Getting your outdoor spaces ready for spring and easter trade is as easy as ABC123.
We’ve got a quick checklist to help you quickly spruce up your outdoors and ensure it is welcoming and comfortable for customers.
Happy customers = longer dwell time and hopefully better spend per head.
A = Access
B= Benches
C= Comfort
1 = Impact
2 = Atmosphere
3= Investment
Watch this video for our top tips.
Access
Ensure you make your outdoor areas easily accessible with clear signage, obvious entrances and exits and hazard free routes.
If a first-time visitor comes through your door, can they find your outdoor areas easily? Do you have signage at the front and inside your venue directing customers to your garden areas?
Are your routes to the outdoors free from hazards and accessible for wheelchairs and buggies to pass through?
Is your whole outdoor area accessible and ready for outdoor trading? Whilst grass areas are still soft and muddy, can customers access all your seating? Do you need more pathways or gravel areas?
Many venues now place picnic tables on gravel squares in the grass and have multiple paths to get to seating areas. Saving the grass and enabling all areas to be used for outdoor trade.
Benches
Ensure your benches (all outdoor furniture) are all in good working order.
Check any bolts are tight and secure.
If furniture has weathered over the winter, give the wooden table tops and seats a light sand and treat with wood preserve. Make sure you do this in good time before your customers want to sit on the furniture. Allow at least 48 hours for wood preserve to dry out.
Another tip is to turn up any wooden tables to dry out the feet and then treat with wood preserve, this prevents rot from the bottom up.
If you have any broken furniture this will need replacing. We sell individual tables and chairs so if you just need to replace 1 or 2 please get in touch.
Comfort
A large pub chain client recently told us that the most important thing to their customers was comfort.
Starting with the basics, is all your furniture fit for purpose with no broken elements. If there are broken bits can they be mended or replaced? Is everything clean with no slime or bird deposits?
Think about your customer type, are they older or families with small children. What does comfort look like to them? What can you do to add that to your venue?
Depending on your guests, comfort might be as simple as seats with backrests or arms. This is good for older customers and young children.
Or you might want to provide cushions on seats, add blankets, or softer seating options like outdoor sofas.
Impact
What is the kerb appeal of your frontage or entrance way?
Is it smart, appealing and clean? What first impression does it give customers about your venue?
As a basic, make sure your frontage is clean, free from litter and weeds, and nothing is broken.
To create a bigger impact and be eye-catching to passers by, you could add a splash of colour with planters and plants, hanging baskets, bright signage, canopies or parasols.
Atmosphere
What atmosphere do you want to create for your customers?
Lighting can add an instant atmosphere to an area.
Some festoon lights will add a warm ambience. Depending on your audience you might want to create a party mood or a relaxed mood, choose white lights or coloured lights.
Do you need to add any heaters to your outdoors to make it cosier?
Investment
Repeat customers will want to see that investment and improvements are being made.
Everyone likes smart and new looking elements in outdoor areas.
But this doesn’t have to cost much at all.
You can make simple, low cost changes by adding cushions or colourful planters or brightly coloured clean parasols.
Or even having a change round of furniture layouts, painting or decorating an outdoor wall differently.
Get in touch
Here are just a few ideas to spruce up your outdoor areas in time for spring.
For any outdoor furniture, shelters or planters please get in touch with the friendly expert team at Woodberry
01926 889922
[email protected]