Many years ago, at a seminar, I was presented with a list of about fifteen random words. After the list was presented, we were all asked to recall all the words we could remember. Lo and behold, a pattern emerged and introduced me to the value of the primacy and recency bias in marketing
The words at the beginning of the list and the words at the end of the list were most commonly recalled by the seminar participants, while the words in the middle were missed. Also, any words that were unusual among the list, such as a verb in a list of nouns, were also recalled.
The exercise demonstrated what is known as primacy and recency. An understanding of these concepts can help you become a better marketer. At the beginning of a list, our minds are clear, and we make an effort to associate the first few words so we might have better recall. This is known as Primacy.
However, as the list continues, our minds became overwhelmed, and we fail to make the associations needed to aid memory before the next word is presented. As the list concludes, the last few words remain in our short-term memory and are more easily retrieved. Our innate ability as humans to remember the beginning of a conversation is known as primacy, and our ability to recall more recent items is known as Recency.
Teaching theory employs this understanding of the human brain by making sure that the information we most want to be recalled will occur at the beginning and at the end of the lesson, barring any surprises in the middle. Good marketers also use primacy and recency in their messaging to make sure that potential customers will be able to recall the most important elements of their message.
Do you use the concept of primacy and recency to make sure your customers remember the message you want them to walk away with?
