Creating a BIG image with a SMALL business

by Kevin Nunley

In this age of mega-corporations, many shoppers feel bigger is better. Looking BIG is easy on the Internet. And it doesn't cost you much more than looking small.
When Walmart wants to look big, they spend millions on acres of brick, mortar, and prime commercial real estate. You, on the other hand, can look larger than you are online with some simple tips that cost you almost nothing:

*Use different e-mail addresses for different departments in your business. Order@yoursite.com, CEO@yoursite.com, and customer_service@yoursite.com can all be routed to you.
*Expand your products and services by offering things sold by other businesses. Put your main items up front with other peoples' good things on secondary pages. This makes your business look bigger.
*Spend a couple hundred bucks on a web site logo by a good, professional designer. Tom Dennis, a professional designer, recommends contacting professional associations for advertising, design, or art directors to find good designers. Art and advertising students can also be a great source of inexpensive design. Be careful, however. In their effort to please, students often over produce.
*Team up with others. Create cooperative deals with other online entrepreneurs who can work as your associates. Several virtual "partners" can often do the work of much more expensive employees.

If you sell brand-name items or services of any kind, you can also ask your suppliers about getting co-op ad money. Many companies will pay you a fee if you include their name, logo, or promotional line in your advertising. And since most co-op programs are run by big manufacturers, you end up mentioning lots of big names in your advertising. This gives your business more credibility making your look bigger and more established.

Creating the right image for your business is an essential step on the road to success. Fortunately, the Internet allows you to craft the professional image that you and your customers desire.