How To Choose The Right Reception Furniture For Your Business
Here’s an experiment to try… have a friend or relative (someone you know will be honest with you, but also hasn’t been to your business before) visit your office. Get their full, open, honest opinion about how they felt walking in. What was their initial impression? After being in the lobby for a few minutes (like a client who’s waiting for you), how did their impression or experience change?
Analyzing the customer journey, or the customer experience is something marketers have done for years. It’s a much more extensive process than just walking through the door, but this is a great place to start.
First impressions matter, and it’s not just about the customer, employees should like and feel comfortable walking into your business as well. This will help you attract and retain the top talent. You also want to consider potential partners and investors, pretty much anyone who might walk through your front door. This first impression is so important, we’re dedicating this article to choosing the right reception furniture for your business.
COLOURS
There’s a misconception that dark colours are more professional; navy instead of sky blue, red instead of pink, brown instead of yellow, etc. The fact is that dark colours have a dark effect on your mood. The reception area of any office – be it a law firm, dentist, accounting, it doesn’t matter; it should be light and bright. It’s great to decorate the space in your brands colours, but if they’re dark colours, use them sparingly and balance them with colours on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Colour psychology has been studied for decades, it goes beyond the traditional red means love theories. It’s becoming popular to group colours based on the emotions they stir, such as:
WARM COLOURS. Red, orange, and yellow sit beside each other on the “warm” part of the colour wheel. They evoke feelings of happiness and optimism. They also have an attention-grabbing effect (think caution tape and hazard lights).
COOL COLOURS. The opposite side of the colour wheel has the colder colours including green, blue and purple. These colours are calming, and can help us express ourselves more, whether its sadness or creativity.
THE DESK
Your reception desk is your welcome centre, it’s the first thing people notice when they first walk in. There are three important people who can help you decide on the right desk:
Your receptionist – They will be the one working there and they already understand the demands of the job and what features are really important.
Your marketing manager – They will be more concerned with its appearance than function, ensuring the desk is on brand with the organization.
A Designer – they’ll be able to help blend function and aesthetic, while keeping your branding in mind. It’s also beneficial to get a set of fresh eyes from outside of your organization.
When it comes to choosing the size of desk, an easy rule of thumb is to make it proportional to the reception space. You also want to make sure it’s big enough to avoid a messy looking space. The type of reception area you have will also influence what shape of desk you get. For example, if the desk is in the center of a lobby, then make it a “U” shaped desk, so that the receptionist can always face the direction of your visitors.
CHAIRS
There’s two point-of-view to consider here:
THE RECEPTIONIST. Choosing an ergonomic chair with the proper back, neck and arm support is the best thing you can do for your receptionist. They will be there all day, every day, you want to ensure they’re feeling their best so they can greet your guests with a friendly smile, rather than a grimace or groan.
THE CLIENT. For the most part your client won’t be waiting for you, for too long in the reception That’s why many businesses use stylish furniture here. There’s nothing wrong with that, unless you know that your visitors are likely to spend more than 10 minutes waiting for you. The longer they wait, the more you need to consider their comfort.
