Overview: Business information is a key resource for your business. It includes your brand name, physical location, full address, telephone / mobile, web and social media links opening hours, products, services etc. What your customer reads helps them decide if they will do business with you. Business information needs to be managed carefully. Your business changes and improves over time and customers need to know this.
Poor Information: In an analysis of local adverts 56% of the adverts failed to supply one or more essential pieces of information to customers.
Who Knows you?: Never assume that people know that your business exists and where to find it. Always provide complete contact information
Brand Information: Have a brand name that sets your business apart. It should clearly illustrate what your business is and what it has to offer.
Business Location: Have a standard set of information about your location. This must include full address details so that customers can find it.
Business Telephone: Always provide a telephone number for customers. This should include the national dial code (353) and the local area code.
Business Web: Get a brand related web address. This helps customers find your business more easily using online search.
Business Map: Provide a map with all your business details on it . This can be a static map (picture) or an online maps such as Google Maps.
Business Voice: You should ensure that all automated answering services have professional and informative messages for customers.
Business Products: Have a standard description and information on all the products you carry. This helps customers to decide to visit and buy from you.
Standard Information: Ensure that all your advertisers, marketing and web / social media designers have and MUST use the up to date version of your information.
Business Email: Get a proper business email and make this available to all customers. Ideally this should be a web domain related email address
Business Social Media: Ensure that the addresses of all your social media sites are continuously provided to customers in all your communications with them
Business Cards: Get a business card and make sure that it has all the information needed for a customer to contact, find and do business with you.
Business Contacts: You may want to give a specific person or two for customers to contact. Remember staff take holidays so an alternative is needed
Business Graphics: Create and maintain a standard set of business and brand graphics. These should be the only graphics used in customer communications.
Business Video: Quality Video is increasingly cheap to create. Make sure it is time neutral so that it does not need to be updated too often.
Opening Hours: Publish your opening hours and stick to them. If they change at times during the year use it as a reason to contact your customers.
Business VAT etc: If you have a VAT number and other information that can help customers or suppliers then give it to them.
Business Press: Carefully create a standard set of content explaining your business that you include in all press releases.
Business Services: Have a standard description and information on all the services you offer. This adds value for customers and builds trust in your business
Business Advantage: Explain to customers why your business is better than others that they may consider using. Price, Convenience, Quality are good hooks.
Single Source: Have a single business information source that you use and reuse or ALL your communications. Check all communications against this.
Updating: When your business information changes make sure you update the single source and inform your customers and suppliers
Updating Collateral: When your information changes make sure you quickly update all the web sites, social media and physical collateral that you have.
