Company Blog

Presentation and Punctuation

by Adam Zack — September 18, 2024

Seriously, folks—customers buy with their eyes!

The three most important keys to great sales are:

1. Presentation
2. Presentation
3. Presentation

Seriously, folks—customers buy with their eyes! If your food doesn’t look great, it doesn’t matter how good it tastes; it’s like trying to sell a sunset in a bottle—nobody’s buying that. Sure, you can entice them with a taste of your delicious (but regrettably named) Ugly Rice Salad, but with hundreds of fresh food options out there, you can’t expect people to sample every hideous dish that crosses your path.

Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, salads, hot foods—they all need to look mouthwatering. That’s why packaging and signage are a billion-dollar industry; they tell the delicious story of your food. But what about the words on that packaging and signage? Since so much of our commerce revolves around food, grammar becomes everyone’s favorite recipe for disaster.

Here are some real signs I’ve spotted in grocery stores:

Banana’s 59¢
Open Sunday’s 11:00-4:00
Jam’s and Jellies
Black Grapeless Grapes $1.48
Pop Tards 2.69
Yumbo Jams 3 lbs/$1
Rot Chicken 7.99

(Yes, you read that right—“Rot Chicken.” Nothing says “fresh” like that!)

Just like the presentation of food, how you present your store and social media reflects your attention to detail. A sprinkle of powdered sugar on a cannoli, a dash of paprika on a deviled egg, and the glossy glaze on a fruit tart are like correctly spelled ads, the proper use of apostrophes in social media posts, and correct grammar in company news releases.

We’re an industry of hardworking, stubborn DIY types, but insisting that those hard workers have someone proofread their posts and signs will save you from looking like a total fool. Remember: the only thing that should be “ugly” in your store is that salad!