probably your own website with your own domain email address too. If you work from home, you’ll probably have the latter, but it’s always a good idea to set up the former too. Why? Because using your mobile phone or a standard Gmail address, for example, does not look half as professional as having a business number and email address. If you work from home, then using a virtual office phone service is ideal and will give you the gravitas you desire for just a few dollars. Look into this now because it will make a big impact.
Register a Business Address
If you work from home, or you hot desk at a local shared-space, for example, it’s worth paying for a dedicated business address where you can send and receive correspondence. It looks better than having a shared or home address, and in the latter’s case, it gives you more privacy too.
Encourage Reviews
Encouraging reviews is often a scary prospect for new businesses. What if they didn’t like the product? What if they had a bad experience? Will they rip me to shreds? These are all questions business owners ask themselves before opening themselves up to reviews, but if you know you’re doing a good job and you accept that there will always be a few disgruntled customers, you have nothing to worry about. And actually having lots of reviews on your site will add to its legitimacy, especially those ones that aren’t 100 percent complimentary.
Use Social Media
If you set up various social media platforms for your company and your post in it regularly, including photos of your and your team at work, your products etc., then it will be hard for people to see you as anything other than legit.
Utilize these tips, and your business will be too legit to quit!