The lobby is the first part of your business or organisation that your visitors will reach, and as a result, how it looks will say a lot about your priorities and professionalism. Here are our top 6 tips to ensure that your lobby makes a great first impression.
Unsurprisingly, one of the most important things that any business can do to ensure that their lobby makes a great first impression is to make sure that it is spotlessly clean. Your lobby is the first thing that visitors will see and will be one of the key things that they remember after they have left. If your lobby looks neglected, uncared for and forgotten, your visitors could think that you treat your staff and your clients the same way.
In addition to daily cleaning tasks like vacuuming, dusting and polishing, scheduling regular deep cleans that including things like wood floor polishing or carpet cleaning can really help to keep your lobby looking smart and welcoming.
When you walk through your lobby every day, you probably don’t give it a great deal of attention. If it starts to become tired and dated, you’ll probably be one of the last to realize. It’s important to regularly assess your lobby with fresh eyes or ask someone your trust to come in and evaluate which areas need improvement. Do the walls need a lick of paint again, or the light fixtures updating? Perhaps the furniture is looking well worn, or the flooring wearing thin. Keeping your furniture and décor fresh shows awareness and a willingness to invest in your company image.
Fresh plants and flowers are a great addition to any lobby and can breathe life into what is otherwise a fairly impersonal space. However, it can be hard to maintain plants if your lobby doesn’t have any natural light. Make sure you designate someone to play the role of chief gardener in your organisation, and who is happy to take responsibility for watering and removing any dead leaves or petals. Rotating your plants can help keep things looking fresh. Just remember to avoid artificial plants as these gather dust and look cheap and nasty.
Mood lighting may have gone out of fashion in the 90s, but the lighting in your lobby could make a big difference to the impression you make to your visitors. If you don’t have a lot of natural light in your lobby, choosing lighter colors for the flooring and walls can help prevent the room from becoming dark, dingy and lacklustre. If you are providing reading materials, you’ll need to ensure that the lobby is bright enough for your guests to read them or fill in forms without difficulty. If your lighting needs aren’t immediately obvious, consider consulting with an interior for advice on the best placements for artificial light in your lobby.
It’s not just the interior of your lobby that needs to be spotlessly clean. If you have windows that let in natural light, keeping these gleaming should be a priority too. Clean windows show that you take pride in how others see your business. They’ll let more light in too!
Most businesses aren’t into perfectly bare lobby walls, but before you start throwing up random artwork, it’s important to think about what your choices say about your business. Original art from local artists shows that you are interested in supporting the community, like originality and are prepared to invest in local talent. Alternatively, if any of your own teams dabble in painting, drawing or even photography, you could show your support for their hobby by displaying their work in your lobby.
Another great choice is to include recent notable awards, which say a lot about you as a business and demonstrates that your business has a reputation to be proud of!
For more on how to ensure your lobby makes a good impression, call True Office Cleaning at (850) 380-7318 to reach our office in Pensacola, Florida.