When people are uncomfortable at your door or completely unwilling to walk in, they don’t tell you. While you’re probably comfortable in your business’s front entry, your customers and potential customers may not be. If this is an area you’d like to improve for your business, here are some ways to turn even the shabbiest or sketchiest entryways into a space that is welcoming.
1. Repair Damage
Peeling siding, cracked concrete steps or a rusted door all add to the impression that your business entry is not well cared for or not even safe. Identify any areas that could use repairs and tackle the root issue so that they do not occur again. Also, a fresh coat of paint never hurts.
2. New Door Hardware
Commercial door hardware is not all made to the same standards of quality or good looks. Adding new, consistent, and stylish hardware to your door can make it look significantly better, even if you don’t want to pay the cost of replacing the whole door. New door hardware can also make your property safer, which also makes it more inviting.
3. Automatic Glass Doors
Automatic glass doors are the standard that retail customers and those visiting office buildings expect. While they’ll use other doors, they’ll respond much better to the convenience and modern look of automatic glass doors. The glass also offers transparency, which can allow the indoor décor elements of your space to welcome people in.
4. Lighting
If your business entry is in a crowded corner, has an awning, or if you’re just open at dawn or dusk, then lighting can make a big difference in how people perceive your entryway. While it might be tempting to use motion-detecting lights here, they aren’t ideal. You want a customer to see the light and the entryway to feel comfortable approaching it.
5. Debris and Graffiti Clean-up
If people litter in your parking lot, on your front step, or paint graffiti nearby, both can create the sense that your front entry is not well-maintained and make it off-putting to customers and guests. Cleaning up regularly can help. The faster you paint over graffiti, the less someone wants to spend their time painting there. Plus, there are treatments you can put on your walls that make it harder for vandals to paint there.
6. Clear Branding
You don’t want customers to be unsure if they have found the right place. With clear branding you can make your entryway more welcoming and easier to navigate. Wall signs and door signs are good options. But you might also want to think a bit beyond the door. If people might get lost at the road, a monument sign or a pylon sign can help too.
7. Security
Unfortunately, in Dublin, CA and many other parts of California, business entryways may have unsavory characters in them, or near them, which deter customers and guests. Sometimes hiring private security to encourage these people to go elsewhere is the best way to make your entryway secure.
