What Does Your Sign Say About You?
When it comes to promoting a small business, there’s no such thing as too much attention. Raising your visibility to customers is vital to the success of your business. Every business owner attempts to generate attention for their products and services by using classifieds ads, brochures, websites, or printed flyers. With all the businesses competing for customers’ attention, how do you stand out from the crowd?
One way to grab the attention of existing and potentially new customers is by using your shop’s sign as an advertising tool. What does your sign tell customers about you? Does it relate to what you do? Does it attract attention? Does it encourage customers to walk through your door? According to “The Signage Sourcebook,” published by the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 50 per cent of customers first learn about a small business by its sign. Business signs help develop a customer’s memory for a location and the products and services available. Signs also reinforce the image of the business, build brand equity, and change or help make purchase decisions or habits.
Don’t confuse your store’s sign with your store’s brand. As Michelle Brisebois says in her column ‘The Art and Science of Branding” on page 14, a brand is not a slogan or colours on a sign. Your sign is meant to provide basic information about your store to the customer: name, address, phone number, etc. It should establishing a positive, unique impression of the business. A sign that is easily visible and legible greatly increases the chance a consumer will make a visit to your shop. According to a recent survey, colour on a sign attracts 15 per cent more attention than presenting the same information in black and white. If used properly, colour is one of the cheapest and most effective ways of creating an image or enhancing a design for a sign.
Signs in your shop’s window are excellent tools to help your business succeed, but have you ever considered creating your own portable advertising by using graphics on your delivery vehicle. An eye-catching logo on your van will be certain to draw attention as you drive though town, making deliveries. Colourful, vibrant, and memorable graphics can help you build customer awareness and increase name recognition.
You see your signs everyday, but how often do you actually read them? Whether they’re in your shop window or driving around town, take a moment to look at them from your customer’s perspective. According to “The Signage Sourcebook” small, independent business generally rely primarily on their signs to attract customer. Is your sign doing its job to help your flower shop succeed?
|
