A plethora of studies in psychology, communication and advertising indicate that the first and last phases of an event are predominant in customer evaluations. Many practitioners also argue that the first and the last impressions made by an advisor in a selling context have the most important influence on clients' evaluations. However, few researchers have studied this phenomenon in the marketing literature. We conducted a survey of more than 500 clients. Following structural equation modeling analyses, our results indicate that perceived quality and trust were found to be influenced by the initial impression, whereas satisfaction was mostly impacted by the final impression. Several managerial recommendations and research avenues are presented in this article.
AndersonJ. C.GerbingD. W. (1988), Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two step approach, Psychological Bulletin, 103, 3, 411–423.
2.
AndersonN. H. (1965), Primacy effects in personality impression formation using a generalized order effect paradigm, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2, 1, 1–9.
3.
AndreassonJ.LastellM.SköldL. (2004), The value-chain: an empirical study of the hotel business, Working Paper, School of Business, Stockholm University.
4.
AschS. (1946), Forming impressions of personality, Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 41, 1, 258–290.
5.
BagozziR. P.PhilipsL. W. (1982), Representing and testing organizational theories, Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, 3, 459–489.
6.
BeckwithH. (1997), Selling the invisible: a field guide to modern marketing, New York, Warner Books.
7.
BentlerP. M. (1980), Multivariate analysis with latent variables: Causal modeling, Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 419–456.
8.
BentlerP. M. (2005), EQS 6.1: Structural equation program manual, Encino, CA, Multivariate software.
9.
BergeronJ.RicardL.PerrienJ. (2001), Relationship marketing: the role of client knowledge, service quality and expertise, Proceedings of the 9th International Colloquium on Relationship Marketing, Montreal, Canada
10.
BergeronJ.RicardL.PerrienJ. (2003), Determinants of commercial clients' loyalty in the banking industry, Canadian Journal of Administrative Science, 20, 2, 107–121.
11.
BergeronJ.RoyJ.FalluJ. M. (2007), Les antécédents et les conséquences de la surprise positive dans l'industrie financière, Proceedings of the 23rd Conference of the AFM (French Marketing Association), Aix-les-Bains, France
12.
BitnerM. J. (1992), Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees, Journal of Marketing, 56, 2, 57–71.
13.
BoothmanN. (2007), Tout se joue en moins de deux minutes, Paris, Marabout.
14.
BoshoffC. (1997), An experimental study of service recovery options, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 8, 2, 110–130.
15.
BouldingW.KalraA.StaelinR.ZeithamlV. A. (1993), A dynamic process model of service quality: From expectations to behavioral intentions, Journal of Marketing Research, 30, 1, 7–27.
16.
ByrneB. M. (1994), Structural equation modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows: basic concepts, applications, and programming, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
ChanM. K. (1995), The moderating effects of cognitive style and recency effects on the auditors' belief revision process, Managerial Auditing Journal, 10, 9, 22–28.
19.
CoveyS. R. (1987), The seven habits of highly effective people, New York, Simon & Schuster.
20.
CoxD.CoxA. D. (2002), Beyond first impressions: The effects of repeated exposure on consumer liking of visually complex and simple product designs, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30, 2, 119–131.
21.
CroninJ. J.TaylorS. A. (1992), Measuring service quality: A reexamination and extension, Journal of Marketing, 56, 1, 56–68.
22.
CrosbyL. A.EvansK. R.CowlesD. (1990), Relationship quality in services selling: An interpersonal influence perspective, Journal of Marketing, 54, 3, 68–81.
23.
De GrootN. (2006), Importance of first impressions, Salt Lake City, American Book Publishing.
24.
De RuyterK.WetzelsM. G. (2000), The impact of perceived listening behavior on voice-to-voice service encounters, Journal of Service Research, 2, 3, 276–283.
25.
DemaraisA.WhiteV. (2005), C'est la première impression qui compte, Paris, Éditions Eyrolles.
26.
DholakiaU. M. (2006), How customer self-determination influences relational marketing outcomes: Evidence from longitudinal field studies, Journal of Marketing Research, 43, 1, 109–120.
27.
DoneyP. M.CannonJ. P. (1997), An examination of the nature of trust in buyer-seller relationships, Journal of Marketing, 61, 4, 35–51.
28.
DubéL.MorganM. S. (1996), Trend effects and gender differences in retrospective judgments of consumption emotions, Journal of Consumer Research, 23, 2, 156–162.
29.
EsperT. L.ThomasD. J.FernandaL.TurnipseeS. B. (2003), The last mile: An examination of the effects of online retail delivery strategies on consumers, Journal of Business Logistics, 24, 2, 177–193.
30.
EvansK. R.KleineR. E.IIILandryT. D.CrosbyL. A. (2000), How first impressions of a customer impact effectiveness in an initial sales encounter, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28, 4, 512–526.
31.
