Ensuring your building makes a great first impression

When running any kind of commercial or public operation, be that a startup business, a service, an online retailer, or perhaps something timeless and immutable such as a religious institution, it is essential to care for the first impression you provide. Those first few moments can help someone feel at home within your premises, or while using your hub of the internet. 

No matter what open front-facing building you walk into in the city, someone, somewhere, has taken time to consider what this experience might be like for someone new experiencing said place.

It might be that a small pop-up store cares for its calming music and careful display of goods, a clothing store might wish to hit you with that trendy and chic sense of exclusivity, while something such as a religious environment wishes to show you peace and reverence.

When you think about it, it’s all the same deal. Customising our environment to best relay a message is an essential part of both being successful in your ambition and helping those who interact with it understand the intent at play. 

So, let us consider some advice to that end:

A welcoming greeting

In overly corporate atmospheres, or perhaps some other institutions, it can be that the art of a warm greeting has been lost or sanitised. But it will always be relevant, and it will always feel nice to be on the receiving end of.

A welcoming greeting can be an appropriate, friendly, and charming means of saying ‘hello’. It can let someone know they are completely expected in that environment, and it can take some of the sting out of a nervous first-time meeting.

It is something that should applied almost always, no matter if welcoming a guest, a professional, an inspector, or a friend. It costs nothing, and also helps you feel good. In other words, it’s a rare win-win that is always reliable in this unpredictable world.

The state of repair

From beautiful windows that are well cleaned, a great mosque carpet that is vacuumed and cared for, a wonderful arrangement of flowers or simply great lighting and a sweet, beautiful scent, heading into a space for the first time has many variables, and you want them all to be positive.

This means caring for the state of repair of wherever you are meeting, applying yourself carefully to the experience through careful custodial efforts. If you can invest in this, then your morning welcome will always be substantiated with care.

Refreshments and comfort

If someone is coming for a meeting, or to visit, it is customary to ensure they are comfortable. Having a comfortable chair on stand-by, giving them a tour, offering them a refreshment, these are all things that elicit a human response, no matter if you’re angling for a business deal, a social visit, or something more important to discuss.  

For example, in Arab countries, it is customary to enquire after the health of your guests before discussing business, because it helps you both see each other as people before heading into the nitty gritty. Exercise that same restraint.

With these tips, you are certain to make a great first impression.