It’s not an uncommon site. Driving past strip malls or walking through the mall and seeing the empty retail space. Office leasing and corporate real estate is obviously changing. The tactics that commercial real estate agents are using to fill their space is definitely changing. During the economic and real estate boom a couple years ago, the deals that are being forged today would never have been considered.
One way that retail space is being filled is with nonprofit organizations and a variety of other such businesses – like schools, day care centers, gyms and/or theatre groups. The main factor that spaces will consider is the amount of traffic that can be brought to the area with the group involved. With a theatre group or maybe even a daycare there is going to be a variety of people brought to the location that may not have been in the area otherwise.
Traffic control is key. One of the great things about retail space is that it is always centrally located or at least conveniently located. This is the great way to get businesses in because they will be able to build themselves in a good location and attract the customers they are hoping to attract. It will not only be a great option for the business but it is also a win for the shopping center as they are going to be changing their image and drawing people in with a new tactic.
It’s an unfortunate reality that many larger retail outlets have gone out of business lately and have left some giant buildings behind. Without using these buildings they are just left to sit as an eyesore as consumers drive by day after day. Plus, some retailers that were thinking about expanding their business or perhaps renovating have put a hold on those projects in order to save some money. Space that they may have originally hoped to expand into has been left empty as a result.
Some shopping centers are also trying out different marketing concepts to test the water for future businesses. For example, smaller businesses, or spinoffs are starting up to see if they can survive and bring in new business. One example could be a Holiday specific spin on a party store. This might occupy a space for a short time and then be replaced a few months later with another type of business. This has been a successful way for retailers to bridge the gap and bring in some additional money.
Perhaps the economy has been a great way to get us unsettled and to make us consider our current lot in life. We all need a little stirring every once in awhile in order to come up with new and greater ideas. We can’t grow if we are standing still all the time. While it may feel like a difficult time and seem like the world is falling apart, we know that we can get through this thing one step at a time. By getting creative, utilizing exciting new marketing strategies and by trying something out of the box, retail space can thrive. Focus on bringing in customers not on your normal radar in order to continue to survive during this difficult time.
About the Author: Rebecca Beckett is a freelance writer for Innuity. If you would like more information about retail space or office leasing go to Royal Commercial
Archive for August, 2009
Finding Creative Ways to fill Vacant Retail Space
Monday, August 31st, 2009Learn To Identify Wasted and Properly Used Retail Space
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009You’ve just conceived an idea for your new business. You know why product you want to sell, you have employees lined up. All that’s left is finding an adequate building to be able to advertise and sell your entire product line. retail space isn’t easy to come by because of how many businesses succeed and fail each year. The one’s that tend to exceed have an office leasing and the ability to advertise their product in a way that makes them separate from their competition.
You need to look for space that able to provide you enough shelf space to advertise the product as well as enough space for your customers to conveniently and comfortably walk through the aisles to view them. Not a lot of people like to be crowded together trying to find the product they were searching for. They become claustrophobic and feel a need to get out of the store before buying anything. The importance in the amount of space you allow in unparallel to the amount inventory you have displayed. It won’t matter how much product you have out if everyone’s fleeing the store because of how uncomfortable they are.
The amount of space you decide to buy is of course proportionate to the amount of money you want to spend. If you spend all of your money on the largest space available with nothing to fall back on in case business is slow at first, you will find yourself closing the store down before it even began and your dream lost. No business started out a success. If you believe the product you’re selling will sell immediately than ask yourself, “How will people know about the product”?
The internet is vast but there are millions of other businesses trying to get their product out there and selling just like you. You can advertise in your local area, but that’s a very small portion considering the amount of people living in the United States. What you’re going to be relying is a marketing campaign savvy to those consumers you wish to target and service that carries over word of mouth. People can get a certain product anywhere, but they come to your store for the service and the atmosphere. Don’t forget this crucial fact when shopping for retail space.
As business begins to grow you will find yourself needing more space to hold the amount of customers foaming for your product. It is at this time where you don’t need to worry so much about how much space you have and how much it will cost because of how much money you’ve made. Expanding your business practice elsewhere may be a more beneficial venture than expanding your space. You can make a little more profit with small chains around the nation than a few large retail store.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding retail space or office leasing, please visit Royal Commerical.
Creative Strategies for Leasing Retail Space
Monday, August 17th, 2009We’re all getting sick of talk about the economy and how most areas of business are struggling. However, for those in the real estate market, it may never have been as tough as it is now, especially in regards to office leasing. Retail space is a different beast than a regular house. Retail leasing brokers are going to be challenged or are already being challenged like never before. While leasing is still taking place it takes much more creative strategies to solidify the deal.
As in most businesses, it is taking more work and time to close deals than are making less money. It’s the sad truth, but salespeople have it tough. People have to work harder and smarter to get the job done. There are some strategies that you should employ to help you and your team.
Teamwork
Work as a team. Work beyond your stereotypical real estate role. Don’t let yourself get tied down with what you don’t do or what you have never done in the past. No role, job or idea should be too small to pursue. With layoffs, tightening of belts and the need to get creative, people are going to need to stretch their limits considerably.
