If you own a business, the appearance of your building is of extreme importance. Don’t get the wrong idea here. Yes, the product or service you offer your customers is important and the way your employees conduct themselves as representatives of the company matters. However, if the appearance of your business isn’t attractive to the public, you could have problems when it comes to bringing new business in the front door.
When my wife and I decided to launch a downtown location as the focal point of our company, a few of our mentors drove home the fact that location was everything. Not only did we need to purchase a building that put us in a position to grow and be successful, we also needed the appearance of the structure to entice the public to stop in to see what was going on.
Making a selection
After doing some research on how to catch people’s attention, we began looking at different aluminum canopy systems that would match the design we were looking to create. The task wasn’t as easy as one might originally think. We needed to create an image that would set us apart from any of our competitors.
But at the same time, we needed to be mindful of the businesses on both sides of our building. The last thing we wanted to do was create a problem with the people we would be forced to interact with on a daily basis.
Our business was simple. My wife owned a hair salon that employed five other beauticians. Not to brag or anything, but my wife and the young ladies that worked for her had built quite the name and reputation for themselves. I’ll just be polite and say the girls are very good at what they do, better than the other options in our small community.
With six different women working at any given time with a demand for their services, it wasn’t unusual to have several people waiting for their turn at once. Because we didn’t exactly have the biggest waiting area in our new building, we had a vision of creating some additional outdoor space under a canopy that provided comfort and a sense of peace for the waiting clients.
Results that speak for themself
It didn’t take long for our new outdoor structure and waiting area to start gaining attention. On any given day, it’s not out of the ordinary to have couples wander inside our business expecting a small restaurant or coffee shop. When they find out they have wandered into nothing short of a woman’s make over paradise, several of the women return the next time they are due for a haircut or looking for a new style.
As I mentioned before, the girls are some of the best in the business at what they do. Because of that, there really isn’t a need for a marketing or advertising strategy. Word of mouth works just fine when you are constantly being complimented for the way you look. However, I don’t even think I could give an accurate estimate of how much business the outside appearance of our small salon has brought in. WIthout the canopy system we had installed, our waiting area simply wouldn’t be the same.
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