GPI 238 – Advertise freely in your lobby, open hallway or large visitor space you own.

Do you advertise in the lobby of all of your facilities?  Showing products in the front lobby is almost free and naturally leads to inquiries and referrals when visitors see examples of your great and varied work.  You never know who walks into your facility with their own company’s needs or who knows potential customers with needs.  It never hurts to display photos or examples of your products or service in full view where everyone walks by. Make sure to stock up on your pertinent company literature and material and keep those racks filled every day.

Front lobby marketing questions to consider:

1. Are there free giveaways, little but interesting promotional freebies centered totally on company products and services sitting in plain sight in the company’s front entrance where everyone enters the building?
2. Is there a reason why you would not want people to know what you do?  If not, why not feature your products in the front entrance?  Put your products in front of them.  The problem with most of the public lies in their inability to imagine what you do by just listening to your words.  Show them and leave no doubt.
3. If you do not have any freebies or promotional items, get some marketing people on it.  You want people to take things away with your name and telephone number on them.  (i.e. calendars, key chains, guides, helpful hints or suggestions listings, etc.)
4. Are there handouts (brochures / catalogs / lists of services, pamphlets, business cards, sample products) that are offered to visitors?
5. What is the reason you do not want to have any printed material someone could take with them?  What possible reason would you not want visitors to know what the company does?  Suggestion:  If you do not know what to write, get a copy of your company letterhead, enter the heading, “Examples of Our Products”, and write down a list of the last twenty or thirty items in full description sent to current customers.  Assign someone to keep track of these shipments and to assemble this listing.  Ask the shipping department to give you a list.   Write it up neatly, copy it off 100 times and hand it out until your marketing department can wake up.
6. If you do have them available, are these product or service publications easy to find or do visitors have to look for them or ask for them?  You understand that most will not ask for something they cannot see.  Even if you do not want to keep them in the lobby, post a sign announcing you have brochures available upon request.
7. Are these flyers or pieces of literature offered under a sign that begs the visitor to take one “FREE – PLEASE TAKE ONE” This sign should be sitting in full view of visitors who come into your lobby.  Any person coming into the front lobby should immediately see free literature or brochures offered in plain view for visitors.  There is no reason why any rational marketing person would not do this free advertising at your own facility where interested parties are entering at any given time.
8. Are there plenty of enlarged photos of your products or services or photos of your products being used hanging on the walls or featured on the packaging of your product?  Do those photos have good resolution? Are they shot at interesting angles?  Is the company logo in full view?
9. Do the photos tell observers what the products do, how they are used, how they enhance the user’s life, or make things easier or more enjoyable.  Are there people shown using your various company products?  Is the woman holding your product smiling or bored?  If it is hard to tell, you failed.
10. Are the pamphlets or lists that are featured in racks or stands in your lobby plentiful, full of photos, sales contact names, business cards attached and easy to find?
11. Are those racks replenished every day with updated materials?
12. Is someone assigned to this duty and measured by it?
13. Is this same material available to your employees if they want to take it and give it out to family and friends?
14. Does your truck driver carry some company brochures in his cab and is he encouraged to pass them out?  He sees a lot of people every day.  Give him some.  It may do no good or it might stir a lead.  You have no idea how many people he speaks to every day in behalf of your company.
15. Do your sales people check in regularly to restock their supply of brochures to pass out?
16. Is this same promotional material made available to your vendors?  They may not know what you can do.  Are there some in your purchasing agent’s offices to pass out?  Are vendors encouraged to take some with them if they wish?
17. Do you offer any referrals that stemmed from the distribution of literature in your lobby?  You want every visitor that has taken the time to come to your facility to know more about what your firm can do.  You want that visitor to tell someone else, pass on your brochures and spread your capabilities by word of mouth.  You want free advertising.  You want referrals.  Your lobby must market for you and work for you, even when you are not there.