It is well known that when it comes to tarmac Scotland has a reputation for being rough around the edges. Whether it is from the variable weather or the volume of traffic that the road surface sees on a daily basis, it is often littered with potholes and cracking.
How does the state of tarmac Scotland wide affect me?
Imagine you are a prospective art buyer working in Scotland and you go along to a local art dealer who is running an exhibition that caught your interest. Upon your arrival, you notice the car park is heavily potholed and rough to drive on. As you step out onto the tarmac Scotland has shown its true nature and the pot-holes are filled with water and there are loose chips of tarmac everywhere, making the walk to the front of the building a bit of a nuisance. You go inside and thankfully the curator is extremely helpful and the art exhibition is exactly what your clients are looking for.
The issue for customers
The problem is the whole experience has been tainted from the moment you arrived on the premises. The fact that the first thing your customers are met with is a poorly kept area outside the premises is a major concern. You cannot imagine bringing some of your more high profile clients here, especially some of the elderly art collectors you deal with. Even although inside the gallery it was presented very well, the outside tarmac surface lets this down and ultimately you are having reservations about buying art from this establishment, let alone bringing trusted clients to the premises.
First impressions matter
In the same way that a fresh coat of paint on a wall breathes new life into a room, a newly tarmacced car park area outside a business can add real value to customer experiences. We know that first impressions count, and the simple fact is that a first impression can begin very early on in the relationship between vendor and consumer. Furthermore, the case can be made that in today’s technology fuelled society, this first impression is more often than not made based on research done prior to even visiting an outlet. A perfect example would be someone finding a physical location online on Google Maps street view, in order to assess whether or not the consumer will pay a visit to that particular organisation.
Considerations for moving forward
We can see then just how important it is for any business to form a strong relationship between themselves and their customers, starting with that all-important first impression that could begin in the car park. Something as simple as having nice tarmac outside could secure good foundations on which this relationship can grow.