First Impressions Do Matter!

First Impressions Do Matter!

Coach hands Seven Seconds

It takes seven seconds for customers to make the first critical decision about your product. Years of product design, development and marketing often come down to a mere seven seconds. In the retail world, that’s a small window of time to capture a shopper’s attention.

Once you have won these valuable moments of attention with the right story, you may win another two minutes, five minutes or even twenty. Keep in mind, the first seven seconds will make or break your story.

Are you still with me? Here’s a fun fact for you: did you know that according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, goldfish have the attention span of nine seconds? Care to guess what the human attention span is? Eight seconds! In other words, we are literally distracted faster than goldfish. Feeling like you can relate to Dory, anyone?

Although it may not seem like it is enough time to make a good first impression, consider how often we make snap judgements. Let’s think about a first date. Picture this: you show up with food stuck in your teeth and ask her out on a second date within the first seven seconds. You might even be the town’s most eligible bachelor- but, do you think your date is going to say yes to your proposal right on the spot? … Well, probably not.

Same goes for those first critical seven seconds your customer spends looking at your product. Getting attention is one thing. Holding it is another. Yet, most visual merchandising has, at best, a ho-hum effect on today’s marketing savvy and jaded consumer. If the right chord isn’t struck, interest piqued or imagination lit, products will go unnoticed.

Not to worry, at Chippenhook we are experts at creating point of sale magic! Everything we design is meant to bring attention. We can do visually powerful, in-your-face, riveting design. Or we can go subtle, engaging the shopper’s sensibilities to create connection and desire. Our goal is to appropriately tailor brand presentation to the venue and the target consumer.

1.George Stenitzer, The ‘Critical 7 Seconds’: Starting the Customer Conversation, or ending it? AdAge https://adage.com/article/btob/critical-7-seconds-starting-customer-conversation-ending/290295 (accessed September 17, 2019)
2. Kate Mcshea, The “7-Second Hook Formula” to Capture Your Audience’s Attention and Get Them to Take Action—in Seven Seconds or Less!, Elite Marketing Pro, https://elitemarketingpro.com/blog/the-7-second-hook-formula-to-capture-your-audiences-attention-and-get-them-to-take-action-in-seven-seconds-or-less/ (accessed September 17, 2019)

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