When going into an interview you make sure that the first things you say and the first impression you make on someone is as best as it can possibly be. You want to start things off on the right foot, because if things start out badly, it can be all downhill from there on out.
The same is true for tradeshows and seminars. In any situation when meeting someone for the first time you want to be sure that you be at the top of your game. Once they know you they'll be more willing to let small mistakes go, but when they first meet you, all they'll see are the mistakes.
The issue I have is that people do understand when meeting someone in person they have to make a good impression, but companies fail to realize that this same principle applies to them when meeting customers.
More often than not I'm introduced to a company through their marketing material. When a company sends me a postcard for the first time, this is the first impression I'm getting of that company. The more forcefully they try to make a sale off of me the more I'll begin to think that you only care about getting my money, and not about truly getting my business.
This is why greeting card printing brings with it such potential for a company. Rather than go for the forceful sale right from the start, instead send people a greeting card in the mail asking them to come in and give you a try.
Make it more about them and less about you. Say how you think you can help make their life better and give them better deals then they've been getting in the past. Go over all the ways you can help them out, rather than just what kind of things they can buy from you.
Give your greeting cards personality. Go beyond the standard marketing ventures that most companies embark on. This is the first view a person will have of your company and if you start things off on the right foot they'll be more willing to trust you.
Another added bonus is that because so few companies even bother with something like greeting card printing you'll stand out in the crowd. While everyone else is sending out pure advertisements you're handing someone a more stylized greeting to meet you and see what you're all about.
If you're going to do everything you can do make your first impression great when meeting someone in person, why wouldn't you go to the effort of ensuring that your advertisements are just as effective? It might not be you in person, but it's still a first impression, and you should still want it to be the best that it can.