Incentives
For most sales teams, there are incentives offered by the company when goals are reached. By awarding special incentives to those that are going above and beyond, it encourages people to work hard and work together. The types of incentives that are offered can vary in size and don’t have to mean that the company is spending money. Maybe it simply means recognizing a top sales person in the sales meeting – this draws attention to the job they have done well and shows how the company is behind their work supporting them.
Be Aggressive & Creative
Keep up the relationships that you currently have and continue to work toward developing relationships with those people you want to sell to. Use the economy and the things happening in it to strategically focus on the people you reach out to. Do you know of a particular industry that is going through changes? Can you meet their needs or desires with the type of business you are selling? Reach out to people and find out what they need to see if you can fill something in their lives. While being aggressive and persistent is essential in solidifying business, this does not mean being pushy and annoying. You need to understand that many businesses are going through a lot of changes right now. While they may not be able to afford your service right now, if you keep in touch they may be able to in the future and you may be able to offer something of interest to them down the line as well. How will you know if you don’t keep the lines of communication open?
Let’s face it. These are not ideal times but that is okay. We can all get the job done through teamwork, hard work and creative strategies. It is important not to get your mind set on failure – then you really will fail. Focus on getting through the hard times and working through what needs to be done to make that happen. Meet your customers’ needs and the rest will fall right into place.
About the Author: Rebecca Beckett is a freelance writer for Innuity http://www.innuity.com. If you would like more information about retail space or office leasing go to Royal Commercial.
Space is Everywhere: Find the Right Amount
Monday, August 10th, 2009Looking for a new location for your new or expanding business requires a great deal of assessing the amount of Retail space so you can save money now as well as the future. You don’t want to waste a bunch of money on space that you will never use in your office. This is also an important thing to consider when looking into leasing an office for your business.
Office leasingis essential to any retailer wanting to present themselves professionally in an office as well as a retail store. Just like with retail space, you want to make sure you don’t lease an office with space that you will not use. Office leases are calculated by the amount of space is in the office. You’ll want to look into leasing an office that is inside a building with different offices of other retailers. These offices save you money and are generally small enough for you to create a professional look for your business while saving yourself money.
If you’re a new business you want to evaluate the amount of inventory you will be selling as a retailer. If you’re not selling a ton of items, it is more cost efficient to share the space with another retailer. If you’re looking for a building that can be your own with only your inventory, make sure that the amount of inventory matches with the amount of space the building has. Wasting money on space that you don’t need will hurt your business in the long run.
For larger corporations that can afford a lot of retail space and offices will still need to take into consideration how much space they are willing to keep gray. It’s important to remember that even large companies are not invincible to the falls of the economy. Many large companies have declared bankruptcy in the past few months, and there’s no reason to think that your company is immune. Look at all the angles and make sure that you are not overspending. The money overspent could be money that keeps your business afloat during economic depression.
While it is important to make sure you’re not overspending on space, it’s also important to not under spend as well. If you only buy enough space for the shelves that hold your product, how our customers going to be able to browse the product? One of the most common phobias existing is claustrophobia. People who are in close quarters between the product and other people are less likely to buy the product. They just want to get out of the store and find one that is a little more consumer friendly. Make sure you find the right balance between the two.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding Retail space and Office leasing, look to Royal Commercial.
Space is Infinite: What Are Our Environmental Boundaries?
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009In corporate and retail space, the amount of space that you need to feel comfortable is vital to your customers environment. In closed spaces our productivity and ability to shop goes down. We are all independent creatures, and our space needs to be enough so that we don’t claustrophobic. This feeling can kill a business as people will leave immediately when they feel trapped and secluded.
More space and room means a bigger office and building. Reports for office leasingwill become a tired process that is essential. As we begin to grow and add more staff, the more it becomes necessary to add more room and space. The desks and work areas will need to be widened, and the breathing room expanded. The productivity of your workers is essential to the success of your company. If they are comfortable, so will the customers they speak to on a daily basis.
When we talk about retail space, we focus on the amount of space it takes to make you feel comfortable, and the customer that comes into your retail area. If the customer feels quarantined in your office, they are likely not to buy anything from you. The feeling of being trapped brings a wave of claustrophobia over a lot of people and will want to get out of your office as soon as they can.
Finding adequate room for your office can be tricky. On the one hand we want enough space to be comfortable, but we do not want to pay for space that we are not going to use. There are companies out there that specialize in office leasing to help you make this decision. They know that you want to have enough space to expand. Constantly needing to move and get a larger or smaller office is not what we’re going for here.
Once you find the right amount of office space, and then come the questions of how you will decorate the office. You want to look professional. Choices like what color of paint you want on the walls, what kind of carpeting you want come into play. It’s important not to be too flashy when you want to give off the appearance that you are a professional company with something to offer. We are all different and want to show people our individual ideas, but conforming to a monotone office is necessary in the way of professionalism. Once you get your name out there and you become popular, you can begin to be flashier with your office space.
So when thinking about the office you want to build, be sure to keep these things in mind. You want enough space to be able to expand, but you don’t want too much that you can’t utilize it all and pay for nothing. The happier your employees are, the happier your customers will be. The phone presence is about as close a lot of businesses get to interacting with customers.
About the author: Jason Ausmus is a web content producer for Innuity. For more information regarding retail space or office leasing, please go to Royal Commercial.