Your business needs to be ready from top to bottom for post-pandemic shopping. This means not only updating the interior but taking a good look at the exterior as well. But what needs doing and how do you tell? Why does your business need exterior maintenance?
Prevent Interior Issues
Your first and most important goal is to make sure that your exterior maintenance (or lack of it) doesn’t affect your interior in any way. You don’t want any cracks in your foundation, or missing shingles from your roof. A small exterior crack or missing shingle can lead to leaks and water damage! You want to find and take care of minor issues quickly, before they can become bigger ones. This can include foundational issues, and general cleaning and maintenance to the building, windows, and lot.
Promote Safety
There are safety issues to look at and to make sure you’ve addressed, as well. All exterior steps should have sturdy and well installed handrails. Parking lots experience a lot of traffic, so paving can help care for it. After all, unpaved parking can create more places to get a car stuck, or to slip on ice. Make sure that there is good visibility and lighting if you conduct business in the evenings. You want your security system to also be in good working order, to protect your investment.
Presentation
After addressing safety and general maintenance, there are many important reasons to have fresh landscaping and maintained parking lots. How your property looks says a lot about your business itself, and how you care for it. An unmaintained parking lot, with poorly paved sections and many weeds, poor lighting, and such, could say that you’re not interested in the safety of your clients. A front lawn of weeds and untrimmed bushes says you aren’t good with maintaining details and presentation, which is probably not the appearance you want to give! Look for ways to boost your welcoming aspects and curb appeal, which give a punch of color and attraction for new customers.
Presentation might not be everything, but curb appeal will get more folks into your business, and you always want to have a safe and healthy storefront! Both your clients and your team members will be grateful that you’ve taken care of these aspects of their daily lives. After all, even with a beautiful store, without safety and good maintenance, you’re not ready for the world!
Read this next: The Challenges of Operating Your Business Internationally