The 7 second impression

Ever wondered why sometimes customers walk into showroom, glance around, and walk straight back out?

The human brain is highly adept at taking a large amount of information in very quickly. It takes roughly 7 seconds for a potential customer to walk in and judge what they see.

So in your business office, warehouse or showroom, what does your potential client see?

What you don’t want to be seen:

• Untidy displays
• Staff not engaged in productive activity (on phones, gossiping etc)
• Refuse and rubbish on floors, counters or under and around racks
• Checkouts that aren’t clearly organised (clutter and paperwork)
• Dust and signs that your business is not popular with others
• Toilets in states of neglect (dirty, no toilet paper, overflowing bins)
• Kitchen smells/ people eating

Make the right first impression:

In that crucial first 7 seconds, everything counts.

• Untidy displays = staff don’t care about your level of service, so the customer judges that their experience will be poor also.
• Staff not engaged in productive activity = If your staff don’t care, your customer doesn’t either. Part of the transaction is a quick and simple social building. If your staff aren’t engaged, customers will look for someone who does.
• Refuse and rubbish on floors etc = Impacts the impression of your brand as cheap, dirty and poorly managed. A potential client is more likely to purchase in an environment that is clean and bright.
• Checkout clutter = Customers will judge you to be inefficient and likely to make errors in the transaction, an impression of unreliability. Unreliable & mistakes are a big source of customer frustration that they just don’t want.
• Dust and signs of low demand =People are social animals, wanting products that everyone else wants. If they walk into a business with a layer of dust, their immediate impression tells them that your business will not achieve this for them.
• Toilets in states of neglect = When nature calls, many prefer the home environment for its comfort and cleanliness, this is a hurdle to overcome. If your Toilets are not up to standards when nature calls, especially for family shopping ventures with children, they are unlikely to return anytime soon.
• Kitchen smells/ people eating = The experience of making a purchase involves an amount of psychology. The customer wants glamour, bright lights, cleanliness, and to smell pleasant. There are even perfumes that can boost sales! On the flip side, smelly second hand odours from food will have the opposite effect.

With so much involved, how can you keep on top of it?

Some cleaning tasks come down to staff procedures and practices. Good policies active management and training can make a big difference to staff interaction and motivation.

For other cleaning tasks, daily, weekly, fortnightly cleaning schedules by a professional and proficient service will ensure your potential customers hang around longer than the 7 crucial seconds in which your customer has already decided if you are worth their time to shop with.

Request a quote today to receive a personal visit and consultation for your cleaning needs.