How a 10 Step Appearance Upgrade Can Make your Business Profitable

Imagine for a second. Just by a change in appearance you make a business go from loss to profit, well minus the legacy cost off course. So yes that is the very reason I have decided to share this topic with you and do a separate podcast episode just on this topic. I do think all of you can benefit from this post. Honestly, it opened my eyes, and I too realize the power of great appearance and how powerful it can be for a business’s success or failure for that matter.

Based the case study of the store I told you about, during the brainstorming and research we came up with a 10 point checklist and all of you can follow and see your store rise above other competitors.

Let’s go through the list and I will address each of the items.

1. Is your Fuel Dispensers functional, Clean and Presentable?

This is your first line of customer contact; you like it or not this is where 70% of your customer will first come in contact with your business. Now be a critic take a look at your store’s fuel dispensers aka pumps and the chances are high that you won’t like what you will see. I didn’t either. Few things to heck and keep clean at least once every week, the nozzles, the buttons and display and top of the dispensers. Don’t forget to check printer paper

2. Is your Parking lot Clean?

Before my friend bought the business, I went to visit the store, and as I drove into the parking lot, I was little annoyed by the loose trash and oil stains everywhere. The gas station parking lot is one hard area to keep clean, I will agree on that, the amount of traffic each store sees on a daily basis is rather high compared to most other small retail businesses. Not to mention people get the idea to clean their car and empty their trash that some of them accumulate inside their car from empty McDonald’s lunch bags to drink bottles, cigarette butts, and so many other trash. I gave him some ideas about the parking lot that he could try once he took over and which he did. I told him to first get rid of all the loose trash, then have a handyman to patch some of the mini potholes in the parking lot by simply using quickcrete concrete mix that you can buy from any hardware stores. Next told him to get someone to pressure wash the parking lot with some degreaser again that you can buy from any hardware store. They are usually called concrete cleaners I believe they have some type diluted muriatic acid that takes the oil stain out of the concrete. It took him about a week to get those done and afterward he even took a picture and sent it to me, and I could see it was a world of difference. One thing to remember, always keep some oil dri handy they are like kitty litter they absorb oil so if you have a customer with a leaky engine that left some motor oil on your parking lot, just sprinkle some oil dri and it will absorb it. But you have to get in the habit of practicing that daily. Assign a cashier to check and oil dri your parking lot once a day. It will save you from doing an expensive pressure washing job.

3. Windows Doors and Cooler doors

I am sure you have walked in to at least one gas station in last year or so where you saw all the doors and windows are covered with signs, advertisements and various notices like “Lost Pet” and such. But ideally those doors and windows should be all clean and clear so customers can see inside the store before walking in. it is a safety measure for everyone. We tend to get carried away with hanging ads from the beer, soda and other vendors. But that is not good for your business. I have seen cooler doors in many stores that are dirty and you can hardly see through them. Essentially you are turning away customers who may have bought a drink or a soda from your store, but by not having a clean store and clean cooler doors like myself some of them will assume whatever is inside the cooler is not fresh and will walk away. Try cleaning out the front doors and windows, take down all the signs and notices, then clean them with a good window cleaner at least once every 3-4 days. You will see a significant difference in appearance of your store.

4. Interior and exterior signage

Again we tend to get carried away with sale signs. I know every vendor wants to advertise their products and specials but when you have 20 different signs everywhere, people lose focus and chances are they are not noticing any of them. It is best to advertise one or two items or products at one time then take them down and advertise something new this way it is more noticeable and visible to your customers and good for your business. Too many signs do not bring you extra sales instead you may lose some sales because customers failed to notice your ad or sales sign among 20 other that are in your store.

5. Clutter everywhere?

Clutters don’t happen overnight, it is over time as you get stuff, and you display them and then next month new displays come, and you put them up but forget to take out the old ones and all they do is collect dust. Candy floor shipment, free newspaper real estate magazine racks, business cards of various people, all these are clutters when left untouched and not properly placed.

 

6. Functional and effective layout

The store layout should make sense, related products should be next to one another. One example is the gondola that is closest to the beer cooler doors should carry chips and salty snacks type items as we all know people prefer to snack on chips as they drink beer, beer and chips go hand in hand right? So why do we see motor oil and auto accessories gondola next to the beer cooler in some stores? Well in my opinion that is a wrong layout, they are taking the full advantage of effective merchandising in those stores.

7. Are your Shelves and gondolas clean?

You wouldn’t buy a bottle of ketchup from a store if you see a layer of dust on the bottle, will you? If the answer is No, then don’t expect anyone else to buy them either. It is a good practice to assign an employee to dust and clean the shelves and merchandise at least once a week. While dusting ask them to face the products properly as well, this way the shelves look clean and organized.

8. Is there store well and properly lit?

Proper lighting is one key element to your success, Not only for the safety but for proper display of your products it is vital to have all your light fixtures to be working properly. Don’t forget the lights under the canopy and areas lights, if you see a few non-working ones, get them replaced and or fixed. It will make your store’s parking lot bright and well lit, and people will have a sense of security when stopping at your station at night.

9. Is the restrooms and store floor clean?

Restrooms rank #1 when it comes to complaints and dissatisfaction from customers. You can only do one thing from this list, by all means make your store’s restroom stand out by making sure, the floor is clean, all the supplies from soap to papers products are properly stocked, and it is well lit and clean. It won’t hurt to add an automatic air freshener either.

Sales floor may look clean, but that is always not the case., The store in this case study has this issue. When I walked in the store though the floor looked reasonably clean but it did feel sticky, and that is not a good feeling when you are trying to buy food, snacks and drinks. So make sure the floor is cleaned and mopped at least twice a day.

10. Employee appearance and uniform fuel

The word appearance appears in this category, so it should have some great importance right? Well yes, it does. Especially if you have a branded gas station like Shell, Chevron or such, it is always a must to have your employees in uniform that alone gives your store a truly professional look. Also teach your employees some basic customer service and marketing skills where they will greet each customer walking in the store. Ask them to at least make eye contact. A simple eye contact acknowledgement can do things, one the customer will feel welcomes, and secondly it cuts down on theft, as they will feel being noticed. So it helps both ways.

Hope you can take away some tips from here and try it in your own business and see some positive results. If you have any question feel free to ask me by going to the “Ask Me” tab on the top menu.

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Thanks!