In other articles of this series, I have discussed the important role your commercial Interior environment has in your company Marketing Plan. Don’t have one? Marketing your goods or services randomly? Trusting word-of-mouth alone will do the job? Don’t have time for “frills?” Might be time to re-think things over. (Having even a simple outline with a tools run-down and some simple promo disciplines could make a world of difference!)
But let’s focus on Interiors! When it comes to first impressions, there is nothing quite like a customer or client stepping inside your door and getting a letdown. Crowding of merchandise, poor lighting, minimal upkeep, dark colors – are all factors that clients and customers take very seriously.
Like spinach stuck on your front tooth, it takes a friend to tell you the truth! But sometimes even friends and relatives are so used to the condition of a deteriorating business interior that they ignore the reality, or don’t even see it. Understaffing and over-work of a few can make it hard to keep up.
It can be tough, but taking the time to really assess the condition of your Interior business space, the exterior entry area, the first observations when entering, the density of inventory, traffic patterns and obstructions, condition of floor covering, lighting, ventilation and rest rooms – is well worth the effort.
Whether or not you intend it, your Interior space (starting with your entry factors) is marketing your business!
Contrary to some opinions, “fixing it” does not have to cost a fortune. Your Interior design project could consist primarily of doing better with what you already have, plus maybe new carpeting or brightening walls with lighter colored paint.
Professional space planning with revised approaches to traffic pathing, inventory management, space use, and inventory placement prioritization are just a few areas where overwhelmed Interior space can be fixed! It is amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see – and simply revise! Merchandizing is a science all its own – with some very basic, very simple guidelines and disciplines. We have all observed retail merchandise with 20 of the same item squeezed in where 2 or 3 on display would do the job, and better.
It is true that circumstances alter cases – such as the setbacks all businesses experienced at the first height of COVID. And now, we all have to deal with a variant. It can make matters worse again, or we can consider new approaches to doing business, managing business space, better controlling and presenting merchandise, and getting the best mileage from all Interior appointments and equipment. Help is available.
Just as businesses on the front lines of our local commerce have been jolted into unexpected, needed innovation, most professional services have also re-tooled to meet current realities. It is important to work together as venues as well as communities, to make productive and profitable new starts.
In earlier articles in this series, issues concerning the impacts of COVID have been thoroughly examined. But, closure is not yet at hand. Each business venue has encountered its own specific challenges for forward motion. All considerations must take into consideration the health and prevention disciplines while at the same time moving their personal portion of the economy forward.
And it is not just for your customers and clients that a comfortable, pleasant and functional Interior is essential. Employees and you have had it rough for nearly two years – both personally and at work. You deserve the lift!
Maximizing the positive impact potential that your business Interior can have is well worth investigating!
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www.BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.
