Welp MagazineIn your business life and your personal life, you only get one first impression. In brick-and-mortar offices and practices, that first impression most often comes from your location’s reception area. The mindset that your reception area puts guests into as they go on to do business in earnest could be the difference-maker between one-and-done customers and lifelong clients. You may like to learn more about how your reception area affects your business, and what you can do to ensure it does so positively and effectively.
Setting the Mood for Clients
The reception area is typically the first thing a customer sees. When clients enter a hair salon, the ambiance of the reception area sets client expectations before a stylist ever takes scissors to hair. A reception area that emphasizes aesthetics and comfort will reassure clients that they’ve stepped into a welcoming, fashion-forward, and elite hair salon. Law offices whose reception areas are as well-lined with books as the offices are will connote the erudition and expertise that legal clients expect and demand.
Employee Morale
The notion that the customer is always right guides best practices in reception design, but small businesses should take employees into consideration as well. A shabby, disorganized, or neglected reception area can put your workforce in a poor mindset, believing that if management can’t take proper care of one of the most important parts of the premises, they’re likely not to take care of their talent, either. A well-appointed reception area, on the other hand, is as terrific for employees as it is for customers, as it gives them heightened pride in their place of work and subliminally keeps everybody motivated to live up to high expectations.
Branding Opportunities
Your reception area affects your business in many ways, but especially by being memorable. By using the space to effectively brand your place of business, you can stand out in your clients’ memories and draw them back in again and again when they consider repeat business. You can explore branding through placement of logos, a signature color scheme, or a unique proprietary design.
