Customer-Friendly Office Space: The Essentials

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When talking about designing an office space, people tend to focus on boosting productivity and motivation of the workers. However, it’s not often that you hear about the importance of a good office design and the effect it can have on your customers.

Simply put, your office design is the first thing your customers will see of your brand so it, therefore, acts as a great way to communicate your brand policy and send your customers a strong message without actually having to say a word. On the same note, a poorly-designed office space can leave a really negative first impression which will be quite difficult to remedy.

So, let’s see what are some of the essentials of a customer-friendly office space and how you can use them to your advantage.

Have someone greet your customers

The first mistake you want to avoid making is not having someone welcoming your customers as they enter your office space. Having customers wandering about your workplace until they accidentally stumble upon someone who they can ask for directions is not only extremely unprofessional, but it can also make your customers feel like you don’t actually value them, which is certainly something you should do your best to avoid.

Choose the colours carefully

Furthermore, when choosing a colour scheme for your office space, you don’t only have to think about your employees, but your customers as well. Avoid going for any shades that might come off as too overwhelming or intimidating. The best course of action would be to stick to your brand’s colours in your office space but if they’re too bright, consider going for a bit more toned-down alternatives. Therefore, choose the colours for your office space carefully.

Have a designated customer seating area

If you’re in any line of business where you expect to have more than one customer coming to your office on a daily basis, you should ensure that they are provided with a place to comfortably wait for their turn. This means that you need to designate an area in your office space where your customers can have a seat and get comfortable until it’s their turn to come into your office. Some of the best office interiors feature intuitive and practical designs where customers will feel welcome and comfortable. Of course, aside from simply making sure that your customers have a place to sit, you also need to ensure that the design of the space matches the rest of your office space in terms of style, comfort and sophistication.

Offer more than just a place to sit

Aside from providing your customers with a comfortable place to rest, you should also offer them some other commodities, such as fresh coffee and a water fountain. This is especially crucial if your line of business is such that your customers simply can’t expect a meeting to last super short. Furthermore, if your line of business is such that your customers will be bringing their kids to the appointments, i.e. a kid’s dentist or paediatrician, you need to ensure that you provide enough entertainment options for the little ones as well. Kids simply hate having to wait and if they don’t have anything to keep them occupied, the situation can get very loud very fast. So, consider adding a wall-mounted TV that will play some of the most popular cartoons and make sure you provide them with colouring papers and other necessary equipment.

Keep the space nice and tidy

Finally, it’s of the utmost importance that you keep all the areas visible to your customers clean and tidy. This doesn’t mean that you should neglect the rest of your office space; it just means that these areas will require more frequent TLC than the rest of your workplace, especially if you have loads of customers coming in on a daily basis. Furthermore, ensure that these areas stay clean and, more importantly safe, even when the weather outside makes it difficult. If necessary, hire a person that will be in charge of cleaning the space multiple times a day, preferably in between customers, to avoid coming off as unprofessional.

A customer-friendly office design is just that – customer-friendly. There are professional office interior decorators out there who know how to put together a beautiful and functional office space. On the other hand, if you are a small business that simply can’t afford to hire professionals to take care of your office design, just think about the things you wished you were presented with the last time you were waiting to be serviced.

 

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Lillian Connors
BizzMark
As a senior digital marketing consultant, Lillian Connors believes that the question of business goes far beyond the maximization of profit through different money-grabbing ploys. Instead, she likes to think that ethical principles should be at the core of every commercial venture, paving the way for much more balanced distribution of wealth on a global scale.

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