Let’s say you’ve just decided that you want to buy a new car and you’ve settled on a particular make and model that’s taken your fancy. Suddenly, and incredibly, from that moment on you start noticing that exact same car everywhere you go. It’s idling next to you at the traffic lights, another one is across the road from your favourite café when you go for coffee and, when you get back to your parking spot after doing your weekend grocery shop, there’s one parked just three spots down from you. Coincidence? Not really.
This is a phenomenon known as ‘frequency illusion’ or the ‘Baader-Meinhof phenomenon’. It’s when a concept or thing that you’ve just learned, experienced or noticed, seems to keep occurring or throwing itself into your path. This happens because your brain subconsciously keeps a lookout for the new concept or thing that has captured your attention. All well and good if your brain is keeping a lookout for a good thing but what if the thing that has captured your attention isn’t overly pleasing?
The human eye is naturally drawn to anything that is out of place. If there is a mess in an otherwise clean space, if a beautiful crystal glass has a stain on it or if a crack appears on an otherwise smooth and polished surface, it is the flaw and not the surrounding beauty that will immediately draw our attention. Once spotted, that flaw encourages the eye to seek out other flaws that may have otherwise gone un-noticed. Before you know it, the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon has kicked in and you’re seeing more and more things that are making a negative impression on you. What if this happened in your front of house?
Imagine that someone has just walked into your reception, ready to do business with you. You’ve spent both time and money on making sure that your front of house is impeccably professional; modern, sharp, impressive. As a matter of protocol, your visitor has to sign in to your premises. Do you induce the threat of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon by presenting them with a dog-eared, smudged and tatty visitor sign-in book, completely out of character with your otherwise immaculate reception area? Or, do you offer them the choice of signing in using either their very own smartphone or the sleek and elegant digital interface you have waiting for them on a tablet at the front desk? With Sine on your reception team, you will have nothing out of place, no cracks, no stains, no mess; everything a testament to the forward-thinking, modern and innovative business that you run. (At least with your sign-in procedures anyway!).
Sine's digital visitor management software will help you to ensure the continuity of your good first impression. With its stylish design, customised branding and ability to provide your visitors with an elegant, secure and professional sign-in experience, Sine will kick bad Baader-Meinhof to the curb and enable your business to present the sharp, modern and professional image that you have worked so hard to obtain. Get in touch with us to see how easily Sine can join your reception team and start contributing to that great first impression today.
