6 Ways to Make a Good First Impression on Customers

You only have a few seconds to make a good first impression. That’s right, folks, it’s a judgy, judgy world out there. And the last thing that you want is to be blacklisted in Yelp reviews, which is not fun for any business. Instead of coming across badly and having to make a zillion good impressions to make up for the bad first opportunity, try to get it right from the start. It doesn’t take much to make a good first impression on customers — following are six tips to get them to like you from the get go.

1. Acknowledge them. Imagine wandering around a store for 15 minutes with a bunch of things in your hands and no one comes over to ask if they can help. Sure, most people don’t like hovering sales people, but a “Hello, my name is XYZ. Would you like a basket, or can I help you with anything today?” goes a long way. If your first contact with your customer is on the phone or email and not in person, acknowledge them by calling or emailing them back immediately if they’ve left a message or sent an email.

2. Turn the corners of your mouth up. (Otherwise known as smiling.) This applies even when you’re on the phone, as people can hear a smile in your voice. Smiling shows customers that you are making an effort, that you are friendly and helps them feel comfortable doing business with you. Of course, this goes hand in hand with exuding friendliness. No, you don’t have to go over the top with it, but simply be nice, don’t look annoyed to be there or irritated by their questions, and help them with what they want to the best of your ability.

3. Let them talk. Find out as much as you can about your customer by listening. Feel free to ask them some questions, but don’t bombard them with your own stories; instead, listen to what they have to say and, without being pushy, use that information to be a better customer service agent. “Oh, you are going fishing this weekend? Where are you headed? <<pause, let them answer>> You know, you might be interested in this helpful new tool we just got in …” Sold!

Plus, people just love to talk about themselves. Give them a chance to do that and they’ll like you for it.

You can also listen to your customers online. We wrote a whole blog about it.

4. Make eye contact. This is one of the keys of great interpersonal communication skills — along with smiling. Looking your customer in the eye lets them know that you have seen them (part of the whole acknowledgment process) and that you are interested and engaged. But be appropriate. Don’t stare, or worse, look like you’re glaring. That can be creepy and send customers running the other direction.

5. Take care of your appearance. You don’t have to change who you are, but your customers will always respect a professional appearance. The definition of a professional appearance may vary, depending on your line of work — if you are an artist, for instance, an eclectic style might fit the bill. The key is to take care of your personal hygiene and look clean and neat (no wrinkled shirts and stained pants, please). The same holds true for your website. Keep it clean and orderly and in line with your brand. Again, if you are an artist, your site can be more eclectic than if you’re a bookkeeper.

6. Let them win. There really is something to the phrase “The customer is always right.” We all know that they aren’t, in fact, always right. However, if you act like they are and put their needs above your own urge to point out how wrong they are, they will like you a whole lot more. Practicing biting your tongue starts now.

Do you have any other customer service tactic to share? Leave us a comment below, on our 123Print Facebook page or tweet us @123Print.