Photo by Kelly Lacy from Pexels
What is it that makes your company better than your competitors?
Ask the average person for a list of features, and they'll probably come up with ideas around their marketing, products, or prices. But have you ever stopped to consider your front-of-house?
How you present yourself to your customers makes a big difference. If they can see that you have professional operations in person, they're much more likely to want to part with their cash.
You can see this effect in action all over the place. For instance, high-end hair salons always have a grand entrance with a beautiful reception desk, designed to convince you of the quality of the establishment. The barbers' skills might not be any better than the cheap place down the street, but that's not important. Presentation gives you margins.
Why Your Front-Of-House Is Key For Competitive Advantage
There are several reasons why your front-of-house is vital for your competitive advantage.
Advertise High Margin Sales
The first benefit of having a great front-of-house is that it allows you to advertise your high-margin sales. You see this sort of thing in retail all the time. Outlets will regularly put their most profitable lines at the shop's front to encourage purchases and then arrange their standard lines behind.
The purpose of this is to grab the attention of as many consumers as possible. Stores want to be able to prioritize some products more than others to protect their margins.
You don't necessarily have to be in the retail sector to benefit from this approach. Think about what real estate agents do. They regularly put up posters of properties on which they stand to make the most money at the front of their shops and then leave the rest to brochures at the back.
Even accountancy firms do this sort of thing. They like to use their entryways to promote their most valuable products, leaving others to pages on their websites.
It Boosts Your Brand
Let's go back to the hair salon example. Remember, we said that the high-end hairdressers weren't necessarily any more skilled than those at other barbershops. The difference was in how the business as a whole presented them. Creating a beautiful entryway is often enough to get clients to believe that they're receiving a superior product, even if they're not.
You see this sort of thing all the time in the hospitality industry. Hotel owners will invest vast sums of money in their lobbies, adorning them with all sorts of embellishments. But when you actually get to the room itself, it's pretty much the same as any other.
The interesting thing, though, is that guests don't seem to mind. The fact that the hotel looks good from the outside seems to be sufficient to keep them interested.
Lobbies and reception areas are, therefore, absolutely essential for building a successful brand. Often when you invest, you get much more in return. And that's ultimately what you want. The more you can convince people that you have a quality operation, the more likely they are to buy from you.