"This is not a good parking garage."
What? I would kill to have our city's garages look that nice.
Jeff Fluhr of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, Todd Pierce of Pictoform and Allison Billings of Charlotte Center City Partners all contributed to a fantastic seminar at the recent IDA Conference in Fort Worth.
But back to the garage. An engineers dream maybe, but how did appeal to the customer? Where was the signage? Where was the color? For that matter, where was the brand? The overarching theme was that parking--just like your downtown--needs a brand and a strong marketing campaign to be successful.
Pierce outlined 5 keys to brand success when it comes to parking:
- Memorable
- Affordable
- Convenient
- Clean & Safe
- Easy
Takeaways:
- Have all parking signs and collateral material reflect your brand.
- Keep an eye on the first 30 ft--keep it well-lit and clean and take out the trash cans.
- Paint the wall around the pay station a bright color so people can find it.
- Have signs at the entrance highlighting parking fees.
- Try to standardize parking fees, at lease the first hour, to make it easier for the customer.