FiskeS.NeubergS. L. (1990), A continuum of impression formation, from category-based to individuating processes: Influences of information and motivation on attention and interpretation, Advances in experimental social psychology, New York, Academic Press.
32.
FornellC.LarckerD. F. (1981), Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error, Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 1, 39–50.
33.
GaglianoK. B.HathcoteJ. (1994), Customer expectations and perceptions in service quality in retail apparel, Journal of Services Marketing, 8, 1, 60–69.
34.
GanesanS. (1994), Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer-seller relationships, Journal of Marketing, 58, 2, 1–19.
35.
GeyskensI.SteenkampJ-B E. M.NirmalyaS. (1999), A meta-analysis of satisfaction in marketing channel relationships, Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 2, 223–238.
36.
GrönroosC. (1998), Marketing services: The case of a missing product, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 13, 4, 322–338.
37.
HallidayS. V. (2004), How “placed trust” works in a service encounter, Journal of Services Marketing, 18, 1, 45–59.
38.
HallowellR. (1996), The relationship of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability: An empirical study, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 7, 4, 27–42.
39.
HamerL. O. (2006), A confirmation perspective on perceived service quality, Journal of Services Marketing, 20, 4, 219–232.
40.
HansenD. E.DanaherP. J. (1999), Inconsistent performance during the service encounter: What's a good start worth?, Journal of Service Research, 1, 3, 227–235.
41.
HaugtvedtC. P.WegenerD. T. (1994), Message order effects in persuasion: An attitude strength perspective, Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 1, 205–218.
42.
HenthorneT. L.LaTourM. S.WilliamsA. J. (1992), Initial impressions in the organizational buyer-seller dyad: Sales management implications, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 12, 1, 57–65.
43.
JohnsonJ. S.BarksdaleH. C.BolesJ. S. (2003), Factors associated with customer willingness to refer leads to salespeople, Journal of Business Research, 56, 3, 257–263.
44.
JonesE. E. (1990), Interpersonal perception, New York, W.H. Freeman.
45.
JougleuxM. (2006), Enrichir l'approche théorique de la qualité dans les services: Qualité du service et qualité de service, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 21, 3, 1–16.
46.
KeaveneyS. M. (1995), Customer switching behaviour in service industries: An exploratory study, Journal of Marketing, 59, 2, 71–82.
47.
KelleyH. H. (1950), The Warm-Cold Variable in First Impressions of Persons, Journal of Personality, 18, 4, 431–439.
48.
KingN. (1991), The last five minutes: the successful closing moves in sales, London, Simon & Schuster.
49.
KivelaJ.InbakaranR.ReeceR. (2000), Consumer research in the restaurant environment, Part 3: Analysis, findings and conclusions, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12, 1, 13–30.
50.
LagaceR. R.DahlstromR.GassenheimerJ. B. (1991), The relevance of ethical salesperson behavior on relationship quality: The pharmaceutical industry, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 11, 1, 39–47.
51.
LovelockC.GummessonE. (2004), Whither services marketing? In search of a new paradigm and fresh perspectives, Journal of Service Research, 7, 1, 20–41.
52.
MattilaA. S. (2006), The power of explanations in mitigating the ill-effects of service failures, Journal of Services Marketing, 20, 7, 422–435.
53.
McDanielS. R.KinneyL. (1998), The implications of recency and gender effects in consumer response to ambush, Psychology & Marketing, 15, 4, 385–399.
54.
MelsG.BoshoffC.NelD. (1997), The dimensions of service quality: The original European perspective revisited, Service Industries Journal, 17, 1, 173–189.
55.
MitchellM. (1998), The first five minutes: how to make a great first impression, New York, Wiley.
56.
MoormanC.DeshpandéR.ZaltmanG. (1993), Factors affecting trust in market research relationships, Journal of Marketing, 57, 1, 81–101.
57.
MorganR. M.HuntS. D. (1994), The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing, Journal of Marketing, 58, 3, 20–38.
58.
MoskowitzG. B. (2005), Social cognition: understanding self and others, New York, Guilford Press.
59.
NisbettR.RossL. (1980), Human inference: strategies and shortcomings of social judgment, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall.
60.
OdouP. (2005), l'heuristique d'ancrage et d'ajustement comme mode d'évaluation d'un produit, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 20, 3, 21–38.
61.
OliverR. L. (1980), A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions, Journal of Marketing Research, 17, 4, 460–469.
62.
ParasuramanA.ZeithamlV. A.BerryL. L. (1988), SERVQUAL: A multiple item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, Journal of Retailing, 64, 1, 12–40.
63.
PetersT.AustinN. (1985), A passion for excellence, New York, Random House.
64.
PetersonR. A. (1994), A meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha, Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 2, 381–391.
65.
PittL. F.WatsonR. T.KavanC. B. (1995), Service quality: A measure of information systems effectiveness, MIS Quarterly, 19, 2, 173–187.
66.
RamseyR. P.SohiR. S. (1997), Listening to your customers: The impact of perceived salesperson listening behavior on relationship outcomes, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 25, 2, 127–137.
