Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops

First Impressions

By

storefront

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

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

More of the best of Small Biz Survival