According to an old saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Nowhere is this more applicable than in business situations, whatever the industry, because how you communicate with people the first time is key to your overall success. Why is this the case, today more than ever before? People are increasingly demanding of good customer service these days, especially as the nation's economy has rebounded, and they have more money to spend. In general, whether in a consumer or business- to-business capacity, most prefer to spend their money where they are treated well.

Several different modes of communication can be used effectively to create a positive first impression: your physical place of business (both the environment and how people are greeted), the telephone, voice mail and electronic mail, print materials, and how you present yourself and your company outside of the office.

Create a Welcoming Space

The value to your business of creating a warm and welcoming environment cannot be over emphasized. If you have any doubts, just think about the impressions you form about a new doctor as you sit in the waiting room. In the same vein, what your customers see when they first enter the premises, and the conclusions they draw, will affect the way they relate to your business. Once formed, those conclusions, whether good or bad, resist change.

Your environment must not only reflect the kind of business you have, but should also be comfortable and inviting, easy to navigate, neat and clean, and encourage the flow of transactions.

Customer Interaction with Your Staff

Equally important to the physical environment is your "front desk" staff and their ability to provide any needed support and guidance. If you have a retail business or a food establishment, you may not have a front desk per se, but you have something equivalent such as the sales counter or a host station.

All potential customers deserve to be properly greeted by someone who can assist them in a friendly and meaningful way, whether that encounter occurs in person or over the telephone. Convenience store clerks for example, are taught to look up and greet every person who enters the premises, no matter how busy they are. Not only does this make people feel more welcome, but it also cuts down on the incidence of shoplifting.

A California veterinarian pays his receptionist $65,000 a year in salary and incentives and gives her much of the credit for his success. "My phone rings about four times a minute, and she handles all the calls while checking everybody in and out at the front desk. Overall, she makes 99 percent of all initial contacts," notes the veterinarian.

"How she handles those contacts powerfully impacts - and may be entirely responsible for - the first impression clients have of me. As my receptionist also handles all complaints, she plays a vital role in maintaining that favorable impression. She's well worth what I pay her, and if she makes me more prosperous down the road, I'll happily pay her even more," he concludes.

The veterinarian's experience is one that others in the professional services industry (such as doctors, dentists, massage therapists, accountants, lawyers and consultants) might also heed to their own advantage.

Telephone Competence

The often-undervalued telephone should be recognized as the key business tool it really is. Since many of your customers will call before ever visiting your place of business, what they encounter when doing so is critical in creating a positive first impression.

Consider an initial greeting such as "Good morning (or good afternoon, or evening), (company name). This is (name of person - first only, both names, or Mr. or Ms. or Mrs. with last name)." Remember that the greeting you select should reflect the culture of your industry as well as your personal style.

If you recall first impressions you've formed of various companies you've phoned in the past, in all likelihood they were often formed on the basis of what went on before the initial greeting even took place. For example, if you were left on hold or had to deal with a cumbersome voice mail system, chances are you formed a negative impression before anybody answered.

Beware of using "on hold" time to deliver information about your business. A waiting customer can easily take offense at being forced to endure your advertising, or your taste in music for that matter. If at all possible, have enough phone lines (and enough people to answer them) so callers don't get a busy signal, or get put on hold for longer than 30 to 45 seconds.

Advice about Voice Mail

Every company that deals with customers should have voice mail, to handle after-hours calls at the very least. Ideally, also have a voice mail setup to which your phone calls roll over during the day when all your lines are busy (this requires a certain type of voice mail and phone system). After hours, your outgoing message should give your hours of operation and other relevant information about how to contact you.

Keep your voice mail message as short and simple as possible, with immediate instructions on how to bypass it so people don't have to wait to leave their own message. Encourage callers to leave enough clear, concise information so you can take some action before calling them back, and be sure to respond to their messages promptly. This is one of the key ways to take full advantage of a voice mail system, as well as being able to satisfy callers' needs quickly.