67.
RichterL.KruglanskiA. W. (1998), Seizing on the latest: Motivationally driven recency effects in impression formation, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 34, 4, 313–329.
68.
RossW. T.SimonsonI. (1991), Evaluations of pairs of experiences: A preference for happy endings, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 4, 4, 273–282.
69.
SabadieW. (2003), Conceptualisation et mesure de la qualité perçue d'un service public, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 18, 1, 1–24.
70.
SanzoM. J.SantosM. L.VázquezR.ÁlvarezL. I. (2003), The effect of market orientation on buyer-seller relationship satisfaction, Industrial Marketing Management, 32, 4, 327–345.
71.
SchneiderK. C.JohnsonJ. C. (1995), Stimulating response to market surveys of business professionals, Industrial Marketing Management, 24, 4, 265–276.
72.
SchurrP. H.OzanneJ. L. (1985), Influences on exchanges processes: Preconceptions of a seller's trust-worthiness and bargaining toughness, Journal of Consumer Research, 11, 4, 939–953.
73.
SinghJ.SirdeshmukhD. (2000), Agency and trust mechanisms in consumer satisfaction and loyalty judgements, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28, 1, 150–168.
74.
SirieixL.DuboisP. L. (1999), Vers un modèle qualité-satisfaction intégrant la confiance, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 14, 3, 1–22.
75.
SivadasE.Baker-PrewittJ. L. (2000), An examination of the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and store loyalty, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 28, 2, 73–90.
76.
SlotegraafR. J.InmanJ. J. (2004), Longitudinal shifts in the drivers of satisfaction with product quality: The role of attribute resolvability, Journal of Marketing Research, 41, 3, 269–280.
77.
SnyderM.SwannW. B. (1978), Behavioral confirmation in social interaction: From social perception to social reality, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14, 2, 148–162.
78.
SöderlundM. (1998), Customer satisfaction and its consequences on customer behaviour revisited: The impact of different levels of satisfaction on word-of-mouth, feedback to the supplier and loyalty, International Journal of Service Industry Management, 9, 2, 169–188.
79.
SolomonM. R.SurprenantC.CzepielJ. A.GutmanE. G. (1985), A role theory perspective on dyadic interactions: The service encounter, Journal of Marketing, 49, 1, 99–111.
80.
StewartR. H. (1965), Effect of continuous responding on the order effect in personality impression formation, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 161–165.
81.
SwanJ. E.BowersM. R.RichardsonL. D. (1999), Customer trust in the salesperson: An integrative review and meta-analysis of the empirical literature, Journal of Business Research, 44, 2, 93–107.
82.
SwanJ. E.TrawickI. F.RinkD. R.RobertsJ. J. (1988), Measuring dimensions of purchaser trust of industrial salespeople, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 8, 1, 1–9.
83.
SzymanskiD. M.ChurchillG. A. (1990), Client evaluation cues: A comparison of successful and unsuccessful salespeople, Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 2, 163–174.
84.
SzymanskiD. M.HenardD. H. (2001), Customer satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the empirical evidence, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29, 1, 16–35.
85.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007), Using multivariate statistics, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
86.
TaylorS. A.BakerT. L. (1994), An assessment of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the formation of consumers' purchase intentions, Journal of Retailing, 70, 2, 163–178.
87.
TaylorC. R.FrankeG. R.BangH. K. (2006), Use and effectiveness of billboards, Journal of Advertising, 35, 4, 21–35.
88.
TsiotsouR. (2006), The role of perceived product quality and overall satisfaction on purchase intentions, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30, 2, 207–221.
89.
VanhammeJ. (2002), La satisfaction des consommateurs spécifique à une transaction: Définition, antécédents, mesures et modes, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 17, 2, 55–85.
90.
Van OverwalleF.LabiouseC. (2004), A recurrent connectionist model of person impression formation, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 1, 28–61.
91.
WalkerJ. L. (1995), Service encounter satisfaction: Conceptualized, Journal of Services Marketing, 9, 1, 5–14.
92.
WertsC. E.LinnR. L.JöreskogK. G. (1974), Intraclass reliability estimates: Testing structural assumptions, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 34, 1, 25–33.
93.
YbarraO. (2001), When first impressions don't last: The role of isolation and adaptation processes in the revision of evaluative impressions, Social Cognition, 19, 5, 491–520.
94.
YingH. L.ChungC. M. (2007), The effects of single-message single-source mixed word-of-mouth on product attitude and purchase intention, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 19, 1, 75–93.
95.
ZeithamlV. A.BerryL. L.ParasuramanA. (1996), The behavioral consequences of service quality, Journal of Marketing, 60, 2, 31–46.
96.
ZeithamlV. A.BitnerM. J. (2003), Services marketing: integrating customer focus across the firm, New York, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
97.
ZieglerH. (2001), Sell your home faster with Feng Shui, Bloomington, Author House.
