The advantage of starting a business is you have an opportunity to develop things off a clean slate before bad habits become entrenched. Whether you are a sole trader or have staff, standardised communication makes your interactions with people more professional. You might think of standardising:
- Telephone greetings;
- Voicemail greetings;
- Email signatures;
- Prospective correspondence, e.g. emails or letters following a lead;
- Follow-up procedures, e.g. after meeting with potential customers or having completed a deal with a first-time customer;
- Customer handling procedures, e.g. what to do if someone wants certain information, or wishes to complain.
