Perception is all important, in the eyes of your customers you are as you are seen.

Therefore it is simply common sense that a good store environment will be conducive to shoppers and the results will be evident on the bottom line. But what constitutes a good store environment?

I'm old enough to remember the corner shop of the fifties when I would join the queue with the rest of the kids with my threepenny bit trying to decide what I should have from the penny dip. Black Jacks and Fizz Bombs aside, the enduring memory is the mixture of sweet, carbolic, savoury smells and the friendly but firm shopkeeper who would intone "you look with your eyes not your hands".

Nostalgia aside, you must project a clean up-to-date image even if the styling is period or themed. You must keep fixtures and fittings looking new:, you will be judged by how you measure up to your competitors. So you must always keep yourself up-to-date with what they are doing.

Look at your layout, keep abreast of new trends, be prepared to make changes, all too often displays once placed never move again and the shop floor becomes cluttered, more of an obstacle course than a sales area. If you are not confident about the layout ask an expert, a design consultant can often justify his fee by the additional income a well presented and considered layout can generate.

You must be sensitive to in-store environment, use your senses. Apart from seeing, what do you smell, hear or feel? Does it smell good? Is it fresh or full of stale products? Are you making the best use of naturally available smells? At the very least, make sure the area is well ventilated.

What do you hear? Is the music boring? A repetitious collection of mind numbing blandness? Is there too much background noise? Music is not a bad thing but it needs to be sensitive to the proposition.

How do you feel? Is it too warm, too cold, stuffy? All too often the thermostat gets turned up and forgotten about and the blast of warm air is simply too much when you come in off the street.

A good tip is to regularly have a walk round the block and approach your showroom as if you were a customer - enter, walk to the middle and spin through 360 degrees. What do you see, smell, hear or feel? Whatever conclusion you reach do something about it now, do not delay, remember it is probably impacting on your sales.

Most important, what sort of image, lasting impression do your people make? It's been said many times but still :remains true, your greatest asset is your people. Poorly trained, uninterested or simply rude sales staff can be a real liability. The impression given by your sales staff will remain long after the purchase has been forgotten.

A lot to consider but if you want to be out in front rather than just one of the rest, you've got to get it right - Have a nice day!

John Sugden is creative services director with Ian Stuart Design.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.