You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?
Oh, but you do, thanks to the fact that any given day is full of firsts: First day of school, first day on the job, first day back after vacation.
That’s the finding of a new study on forming impressions led by Robyn A. LeBoeuf, PhD, associate professor of marketing at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
“By connecting an everyday experience to a first – even an unrelated first – you can turn that experience into a first experience,” LeBoeuf said.
And there are a variety of ways to do so. For example, a person’s 17th visit to a neighborhood coffee shop is unlikely to change his or her opinion of that shop very much.
However, the study finds that when that visit is linked to an unrelated “first,” such as the first visit of the month, first visit after starting a new job, or first visit during a special promotion, a mental “reset” button is pushed, leading that visit to have a larger impact on a person’s impression, just as a true first visit would.
The study, “Forceful Phantom Firsts: Framing Experiences As Firsts Amplifies Their Influence on Judgment,” was published in the August issue of the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Marketing Research. Co-authors are Elanor F. Williams, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego and Lyle A. Brenner, PhD, of the University of Florida.
“Customers may evaluate their old standby restaurant in a new light after the first dinner since they moved into a new house, or if the manager welcomes them to ‘the first dinner of the summer,” LeBoeuf said. “This may allow familiar products – and even people – a chance to make a fresh impression.”
Even an experience as fraught with peril as a dentist office visit can be seen in a new light. In one study, people read descriptions of five visits to the dentist. The fifth visit had a greater impact on impressions of the dentist when that visit was the “first” one after a presidential election (vs. when it happened “near” the election).
In another study, people read six hotel reviews, similar to those on travel websites. The final review was more influential when it was the first review of the year vs. just another review.
The findings have implications throughout the business community, particularly in reversing poor impressions of products or services – or proprietors themselves.
“Look for a positive experience, and when you find one, connect it to a first, by pointing out that it is, say, the first meeting after vacation or the first shopping trip of the season,” LeBoeuf said.
“This can give you a second chance at that first impression.”
To learn more about LeBoeuf at Olin, visit here.
To learn more about the study, visit here.