First impressions are key when it comes to attracting new customers and keeping the ones already secured.
So you’re a greasy, slovenly business owner waiting at your entrance to greet a high-flying, thousand dollar suit wearing, slick haired, jet-setting entrepreneur. As you wait with your sweaty palms, you kick away some of the dirt from your door front, quietly hoping your guest won’t notice.
But as a million-dollar helicopter descends from the sky, you see your client sitting with his feet hanging out of the open craft’s door, scrutinising your entrance with the type of look usually reserved for high-risk criminals.
With that, he shakes his head at the pilot and the helicopter flies off, never to be seen near your office again.
As the business owner cries into his pestilent palms, it’s easy to see what went wrong – his door front has created the wrong impression.
It’s been said that it takes most people seven seconds to develop a first impression of a situation, so you’ve got to ensure your entrance exudes luxury whippet-fast. Here’s how.
A welcome to wipe on
While it might seem like an obvious suggestion, you’d be amazed by the number of companies who skimp on a welcome mat at the foot of their door.
Yet, to set the tone of a true professional, effective industrial door mats with a company logo or welcome message can be the perfect way to make a good impression.
All the help you need
Especially in larger office complexes, it’s so easy to get lost amidst the samey floor-to-ceiling windows and the facsimile corridors that make you feel as though you’re being chased by a Minotaur.
The well-designed business entrance has the sense to provide adequate directions for any newcomer to follow. But if you’ve got a constant revolving door of visitors, you could consider hiring a receptionist or greeter who’ll direct or even guide those high-flying businesspeople to their destination.
Worth the waiting
Even the tetchiest person understands they might have to sit tight for an overworked business owner for a while – but without an adequate waiting room, their patience will wear thin increasingly quickly.
Provide a dapper seating area replete with snacks, beverages, a constant update on their waiting time, and added comfort, and your stylish client won’t be too worried about hanging around for a few minutes.
However, don’t think you can waste someone’s time just because your reception area is plush. Leave a client hanging around for too long and you’ll soon see them heading for the exit.
More gravitas than gravel
Does your business look out onto a dull, doldrums-ridden gravel car park? While you can’t exactly change that, you can spruce up the outer portion of your entrance with a few ferns, a pathway to your door and a doorframe that looks the part.
These might seem like small additions, but they show a fastidious eye for detail that will make your company look the part.
