Every brand wants to leave a lasting impression on new customers. This is how you develop meaningful relationships and bring loyal customers on board. It can be difficult to create great impressions on that very first experience though if you do not know the proper steps to take. Your first interaction with a new customer can be brief, and it’s hard to share everything you want in a few seconds. That’s why you have to think deeply about creating total brand experiences that make people feel something.

Let’s look at a few of the ways that you can leave lasting impressions on new customers so that they want to come back and do business with you.

Send a Personal Note

People like to be noticed and appreciated. With so many businesses to choose from these days, including those halfway around the world, consumers know they have the power to select any company they want. Be careful not to take customers for granted. If they gave you a few minutes of their time at your last trade show event, send them a personal note.

Here are a few tips for creating the perfect correspondence and working toward a personal relationship.

• Make it heartfelt
• Send it from an actual person
• Thank the customer for their time or business

Offer a Welcome Gift

Everyone loves free gifts, but in an increasingly digital age, physical gifts are rare. Even the most simple gifts – a pen and pad of paper – can speak volumes. A word of caution: don’t re-gift the same products that you handed out at your last exhibit. Promotional products have their place in terms of generating brand awareness. Welcome gifts should be sent from the heart of your company and recognize the customer, not your company.

Ideas include:

• Magazine subscriptions
• Gift cards
• Discounts to share with friends and family
• Food from your business’ hometown
• Concert or movie tickets

Create a Simple Onboarding Flow

User Onboarding guides the customer through the first steps they need to take inside of your product. By creating an easy process for the customer to follow, you show them that you respect their time and want to make things easy for them. This is an important sign for the customer, as it shows they’ve chosen a business that is watching out for their needs. Simple instructions and clickable boxes are effective at getting customers to convert.

Remember just how important these small tokens of appreciation are. A first impression can last forever and set you apart from your competitors. This is an untapped niche to break into, as many companies don’t focus on that first impression. But you can.