I won’t repeat the cliche by saying location three times in a row. The title was enough. Merely pointing out that there is such a cliche should hopefully be enough to make my first point: location is important. Yes, this seems obvious, but the fact is there are a lot of details that go into finding the perfect location that many companies might not be aware of.
Demographics
The first is the more obvious one of demographics. If the area you decide to set up your business in has no interest in your particular industry, you’ll be hard pressed to generate business. You can have all the commercial printing done that you want, but if no one in the area wants your particular products, it won’t do you any good.
This also applies to how steep competition you will be dealing with. You might find yourself going into a market that loves the type of products you sell, but there are so many other companies doing the same you have trouble distinguishing yourself from the rest.
Along with the demographics, make sure that the population level will be able to support you as well. Don’t open a massive mall in a community that simply doesn’t have enough people in it to support. You have to be sure that the area you’re going to be doing business in has enough people to keep you going.
Building Looks?
Next come the actual buildings themselves. I know it isn’t particularly fair, but the way the area looks impacts my opinion of the business. If a place looks run down and all the buildings around it are closed up or decrepit, I don’t have as much trust in that business.
Sure, this amounts to judging a book by its cover, but I know I’m not alone in doing it. Sometimes the building you go for might be cheap because it’s in an area that doesn’t have as much business or is run down for various reasons. The first impression people will have of your store is what it looks like, and if you look messy, people probably won’t even bother walking into the store.
Lastly, and this is far more important than many people give it credit for, make sure that the location feels right to you. What does that mean? During house shopping, I’ve walked into a place and simply felt that it was right. This was a matter of intuition more than it was rational thought. The place felt like home.
If everything else seems to be checking out and you have an excellent feeling about the place, you may need to go for it. Don’t let all the facts and numbers prevent you from having any emotional input into the selection. If you’re really enthusiastic about a particular area, your marketing and commercial printing will reflect this, which will lead to much better advertising.
Online Location
The location is an important decision, but if you know what you’re looking for, you won’t have anything to worry about. The physical location is always important, but keep in mind that your website URL is just as important. Building your location online is an ongoing process that will help bring in foot traffic to your physical location.