There have been endless volumes written on how to improve your small
business. But there are some aspects of running a business that are
rarely touched upon. Signs are one of these concepts that usually get
the short shrift. Here’s how good ones can turn your business around.
There have been endless volumes written on how to improve your small
business. Eventually, it gets to the point where you are fairly sure you
know what you are about to read before you read it. There’s a reason
for this: there are only so many things to say. Eventually, you take
your business and you either succeed or you don’t. Sink or swim. But
there are some aspects of running a business that are rarely touched
upon. Signs are one of these concepts that usually get the short shrift.
If you run a brick and mortar place of business, you might be surprised
at what a difference the right signage can make. Here’s how good ones
can turn your business around.
Perhaps the most important aspect of putting signs up is where you put
them. You can have the best, most creative, eye-catching sign of all
time, but if no one can see it, it won’t make any difference. If you’re
only signage is on the front of your building, perpendicular to the
highway...well, it had better be a big one if you expect anyone driving
past to take notice. A far better idea is to invest additional money in
putting one up that actually faces the highway and forces the drivers to
at least glance at it. Studies have been done showing how large a sign
needs to be to command a driver’s attention at various distances and
rates of speed. Find these studies and put your trust in them. They
could be the key behind finding the right combination of factors.
Remember that creativity helps when creating signs, but it isn’t the
end-all, be-all. In fact, if you go overboard on creativity you could
wind up creating signage that confuses people, having the opposite
effect you intended. If you want to incorporate humor, do so in a way
that tailors itself to your business. Putting a random “joke of the day”
on your sign might be amusing to those who drive by, but is it really
doing anything to bring in more customers? On the other hand,
non-humorous animal facts on the front of a veterinary clinic could
inspire potential customers to come in. Another word about humor—keep it
family friendly and non-political so that you offend as few people as
possible. Offended people don’t turn into customers.
Finally, you may want to invest in signs that light up at night. This is
true even if you don’t run a business that is open past 5 o’clock. Your
sign will still be out there, advertising your business at all hours.
Just because you don’t want to work around the clock doesn’t mean you
can’t do things that will work for you. Also, make sure you keep up with
that illumination. Nothing turns people off faster than a sign that has
letters missing or dark. It makes your business look cheap and a little
scary.
