Everything you need to know.

3.5 min read

Business owners, property managers and visitors alike all want one thing—a simple and easy parking experience. From planning where to park to arriving at the parking lot and everywhere in between, it's essential to recognize and value how online and offline mechanisms work together to attract customers to your parking facility and entice them to return. 

A visible online presence and effective parking signage can help you do just that. As a sequel, the two work hand-in-hand in completing the journey to offer a seamless parking experience. 

Today, nearly 92% of customers use online tools to plan and find parking. Whether via Google Search, your favourite GPS apps such as Waze, or an in-car navigation system, it is no secret that the customer journey and sought-after parking begins online. This is the reason why property managers have invested in location-based digital marketing endeavours such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure their parking information is highly visible on search engines like Google and in a variety of online maps.

However, Maria Lato, Marketing Manager at Precise ͵ÅÄ͵¿ú, explains that although a traditional form of marketing, "signage is not to be overridden by digital marketing when considering the parking journey. Today, we expect ease, flexibility, and instant results in all that we do, including searching for parking. When notified of arrival by our GPS, we expect to look up and see exactly where the parking lot entrance is, or at the very least, a parking sign pointing us in the right direction. Signage is a sequel to digital marketing. One should not be done without the other when trying to attract and retain customers. 

As reliable as online GPS’ can be, they don’t always lead drivers to the front doorstep, in this case, the parking lot entrance. Parking lot locations are commonly misrepresented on GPS as they tend to share an address with a nearby building. This is why approximately 30% of traffic congestion is a result of vehicles circling the block countless times during the search for parking.

In addition to being imperative for road safety and sustainability, signage is a vital tool responsible for referring customers to a parking lot. Innovative signage placements, vibrant designs, and thorough messaging are the final steps to a seamless customer journey. 

Although customer journeys might frequently start and end online, it's important to consider offline factors throughout. A combination of both online and offline marketing is the key to a profitable parking operation.

Reference

Lato, M. (2020, September 9). 92% of People Find Parking Online. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from

Tse, B. (2021, May 10). Wayfinding and Navigation Solutions for your Parking Lot. Parking Industry. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.parkingindustry.ca/parking-technology/wayfinding-and-navigation-solutions-for-your-parking-lot?rq=signage.