The first impression, they say, lasts longer. If a potential customer spends many minutes before getting a parking space in your office premises, what are the chances that they will conduct business with you?
If they do the first time, what are the chances they’ll be back? This is just one of the many reasons why you must take your parking lot more seriously.
Every aspect of your business contributes to its growth, and the parking lot is not left out.
Unfortunately, many companies focus only on what they consider the more fundamental parts of the business and ignore the not-so-fundamental parts like the parking lot. Sadly too, they face the consequences of such a decision.
To ensure you don’t lose customers and suffer other effects of a poorly managed parking lot, here are ways you can make your corporate parking lot more efficient.
Why Do You Need An Efficient Corporate Parking Lot
So, what’s the fuss about an efficient parking lot? Why do you need to make an effort to ensure your parking lot works properly? Find the answers below.
It Saves You Time And Increases The Bottom Line
If you have an appointment with a client at 9 am and they get to your office premises at 9 am but spend the next fifteen minutes finding a parking space, you’ve not only wasted your time, you’ve wasted your client’s.
The accumulation of little pockets of time like this will cost you money in the long run.
In a worst-case scenario, the client might even turn back and cancel the appointment out of frustration.
An effective parking management system lets you avoid scenarios like this.
When clients enter your office premises and see how efficiently it is handled and how easy it is for them to find a parking space, they’re more likely to do business with you.
On the part of your staff, when workers are already stressed from parking before they start the day’s work, their productivity level drops.
After driving anxiously around a clumsy parking lot to find a space, the next thing you want to do is rest, not work.
This drop in productivity eventually affects the company’s bottom line. Investing in an efficient parking lot can make your employees feel appreciated and encourage them to put in their best, leading to an increased bottom line.
It Improves Security
Crime and all forms of illegality thrive in chaos and clumsiness. An office parking lot that’s not well managed is an invitation for vandalism, theft and trespass.
As a result of the lack of proper monitoring and direction, accidents and theft are likely to occur more frequently in an inefficient parking lot.
When you have an effective parking management system in place, you improve the security of your office premises. This, in turn, gives clients and staff more confidence.
It Helps Retain Your Staff
No one likes to be stressed. If workers continually spend productive hours in the parking lot, they will get frustrated, and oftentimes, frustrated employees will leave.
Having an efficient parking system helps you increase staff retention.
It is common knowledge that when workers are happy, they stay. When employees are able to easily and quickly enter and exit the parking lot, they’re motivated to get straight to work.
They become more productive, and productive workers are happier than unproductive ones.
It Gives Your Brand A Good Reputation
Most people look for customer reviews before they patronize a brand. If customers find it difficult to gain access to your office premises as a result of poor parking management, they will say so in their reviews.
Not only will this kind of review stop others from doing business with you, it will also give your brand a bad reputation.
An efficient corporate parking lot will help you avoid this unpalatable situation.
6 Ways You Can Make Your Corporate Parking Lot More Efficient
Now that we’re clear on the benefits of having an effective office parking lot, let’s find out how you can achieve it.
1.) Implement Online Booking For Parking
Online parking booking is one of the ways to reduce congestion and traffic in your parking lot.
The usual practice in many offices is the ‘first come, first served’ parking method.
While this might be a reward for punctuality, it is ineffective and does not favor people who stay far from the office. An online booking system solves this problem.
With online parking booking, your workers can check the available parking slots online, reserve a slot and get confirmation.
If the owner of a slot does not show up at the specified time or cancels, the slot is thrown open for others to take.
This system brings orderliness to a parking lot and assures employees that a slot is reserved for them upon arrival at work.
2.) Have A Visitors Parking Space
As mentioned earlier, first impressions matter. To avoid giving a wrong first impression to your visitors, ensure you have a separate parking area for them.
With this, you’re assured that your visitors will have a parking slot anytime they come.
In addition, make this spot near the entrance. Don’t put your visitors’ parking space at a long distance from the entrance of the premises.
This can be counter-productive. Letting your guests drive long distances before parking or having them trek long distances to the office after parking is not hospitable.
Be strategic about the spot you reserve for your visitors and label it accordingly.
3.) Invest In Parking Management Software
The way business is done is changing and that includes the way the parking lot is managed.
Digital transformation is the process of embedding technology across every facet of your business.
The objective is to increase efficiency, create better customer experiences and generally grow the business.
The digital transformation your car park needs is a parking management software.
A parking management software is an application you use to optimize your parking lot, manage car traffic and guarantee the safety of people and cars.
Some features to look out for when shopping for a parking management software are listed below.
- A parking space tracking to monitor which spaces are filled or empty
- An automated ticketing feature so that people can get their parking tickets online
- A vehicle scheduling feature to schedule car parking in line with shifts
- A scalable software that can be used for businesses of any level
- An easy to use interface that can be operated by anyone
- A stand-alone feature that ensures the program can work independently of other software
4.) Organize Your Parking Lot By Vehicle Size
To ensure orderliness and proper navigation, design your car park by vehicle size.
If all slots are the same size, bigger vehicles will park on the lines, which can confuse the next person that wants to park.
However, having a separate place for SUVs and other larger vehicles, for example, creates order, reduces confusion and limits accidents.
5.) Consider Pedestrian Safety
Car parks are about people as much as they are about cars. Adding sufficient walkways to your parking lot facilitates pedestrian safety.
This feature enables drivers to safely leave their vehicles and walk to the office building without fear of being hit by drivers trying to park.
Sidewalks for pedestrians is one way your parking lot can be more effective.
6.) Make Provisions For Accessibility
It could be disheartening to see many companies who boast of accessibility in their products and services ignore that factor in their parking lot.
Accessibility is a must if your office car park is to be considered efficient.
Lack of accessibility in your parking lot says a lot about your company culture, determines how people view your brand and can affect how people do business with you.
To make your parking lot accessible, provide handicap parking spaces, van-accessible spaces, ramps and curb structures.
Make Your Parking Space More Efficient And See A Marked Difference In Your Business
The sooner you realize every part of your business contributes to your growth, the better for you.
Oftentimes, business people major in the minor and minor in the major, which is to their detriment.
Some neglect their parking lot, categorizing it as inconsequential. Regrettably, they soon find out it’s one of the most vital parts of their business.
An efficient parking lot saves you time, increases the bottom line, improves the security of your premises, gives your customers a good experience, helps retain your staff and boosts your brand perception.
To make your parking lot more efficient, try an online parking system, have a designated visitors’ parking space, invest in a parking management software, arrange your car park by vehicle size, cater for pedestrian safety and prioritize accessibility.
