During the holiday season, I adore hosting parties at my home. I always enjoy spending time with close friends and family members in a relaxed atmosphere. Are you already busily planning upcoming events at your home? Consider making your house look amazing when visitors arrive by hiring a professional cleaning service. A cleaning service can complete tedious chores such as vacuuming your carpets, mopping your hardwood floors, cleaning your oven, and dusting your furniture. On this blog, I hope you will discover the benefits of hiring a cleaning service before your guests are expected to arrive. Your home can be a spotless party paradise.
Have you been wondering what you can do to increase business and make more money? While marketing is a crucial part of success, don't forget that making your building more attractive can have a positive impact on your bottom line. If you want to know how to improve your curb appeal, here are three ways to make your business more inviting so you attract more customers every day.
Landscaping
How lush is your lawn? Is the outside of your business popping with green, or is it lacking in the plants department? There are a number of ways to make your building's exterior look beautiful and inviting, even if there's nothing but asphalt and concrete from parking lot to entrance. Adding window boxes with plants is a great place to start. They don't even have to be real if you don't necessarily have a green thumb. Hanging plants are another option that can pack a lot of punch.
If you do have grass that needs cutting regularly, hiring someone to take care of the work can benefit you in a number of ways. First of all, a landscaper can give you more time and energy to focus on your customers. They can also recommend small changes that will make a big difference in overall curb appeal.
Landscaping professionals can also help you come up with some great water-saving ideas. Fake grass is one way to go. It does come with an upfront investment, costing up to $15 per square foot, but if you have a small area outside, it may be totally worth it because it never needs mowing or watering. Laying down a bed of wood chips or rocks with plants that don't require a lot of water are a few other ways of improving looks without adding a burden to your utilities. Talk with a professional about planting birds of paradise, jade plants, California lilacs, tickweed, salvia, deer grass, or Lantana—a highly drought-tolerant ground cover.
Some landscaping companies even offer services that include cleaning up trash and sweeping the sidewalks, which can be a real bonus to your business. Contact a commercial landscaping company like Excel Commercial Maintenance for more information.
Lighting
The right kind of lighting at the entrance to your business should tell your customers to "come on in." But above all, everyone should feel safe. Historically, lawsuits for damages have been filed based on inadequate lighting, so this is not an area to overlook for any reason.
Floodlights or pole lights are ideal for parking lots. Floodlights are highly versatile because they can be affixed to the exterior of your building or on parking lot poles. To get the most energy-efficient bulbs for the pole lights, go with metal-halide or high-intensity discharge. With floodlights, more and more business owners are going with LEDs to lower their energy consumption by as much as 50%.
Strategically placing lights along the sidewalk can also make things easier for your customers. They can see where they're going, and it adds an attractive, soft glow around your building.
And lastly, don't forget about making sure your business is visible, even when you aren't open. With proper landscape lighting, potential customers will be able to regularly see the entrance to your business and become familiar with your name and logo—an important part of branding.
Merchandise Displays
Whether you're a retail business or a small thrift shop, you need to get people's attention when they pass by. And one way to achieve this is by showing them what you've got.
Window displays can showcase some of your more popular items. And sidewalk displays can really grab a customer's attention, especially if it's your most-sought-after piece. For example, if you sell motorcycles, roll out the one that every guy wants. You'll be sure to get noticed.
How many times have you stopped at a yard sale on impulse? A weekly sidewalk sale can have the same effect, drawing a crowd of shoppers that otherwise would have passed on by. Estimates indicate that 40% of money being spent is done so on impulse. Not only that, but most of those impulse purchases are made because the customer was excited about saving money. So letting potential customers know they're getting a great deal, "today only," can increase the chance of a purchase, even if it's something they have no idea they want.
Share2 December 2016
