As the world deals with the effects of COVID-19, it is more essential than ever that your business projects a strong image that tells prospective clients and investors the story you want them to understand.

Whether you want your company to seem slick and efficient, or straightforward and approachable, there are some choices that will always make your presentation better. Here are our top suggestions for ways to smarten up your company’s image in 2020.

Change up your phone system

If your business can run while people work from home, you have probably already dealt with some changes to your phone system, as office-based landlines became less practical. However, with the future still uncertain, it can be worth taking the time to make this a proper investment.

Changing up your phone architecture by using a hosted phone system will allow you to tailor your communications to your company’s particular needs. This can include a more flexible and professional setup for receptionist hosting, as well as giving every employee the chance to connect their work phone to their preferred device, which could prove especially useful should there be another lockdown.

Work with your employees to create the COVID-19 support systems they need

Working remotely, which will become more common in the very near future, offers a range of personal and environmental advantages, with many people finding it preferable to office work. However, it comes with many new challenges that must be adapted to.

One essential step is ensuring that your employees have the technology and equipment necessary to do their jobs remotely. However, on top of this there is a need for your business to have frank discussions with employees about what they need to be able to function well in this new normal, since home working is now here to stay. In some cases, this may be flexibility with when work hours fall within their existing work week, to allow for childcare commitments. Or perhaps the response from a large number of employees might inspire you to invest in better access to remote mental health services?

Listening to employee concerns will help you choose the right measures to meet your employees’ concerns head on and make sure that you have the happiest, most productive workforce possible. Having a reputation for caring about your people translates into trust from potential clients, as it shows your business has integrity.

Restructure your website with a minimalist look

Website design should never detract from your potential client’s experience of your business – but so often, exactly this happens. Whether webpages are too bright, too busy, or too old-fashioned, it can be hard to strike the right balance.Knowing your audience is the most important thing – knowing the demographic you are appealing to can shape what fonts and styles you use, to be nostalgic or welcoming for that part of the population. A minimalist look can be a great advantage because it will load quickly for people with slower Internet connections, and work well on mobile, which is increasingly essential these days.