Signs of Success^®

Your commercial signage must deliver value to your customers with every interaction, and is an important investment in the future and growth of your business. Regardless of whether your doors have been open for years or you’re starting up a completely new business, it’s vital to have an understanding of the many ways you can use signage to help your business succeed. Here are five ways to use signs to attract and educate customers and influence their purchasing decisions.

1. Increases Brand Awareness

To many, your signage is your brand, the face of your company that you show to customers – both current and potential ones. It must represent who you are and be a familiar signpost that meshes with all your other branding efforts.  That way, when someone sees it, there is an immediate sense of familiarity and trust. Your brand can comprise many aspects of your business – logo, website, culture, advertising, customer service and more – but your sign may be the first tangible evidence of your brand. That makes it vital that your signage convey your brand’s personality, is brand consistent with designs, colors, and fonts, and be eye-catching even when competing with the signs of your competitors. According to a 2023 study by Solomon Partners, out of home (OOH) signage, including billboards, have up to an 86% recall rate, higher than all other forms of advertising. If a person has never visited your business before, your signage should help them locate you or make the case with a strong call to action for why they should come to your place. Digital signage in particular has a remarkable effectiveness rate of 47.7% regarding brand awareness.

2. Attract New Customers 

Your signage should serve as a beacon to draw customers into your place of business, strategically placed where it can’t be missed. Exterior signage is how people find you and learn more about your business, often from a distance or while on the move. It should make a bold statement with vibrant colors and a clear, simple message that appeals to passersby. Quality is an imperative. You immediately impress your audience through the condition of your sign, so guarantee that your impression is a good one. Your entire business is being judged, fairly or not, by your signage and when it looks great, it sets the tone for the customer experience you want to create.  According to signresearch.org, 20% of consumers report being drawn into new stores based on the quality of their signage. 

3. Increase Sales and Revenue

Your signs should always be selling and advertising your business for one simple reason: business signs get noticed and bring in customers. Studies show that good signage directly boosts a business’ profits. Monument signs can drive sales by 9.3%, pole signs can add up to 15.6% to profits and larger storefront signage may boost sales by up to 7.7%. Your sign shows off products and promotions with clarity and vibrancy, and becomes more effective each time your customers see it. Keep in mind this  marketing rule of thumb:it takes a potential customer at least 7 times before they take action. What’s important is that when they need what you have to offer, your business is the one they remember and turn to. However, that doesn’t mean that deploying new signage or repairing and improving existing ones won’t also have an immediate effect. Research by the Economic Center, University of Cincinnati found that roughly 60% of businesses reported the changing of a design or enhancing the visibility of their signage had a positive impact on sales, number of transactions, and profits with an average increase of about 10%.

4. Promote Sales and Events

Signage, particularly digital and LED signage, offers wide ranging opportunities to alert your audiences to special seasonal, holiday, and limited time discount offers, or entice them with can’t miss events. While traditional static signage is great for attracting attention, digital signage lets you easily change the messaging on signage to achieve your desired objectives and make an immediate impact on customers. With messaging that is always fresh and relevant, even for people who pass your sign everyday it will be an entirely new sign. Digital screens present clear, sharp images, and provide a visual prompt that encourages people to stop in and make an unplanned purchase. It’s estimated that between 30% and 45% of business transactions are the result of impulsive or unexpected stops. The majority of these stops were likely prompted by the shop’s signage. According to a survey by RetailDive, 84% of Americans admit to making impulse stops while on the road. Both static and digital signs  can either bring commuters in for quick stops on their way to and from work or attract shoppers while they are out running errands.

5. Spread Messaging with Off-Premise

Just because your business isn’t located in a high-traffic area, that doesn’t mean your signage has to be where people won’t see it.  You can place signs along popular routes that you know your customers travel and introduce yourself to new audiences who might never come across your business otherwise. Off-premise signage, like billboards, create greater awareness and expands your customer-base into new communities affordably and can make it easier for people to locate you. In a survey by the Signage Foundation, it was found that 48% of shoppers said that they had entered a store they had not planned to visit because of an attractive sign. 

Your commercial and business signage gives you a wide variety of ways to get your business noticed and bring people into your place of business. A coordinated strategy that integrates both traditional static and digital signage can firmly establish your brand in the minds of your customers and move them to take action. Effective signs get your business in front of the right people at the right time and can affordably turn potential customers into long-term, loyal ones who spend their money with you. YESCO can show you how. Contact us today.