We send a computer mock up like The Pawtucket Film Festival example below to every single customer. What we want back (if all information is correct) is the word, “Approved.” Not “it looks good to me,” “wonderful,” “great,” “ok,” “thank you so much,” or any other number of niceties that might make you feel good but don’t give you the information you need to proceed. The biggest problem with it is that you can’t read the mind of the person and sometimes, “great” really means, “great but I have to check with my boss” or “great, but I’m looking at it on my phone and won’t see the spelling error until I get to work” or “great but five other people on the committee have to weigh in before we approve it.” Sometimes “great” means “approved” but we always ask, it is a good insurance policy.
I always get onto salespeople and customers about this. I always say “thanks I’m glad you like it. Is it approved for print?” and the answer is usually no not yet but its good to clarify. Haha even when they say “Perfect!” that does not guarantee it is approved.