Are blazing neon signs on Mainstreet best for your brand? Posted 2011, 01 February I’ve just concluded some successful negotiations and located new properties for an IT company. The interesting thing was that we decided the best fit for their business strategy and brand was to move on from a highly visible location. The usual take on property is “location, location, location”. But is mainstreet, i.e. expensive CBD real estate, always the best place for a business? Smart business is often about knowing when to break with convention. In today’s dynamic and busy markets, standing out from the crowd is often critical to growth. To stand out from the crowd requires you to get clear about your value and your point of difference. These days more and more people source their goods and services online, or from niche providers that are as likely to operate from an unexpected location as they are to have a front office in downtown. Following our successful analysis and recommendations, our client not only ended up with premises at several locations that better suited their business strategy, they also saved themselves a considerable sum in rental and the terms and conditions of their leases. It is definitely a point of difference for Parallel Directions that as well as looking at whether you are paying the right price for your lease, we dig deeper into your business strategy and ask challenging questions to determine whether you are in the right location. It’s exciting to conclude work for a client like this, and it reinforces that we are on the right track with the analysis of clients’ property lease needs. So take a look around… How much have you thought in depth about the location of your office, your shop, your industrial premises? Are you merely following conventional wisdom about the best place to be? Have you asked your clients and suppliers what they really think? If this sparks your thinking, don’t hesitate to get in touch and I’m sure we can work out if you are in the right place at the right time in 2011.
