First Impressions Make or Break Deals

2) Website presence.

After receiving a call from a printer this week, I commented that it looked like a nice size operation of 25 to 30 people. The president came back, almost offended, that the shop had 150 employees. I should never have assumed, but I explained that in the company picture on its website there were about 25 to 30 people standing in front of the front door. Also, the website did not look like one for a 150-employee printer.

Earlier in the week, I was looking at another printer’s home page and it had a picture of the front of the building. It looked like condemned property in the low-rent district in the city. “Not good” as Chevy Chase said in “Caddy Shack.” Highlight the positives on your website.

Things to consider:

• Portray your image, culture, personality.
• Be informative and show you are on the move. Keep web content fresh.
• Pick a platform for quick and easy content management.
• Check out your competitors. Good examples of printers with nice websites are www.thinkpatented.com or www.sorrentomesa.com. They approach it differently, but you see a progressive, thoughtful approach that is inviting for a prospective buyer or customer.

3) E-mail footers.

This may sound basic, but you have an opportunity beyond the basic e-mail message. Thoughtful footers keep customers up to date, invite them to your social media groups, and share news. Don’t go crazy adding another e-mail to the message with a lengthy footer, but a thoughtful e-mail footer can help recipients. Think like the customer.

Possible content to consider:

• Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube link icons nicely lined up.
• Include your website URL or your logo with a hyperlink to your website. Fancy!
• Your title, phone and e-mail address information
• Maybe a picture of yourself. This is a tough one and the jury is still out as to wether this is tacky.

4) Building appearance.