MAKE NO MISTAKE, flexibility is in, and it’s here to stay. Even if you’re not an interior design aficionado, it’s quite obvious that flex’ living is where it’s at. Zoom rooms, book nooks, open floor plans turned compartmentalized work hubs, and on. In the last issue of Big Picture, we covered different strategies to thrive as a décor PSP in 2022, but this time we’ll get more granular.
A thought-provoking topic across headlines and Google searches is how businesses and corporations are re-defining the future of post-pandemic work, and the speculation of what comes next. For example, most companies are offering employees to return to offices a few days a week, others, such as Apple, are calling all employees to return IRL this month. However, companies are weighing the overhead costs of physical spaces and how that factors into employee retention, a potential key metric for post-pandemic recovery. Now, we’re seeing some corporations actually expanding their physical footprint and headquarters.
Doubtful physical workspace might expand in a post-pandemic world? Think again. According to Inc.com, a recent study from Twingate surveyed 700 full-time employees working remotely, as well as 300 who worked onsite during the pandemic, resulting in 35 percent stating they missed collaborating with others. With the reality of employees leaving nine-to-fives to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors, or finding remote-first work opportunities, companies are going to have to reconsider the amenities they offer to workers to justify their commute. So, it’s very likely that companies will be pitching their physical offices as flexible, energizing collaboration hubs, not corporatized interiors with greige cubicles and water coolers. Insert all the cool and valuable decorative applications digital print can bring!
Because flexibility is here and clearly not going anywhere, capitalize on this in your messaging and selling tactics. We’ve all said many times that the perk of digital printing over analog methods is the creative freedom it allows; limitless color, scale, repeat, and enabling the democratization of design. There’s an excellent opportunity right now to showcase your print capabilities, in designer terms, and be their solution for designing flexible, unique workspaces.
For UV or latex printed wallcovering this could mean your clients can achieve a custom and on-brand resimercial look that no one else has. If you’re not familiar, Wayfair calls resimercial a style that “…brings the homey feel of residential furniture into the workplace,” and that it specifically “…celebrates commercial quality, residential-inspired features over the sterile and standardized feel of corporate furnishings.” By educating clients on the difference between vinyl architectural wraps, Type II paste applied wallcovering, or repositionable and removable wallcovering, you’ll help clients envision how they can design the office of the future. If textiles and soft goods are within your wheelhouse, think about how you can provide that homey look in commercial settings and give your client creative freedom.
With a well-thought-out sales and marketing approach and better alignment with your clients’ needs, you’ll set yourself up for success far beyond post-pandemic.