Traditionally, trades used to cluster in certain areas and even in certain streets - a good example of this is Savile Row in London, where tailors have been plying their trade since the late 18th Century, so much so that the street has become synonymous with high quality bespoke menswear. Another is Tottenham Court Road, the go-to place for electrical consumer durables.
Restaurants and cafes, too, are often co-located with other, similar premises. This is partly to do with licencing laws, and partly to do with certain areas creating a 'buzz' that encourages walk-in trade. So there may be many good reasons why you have decided to locate your new business in an area abuzz with very strong competition.
How, then, do ensure that your business is one that customers choose to visit and remember to return to? A big part of this is differentiation. If you provide a service that is identical, or very similar, to what your next door neighbour offers, you may well become confused with them in your customers' minds. By specialising and standing out from your surroundings, you narrow down your competition.
Whether or not your customers choose to return to you is dependent on a wide variety of factors. If they are dissatisfied with you service or product, or feel that they have been overcharged, they will take their business elsewhere. However, if they enjoyed their first visit, they are likely to return.
If, that is, they can find you again.
Most people won't bother to write down the name of a shop or restaurant - they might take a card, but they are more than likely going to loose it before the end of the day. Chances are, that when they arrange to meet their friends for dinner, they will attempt to describe you. So try to make it easy for them.
We have had a little look and have found some businesses that are visually engaging and easy to remember:
'The restaurant with the jungle growing our of the top'.
Cafe Trussardi, Milano (by Carlorattieassociati) - exterior
Or: 'The cafe with the books'
McNally Jackson Bookshop cafe, New York City
Or, on a much smaller scale, 'The tuck shop with the crazy topiary out front'
Tuck Shop, Ramotswa, Botswana
However, it is vitally important that 'to stand out from the crowd' does not become a gimmick. Yes, you want your business to look as special on the outside as it is in the eyes of its creator. But you don't want to turn that into a 'one-liner' statement.
Cafe Trussardi, for example, looks pretty eye-catching from the outside, but what matters is that it creates a beautiful oasis on the inside - a place where people want meet and linger:
Cafe Trussardi, Milano (by Carlorattieassociati) - interior
Similarly, this burger joint in Paris may look like a 1960s New York movie theatre on the outside, but equal attention is given to making the small interior seem more spacious than it really is through the careful use of smoke and mirrors:
Paris New York Burgers, Paris
Designing business premises well requires careful thought to be given to the outside as well as the inside - to first impressions as well as daily use, to new customers as well as regulars.
It is important to be memorable - but equally vital to be nice!