Affordable Small Business Imaging

By: Michael | Published: September 16, 2010 | Filed under: Small Business Advice, Small Business Tools

Small businesses often struggle with the concept of brand imaging. In reality, working with small businesses is often a great way to get superior service, however not everyone sees things this way. Sometimes, potential customers will shy away from working with a company of one even before you can give them the chance to prove yourself. One way to prevent this is with very simple and affordable business imaging. Imaging is where you can make your company look larger than it is by featuring some of the resources that potential clients perceive only larger companies to have. The most common example of this is a toll-free phone number, and professional sounding phone system. Sounds like an expensive setup? While your customers will think the same thing, in reality it’s quite affordable!There are numerous awesome toll free number providers who will also provide you the capability to have an interactive phone menu. These providers are designed to specialize with small businesses and are incredibly affordable as a result. For one monthly price you will usually get:-A toll-free number, or local number in an area code of your choice. (Local area codes are a great option if you want something like a prestigious, New York City “212”) -A monthly allotment of minutes to use on the phone line (often it can be used for inbound and outbound calls) -A virtual call routing system. (“Thank you for calling ….. press one for sales, two for support” etc. This system will usually feature extensions as well.) -For a one-time setup fee, most providers can sell you a vanity custom number that you specify. This is a tremendous way to setup a phone number that leaves an impact on your customers.Let’s look at some vendors and their pricing for this type of solution:-Ring Central: For $14.99 per month you get access to a toll free number, 100 minutes (4.9 cents for each additional minute,) and you can use up to 10 extensions. (Dial by name is not included unless you purchase a larger plan.) A vanity number will cost you a one-time setup charge of $30.) This also includes interactive phone menus. Ring Central pricing becomes more affordable with their larger packages. For example, their 1,00 minute package is only $30 per month. Twice the price for ten times the minutes. -Phone.com: Phone is probably the most affordable option for smaller plans. Their $14.88 plan includes 400 minutes, unlimited extensions, dial by name and interactive menus. You can get pick up a vanity number for them for just $25. With Phone.com, your first month of services is free. -Grasshopper.com: A new player in the space. They charge $9.95 a month with $25 activation fee for a toll free number, unlimited extensions and all their features. Their service offering doesn’t include minutes until their $24 a month plan, which includes 500.While all of these solutions are awesome, and truly affordable for any small business, the one thing that may still be seen as a turn off is your menu greeting. If it’s just you recording the greeting, you potential customers might become suspicious. Phone.com offers a voice over solution to record the menus for you, but it is rather expensive. A really sick option is to check out Fiverr.com and find a professional voice over talent to record your menus for just $5.A toll free number, custom branded to your company, that leads to a professionally recorded menu. What could make you look more professional than that? Considering it will cost under $20 a month in most cases, with just a $25 – $30 setup fee, this is one of the most powerful investments you can make in branding your small business.