Just keep in mind here that a customer doesn’t need to be picky to notice when the outside of a business feels a little off. It can be something small, like a stained walkway, water sitting near the curb, faded parking lines, landscaping that’s clearly been through it, or a front entrance that technically works but doesn’t feel all that cared for.
Now, clearly, here it’s not like any of these are terrible. The place can still be open, still be professional, still have good people inside, and still give off the wrong impression before anyone even reaches the door. You might be just as guilty as this. Sure, there are plenty of curb appeal tips out there that a lot of businesses use, and yes, they can work. But sometimes, you just need to go beyond the basics like planting flowers and adding fresh paint, especially as a brick-and-mortar business.
So, in that case, when it comes to first impressions here, what should be done instead?
The Parking Lot is Part of the Customer Experience Too
So, before anyone talks to an employee, checks in for an appointment, sits down for a meal, picks up an order, or walks through a showroom, they’ve already dealt with the parking lot or driveway. Even if they cycled, walked, or took public transport, there’s still a very high chance that they had to walk to the parking lot, sidewalk, you name it. But for a car specifically here, they’ve pulled in, looked for a spot, walked toward the entrance, avoided anything awkward in the way, and formed a tiny opinion about the property itself.
So, it’s pretty obvious here that a clean, easy, well-maintained exterior gives people fewer reasons to hesitate. It makes the business feel more organized before any actual service happens. On the other hand, if the front area has standing water, cracked pavement, unclear walking paths, or an entrance that always looks worn down after rain, it can make the business feel less polished than it really is. This is really obvious: you’ve personally formed opinions before on other businesses when seeing them in parking lots and on sidewalks, right?
And sure, by all means here, no one’s saying customers expect a parking lot to look perfect forever. Again, you as a customer know and understand, your average person does too. Plus, businesses get weather, deliveries, heavy foot traffic, service vehicles, trash pickup, busy weekends, slow maintenance seasons- all of it. But there’s a difference between normal wear and an exterior that looks like every small issue has been left for later.
So, the point is, this should be taken care of eventually, sooner rather thna late rof course.
Water Problems Make Everything Look Neglected Faster
Water has a way of making a property look tired before anything is technically broken. You could say this for interior and exterior. But think about it, runoff water, especially close to the entry of your business, gives off these ugly stains, right?
A low spot near the drive becomes a recurring puddle. Mud gets tracked across the walkway. Landscaping starts washing out in the same place every time it rains. Staff keep putting down mats or cleaning the same area, but the front still looks messy because the actual water issue hasn’t gone anywhere.
Do you see the issues here? It’s not a good look- maybe not a reputation killer, but it’s definitely not a good look. If you’re dealing with sloped pavement at least, especially around customer drop-off areas or service entrances, then you may want to look into driveway trench drain systems since this can help redirect runoff before it keeps wearing down the same high-traffic areas. You need to fix what customers (and even staff) see and deal with on a daily basis, especially around these walkways, and changing the drainage system can help a lot in giving a better experience for everyone.
A Nice Exterior Shouldn’t Make People Work Around It
There’s something very basic about this, but it gets missed a lot. People should be able to park, walk, and enter without having to adjust around the property. Why should they? So, what are examples? Well, it’s avoiding stepping over puddles, having to guess which path is safest after rain, walking through a strange patch of mud because the landscaped edge keeps washing out.
There are plenty of other examples out there; these are just to name a few. As you can see here, sometimes, curb appeal can clearly affect safety and access; therefore, risk management needs to be involved here.
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