If we told you that it’s better to get the oil changed in your car than it is to let your engine burn out and break down, you wouldn’t disagree. The cost of an oil change is nothing compared to a new engine.
Maintenance is always easier and more cost effective than fixing things after they break. But all too often companies ignore this when it comes to one of their most expensive assets – their building.
Whether you run an office, medical centre, warehouse, retail store, bank or bakery it’s ALWAYS a smarter move to stay on top of repairs.
They are saving tens of thousands of dollars each year by making a small, regular investment in the maintenance of their facilities.
A CASE STUDY
A client in BC called us to repair water-damaged drywall in a storage room.
Upon beginning the work, it was discovered that the entire inside wall was overrun with black mold – a serious health hazard to staff and customers.
The cause?
Water had been leaking from an industrial freezer on the other side of the wall and over time had built up, leading to massive damage all hidden behind now-rotting drywall.
The cost to fix it? North of $20,000.
Ouch.
Had someone been able to run a monthly or even quarterly basis full facility maintenance check, the problem may well have been caught early, the freezer fixed, and the cost reduced dramatically.
That same client now uses a regularly scheduled maintenance program – which has already prevented similar issues at other locations.
A maintenance program literally paid for itself for years in the first month alone.
Another factor is how you look
Right now, 2 out of 3 customers are judging you by your appearance
This sounds harsh, but its true.
More than two-thirds of consumers say they’ve avoided a place of business based on its appearance.
Obviously that can drastically impact your bottom line.
A store’s physical appearance matters — significantly, according to several recent consumer surveys.
With 95% of consumers reporting that appearance is important in choosing a store to shop in, the survey results suggest that it pays to focus on the presentation of your location to ensure repeat business.
So what can you do to ensure your customers return and have a positive impression?
Instead of looking at facility maintenance as an annoying “must have” for safety and operational reasons, think about it as also being an investment in your overall marketing efforts.
Ask yourself these three questions:
- Are we sending the wrong message to potential customers?
- Are we turning potential customers away without knowing it?
- Is the environment of our location consistent with our target customers’ expectations?
Facilities are a source of ongoing cost for any business. There’s no way around that.
But there’s ample opportunity for facilities maintenance cost savings if you know where to look.
The simplest way to identify cost-saving opportunities is to figure out the largest costs associated with your facility’s upkeep.
What are you spending the most money on, and what are you getting for that price?
Approach this both a cost-benefit standpoint, then implement a simple low-risk program to ensure that minor damages and issues are caught and eliminated before the bloom into costly problems.