If you own a small business that includes parking set aside for your customers, now is the time to think about installing electric car charging stations. Having those stations in place can benefit your business in a number of ways. By talking with one of the electric car charging companies about different options, you can provide the charging as a free service or a fee-based offering. Here are a few examples of why those talks need to begin now.

For the Benefit of Your Employees

Having stations in place could mean quite a bit to your employees. Those who already own electric or hybrid vehicles will view their presence as one more indication that you truly do want to take proper care of those who work for you. See it as one more small way to develop greater employee loyalty, since it does provide one more reason to remain with the business.

Keep in mind that this approach also helps those who are thinking of making the switch to a hybrid or electric car. Knowing that there are charging stations at the workplace eliminates worries about running out of power on the way home.

Making a Good Impression on Customers Old and New

Having charging stations in place also make a difference for your customers. Some of them already own electric or hybrid vehicles. At present, they have to park a block or two away in order to make use of stations. If they can park in your lot and do their shopping, they are more likely to linger a little longer at your place of business. That translates into more revenue from those who already like to shop there.

The benefits don’t stop with existing customers. Thanks to the presence of those stations, others may decide to visit your store for the first time ever. If they like what they see, there’s a good chance they will linger longer as their cars charge and end up buying a few things.

Enhancing Your Reputation in the Local Business Community

Reputation counts a great deal in any business community. Even if your primary focus is on individual consumers, it never hurts to have a business customer or two. As word gets out that you’ve installed charging stations in the parking lot, some other business owners may decide to drop in. Along with getting to know them better, they could become important allies in terms of promoting your business to the people they interact with on a regular basis.

A Possible Means of Creating Another Revenue Stream

While talking with representatives of electric car charging companies, you’ll learn that it’s possible to select from several designs for charging stations. While some of them can be operated at no cost, others can be set up to assess a fee. People can use debit or credit cards to buy a certain amount of charging time. There are even some models that will accept cash.

This means you have an option: the charging stations can be provided as a free service to your customers, or they can be used to create another source of revenue for the business. It’s up to you.

Give the idea of installing charging stations serious consideration. If current projections turn out to be true, those stations will prove their worth over the next several years