Curb Appeal Mistakes Your Business Shouldn't Be Making
This is a contributed post.
Curb appeal should be a major concern for all businesses, especially those in the healthcare sector. And it's not just to do with your branding, it's not your signage or colors you use, and for the most part, it's not even the building itself.
It's the small signs of neglect that impact your curb appeal. It's those small things you overlooked or left too long. As a healthcare business, if people think you're neglecting them, it won't bode well for how they view your services or the standards you uphold internally.
Because the thing is, even if you don't notice them, your patients will. So let's take a look at the mistakes you could be making that each patient is definitely noticing.
Letting Exterior Damage Become Background Noise
Exterior damage is easy to overlook when you become used to seeing it. Chips, cracks, worn edges. You learn where to step, how to get the door to open just so, or navigate that pothole in the parking lot.
But your patients. They don't get used to these things, and if they're new to you, they stand out and form impressions of your practice long before they meet you.
But on top of this is a safety issue. These issues are minor and easy to avoid for you and your team, but present safety concerns for those who don't know to expect them. It sounds dramatic because it is to the patient and visitor.
One major offender here is concrete. While it is durable, when cracks or damage appear, people often overlook the importance of commercial concrete repair. It’s not just a visual thing; it is a safety thing, and something that should be a priority.
Faded or Inconsistent Signage
Signage ages faster than most businesses realize, and from sun bleaching to peeling vinyl, old branding that doesn't get updated sends a message, and it's not always a positive one.
It doesn't scream “out of business,” it screams they simply don't care. And if you don't care to update old branding, what else haven't you cared to update? You might have an efficient operation running internally with high-end equipment and state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, but old signage doesn't reflect that. It reflects the opposite.
Worn Entrances and Touchpoints
Regardless of the type of medicine or healthcare services you deliver, your building will start the story before patients even get to you. Worn touchpoints like loose handles, chipped paint, or even grubby surfaces around reception doors point to a very different story than the one you are putting out elsewhere.
This is one of the biggest mistakes all businesses make, overlooking the small details in favour of the bigger ones. Not addressing when things like this need updating or replacing. Simply letting things deteriorate further.
Ignoring the Internal-External Cohesion
Sometimes, the most detrimental thing you can do isn't a physical thing; it's a mental thing.
It's not connecting how the exterior of your property impacts the internal part of the business.
It's not a two-part thing; it should be treated as one. The care and attention you deliver to the internal design should be extended externally, so the design and impact start upon arrival, before they even meet you. You want people to understand what they will experience when they come inside, and this is where the cohesion needs to begin. It's one extended entity, not two separate ones.
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