If you’ve ever made a snap judgement about someone in the first few seconds you’ll know this to be true: First impressions count.
My car mechanic fits the stereotype of most mechanics I’ve dealt with since owning a car. He’d much rather have his head under the car bonnet than deal with actual people.
When he does offer a bit of banter, it’s usually a sarcastic comment about the state of my car: Er, unfortunately we don’t provide a car clean as part of our service… What do you do to your wiper blades, eat them?!
This year, nothing. I’d cleaned and hoovered it inside and it was looking pretty nice. Still, when I asked how the car was doing for its age I was stunned to receive praise for looking after my car.
It had to be the advance clean.
When a prospective client comes into your world, what’s their first impression?
Are they guided through your website seamlessly to get the required information? Or does something make them stop and reconsider if you’re the best option for them?
Mistakes in the English can put off British buyers.
I know it’s got nothing to do with your product or service but it has a bigger impact than you’d think.
The first mistake will be forgiven, the second one will jar, and a third will make them question your attention to detail. Your reader will connect problems with your English to issues with your product.
They’ll consider if you can deal with English speakers in the event of technical issues.
They’ll wonder if perhaps they should look for a local company because suddenly, all the obstacles such as currency fluctuation, longer leadtimes, minor cultural differences become a bigger issue.
And this all happens almost subconsciously in a few seconds.
You do the same don’t you? Make snap judgements about a person or company based on something seemingly minor.
The English is an easy one to fix if you have the right person to help.
I’ll take a look and if everything’s in order, I’ll send you away without charging you a penny.
Otherwise I’ll service your English engine and make sure your British buyer’s first impression is as smooth as a well-oiled vehicle.
