In the big bad world of business, you are always competing. You are competing with competitors, with non-competitors, and with your previous self. You need to be better than others to ensure your business grows into the success story you’ve dreamed of. While you can use your innovative idea and quality marketing strategy, it’s not all about the big picture.

Sometimes, it’s the little touches that are the link between these big ideas, and these little touches can make a massive difference. Thankfully, the business world has moved away from the general that women don’t belong in the boardroom. However, there are still some people you may work with who won’t take you seriously. 

More often than not, you can’t change these minds by showing off your business-savvy skills. Instead, you need to turn them around with small but effective actions to prove you know what you’re doing. Here are some of the little touches that can make a big difference in business. 

A Comfortable Welcome

Making people feel welcome when visiting your office is essential for ensuring they have a good time there, and it means that they will look forward to returning if the job demands it. To make this possible, design a comfortable reception area with sofas and chairs as well as having your receptionist offer them refreshments. 

As for inside the office, a tidy and organized work area is a must. You can also minimize sense overload by keeping the lighting soft and natural, keeping it clean and free of any odors from the kitchen, and also not too noisy that they can’t concentrate. However, the noise often depends on the nature of your business, so this won’t be possible for everybody. 

Preparing for the Worst

Being prepared for anything that could go wrong demonstrates to others that you are a business owner who thinks ahead. This can be anything from offering help with parking if your parking lot is full of having error messages pop up on your website when experiencing downtime. 

Ensuring that you have all their bases covered to mitigate issues can stop clients and customers from having a negative experience. When they see what you’ve done to overcome it, they will appreciate the effort you have gone to.

Always In Sight

If your business is struggling for exposure, but you cannot afford to increase your marketing budget, there are other more subtle ways to increase brand awareness that should bring in further business. 

One of these options is merchandise for you to give out for free during meetings. You can offer pens, keychains, USB flash drives, or enamel pins with your business’s name and logo. You can also use these items and attach your keys or stick pins to your jacket lapel so that you are always advertising no matter where you go. 

People’s eyes are drawn to images they find unfamiliar, and by using such items in public, you can draw attention to your company and may even gain some new customers. 

Remember The Person

It’s easy to consider clients are purely the company they represent, but doing this loses sight of who they really are. Striving to remember the person you are working with helps you understand them on a deeper level, and it can lead to a better relationship overall. 

Consider having more than a mere work relationship and take the time to learn more about them. Showing interest in their life outside of the general work discussion creates a bond and familiarizes you with them. Ask about their weekend, send a Christmas card, and demonstrate you see them as more than a commodity.

Following Up

It’s common to have meetings, make agreements, and leave it at that. However, this can quickly make people forget about you, and the longer the time goes, the less they will recall. To overcome this, you should follow up a day or two after meeting with someone to explain your thoughts and also get an idea of theirs. 

Following up is useful for when you needed time to think about what was discussed when you met with them, but it also shows you kept them in your thoughts after they left. This helps them understand that you value their opinion and also helps you both iron out any wrinkles regarding contracts or deals after you’ve both had some time to clear your head. 

The Right Touch

You don’t need to throw yourself at the feet of others and suck up to them to make them take you seriously. It’s all about subtlety, and with these little hints, you’ll have clients, investors, and customers believing in you and coming back for more business time after time.