Standing out from the crowd and drawing people in has been part of the marketing and sales mantra of all organisations down the ages โ and with increased competition, new technologies and a discerning and time-poor consumer the realities of the modern-day landscape, it has never been more important.
And as Mark Carrick, VitrineMedia Australiaโs Manager for the Southern States, said, the window display is perhaps the most powerful, and often under- or poorly-used, tool we have in this regard.
So how do we in the real estate sector get the passers-by to stop, look and enter our premises, how do we maximise the appeal of our window space and turn casual browsers into customers?
VitrineMedia Australia specialises in stylish and appealing LED backlit window display solutions for the real estate industry and Mark shares his โMagnificent Sevenโ tips to turn your window display into something that not only highlights your unique personality but is an enticing and appealing billboard.
Spend time on the plan
Itโs always a good place to start, so make your first step measuring your window space. Then take a photo of it or even just sketch it up, before dropping into place the displays you have in mind. Companies like VitrineMedia can help here, taking your ideas, feeding them into a computer system that simulates your window and offering a number of recommended solutions.
Remember the focal point
Remember that the most important design element is a focal point within a symmetrical layout. The focal point is that spot within your display where you want the visitorโs eye to fall โand the best way to determine where it is is to run a line of string or tape across the window to mark eye level from the street rather than the interior, as sometimes the inside floor is not at street level.
Now, place at the focal point the display you want them to see first and build outwards in a way that leads the eye over all your exhibits.
Be creative
Which brings Mark to his third tip, creativity.
โResearch tells us that we have an average of about 14 seconds to grab a passer-byโs attention, so itโs important that our displays are attractive and eye-catching, with clever positioning, a mix of displays and display sizes and great lighting,โ Mark explained.
โAnd sometimes โ indeed, often โ less is more.
โThe temptation might be to use all the window space available and fill every centimetre with displays in the belief that youโre getting maximum bang for your buck, but our experience tells a different story โ that a cluttered window is more likely to repel and overwhelm potential foot traffic than appeal to it.โ
Boldness and balance brings brilliance
Similarly, boldness and balance can lift the display from bland to brilliant. A good starting point is to mix and match and as Mark says, with VitrineMediaโs range of sized, this is something readily easily accomplished.
VitrineMedia screens come in A0, A1, A2, A3 and A4 size, with A3 the biggest seller in real estate.
โBold grabs our short attention span and gets us to take a second look, perhaps even has us stepping inside. And when we blend it with balance, we create something thatโs aesthetically pleasing to the eye and awakens emotions of happiness, excitement and enjoyment โ as opposed to the unbalanced display fuelling moments of anxiety,โ Mark said.
He added that research indicates that visitations to appealing windows are up by as much as 40 per cent on their more drab cousins.
Create a frame
โWe have also seen those clients who have a strong marketing decal โ carrying information such as the company name and contact details โ around the window achieve excellent results as it forms a frame for the LED displays and adds to its focus and appeal.
Yes, clean the windows!
This might come as a surprise, but as mark says, if youโre going to going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on LED displays, be sensible and spend 10 minutes a day cleaning the windows, inside and out, as dirty is most off-putting and can quickly dilute all the good work of your displays.
The final check
Once you’ve got all the pieces where you want them, make sure to take a look at your window display from every possible angle as itโs unlikely a person will only notice your display when they’re standing right in front of it. Walk up to it from different directions, check things like your focal point and if it all appears balanced.
In conclusion, Mark pointed to a more subtle โ but no less important โ benefit of a great window displayโฆand thatโs staff morale.
โWhen the window display improves, weโve found that thereโs a correlation with the mood around the office,โ he said.
โWhen staff feel proud about whatโs in their windows, they feel good about themselves, the company and their job. Theyโre upbeat and this translates into mole sales and more properties on their books.โ