The outside of your business speaks volumes for what customers can expect inside. Numerous studies have taught us that most people form their first impressions somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds. That’s not a lot of time to showcase your company’s products, services or dedication to customer satisfaction.
What Do People Base Their First Impressions On?
Sometimes it’s advertising and marketing. Other times it’s the online reviews of a stranger. Another (often overlooked) touch point for first impressions is the appearance of your building.
Chipped or peeling paint, cracked stucco, wood rot, floor cracks and warped siding can send serious negative vibes to potential customers. The subconscious correlation is that an aging, unkept facility is full of substandard products and people who don’t value quality. Especially for businesses in high-traffic or high-visibility areas, the building itself is a powerful tool that will certainly anchor expectations (positive or negative) based on appearance alone, and often the condition of the painting alone speaks volumes.
Painting Tips for Staying on Top of Your Buildings’ Appearance
You never get another chance to go back and make that first impression. With that said, here’s a hit-list that Overland Park painter, Neighborhood Painting, Inc. recommends for staying on top of your building’s outward appearance:
- Repaint wood exteriors every 7 to 10 years. Even the highest quality paints will not hold up much longer than that in the rugged and extreme Kansas City weather. Stucco exteriors also need repainted every 7 to 10 years. However, this requires a special masonry coating. It’s porous and needs to breathe. Using elastomeric paints can lead to mold and other serious problems.
- Don’t let little cracks turn into big ones, especially in your concrete floors or at the base of your stucco. Epoxies and urethane coatings can mask these issues from the public and also keep small problems from becoming big ones.
- Commercial buildings have various metal structures to protect, and metal can rust or corrode easily due to UV exposure, salts from ice melt, etc. Check your building each year for these elements. Direct-To-Metal (DTM) coatings can easily be applied to protect and restore these surfaces.
- If your company updates its logo or brand colors, make sure that painting the exterior (and interior) of your building gets done to reflect the updated brand! Creating continuity across all touch points improves your brand equity and top of mind awareness.
