Nobody forgets their first impression of a brand. It lingers in the back of their mind and makes them think a certain way about a business. Negative first impressions often mean people constantly have a damaged view of a company, while positive first impressions do the opposite.
That’s why all businesses should focus on creating better first impressions to raise positive brand awareness. In the modern world, you assume that all impressions are formed online – but that’s not always the case. All of your hard work can be undone when someone physically visits your premises for the first time. You need them to see your office and be blown away by how professional and tidy it looks.
On that note, this blog will give you some handy office cleaning tips to help you create the best first impression possible. The goal is to wow clients or anyone else who travels to your office – they should leave with a much higher view of your business than they ever had before!
Start With Exterior Cleaning & Landscaping
First impressions begin outside your office – it doesn’t matter how brilliant the interior is if the outside looks appalling. Common problems include:
- Dirty sidewalks and surfaces
- Untrimmed hedges
- Overgrown lawns
- Dying plants
- Dirty windows
You can solve most of these problems with a good pressure washer. Spray it on all surfaces to blitz away years of dirt and grime. It will instantly make your office building look nicer than you can remember. Then, you should consider outsourcing a few general exterior cleaning/maintenance services.
Firstly, hire commercial window cleaners to keep your windows shiny – they only need to show up once a month. Then, get an office gardener who can tend to all the plants and greenery. They’ll turn an overgrown and dying exterior into one that’s lush with life.
A clean office exterior doesn’t just produce positive first impressions; it can also encourage people to get in touch with your business. Ensure there’s good signage out front displaying your name, what you do, and the contact details. You never know who’ll be convinced to contact you because of how nice your office looks to passers-by.
Dust Surfaces Daily
Dust is one of the messiest things on the planet. When the light shines through and catches your surfaces at the wrong angles, all you’ll see are layers of dust. It makes the entire workplace look filthy.
Get into the habit of dusting surfaces daily – you don’t need to do this yourself, but it pays to have a cleaning team onboard that handles it for you. They’ll dust every surface daily to ensure it doesn’t build up and create an office that looks like it hasn’t been touched in years.
Seriously, people’s first impressions will go up when they see shiny and dust-free surfaces everywhere. As a side note, regular dusting also benefits your employees by reducing the chances of triggering airborne allergies. It makes the workplace infinitely more comfortable.
Clean The Carpet Or Floor Every Evening
Likewise, you need your cleaning team to clean the carpet or floor every single evening. This is one of the dirtiest aspects of an office – particularly if you have a large team working there. Footfall constantly tracks dirt onto the carpet, and all sorts of debris can fall and be trapped in the fibers. It’s not as devastating when you have hard flooring, but you still see lots of dust and muck everywhere.
If your cleaning team gives the flooring a nice refresh every evening, then you’ll start each day with a clean office area. Dirty floors are easily noticed when someone enters your office for the first time. There’s nothing worse than a permanent carpet stain – or dust all over the floors – for building first impressions.
Utilize Scents To Create A Sense Of Freshness
Cleanliness isn’t solely about visuals. Your office can generate better first impressions by leaning into scents. Have you ever wandered into a building for the first time and smelt something bad? If people walk into your office and it smells musty or damp, then this will naturally impact the way they perceive your business.
Conversely, think about walking into a workplace and getting hit by a wave of nice smells. A fresh-smelling office will trigger positive thoughts in people’s brains. Potential clients will love what they smell and subconsciously develop a good impression of your business.
It’s stupendously easy to incorporate scents into your workplace – simply use static or electronic air fresheners. You can get ones that plug into sockets and release a scent every half an hour. Don’t go overboard with too many air fresheners, as this can have the opposite effect. One or two should do the job.
Encourage Employees To Organize Their Desks
At this point, you’ve done everything possible to create the cleanest office space. However, it can all be undone by your employees. They might have clean workstations free from dust and dirt, but what if their desks are filled with clutter?
Cluttered desks and work areas make your business look unprofessional and haphazard. It’s a surefire way to turn first impressions in the wrong direction – prospective clients could have second thoughts if they see an office littered with messy desks. Encourage your employees to organize their desks and keep everything tidy.
How? The best idea is to provide workstations with loads of storage. It gives them no excuses to have things laid out on their desks because everything is still within arm’s reach.
Your employees might not like being told to keep their desks tidy, but they’ll soon see the additional benefits. A more organized work area removes distractions and can improve employee performance. They’ll quickly notice that even the most mundane jobs are easier to finish because they feel more focused!
The over-arching point of this blog is that a clean and presentable office will lead to positive first impressions. Don’t give customers or clients an opportunity to start with a bad impression of your business. Keep it tidy from outside to in, and you’ll see the rewards.
The post 5 Office Cleaning Tips To Help You Create A Better First Impression appeared first on Apollo Technical LLC.