Avoid having your phone answered by voice mail on a regular basis when you and/or your staff are available. Most people think they have fallen into the "black hole" of voice mail when that happens. Exceptions include situations where certain information is needed, like an account number, that can be keyed in so the person answering the call can quickly bring up the customer's account information before commencing the conversation.

Ubiquitous E-mail

E-mail, which is quick, inexpensive, and increasingly secure and reliable, has become ubiquitous in American business. With e-mail, users have access to the world for the price of a local call, and if they need to get a message to a lot of people or hear from a lot of people in a hurry, there's no more efficient (or cost-effective) way to do so. While e-mail does require a computer, the new personal computers on the market are getting so friendly that buyers don't have to learn very much in order to use them correctly. Many even come with software already installed and are engineered for "plug and play" simplicity.

Your Impression in Print

If a mailing is what prospective customers see first, consider whether that mailing really represents your business. Does it look professional? Is it well written and well designed? How would you feel about receiving such a piece? This often-neglected area abounds with opportunities to make lasting positive impressions.

Detailed guidelines for printed material, including logos, business cards and marketing materials, can be found in Small Business Success, Volume IX, page 29-36. Information on Web sites (another increasingly utilized place to create a good first impression) can also be found in Volume IX, pages 42-54, as well as this issue on pages 45-57.

Impressions outside the Office

What do you say about your business when meeting someone outside of your establishment? How can you create the best first impression, whether doing professional networking, or in social situations? How you present yourself, when the only thing you have to show someone is a business card, can contribute to your success more than you realize.

A useful exercise is to imagine that a reporter is going to interview you, and you will have only 10 to 12 seconds (or about 50 words) to describe your business and convince potential clients to seek you out. Write down the message and commit it to memory. The ability to clearly and concisely state what you offer demonstrates to others that you are focused on what you're doing, and can be persuasive in attracting the interest of new customers.

Consider the Whole Picture

In terms of making a favorable first impression, a good rule of thumb is to consistently exceed customer expectations. Since many consumers have modest expectations to begin with, this may be easier than it sounds. Something as simple as the ability of a telephone operator to unhesitantly direct calls to the right person can give businesses a competitive advantage.

However, don't just focus on one of the tools described above at the expense of the others. All of them need to be taken into account to ensure you are making a positive first impression. If one or two work well, but the others don't, you haven't really done an optimal job.

As important as first impressions are, the most significant impressions in terms of the success of your operation are the current ones. In business, as in other relationships, the real consideration is, "What have you done for me lately?" If you fall down at subsequent stages, whether being abrupt during a customer's second visit, or failing to get back to a customer in a timely manner, you can void all the good work you've previously done. In other words, a good first impression isn't going to do you much good in the long run if a subsequent negative experience eclipses it. The best way to maximize the value of a positive first impression is to reinforce it with other favorable experiences throughout the course of future interactions.

Profile: Powells in Paradise

While in high school, Peggy Powell worked in a soft ice cream shop and loved it. Years later, that experience, along with the variety of careers she and her husband Specs explored, helped convince the couple to go into the frozen yogurt business. Paradise Yogurt was born in Mission Valley near San Diego. Between those two events, Peggy and Specs (shown above at left) raised four children, providing them with the perfect training to deal with the young staff that is so much a part of the warm, wholesome, freshly scrubbed impression they strive to create.

Not surprisingly, their business has many family-like attributes and, in fact, the Powells treat their college student employees like their own kids. The staff is happy and works as a team, and is carefully trained in areas ranging from customer service to detailed product information. The Powells believe that if they treat their employees well, and train them well, they can better represent the store and the company philosophy.

The staff is trained to be friendly and outgoing, with special emphasis on encouraging customers to savor their choices via generous distribution of free samples. A sign in the store invites customers to read labels, and every effort is made to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The staff is also trained to learn the names of repeat customers, and to greet as many as possible by name. They even keep a list of customers' favorite specialty flavors and call them when they are in stock.

Peggy and Specs Powell and the staff at Paradise Yogurt work hard to make favorable first impressions, and to reinforce those impressions with the finest service and highest quality products possible. Their thriving business is a testament to the efficacy of this philosophy.