The Importance of Your Stores First Impression

Lahore City Centre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You only get one chance to make a first impression and whether we like it or not most of us judge something almost entirely on the first couple of minutes of interacting with it. This is true for people but very few people realise that it’s also true for stores and shopfronts. The first impression you make is one of the most important and sometimes it’s the only one that really matters. So here’s why your first impression matters as much as it does and what you can do to improve it.

Mood

Most people who resent shopping do it because they simply aren’t in the mood and they have to do it anyway. Shopping for most products should happen when there’s an element of comfort and cheer in the attitude of the customer and a good first impression can do a lot to making someone feel more at home while in your store. A friendly or relaxing sign, or even a colour scheme that people associate with welcome and happiness, like IKEA’s warm yellow and blue can put someone in just the mood to buy. A happy customer is a generous customer and that’s important.

Atmosphere

Quite apart from the mood it puts a person in the atmosphere of the store itself also stands on its first impression. Is it a jewellery store that seems regal and elegant? Is it a fruit and vegetable store that seems natural and homey? It’s important to think about what kind of atmosphere you want and what you can do to inspire it.

Branding

Everything you do relates to the brand you are trying to represent. McDonalds, Apple, Coca-Cola, every one of those is valued not because of the products but because of the brand we have fallen in love with. What is the thing you think of as soon as you see it? The Arches, the Apple, the Coca Cola symbol. Signage is a vital part of the first impression and if anyone is going to relate to your particular brand it is going to be entirely necessary.

Employment

The good first impression isn’t just important for the sake of making people buy, it’s also important for gathering potential employees. If you need to gather employees then you’re going to need to make them feel like it’s a nice place to work. There is a distinct difference between a place someone would want to shop and a place someone would want to work. This will also give your employees a sense of what they’re supposed to do and how they should act. This sense of direction and purpose all begins at first glance.

Businesses need people to be inspired to shop there from the very first minute they see it. Most people have short attention spans and a business will usually have only a few minutes to inspire shopping. See www.tuprojects.com for more ideas and to find assistance in setting up a good first impression.

This article was written by Robert Barlow.