Boosting Customer Perception Through Thoughtful Bathroom Design

Does the bathroom at your corporate office or retail store really matter? Aside from it being sparkling clean and modern, you may be surprised by what these locations really tell customers and visitors about your business.

Customers link both brand reputation and customer loyalty to the look and feel of a bathroom. If you stop at a highway rest stop, your expectations are not high. If you’re visiting a high-end retailer to spend several hundred dollars on a look, you expect restrooms to be clean.

But expectations also go beyond cleanliness. The elements of your brand, such as colors and style, as well as the missions of your business, like ecofriendliness, are clearly represented in the bathroom, not just your main areas.

How to Keep Your Brand Out of the Toilet

Ensure your bathroom space creates the right perception of your brand. To do that, focus on these areas as a component of your bathroom remodeling project.

Plan a Roomy, Comfortable Space That’s Efficient

The layout of the space matters. Blending enough room for privacy and movement is important, but you don’t always have large spaces to put towards the bathroom. Consider:

• How much foot traffic does the space receive in a given hour?
• When is it most used during the day?
• What building codes are required?

Ensure accessibility that works. That means that all local building codes for wheelchair-accessible stalls with grab bars and accessible sinks are a must. It also may mean providing modern facilities that are easy for a person to use comfortably. This helps your business show you’re inclusive.

Create the Ambiance That Matches Your Brand

Aesthetics in a bathroom should be a smooth continuation of what’s outside the doors. Ensure this space doesn’t miss a beat in communicating your brand. Consider:

• Use your current color scheme.
• Utilise decorative elements that help to tell your story, whether fun tiles with a geometric pattern or elegant, glass mosaics.
• Use signage that reflects (and stays up to date on) what’s already presented to your customers outside the door.
• Incorporate technology that’s expected, with high-end fixtures and innovative sanitization strategies that showcase your techy branding.
• Use décor pieces that carry your location’s theme through the space, whether that’s a clean, simplistic, modern feel or one of charm with décor that matches your space.
• Proper lighting is essential, as a bright, airy bathroom creates a sense of cleanliness and good hygiene.
• Incorporate thoughtful elements, like hooks to hold coats or purses.
• Don’t forget good ventilation. Odor is one of the fastest ways to create the worst impression for those walking in.
• Make maintenance a priority and act on customer concerns as soon as you learn of them.

Make the space comfortable and welcoming, but with the same feel as the rest of your location.

Incorporate What Makes Your Business What It Is

Take your bathroom design one step further. It certainly has to fit the above parameters, but don’t forget to use this space as an area to further build your brand’s reputation. Consider a few strategies to drive home your business message.

Ecofriendly: Many companies today are focused on demonstrating their environmentally friendly efforts. You may wish to use low-flow toilets and faucets. Incorporate hand drying techniques that use recycled paper or air.

Inclusive Messaging: If your business wants to demonstrate how inclusive it is to all people, make sure your signage in this space communicates that. Use images of people from a wide range of backgrounds. You want people to feel as if they belong here.

Decorative Accents: Utilise products you promote and sell in your location as a component of the bathroom space, if it makes sense to do that. For example, if you own a flower shop, incorporate fresh flowers in the space. If you operate a retail store, use brands that people can purchase in your shop, from fragrances to soaps.

The bathroom of your business is often an overlooked area when it comes to branding. Yet, it impacts your customers. It shows how clean your business is, how attentive you are to customer needs, and the level of professionalism they can expect from working with you.

Author bio: Davis Glassberg is the Product Manager at Bath Concepts, which transforms bathrooms into spa-like, dream retreats. Glassberg is in charge of training and developing innovative new products for the bath industry. Glassberg has been actively involved in acrylic bathroom remodeling for over three decades. During that period, he has designed over 40,000 bathrooms and trained more than 10,000 design consultants across the U.S.