You walk into a brick-and-mortar, and the paint is chipped. The walls are marked; at best, they’re tired. Something changes about how you perceive that business, even if it becomes a subconscious change. The physical presence of a business speaks to the function of a business—whether owners/managers want it to or not.
The Snap Decision
People make decisions about a business with a snap impression—within seconds—before even stepping fully inside or engaging with anything. The entry, the first few steps, the reception desk, if one is even at the entrance, speak before anyone interacts with a staff member, product, or service.
When a person sees that a space is well-kept and painted appropriately, they assume that the company has its act together, as that level of detail suggests professionalism and standardization. When something’s amiss, one questions whether this company can maintain its goods/services.
While it’s unfair to some extent, it’s human nature. People pigeonhole others based upon visual determinants, but those visual determinants are the only means through which one can assess the quality of something that lies beyond scope. If this business cannot even maintain its own appearance as a level of quality assuredness, how can it be expected to do so on a smaller scale?
What New Paint Actually Indicates
New paint and clean surfaces tell a story about a business willing to keep up with appearances. Companies that are poorly maintained on the outside convey to individuals that they’re struggling. Struggling companies do not offer new paint jobs unless they’re required for repairs or resale efforts.
The physical determinism of how paint looks suggests how painted things were recently painted. Faded, chipped paint colors, apparently from the past or last decade, look old and worn. New developments and current-looking finishes suggest a business that keeps up with the times, at least aesthetically. This is especially relevant for businesses that warrant trust.
What Professional Work Looks Like
There’s a stark contrast between amateur work and professionally finished endeavors. Missed spots, excessively painted on edges, paint on hinges, incorrect color selections—while foolish decisions seem small in stature, they occur in the aggregate and ultimately send the message to consumers that this company does not care.
When companies employ experienced workers through companies like Perth Professional Painters, and hire individuals knowing that they’ll do the job well, they end up with the cleanest finishes possible.
The quality associated with finishes makes people note a level of professionalism that may extend beyond painting abilities or association. Someone may not be able to articulate why something looks good vs bad, but subconsciously, standards correlate with quality versus unkempt appearances.
Per Industry Standards
Depending on the industry one operates within will depend on expectations for painted appearances. A tech start-up might get away with exposed brick and an industrial trend. A law firm cannot. A medical office needs to be sterile; a creative agency can afford bolder choices.
Understanding industry perceptions matters because people will assess those businesses based on their perception of what’s appropriate for that specific business sector. If the presentation does not match expectations, it creates cognitive dissonance.
If a premium service has been marketed but a shabby company has its offices located in an old building, it doesn’t help the cause. Conversely, if a budget opportunity is provided which resided in an upscale area with costly first impressions, it makes people hesitant about whether they’ve been misled.
Maintenance Matters
Maintenance matters when it comes to staging an impression of care and attention over time. Companies inside buildings and properties that seem consistently painted show accountability for choice and action.
Companies that defer maintenance paint a picture where they are financially struggling or poorly managed, or some combination thereof. Consumers second-guess whether they’ll get what they’ve paid for if they can’t even see steady improvement or maintenance.
Employee Perception
It’s not only consumers who assess efforts; employees must work within the bounds of buildings, too. If employees get hired into functionally maintained spaces, they report back that they work for companies that care.
This translates into positive interactions because people feel happier working somewhere that looks good—output is greater, and there is less turnover.
If employees get crammed into spaces that haven’t been kept up with new changes, they convey their feelings about management not caring about where they should spend over half of their waking hours each day.
Presentation Perception
When people are weighingand comparing companies head-to-head, their chance to gain as much information as possible (in an ideal world) leads them to make either conscious or subconscious decisions based upon final appearances.
All else being equal, people will gravitate towards something that looks nicer, more professional, more legitimate than something that has fallen by the wayside. In competitive markets where companies live and die by their ability to stand out from each other as unique yet presentable opportunities, capitalizing on the newest look provides them with distinction.
The Likelihood They Wait Too Long To Properly Finish
Businesses take too long to assess what’s been done in their spaces compared to what outside perspectives observe. What’s fine to someone who’s seen it every day might look abhorrent to newcomers.
New visitors miss the gradual decline; they see everything at once—even mistakes that have happened gradually. Businesses must assume responsibility based upon their own threshold, but also reality when it comes down to someone’s perceptions as an outsider.
Businesses would benefit from stepping outside as if they were clients themselves to see what’s obvious—or invisible—to them compared to what’s been rendered invisible due to intimacy or dependence upon gainful employment within.
Money Vs Value Per Perspective
It’s not an ongoing cost—maintenance represents ongoing assessments for reward versus expense. New business is always gained through retention and level-appropriate pricing.
Businesses without good exteriors cannot command dollar levels regardless of their level of service or implementation skills. Businesses must factor in guilt from sub-par levels of presentation historically operated instead of positing per instance in the moment.
In almost all situations, continuous maintenance brings less value than bad first impressions, which result in customer repulsion due to first impressions based on what’s noticeable from outsiders instead of insiders.
Making Your Case With Professional Appearance
Professional appearance means businesses receive easily verifiable standards that guide one’s ability to achieve success without barriers established along the way, seemingly connecting with devalued presentation suggestions along the way.
When companies focus on nothing but getting their aesthetics right to stave off concerns about stability versus quality assurance concerns, credibility transforms into revenue-generating efficiencies.
The goal should be to maintain civility for all appearances that help goals within business operations without devaluing integrity or intention along the way—and without intention costs rising higher than budget constraints through unnecessary luxuries over time—just professionalized maintenance across industry lines should suffice.
