Having your own business or retail store feels like a dream come true. When you’ve worked your whole life to achieve something of this magnitude, it feels indescribable when you finally reap the rewards. Running a business or retail store requires an entrepreneur and owner to wear many hats; you must be financially knowledgeable and savvy; you must understand the ins and outs of cultivating a positive team environment and welcoming culture; and you must have a great relationship with your customers for long-term growth.

If you run a face to face business such as a retail store, restaurant, or cafe, however, you’ll know that your business’ physical appearance matters an awful lot to customers, pretty much more than anything else. If you sell premium products, your store’s physical appearance is even more important. Just think about what you see and feel when you walk into a Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany’s, or Louis Vuitton store. The environment is just as visually pleasing and high-end as the products are. Merchandising is critical to brand uniformity and consistency. Even if you are a trustworthy business with second-to-none customer service, your shop floor looking shabby easily deters potential new customers. 

If you struggle to find cost-effective ways to improve the physical appearance of your shop floor, here are three helpful tips!

Switch Up Your Color Scheme and Update Your Brand Fonts

While it’s useful to have a well-known design color scheme that all your customers know and how they identify your brand, sometimes the same-old look and color palette can fade into the background. Particularly on a busy street with lots of businesses all trying to pull customers in, standing out is of paramount importance. If you run a great service or sell premium products while providing top-notch customer service, but can’t get customers through the door, you’ll never be able to grow as a business. It’s just that simple.

How is this cost-effective? Well, switching up your color scheme, fonts, and overall layout doesn’t mean you have to fork out tons of cash. A simple overhaul or redesign such as re-printing menus on high-quality paper, ordering your staff uniforms in a new color, or updating the displays and changing how items are merchandise doesn’t have to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For the storefront, there are so many innovative ways to introduce a new color scheme or displays without starting from scratch. Additionally, you can enhance the look of your physical store by updating your logo or even by using a new font in your marketing and branding materials.

Improve Your Signage and Other Visuals

Even if it’s obvious to you and your employees what your business does and how it operates, it may not be clear to your prospective customers. One of the main turn-offs for potential buyers is lack of clarity. It makes your business seem shady, disorganized, and unprofessional. Having to explain what your business does or the types of products it sells to a customer because they’re confused about your messaging or market positioning, while they’re standing directly inside your store, means that your store’s design and appearance are both missing something vital. Be clear about what your brand stands for, the types of products or services it sells, and the pricing.

Investing in innovative, attractive signage for your business doesn’t have to be expensive. The Clik-Clik Magnetic Sign Hanging System allows you to create eye-catching signage and hang them simply and quickly in your store. Signage can bring an entirely new look for your store without spending a lot of money.

Keeping Your Eye On The Latest Design and Retail Store Trends

If you’re an older business that has been operating in the same way for years or decades, you may be reluctant to change the way you function. After all, your tried-and-true system works, right? However, ignoring the progression of today’s world could lose customers for your booming business. Keeping your eye on trends you can emulate will keep your flow of customers through the door. You don’t have to restructure your store or restaurant completely, but it should reflect what your customers want and make them feel comfortable.

For example, if you run a cafe or restaurant, there are so many food trends that have become staples, particularly for young customers. Farm-to-table ingredients and using sustainable materials are easy ways to update your restaurant for a small amount of money. Likewise, if you run a clothing or accessory company and have a retail store, having an awareness of the mainstream fashion trends and store decoration can help you stay relevant. While you go through the store or restaurant optimization process, consider who your customers are and what they want. This will help them connect with your brand naturally and in turn, increase your revenue.