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.

3 Clever Ways to Make Your Business Look Large and In Charge

 (Photo credits: www.roadtrafficsigns.com)

There are many good reasons why you may want your business to look larger than it actually is and if you can manage to pull off this trick, you will probably be able to gain extra turnover through increased sales activity. Here are some ideas on how to achieve this goal. 

Consistent Branding 

The main aspect that you will notice with larger companies and especially multi-nationals is that they have very solid brand strategies. Consistent branding means that customers instantly recognize your logo and what the business does or what it stands for. You can copy that winning formula by ensuring that your logo, typefaces, fonts and brand colors are all consistent wherever your company name is visible. Using signage at your business premises is a great way of re-enforcing that message and brand image. Apple HQ uses a symbolic giant apple attached to the side of their building and you can follow that same principle of instantly making your company look larger and more professional by using consistent brand signage and even creating a logo that is visible on your building as well as on any company vehicles, marketing material etc. 

Digital Signage 

Using digital signage is not as expensive as many people think it is going to be and it is a great way of conveying a message to your customers who are on your business premises, whether it is a retail store or a trade warehouse. Using a digital sign means that you can change your message as often as you want to without having to print up new posters each time and it is a professional looking system that will tell your customers that you want their business and enable you to promote any special offers or limited time deals as well as conveying any standard message that you may want to get across. They are also very useful in enhancing your brand image by incorporating a log in the message and display whilst generally creating the impression that you are larger and more professional business who have thought about how to communicate in a modern way with their customers. 

Getting your Signage Right 

Every business large or small has a budget to work to, but if you are a small business competing against larger organizations you want the opportunity to compete on a level playing field whenever you can, and using signage in the right way is a great way of achieving this. First impressions count for so much and having a sign outside your business that is poorly designed, too small or simply fails to grab attention, then it is probably serving no viable marketing purpose other than telling people where you are. If you are going to advertise your business to the public try to work on getting your business noticed. A large but well proportioned sign with a professional looking logo and even a strong slogan or marketing message will count for a lot when you are seeking to make that all important first impression. Get you signage right and you will encourage customers to come to you and it will carry a strong message that you are in charge of your own destiny and want to give a good customer experience to anyone that walks through the door.

Scott Quinlan is a business branding consultant. His articles mainly appear on business and marketing blogs where he enjoys passing on his knowledge on the subject. Visit ImpactSigns to get more ideas for your business.