The entrance to a business can make or break it. If your business isn’t visually inviting, your customers have a hurdle to overcome before they even think about making a purchase. The following are some of the most common problems associated with entries to businesses.

1. Cluttered premises
Do your customers literally have to climb over stock or displays
to get into your business?
2. Poor signage
Generally, signage becomes cluttered over time. The name
of the business should stand out above all other signage.
Trading hours need to be clearly marked, and other signage
should follow a pattern or a plan of some sort. Suppliers
love to have their product name splattered over the front of
businesses, and while this can be a selling feature for some
businesses, it’s important to ensure that it doesn’t make
the business appear confusing and messy.
3. The entrance is too small
Some businesses, especially ones with large numbers of
customers coming and going, seem to have thrown all commonsense
planning out of the window by making the front
door tiny—to the point where only one person can enter or
leave at a time. To the customer this can almost feel like
walking into a trap. Our instincts take over and the fight-orflight
response can kick in, where you decide not to enter
the business simply because it looks like it will be too hard
to get out.
4. You’re being watched
If the sales counter is facing the door, it can be intimidating
to walk inside, especially if the person behind the counter
watches every step you take. It’s best if the counter isn’t in a
direct line with the front door; however, if it is and it can’t
be changed easily, staff should be trained not to watch
people as they approach the door. Once the customer has
come inside, a big smile and a friendly welcome will help to
put them at ease. Instruct your staff not to stand around in
groups talking and watching customers approach. This can
be very intimidating, especially if the staff start laughing.
5. Is the front of the business clean?
A dirty entrance will deter a lot of people from entering the
business, particularly if it is a food business. Cigarette butts,
rubbish on the ground, overgrown gardens and overflowing
rubbish bins can all impact on a customer’s opinion of a business
and on their decision to enter the business or go elsewhere.
6. Bad lighting
This is particularly relevant if customers visit the business at
night, but some storefronts look dark even in the day. The
entrance to a business needs to be well lit, both for legal
reasons (in case someone falls over) and to increase the
appeal of the business. Lighting around the outside of the
building is also a factor, especially for safety. If the car park
is poorly lit, customers may decide to go somewhere else
that appears safer. Bad lighting is often simply the result of
poor maintenance. A light bulb blows here and there, and
before you know it the business is in darkness.
Do whatever is necessary to ensure that your business looks
inviting from the outside. I have seen a lot of businesses that are
quite amazing inside, but they struggle to get customers in the
front door because the business looks so bad from the outside.