How to Increase Brand Appeal for Local On-Site Businesses

From the archive. This article was published before Small Business Bonfire changed ownership in September 2024.

Image source: Pexels

Whether you run a restaurant, bar, clothing store, or candy shop, you can increase your brand appeal and get more customers through the door by taking some simple steps.

Get started by checking out the following helpful tips.

Add Greenery Around Your Door

To increase your on-site business’s walk-in appeal, you need to take a fresh look at the exterior of your premises.

Simple things can really make a difference in grabbing people’s attention and making them want to walk through your door.

Adding some greenery to your entrance is one of the easiest and best tricks. Just a couple of planters or hanging flower baskets on either side of your door can add a dose of color and give your place a fresh and cared-for feel.

Refresh Your Signage

A lick of paint and a change of color to your exterior will get customers to notice your business more. While you’re at it, you should consider rebranding or refreshing your signage.

You may want to keep your original logo, as it’s synonymous with your brand, but you can make some slight changes, such as the color and background, to give your business a fresh appeal.

The sign over your door isn’t the only thing you should consider changing. You may wish to put up additional signage to make it clearer what your business does or to promote special offers or services.

For instance, if you run a restaurant, static clings from StickerYou, like clear static cling decals and white static clings, are ideal for advertising your daily special or for informing your customers that your ingredients are sourced locally.

Any kind of on-site business will benefit from adding attractive clings to their windows.

Keep Windows Uncluttered and Clean

Clings and decals can work wonders to increase your brand appeal, but you don’t want to clutter your windows too much. It’s important that your customers can see inside.

When you give potential customers a literal clear view of what your business has to offer, you’ll get more people through the door.

Also, make sure your windows are regularly cleaned. Dirty or misty panes of glass are very off-putting.

Redesign Your Layout

Reconsider the layout of your interior.

With a layout that has been thought through carefully and designed with the customer in mind, you can increase the curb appeal when people look through the window and provide customers with a more enjoyable experience once they’re inside.

Consider the kind of atmosphere you want to provide and who your clientele is. Make the layout practical and natural, and provide an environment that people will love spending time in, and you will soon increase both your curb appeal and your brand appeal.

Let Customers Follow Their Noses

Customers not only follow their eyes. They also follow their noses.

If you run a restaurant or a coffee shop, make sure that people on the sidewalk can smell the delicious aromas emitting from your place.

When designing the layout, you should consider positioning some things according to their aroma incentives. For instance, in a coffee shop, place the coffee making equipment at the front.

Even if your business doesn’t provide food or drink, you can still use delightful scents to engage people who pass by and enter your place of business. For example, you could light fragrant incense or scented candles.

Use Music to Create the Right Atmosphere

Music is another tool for increasing your curb appeal and brand appeal.

You need to ensure you do not deafen your customers, but when you use the right music for your business and play it at the right level, you can entice people into your place of business and engage them further once they’re inside.

But make sure you select the right kind of music for your type of business and your target customers.

Perform Regular Maintenance

If walkways have cracks, door handles are missing, or the paint is flaking on your railings, for example, your on-site business will not be as appealing as it could be.

When potential customers see that you have not kept on top of maintenance issues, they are less likely to enter your premises or see your business as a caring brand.

So, make sure you perform regular maintenance. That applies to both the interior and exterior of your place.

Make Your Premises More Accessible

By improving the accessibility of your on-site business, you not only ensure you do not exclude or limit your customer base. You also demonstrate to all of your customers that your brand cares.

Be as inclusive as possible when designing the interior and exterior of your premises.

Ramps and automatic doors enable people with mobility issues to easily access your place. You could also consider using braille on items like product tags or menus.

By offering more accessibility, you make an important statement about your brand and increase your business’s appeal.

Picture of Chaz Michaels

Chaz Michaels

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