Does the receptionist at your company make visitors feel welcome by offering a bowl of M&Ms?
Or a dry towel for people who walk in a torrential downpour from the parking lot into the lobby?
Is there a TV in your reception area so visitors who have to wait can enjoy the Three Stooges on DVD?
I’ve been reading ideas on how to turn your staid company lobby with the grumpy receptionist into the friendliest and most fun place in the building—where visitors and even employees love passing through.
Seth Godin’s blog and Michelle Golden’s blog for CPAs, lawyers and professional service firms offer these ideas for corporate reception areas:
—DVDs of the company softball games.
—A sign outside the door that reads “Widgets International Welcomes Joe Flibeetz” so Joe feels like a celebrity even before he reaches the door (my idea posted at Michelle’s blog).
—A three-ring binder filled with good things that people are saying about your company on the Internet.
Michelle says:
“I am reminded of photo albums in my obstetrician’s office of hundreds of babies he’s delivered…families proudly posing with their newborns–the doctor grinning beside the hospital bed which is a very nice visual of bedside manner, isn’t it? Are you ever featured in the news or at events *with* your clients? If so, capture it. If not, why not? Arrange it!”
If I did PR for a company that dazzled visitors as soon as they walked through the door, I’d be on the phone pronto with the local TV news departments, the daily and weekly newspapers, and my local business journal.
To sweeten the pitch, I’d track down one or two other companies that also make visitors feel special and would agree to be interviewed. I’d write a press release and post it online.
If nobody wanted to cover the story, I’d shoot a photo of a visitor being pampered at my company and submit it to the local newspapers. Then I’d pitch it to the bloggers and my trade magazines. How about creating a short video and posting it on YouTube?
Then I’d go over to Chase’s Calendar of Events and create “Stamp Out Grumpy Receptionists Month” and write another press release.
I’d love to hear what your company is doing.