Ways to Impress Customers with Your Lobby

The lobby casts the first impression visitors have on a building. It should be clean, attractive and safe. All companies want to leave a positive impression on their clients. They also want to offer better services than their competitors. It is hard to convince customers to be more receptive when they have a negative opinion of you or your business premises. An inviting lobby should be comfortable, roomy, have a breath of fresh air and at the same time keep clients engaged when they have to wait for you. How can you spruce it up?

Play with Colors

Use warm, inviting and clean colors that accentuate the elegance of your lobby. When choosing colors remember the lobby should be calm, inviting and have enough lighting. Also, consider the space you have. Brighter colors make the lobby look bigger and more comfortable. Consider all the other aspects of the room such as the furniture, ceiling, and flooring. The chosen theme should rhyme all throughout the space. Some colors also tend to make space look cleaner and well organized.

The Furniture

Consider going for elegant pieces that do not take up too much space. The chairs and sofas should be made from stain resistant fabrics. Offer magazines and other interesting readings about the company and related news. A TV that is not too loud can be a welcome distraction or soft music. Make sure the chairs and couches are comfortable. Smaller chairs and sofas make a room look bigger than it is. It is also good to stay in line with the theme of the entire building or business space. You can use the same decor trends but make sure customers have enough room to walk around without tripping on furniture. Entrance mats should be clean, inviting and in line with the desired theme.

Decorations

When a visitor has to wait at the lobby for a few minutes, they might not even notice the time flying away when they are engrossed in the artistic work and other elegant details in your lobby. You can place several paintings in strategic positions to narrate a story or just capture the client’s attention. Some people do not like going through magazines making wall paintings a welcome distraction. Go for pictures that tell your business story.

What Should You Do When the Lobby is too Small?

Other than bright colors and smaller furniture fittings, the lighting can also drastically change the ambiance in your lobby. Do not make it too bright such that it irritates your clients, but the light should bring calmness and coziness to the entire hall. The reception or help desk area should be brightly lit but use a different but consistent dimmer light for the waiting bay. You can also opt for mirrors and glass surfaces because they can make a room look spacious.

The Flooring

Go for less slippery floors. Wood floors look beautiful and require fewer maintenance practices. You can consider carpeting the lobby. This gives you a chance to experiment with different carpet designs and colors. A rug is also a good caution for slippery floors, especially in wet weather. However, high traffic lobbies may not go well with carpeting because of mud and dirt. You might need a surface that is easier to clean such as wood, concrete or stone. The floor choice should also last for long. Remember this is a high traffic zone.

Limit Activities Around the Lobby

Because the lobby also serves as a sitting area for your guests, you might consider using another entrance for office deliveries especially when you are receiving larger packages. You do not want such deliveries interfering with your guests or leaving dirt and marks around the lobby. Such deliveries may also cause a lot of commotion some of which you would not want your customers to witness.

Adam Richards

About Adam Richards

Adam Richards is a semi-retired business professional originally from Bangor, Maine. He spent the majority of his career in sales and marketing where he rose to the marketing lead of a Fortune 1000 company. He then moved on to helping people as a career counselor that specifically helped bring families to self-sufficiency through finding them rewarding careers. He has now returned to Bangor for his retirement and spends his free time writing. This blog will be about everything he learned throughout his career. He'll write on career, workplace, education and technology issues as well as on trends, changes, and advice for the Maine job market and its employers.