Controlling parking space is essential to ensure a consistent throughput of traffic to your business location.  Contrary to popular belief, providing free parking does not increase customer walk-in traffic and in fact, more usually decreases walk-ins because of non-availability of parking space – your largest area is typically utilized by people by have no intention of visiting your store.

Even when you are not operating a business which caters to the retail sector, controlling parking is essential to ensure employees are productive and maintain their morale, while equally, you want visitors to be able to park quickly and securely when they are doing business at your location.  Controlling site access and parking is also essential for effective delivery and dispatch of raw materials and finished goods

Parking permits and tags are usually considered to be the domain of the local agencies who are responsible for policing parking areas in towns and municipalities, however they have direct application for private landowners and businesses too.  Parking permits act as an authorization to enter and park at a location, but they also control when parking and access may take place by restricting times and dates when the permit may be used.  Where a privately owned location is using permits, the rules are at the discretion of the operator of the parking system (usually the business owner).  Where parking permits are utilized in public places, then their use and application must conform to state and county laws and regulations, including enforcement action.

There are a large number of styles and formats for parking permits which can be used in a wide variety of situations.  You may need to issue permanent parking permits, in which case they need to be robust, usually capable of being fixed to a windshield for permanent display, or alternatively, you may want to issue a temporary permit to allow a visitor access for a short visit or just the day.

The most common types of parking permit are:

• Hang Tags – these typically hang from the rearview mirror and are the most commonly used parking permit available as they lend themselves to both permanent and temporary use.  When not needed, they can be easily slipped off the rearview mirror, and when in use, they are highly visible which allows for simple enforcement and control to be exercised.  Typically, they are constructed using polyethylene which is tough and durable and you can source them as blanks, ready for you to apply your own serial or record numbers on them or you can have them pre-printed – there is no adhesive or sticky mess to contend with and the fabric of the car is unaffected;
• Bumper stickers – these are typically manufactured from a tough, weather resistant plastic with strong adhesive backing and are ideal for permanent use;
• Mirror decals – mirror decals are not placed on your car mirrors, but they have a “mirror” effect due to their design.  They have an adhesive backing or front to fix them in the car window; and
• Windshield tags – typically transparent, they are fixed to the windshield or even to the body of the car; tough and weather resistant they are a cheap and cheerful solution for permanent permits.

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Offering customer parking facilities has long been viewed as essential for attracting customers to your business, and especially for retail outlets.  Offering free parking is not the end of the story however, because “free” parking comes with a cost to your business and if you are not controlling who is using this service, and especially for how long it is being utilised, then you are failing to optimize the ROI (Return On Investment) for your business.

Curbside parking outside your store is one reason why merchants look to prime retail developments, especially downtown, as the idea is that providing parking space enhances the convenience and opportunity for through-traffic in the store.  While this sounds like it must be true from an intuitive perspective, you may be surprised to learn that curbside parking meters were not installed by any city or municipal government, but by a store owner in Oklahoma way back in 1935.  He had the idea, correct in this instance, that he needed to ensure there was available parking for customers who were going to actually use the store and not just the parking.  Available parking was continuously in use, not by customers to the store but as a point of convenient parking for visiting the downtown area – the benefit to the store owner was negligible if it was of any benefit at all.

Regulating who parks by or on your premises increases store traffic by ensuring you always have available parking.  Frequently, this entails charging for parking (which goes against the grain as 99% of parking is currently free in the US), but it focuses customer activity on your store, not the merchant area generally.  You can offset the cost to the customer by refunding the parking charge against in-store purchases, which will not deter genuine shoppers using your business.  Another technique is to ration the amount of parking time that the available space may be used – there is little benefit to your business of a free space being used by a downtown commuter for the bulk of the day or a shopper intent on convenient parking who never crosses the store threshold.

Parking permit labels and hang-tags are simple to source – online parking permit suppliers can be used to readily find parking permits which are extremely cheap and implement into a controlled parking solution.  You do not need to be concerned about spending a great deal of time or money on designing parking permits, labels or tags as many suppliers who specialise in this area, already provide easy-to-use template designs.  By combining your business identity and logo onto parking hang tags, you also help to cement your brand name in the minds of the customer.

With parking space regulations, typically designed to control vehicle emissions rather than revenue enhancement, becoming more frequent amongst many city and town agencies, you can combine the parking control policy with your own environmental efforts to reduce your carbon footprint.  For over 35 years, parking policy has largely been a dormant topic, however this is now one area where improving business effectiveness and reducing environmental impact are in harmony.

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Sourcing parking hang tags for your merchandising needs has never been easier with the internet making supplier choice so much easier.  This said there are drawbacks and you need to be clear on what you are looking for in a supply partner.

Many suppliers operating on the internet offer great deals and discounts and you can find some truly exceptional offers, but at the same time, developing a relationship with a trusted supplier needs something more than an internet website and an email ordering system.

To separate the good suppliers from those more interested in making a fast buck, think about the following issues and select your hang tag supplier accordingly.

Shortlist Suitable Hang Tag Suppliers

Instead of placing an order with the first website offering a great deal, make sure you have looked at a range of potential hang tag suppliers before you make a decision.  It’s usually a good idea to work up a list of five or six potential suppliers which you can take a closer look at – this number is manageable and you can create the list based on price, turnaround times or ability to offer a wide product range for your other requirements.

Look Behind the Website

It’s easy to create a great looking website that gives the impression of a huge company capable of delivering the moon and the sun.  Taking a look at who is operating behind the website can give you a good idea of the kind of business and service you are likely to receive in practice.

Check the “About Us” page and look what the business has to say for itself – if they don’t have one, look for client testimonials – if they don’t have those, check out the various consumer forums and message boards on the web to see what people are generally saying.  If you can’t find anything, consider dropping the company from your list.

What Are Your Continuing Requirements?

The internet is great for finding a supplier to fulfil a last minute order that needs to be done by tomorrow (you hope), but the best supplier to fulfil rush jobs and meet any non-standard requirements will be a supplier you have developed a good relationship with.

Ask yourself what your broader requirements are and whether the potential suppliers you are considering will be capable of delivering the services you are going to be looking for in future.  Your imminent order should be an opportunity to start a business relationship which will provide you with your non-standard needs down the road.

How Do You Want to Do Business?

Offering a secure web platform to transact business, handle the design stage and to communicate through is not something which suits everybody.  You may need to be able to pick up the phone and talk to the supplier, in some cases you may need to physically meet with them too.  Does the supplier offer standard business terms which include providing trade credit and operate on a monthly invoicing system?  Remember the customer is the party which needs to be satisfied and while an online business model has many advantages; ultimately, your suppliers should be tailoring how they do business to suit you.

Visit MaverickLabel.com for your hang tag needs.

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