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In January this year, The Conde Nast Traveller published their list of best places to eat in Philadelphia. This comes as no surprise; Philadelphia has become home to trendy events lately, and the food scene has been getting a lot of buzz in recent years, nabbing Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurant and Jame Beard’s outstanding restaurant of 2019. Besides the outstanding taste and variety of dishes on offer, one thing clearly stood out in their report: their first impression of the places visited. It is often said that businesses have up to seven seconds to make a good first impression, and that encompasses every aspect of your store, from its signage to the presentation of your serving staff.
Make Cleanliness And Organization A Priority
Keeping a clean and organized business premises is one of the easiest ways to create a favorable first impression and market your business. In a Mintel led research project, Convenience Store Decisions, cleanliness and menu selections were rated as the most important criteria by 96 percent of respondents. Meanwhile, the Grocery CX: Driving Loyalty In A Disloyal Market study revealed cleanliness as one of the five most important factors in a brick and mortar shopping experience.
When it comes to eating establishments, dirty restrooms were an overriding issue cited by 57 percent of consumers when it came to creating a good impression. Business owners need to also ensure the floors are clean and regularly maintained to promote tidiness and hygiene and to prevent injury. Around six in 10 consumers agree if a restaurant was clean, they would visit it more often. In addition to maintaining a regular cleaning schedule, management should consider including floor beautification and sanitation measures or intermittent deep cleaning to extend its life. A simple search of floor waxing Philadelphia can provide a long list of cleaning firms for businesses to outsource to if needed.
Consider A Unique Storefront Color Scheme To Match Your Brand Identity
Brighter store colors like red and yellow are eye-catching and can draw customers in. However, they should be used cautiously, since too much color can become monotonous or irritating rather than attractive. When choosing a storefront color, you want to settle on a theme and intended ambience first. Warmer colors like brown tend to be more inviting, while greens and blues are more associated with a relaxing atmosphere.
Design experts recommend utilizing the power of contrasting colors such as yellow and black to stand out in your neighborhood and draw customers inwards. Of course, your instore color scheme should blend seamlessly into your brand logo colors, digital content color schemes, and any print media design. This creates a seamless and integrated identity for your business and makes a strong, positive impression of professionalism on any potential customers.
Keep Signage And Menus Updated And Refreshed
Signage and visual cues are some of the first things a customer’s eyes are drawn to upon approaching a business premises. For this reason, spending time and funding on regularly updated and unique signage and print media for the business is essential to creating a great first impression, since these are some of the elements consumers first witness before even placing an order. Screens are one of the first things customers are drawn to in a physical location, so consider adding in a screen for digital signage or entertainment.
Another suggestion is to choose clear and easy to read signage for the exterior of the business. Curb appeal improves dramatically if you have a unique sign using the business’ design, materials or color scheme. Illumination of your sign can also help with visibility. Finally, when it comes to your menus or flyers handed out in promotions, link your color scheme to your brand colors to increase brand recognition. You also want to connect the theme of your printed materials to your restaurant, either by using cuisine or intended experience.
Whether it is your customer service or aesthetics, every aspect of your business should contribute to the common goal of good customer service beyond the product. Do this, and you can expect first-time customers to leave happy and return hopeful.
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