Don’t you agree? Retail brick and mortar competition is fierce these days.
In a marketplace where consumers are always “judging a book by its cover”, it’s never been more important to provide your tenants with an attractive place to be.
See for yourself…
Commercial Landscaping Tip #1 Maintain Attractive Curb Appeal At All Times
It’s no surprise when people drive by your commercial property they make assumptions to the quality of stores you have, simply based on how your property looks.
To often, people judge a book by its cover… meaning, if your plants are over-grown, you have weeds in the sidewalks and flower beds, and your grass is is overgrown and looks terrible., people will assume your stores are not desirable.
How your commercial property looks, has a direct impact to the success of your Tenants.
I don’t have to tell you… if your tenants aren’t making money… neither are you.
Avoid Riff Raff and Attract Paying Customers
I’m seeing a major parallel with commercial properties that attract riff-raff and litter… The existing condition of the landscaping is weathered and un-attractive.
I don’t want to get to graphic… but it’s kinda like flies to horse manure. What attracts filth… is filth.
So, if your commercial landscaping looks bad and is not well kept the general public will treat it as such. Also, if your curb appeal is lacking luster and you have the public littering and not caring about your property, you will increase your costs to get it cleaned up each day, week and month.
The pay-off to adding an attractive look to your property is simply respect from the buying public. They will use garbage cans and not think of throwing garbage on the ground.
They will appreciate the plants, trees and flowers creating good feelings about being there and coming back time after time. In the end, we all want to go to nice places when we do our shopping.
Is your commercial property inviting and promoting good relations within the community? Or, is it ugly and seemingly down-trodden where it attracts a lower level consumer who doesn’t care about your property or your tenants?
This may seem trite and even obvious, but I can assure you, your commercial landscaping is a direct reflection of who you will attract.
Commercial Landscaping Tip #2 Clear Visibility is Key
One might think this tip is an obvious one… I can assure you it’s not.
Almost on a daily basis I see commercial properties and strip-stores completely blocked by over-grown trees, shrubs and bushes.
What amazes me the most is when bushes and / or trees are blocking the very sign that let’s you know what stores are inside. Visibility is a big deal when it comes to attracting new and existing traffic for your tenants.
Your entire property must be completely visible from all directions of traffic to insure passer-by’s can see your stores. When blocked, it’s almost like your tenants are not there. People are busy and on the run… if they can’t see it, then it doesn’t exist.
Think about yourself when you’re driving down the road… you take similar routes on a daily basis… so seeing something new is not usual.
Chances are, if there’s a shopping center with over-grown landscaping, and they clear it out , improving the visibility from all directions, you will see it… where you may not have before.
Commercial Landscaping Tip #3 Color. Color. Color.
Incorporating color into your property attracts the eye of passer-by’s, and creates a pleasant environment for shoppers. Color Theory 101 for Commercial Landscape Design
A quick lesson in color theory will help you think differently about your commercial property, resulting in a more attractive property your consumers will come to enjoy.
There’s a common debate where one color attracts the human eye more than another color… these colors are yellow and red. And, in many cases this is true… these bright colors attract for sure.
Have a look at the spectrum of colors in basic color theory for design.
Primary Colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue.
Secondary Colors: Greens, Purples and Oranges.
Tertiary Colors: Combinations of primary and secondary colors.
Neutral Colors: White, Grey and Silver – used for shading & depth
Now ask yourself this quick question: Which colors do you think will attract the eye of someone driving by in their car?
If you thought, yellow or red, then you are correct. Yellow and red are the first colors the eye sees and is attracted to… there’s certainly some debate as to which color attracts more.
In the end, bright colors which invoke good feelings will ultimately get people paying attention to your commercial property. Which in turn gets them looking at your tenants stores.
Putting bright colors at the entrances to your property is the first step to improving the look and feel of your property and will begin attracting more traffic as a result. Don’t believe it… give it a try and see for yourself.
It’s true, much of the information here seems obvious and common knowledge… …and if that’s the case, AWESOME, it means you understand that most commercial landscaping doesn’t take these tips into account. So, when you do, you’ll have a competitive advantage when people are driving by.