Your consumers are bombarded everyday with thousands of brand images and sales pitches. "In order to survive the onslaught of choices, consumers make snap judgments." I read this in a book that was recommended to me entitled All Marketers Are Liars. What's fascinating about most of us is that we consistently make judgments on very little information. In effect, consumers absorb little bits of information (like seeing your logo or business card) and then make judgments and predictions about your business based on the little input they've been exposed to. Don't believe me? Well, have you ever made up your mind about a political candidate without ever meeting her/him? How about picking a movie based on the ads in the paper? If you shop online, do you make a decision on how reputable the company is based on their Web site? Yep, we all make snap decisions. This is the reason that speed dating has been so popular and effective for people—we all make snap judgments based on a first impression. The truth is, that often, based on a first impression, we consumers make up our minds instantly—and according to All Marketers Are Liars, consumers stick to those decisions like a barnacle on a sailboat. Once the snap decision has been made, consumers seek out information that supports their snap judgments and ignore information that doesn't. For consumers, this approach saves an immense amount of time and keeps them from going nuts; for savvy business owners, this screams, "My first impression better be a good one." So what does all this mean to you? This is why having a professional, marketing-focused and consistent business identity is so

important. The truth is, your customers make snap judgments, and once those decisions are made, they are tough to change. So you want to make certain that the first impression your customers might receive from you (business card, logo, phone call from you, Web site, brochure, signage, etc) is the impression that you want to send to them. Would you like to check out more of All Marketers Are Liars? It is written by Seth Godin and is available to purchase on Amazon.com. If you are a business owner looking for an edge, pick up Seth's book. If you know another business owner who might benefit from reading this article, forward their name and email address to me at comments@candographics.com

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