‘Tis the season. If you haven’t decorated for this time of year, then you might not be feeling the spirit that pervades society in November and December. Holiday lighting can help commercial properties to show that they are modern, keep things updated, and are interested in the aesthetic of their environment. See what simple changes you can make that will help your business efforts!
What Are the Benefits of Holiday Lighting Efforts?
It’s no question that many homeowners are holiday lighting enthusiasts, that they hang strings on their doors, windows, roof, and landscape to brighten the mood during this season. However, what about commercial property managers? In fact, those who utilize some form of decoration actually receive certain benefits.
For example, they can “attract community attention.” It’s unlikely that you decorate the property year-round, so when they go up around this time of year, people will notice. It can be used as an opportunity to draw the public eye, to put a literal and figurative spotlight on your property so that more outsiders pay attention to it than ever. This can draw people in to at least look over your offerings, if you have any, or just to keep you in their minds for future property needs.
Those who work within your property or who visit will be able to see the value that you place in taking care of your property after you decorate it. It also adds a “unique energy” to your property, one that is felt by all those who add decorations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a handful of other holidays. There’s just something about this time of year that makes the general population excitable, so take advantage of that to suit your business needs!
In a lot of ways, adding holiday lighting to your commercial property “is like installing additional signage… without the hassle of permits and ordinances.” In other words, it’s a way to advertise your property without jumping through hoops. This should be taken advantage by every property manager and, indeed, you should encourage those who work on site to put up their own decorations to get into the spirit of things. Their efforts, combined with yours, will bring about even greater results. Consider hosting some kind of contest for the best-decorated business on your property in order to encourage everyone to get involved.
Consider also that it would seem strange if surrounding properties were decorated for the season, but your own was still strangely dark. At the very least, go through this process so that you don’t stand out in a negative way! Speaking of negative perceptions… remember the story of A Christmas Carol? Scrooge is portrayed badly because of his disdain for the holidays. Don’t be a Scrooge if there are easy opportunities to get involved (and there are)! Become an enthusiastic part of the celebrating community with some planned holiday lighting of your own. “What better, simpler way to gain a stronger sense of loyalty from not only customers and patrons, but from tenants as well?”
If people see that you spent money on such decorations, they’re likely to intuit that you had the funds to do so, i.e. that your business is doing well. You don’t have to hire a professional lighting designer, of course, but purchasing the materials and either helping put them up yourself or having maintenance do it shows that you have some time and money to spare to dress things up. If you do choose to allocate the work to others, consider producing a plan yourself, or having it semi-professionally done. Maintenance can easily hang things on hooks, but there is a design element to holiday lighting that might require more planning than just that hanging.
Finally, throughout this process, remember utility costs and energy efficiency. Different kinds of lights will drain more or less power and will last for longer periods of time. Usually, LED bulbs are a good bet all around. For safety, make sure that the lights inside are not left on all day and night; this could lead to a fire within the building. The safety of your tenants and personnel should be foremost, so make every decoration choice with them in mind.
While you deck the halls, let SKYLINE Property Management & Accounting Software help you to exceed your tenants’ expectations in other ways. This software can get all of your less-fun work to order while you boost the spirit around your property. Brighten up things with decorations and lights and SKYLINE can take care of the rest.