When someone visits your office, they are probably coming to do business in some form, so it is important to make a good impression. You want them to feel welcome, comfortable, and as though they are walking into somewhere professional, and you can often have limited space in which to project all of this.
The contract won’t be signed on the basis of your reception area, but it can be the start to building a positive long-term relationship that can help your business to ultimately be more successful.
Here, we take a look at ways in which you can make the welcome to your office a positive experience for any visitor.
Prioritise comfort
When someone arrives at your office, the best way to give them a warm welcome is to make them feel comfortable and relaxed as soon as possible. If they need to wait for someone to come and see them, make sure there are comfortable chairs and refreshments available so that the wait does not seem quite so arduous.
You should make sure that the area is in keeping with the rest of your business so they can get their first taste of what to expect from you and avoid it looking too much like a doctor’s waiting room.
It can also be useful to include some reading materials but try to shy away from the usual trashy celebrity magazines and pick newspapers, magazines and books that are relevant to your industry and reflect who you are. It is also important to ensure that these are changed regularly, as if they are out of date, it can look as though you do not care.
In terms of aesthetics, some well-chosen art can always be a big step in providing a warm welcome. Again, this can be reflective of the type of business that you are and can even help to convey messages about some of the services or products that you offer so that the sales process begins from the moment your visitors sit down.
Visitor management software
Friendly and approachable receptionists can be a great way to give somebody a warm welcome, but the reality of many offices is that your reception staff are busy and often overwhelmed, meaning that the initial greeting is not always as positive as you might like. Many offices are now making use of visitor management software to provide an innovative solution to the sign-in process.
This can be hosted on the tablet computer and personalised to suit your business, which means it not only carries your branding, but it can ask your visitors any questions that you need. All visitors need to do is enter their details to let someone in the office know that they have arrived.
Many versions of the software will also allow them to take a photograph on their arrival and print out a personalised name badge. This can all help to show that you have a professional set up and you can streamline the arrival experience, so visitors are not left waiting for long periods of time becoming impatient in the process.
Clear directions
When visiting an office for the first time, it can be a daunting experience for some people, whilst others might be concerned that they will be wasting valuable time trying to find you.
It is therefore important to make sure that there are clear directions so that the entrance to the office can be located as easily as possible.
This could be through signage that starts in the car park and leads people through the building, or even instructions that are emailed out a day or two before arrival.
This allows people to plan effectively and help to eliminate any anxieties about the visit. If you are using visitor management software, you can then show people directions to the right area of the business or alert someone to come and collect them from the reception area.
Be prepared
As a visitor, there is nothing worse than arriving at an office only to find that people are not expecting you or are not ready. This can mean that they are left waiting for long periods of time or that the meeting seems unprofessional as people try to gather resources and locate the right individuals.
It is therefore essential that you are prepared for any visitors so that their first impressions with you are positive ones. Even if they are an unexpected visitor, things like visitor management software can help you to gather information about who they are and why they are visiting you so that you can be a little better prepared when you greet them.
Keep people updated
Ensuring that your visitors are fully informed about the status of their appointment is essential when it comes to avoiding unnecessary frustration.
A visitor should be informed how long they will be expected to wait when they first sign in and this can be done through a receptionist or the visitor management software that you are using. You should then make sure that they have access to some real time notifications to keep them informed about their status and any updates.
You can do this in a personalised manner, through text message or by a screen in the reception area. Even if you are running late, then open communication can help to alleviate many of the difficulties that this may cause, so let your visitors know about any changes to their appointment status as soon as possible to reduce uncertainty and ensure that you still look professional.
A visit to your office starts the minute somebody walks through the door, so it is important that you think about every step of their experience with you.
Creating the right type of welcome can say a lot about the kind of business that you run and whether that person wants to work with you. You should therefore make sure that you have his streamlined process and a comfortable and professional reception area to help you seal the deal with your visitors without them even knowing.
Create a warm atmosphere today
If you are wanting to create a warm, welcoming and seamless guest experience, we can help you! At VMFree we offer a free visitor management solution for businesses to help manage, control and streamline the visitor sign in process.
If you have a question or would like to know more about our service, please contact us today and we’ll be happy to you.