Make A Great First Impression, It Matters

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A positive first impression is an important start to building a solid connection that can convert prospects to loyal customers. This initial impression sets the tone for the entire customer experience.

Studies show that you have roughly 7 seconds to create a positive or negative first impression.  In those few seconds, the customer is making dozens of value judgments about the organization. The outcome of these judgments will ultimately determine whether the customer:

  • Likes the organization
  • Dislikes the organization or
  • Is indifferent

Of these 3 outcomes, every business owner should only desire, that the customers like their organization. Dislike is bad news for business, and indifference is not a mindset you want customers to have regarding your organization.

I say this because indifferent customers are not loyal, they continue to do business with you until competition comes along, they would hardly give any feedback, or even make the effort to complain.
Hence the need for businesses to create a positive first impression with prospects (would be customers) when they interact with their brands.

How can businesses consistently make the right first impressions?

There are a number of ways that a business can consistently make the right first impressions on prospective customers, but pay attention to these 3 very important factors –

#1.Maintain Good Ambience

The appearance of the business environment plays a role in creating positive or negative impressions. In this era of smartphones, people prefer going to places where they can also take beautiful selfies, ambience is another way organizations can distinguish themselves from competition.
To ensure your ambience is always in good standards, It is important that you experience your store/office as a customer, from time-to-time taking note of these four physical aspects of your environment:

Physical Appearance 
Are walls and floors neat? Products/files neatly arranged? Are Light fittings sharp and bright? Are desks cluttered? Is the heater or AC functioning optimally?

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Clear directions
Are directional signs/labels clearly displayed? Does the customer feel lost & confused while navigating your store?

Parking
Is it easy for your customers park their vehicles? Is the parking lot neat & well maintained? Is it secure?

Security
How safe is your environment? Do your customers feel safe? Do you have security provisions in place for both customers & employees? Do you have CCTV?

These are little things which customer’s subconscious would consider, whenever they think about your organization. Besides leading to a negative first impression, a poor ambience negatively impacts your customer’s experience.

#2. Employee Appearance 

The physical appearance of personnel whom the customers interact with also impacts on his first impression of your organization.
Their grooming and attire affect how they will be perceived. Remember, the customer they might interact with, is meeting them for the first time – therefore they are likely to rate personnel based on their appearance (employees are the face of any organization).

Having a dress policy in place, to guide the employees on what’s okay and what’s not will go a long way in ensuring that they look professional and confident in their dressing.
A picture is worth a thousand words goes the saying, be sure your employees paint the right picture with their dressing.

#3. Friendly & Courteous Employees  

Image credit: www.smileboston.com

Besides physical appearance, the attitude of staff also has a huge impact on how a business is perceived from the first contact. The power of a simple smile cannot be overemphasized in customer experience,  a smile has a lot of positive effects on people in social interactions, if you wish to make a good first impression on your prospects, you have to do it with a smile.

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Train and encourage your employees to adopt the sort of friendly attitude that converts prospects, into loyal advocates in all interactions. In order for this to work effectively –

Employees smiling when they first meet a customer will indicate that they are genuinely happy to see them and that the organization has warm friendly people ready to assist them.

These impressions will be lasting on the other person. The smile should be followed by a warm courteous greeting (not necessarily a scripted one). Nobody will ever remember an organization positively if its employees were impolite, rude or inattentive during their first interaction.

Either consciously or unconsciously, customers will make judgments about the professionalism, character, and competence of an organization based on first impressions, the verdict of these judgments will determine whether or not customers return or move on. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. 

Kelechi Okeke
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