What kind of impression is your store making on customers at the threshold? If the front end of your sales floor is crowded with closeouts displays and special bargains, it’s probably not a good one.

As I researched this month’s cover story on store makeovers, a number of the retail design firms that I spoke with reported that many specialty retailers utilize the first 20 feet of their stores to deliver a value message that focuses on price. This, it turns out, is a big mistake.

Let’s face it, small, independent pet stores are rarely (if ever) going to compete with the likes of PETCO, PetSmart and Wal-Mart when it comes to price. Attempting to do so by positioning low-priced and closeout items in the front of the store only serves to undermine the real value that the mom-and-pops bring to the table–namely, an exciting and unique product mix, excellent customer service and an unmatched knowledgebase on pet care.

So, what should a pet store have at the front of the sales floor? Well, nothing–at least for the first 80 to 100 square feet. Chris Miller of Pacific Store Designs, Inc., one of the retail design firms that we interviewed for the cover story, calls this space the “decompression zone” and advises retailers to leave it open so that customers are not immediately inundated with selling propositions when they walk through the door.

Next, in the first layer of product displays, pet stores should focus on “fashion” merchandise, with the express intent that this merchandise will change more frequently than anything else in the store, says Jay Highland of Chute Gerdeman Retail, another retail design firm that contributed to this month’s cover story. He cites apparel stores like Banana Republic as being particular adept at this practice.

Finally, the front of the store should clearly feature a place that customers can go to for pet care advice and help in finding products. After all, as mentioned, customer service and pet care knowledge are an independent pet store’s biggest competitive strengths, and it is vital to keep them front and center on the sales floor.

The bottom line is that customer impressions should be kept top of mind when a retailer decides what to position in the front of the store. Anything less will be a failure to put your best foot forward.