Welcome to the second of this three-part series on how to promote your ISO certification or re-certification, which comes hot on the heels of Part 1. In this article we’ll focus on how you can share the news of your successful ISO certification easily as part of your day-to-day business activities. We hope you find these pointers useful.
Congratulations – you’ve successfully gained ISO certification or recertification! If you’ve followed the tips in Part 1 then your staff will be fully in the picture and you’re ready to move on to raising awareness of your ISO certified status as part of business as usual. But how to promote your ISO certification? That is the question! Below are some ideas which will ensure that your existing and potential customers can see that your business is a name they can trust and depend on.
As before, when you’re thinking about promoting your business’ ISO certification, always put yourself in the shoes of your customers, prospects and suppliers. What does it mean to them that you’re an ISO certified business? What pain points or concerns will be resolved for them by working with your business rather than an uncertified company? Use this opportunity to clearly state your competitive advantage and attract new customers.
The awareness-raising methods we’re highlighting can be grouped as follows:
- Internal communication – Part 1: sharing the news of your successful ISO certification within your business
- Business as usual activities – Part 2: using day-to-day business interactions to promote your success
- External communication – Part 3: ideas for getting the message out to a wider audience
How to promote your ISO certification with business as usual activities
There are a surprising number of ways to promote your ISO certification every day with low effort and high impact.
Use touch points
Think about the ways that you regularly communicate with your customers. For many businesses, the most popular communication channel is email but there will be others who still write letters. So, in the same way that your company logo may appear on your business email signatures, letter head and business cards, add the ISO logo(s) as provided by your ISO certification body for an instant reputation boost!
Update your marketing materials
Does your company uses brochures and leaflets or run regular advertising? Then, review these to see whether there’s space to add your ISO certification logo. This adds credibility in the eyes of your potential customers. And it’s a strong message that they could be making a sensible decision in choosing to work with your company.
Write a short article for your company’s customer newsletter
Do you produce a regular customer newsletter? If so, write a feature about your good news. Include a quote from a popular customer-facing team member which highlights the value this will bring to the company’s customers. This is another opportunity to recognise any staff who were involved in the ISO certification process.
If you don’t send regular updates to your customers then now would be a great time to start. Even a short email to your top clients which points out the improvements they can expect to see. This will bring you to the front of their minds and reinforce that they made a good decision when they selected your business.
Sales opportunities
Whether you employ a sales team or are on a one-person mission to win new customers, don’t miss an opportunity to drop your ISO certification into the conversation. Will it get you invited to parties? No. But will it tell everyone that yours is a business they can trust and depend on? Yes. And does that lead to attracting new customers? Yes.
So whether you’re attending a networking event, giving a presentation or delivering a sales pitch, grasp the mettle! Let people know your business’ commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, waste management, health and safety etc. as evidenced by your ISO certification.
With these suggestions, you’re well on your way to letting people know that you’re proud of your ISO certified status. Now that your staff are comfortable talking about your ISO certification and you have embedded it in your day-to-day activities, you might want to read Part 3 of this series. It looks at using your website, social media and the press to increase your brand’s profile and how to promote your ISO certification.
You’ll find other articles and guidance on our Insights page. It’s updated regularly with bite-size tips about ISO certification so is well worth a return visit!
Not yet ISO certified?
We offer support with a wide range of ISO certifications. For more information on ISO-Cert Online’s services or to discuss your requirements please contact us on 0333 014 7720 or email info@isocertonline.net.
