Your Business Building is More Than Just a Space

Recently, the newsletter has focused on the company’s past achievements and its future direction.

Let’s take one more journey. Or, really, a trip over to downtown Akron.

This was taken a month ago, during my final walk-through of the original Wilson family building. We shut it down last summer when we moved into where we are now.

That move was probably the biggest change in our history.

And not just because of the obvious. I loved that old, former dairy bottling plant that Ralph Wilson bought in 1965.

But it wasn’t always the best place to run a business. More importantly, it no longer represented Wilson the way it should.

A building is more than a building; I’m not talking about sentimentality.

Is your company building a marketing tool? You better believe it. Here’s why your building is more than just a space.

Let’s do it.

• Capacity and infrastructure support expansion and efficiency.
• Your building is a great recruitment, marketing tool.
• Align your real estate decisions with planned growth.

Plan for the Future

The biggest change in the last few years has been the new building.

There are reasons for that. Yes, a centralized operation location did a lot for our processes. More to the point: The move had a ripple effect.

Operational, marketing and branding, culture, and even day-to-day communication. All of this was bettered by being in a better building.

The Akron location? It was never going to be the fit for growth. It’s a building that means a lot to me, even now, but all things have a season.

And that’s why we started to look toward the future. Not only did we need a building for expansion, but we required one that offered a professional environment.

Your building is an investment in your future as much as it is a requirement in the present.

Some may think that it doesn’t matter how the outside looks.

“You’re a home service company, nobody is expecting something fancy.”

Well… You’re wrong.

Build It And They Will Come

We remodeled, added on, adapted, shared offices, and more to the old space.

But there’s only so much drywall you can put up. Eventually, reality set in:

We’re missing a branding opportunity.

I think about the number of visitors, vendors, and potential hires that come through our offices every week.

The space you present matters.

This is what I meant when I said to think about the environment of your building. It’s absolutely a marketing tool.

Customer perceptions, vendor relationships, recruitment. All of these cascade down from the first impression to your building when they pull up.

But a good first impression doesn’t mean you need a sterile, modern building to succeed.

After all, this is home services—I’m a plumber.

But still, a professional image is deeply connected to your branding and marketing strategies.

That’s without even considering the importance of your physical location and its appeal.

Do rockstar hires want to move to where you are? Will a bad location hurt your ability to retain talent? Does a dumpy building that’s difficult to get to hurt culture?

If you want that growth then you want a building that can fully represent.

The Process And Capacity

I love my new warehouse. A new space, more loading docks, a true VMI system. It’s all made a huge difference in how we operate.

It’s a professional operation and we treat our products with respect. That’s something vendors notice and can help form and maintain great partnerships.

Our vendors with VMI are regularly bringing in other parties for site visits, to see what we’re doing. We put forth a good foot forward. It’s also great being able to show off.

This becomes more important the bigger you get in vendor relationships. Start early, and plan for that process.

That warehouse isn’t just for show, either. It really let us level up and push through past capacity issues.

A great building is like dressing for the job you want. If potential partners or hires see how you’re treating the building then that says something about how you operate.

It’s a marketing opportunity that you absolutely must use to your advantage.

That’s why a building isn’t just a building. It’s marketing, recruiting, and a plan for the future, all in one.

Don’t take that for granted.