Business Owners, Listen Up: How to Make a Good First Impression

Okay, it’s the bottom of the ninth and you’re making your last sales pitch. You want to go home feeling good, but you’ve never spoken to this customer before. You want to make a good first impression.

While every interaction with a customer is different and you probably know how to work with customers, there’s always room for improvement.

The first impression is critical for your customers, and some say you only have 27 seconds to make one, so it better be strong. Let’s talk about how to make a good first impression of your business.

Ask Yourself: First Impression Of What?

The first thing you need to identify before figuring out how to make a good impression is what that impression will be of. Are you an all-online company? Do you have an in-person store? Do you do most of your business over the phone?

The reason this question is important is so you know what to improve. If you have an in-person store, then the service your customer receives and the impression they get from looking around the building will play the biggest roles in determining the first impression.

However, if you’re an online store, then they probably won’t be talking to anybody in the business unless something goes wrong, in which case, the chance to make a good first impression was already lost.

The first impression on an online store starts with your website, first and foremost. The design, its user-friendliness, and the impression they walk away with after the visit.

How To Make A Good First Impression As A Business Owner

Any business owner should care about the first impression they create. We all know from experience that even if we changed our minds later on, our first impression of anything will always last.

Making a good first impression isn’t the most precise science, only because you can’t control someone’s interpretation. Everybody has their own tastes. However, there are some great steps you can take in any situation to dramatically improve your chances of sticking the landing and making a lasting good first impression.

Be Personable

Regardless of your business type, having good interactions with customers creates the right customer experience and this matters!

In fact, 73% of consumers say that customer experience plays a big role in determining their brand loyalty, and many may even be willing to pay more to the right company because of it. Don’t underestimate the value of this, especially on a first impression.

Think about it, if you go pick up some pizzas for a company event and the person at the store is extremely friendly, says he’s happy you brought them so much business and gets you in and out quickly with a smile on his face, you’re going to be a lot more likely to pick that restaurant for your next date night!

The same logic applies to online stores. Having a user-friendly, customer-driven website provides the right foundation for a good customer experience. Making a sale is great, keeping your customers is even better!

 

How To Make A Good First Impression Online

If you’re looking to get people to your website, then the very first impression isn’t the site, it’s how you get them there. Improving your online advertising and SEO will make a difference, but you aren’t done there.

Once you got them to your site, it’s important to keep them there. With the internet basically running the entire economy, people know by now what a professional website looks like. There’s no fooling them, especially if your target audience happens to be Millennials or Gen Z.

Most people are used to seeing websites like Amazon, Google, or Facebook, with huge marketing budgets and slick website designs. They can definitely tell those sites apart from their local pizza place. You don’t have to be a computer expert to figure that out.

Visuals Matter

Again, no matter what kind of business it is, aesthetics are always important. Having a professional look and feel to your store or your website will always be more appealing to consumers. In fact, more than 80% of online marketing is said to rely on visual content.

If it’s in-store, promoting the right atmosphere will make people more comfortable in your establishment. If it’s online, having images and videos will both pique and retain people’s interests and enthusiasms.

Be Authentic

Don’t try to sell something you don’t have. Show your passion and enthusiasm for the products and services you provide, but don’t try to wow your customers with something that doesn’t exist.

Show customer reviews that are real, tell customers how long you’ve been dominating the industry, and show some media content like pictures or videos of the projects your company is working on. Don’t overdo it though, make it real.

Make It Professional

Having authentic content on your site is great, but it still needs to look presentable and foster the right customer experience. However, most people can tell right away when it was made on one of the popular website-building sites, taking away from the authenticity.

Hiring the right web designers will make your website as professional as possible, which will make a better first impression for all your customers. You really can’t put a price on that.

Build Your Site Today

Now that you know how to make a good first impression, there’s no time like the present to start improving. Every first impression you make to a customer will stick, so take it seriously.

If you need any more help making the right first impression, find the right web designer for you and get started today!