Small Biz Survival

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First Impressions

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Photo (CC) by Daniel Oines, on Flickr

First impressions are so important to your business!!!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you have read about the importance of first impressions. Those first impressions may be of the outside of your store and your sign. It also covers what people see as they enter the door and how you act and dress as the owner/manager.

But have you ever considered the first impression that you make with your printing?

In this technological era, there is no excuse for sending something out that doesn’t look good. It doesn’t have to be done at a print shop but letters and pictures should be legible, colors should be crisp, and what ever you print should offer a feeling of professionalism.

I recently received something from a company I have never dealt with before. The print looked very much like the dot-matrix print of old. Also, it seemed to be a copy of a copy and it had been reduced in size making it even worse to read. It just shouted that here was a company that just didn’t care. Now there is a chance is this what the company had received from someone else. If so, why didn’t they at least acknowledge it in the cover letter and apologize in advance. Maybe they couldn’t fix it but at least describe why it is what it is.

First impressions are important. No, they may no scare the customer away. But why set up more hurdles to add a new customer to your roster of ambassadors. 

About Glenn Muske

Glenn Muske is an independent expert on rural small business, working as GM Consulting – Your partner in achieving small business success. He provides consulting, and writes articles for county extension agents and newspapers across North Dakota. Previously, he was the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.

Filed Under: rural

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