Whether your business is located in a high-traffic area or directly in front of your building, you’ll need to keep your parking lot well-maintained and secure. A parking lot in an inconvenient or dimly-lit location could impact your bottom line and destroy your customer relationships.
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What to Consider When Choosing or Renovation a Parking Lot
If you’re running a parking garage business or you’re using a separate location (on or off-site) for customer parking, you should consider the following factors when choosing or designing a lot.
1. Parking Barrier Gates: For Security and Payment
Security is essential in a parking lot, especially at night and if the lot is full. Pedestrians walking to their car may feel unsafe if there aren’t enough lights. Drivers may think there’s a possibility of theft if their vehicle has to be parked in an unsecured location or in a space without cameras.
To ensure your customers feel safe shopping with you, consider purchasing a parking barrier gate and a parking lot security package. By taking these measures, you can lock your lot at night, prevent unpaying customers from parking, and review your tapes if a crime occurs.
2. Parking Design Layout: For Efficiency and Occupancy
When you don’t have control over the location, you still have some say regarding the design layout. Ideally, parking lots should be rectangular, with parking on both sides of access aisles. Parking spaces that are perpendicular to the aisles are the most efficient unless you want fast turnover.
For example, a mall may want to draw their parking spots at a 60 or 45-degree angle because they don’t require precise turning to enter or exit. The aisle orientation should be parallel to the longest side of the lot. There should be a break in the aisle (cross aisle) every 30 or so spaces.
3. Parking Lot Maintenance: To Increase Customer Trust
A parking lot can increase customer trust, preference, foot traffic, and in-store sales, but only if it’s properly maintained. Without maintenance, a parking lot will look no different than a vacant lot, so make sure you scan the area for potholes, cracks, and uneven surfaces regularly.
While fractures in the asphalt can cause damage to vehicles and possibly trip customers, they also cause other significant problems to your lot over time. Faded parking lines and runoff drainage can make your lot inefficient to traverse, which could affect your business’s reputation.
4. Parking Lot Cleanliness: To Look More Professional
Some warm-blooded business travelers may be shocked to know how much damage ice and snow can do on the roads, let alone in a parking lot. If you decide to purchase a business in a state that has a snowy winter, know that it’s your responsibility to shovel and salt your lot.
However, even the summer months come with cleanliness issues. For example, heavy rain could flood your lot, and sand storms could affect your car’s tires. Litter can also pose a problem at any time of the year, and you have to install trash cans on the lot to cut down on garbage.
5. Parking Lot Location: For Convenience and Safety
If you bought a parking lot and a business/office together, then you probably won’t have a choice in your parking lot’s location. Mall businesses also don’t have a lot of say. On the other hand, you will have more options if you run a business downtown or use a separate lot.
When you do have a choice, make sure your parking lot is convenient. Your customers should be able to walk to your physical store within 5 minutes, but preferably 2. Try to include preferred parking locations in your branding and on your website to encourage customers to use them.
