Few business owners would dispute the value of effective marketing. Without it, potential customers may not even know your company exists.

But even though this is the case, many businesses still discount the value of quality print advertising and signage. Few forms of marketing offer the return on investment that print signs do. Commercial printers can produce these materials at a reasonable cost, and they have some inherent advantages that other marketing channels do not. As such, these materials fill a role in every company’s advertising strategy, even if the business doesn’t have a permanent, physical location.

Here is why high-quality print graphics are so important:

Business Signage is a Proven Way to Attract More Customers

This is true in ways you would expect – commercial signage points out where your business is located and what your business does. That’s clearly important information for capturing foot traffic.

However, the effect of signage on customer psychology goes beyond that. According to a survey produced by Fedex, a large majority of consumers (76 percent) stated that they had visited a business for the first time due to that company’s signage. Other major takeaways from that survey: 75 percent of consumers told others about a business just based on its signage, and 68 percent stated that they made a purchase after a sign attracted their attention.

Additional surveys confirm these findings. One developed by the University of Cincinnati found that 68 percent of vehicle dealership customers required the dealership’s signage to attract them from the road.

As these two surveys show, commercial signs are important for impulse traffic as well as destination traffic. That’s not a surprise, as people are visual and rely heavily on visual information to make decisions. High quality signs provide that information in a highly impactful way.

Commercial Signs Reinforce Branding and Drive Brand Awareness

Your signs and banners do more than point out where you are and what you do. Because signs and banners are an entirely visual medium, there is plenty of room to shape your brand’s tone and messaging, too. If executed to expert design standards, your signs will shape both in a positive direction, delivering that oh-so-important first impression that can make or break a sale.

For some businesses, their signage is so effective at brand building that the company’s graphics become a signature part of the company’s brand design. We’re talking about the kind of graphics that customers will pay to wear on a shirt, which can create an additional source of revenue, but more importantly pushes your brand out into the larger world for free. In fact, your business is getting paid for it.

It takes a well-designed sign, with a memorable logo, the right typography and the right colors to pull it all together. Think about the difference in branding between a law firm and a family restaurant, for example. One certainly wouldn’t work for the other.

Fine-tuning your company’s signage design may involve skills your business doesn’t have in-house, but an experienced commercial printer can provide expert design talent along with its printing services. Partnering with such a printer can expedite your business’s branding journey.

Quality Signage Design Conveys a High-Quality Message

An extension of the previous point – well-designed signs, decals and banners generate a positive reputation for a business. This may be the easiest way for companies to boost their reputation a bit, as consumers also admit that the quality of a business’s signage influences their impression of the company.

Back to the University of Cincinnati survey. In the survey, 20 percent of consumers admitted that they entered a business based on its high-quality signage. The opposite result was also true – people were less interested in companies that had old, broken or outdated signage. Clearly, it’s important to keep your commercial signs in good condition. And actually it’s a matter of sales and revenue, because this survey also tracked business performance following signage repair or replacement. It found that 60 percent of businesses that updated their signage experienced at least a 10 percent improvement in sales.

Decals Turn Any Vehicle into a Moving Business Card

For brick-and-mortar companies, it makes sense that signs and banners would be essential. The benefits may seem less clear-cut for mobile or at-home businesses, but even here, there are major advantages for investing in signage – vehicle decals, in particular.

Decals convert any vehicle into a moving billboard for your business, and they can be sized, shaped and colored to fine detail. Decals are perfect for mobile or at-home professionals that don’t have a physical location to serve as a branding means. This is also an effective approach for food trucks, daycare centers, and any business that has a vehicle presence on highly trafficked roads.

Quality Signage Delivers a Message Without Being Pushy

Consumers don’t like pushy advertising. They like being informed and given time to process a decision. When was the last time you were happy to sit through a commercial or deal with an aggressive salesperson?

Branded signage is a passive form of advertising that won’t overwhelm the customer or provoke a negative response – as long as it is presented well.

But just because it’s passive doesn’t mean your signage has to be a wallflower. If it’s placed in a high visibility area – this is where interior banners and signs are important – commercial signage will deliver branded messaging (or safety messaging) without annoying the customer.

Well-Designed Decals, Banners and Signs Bring a Brand to Life

Print products have a clear positive impact for businesses, but only if those signs and decals are professionally designed and printed. In some industries, competition is so intense that I i’s represented all the way down to the signage level. A high quality, memorable sign may be a necessity, not a luxury.

Commercial printing services are the go-to professionals for creating signage that competes, no matter what industry their client operates in, or what kind of signage they need. In fact, some experienced printers offer specialty printing processes that can give your brand an additional edge. Dibonding, for example, allows printers to create your signage on aluminum – which is ideal for lobbies or waiting rooms.

Ultimately, the goal for your company’s marketing is to generate extra traffic, drive extra sales and build a positive, attention-getting brand. Print signs, decals and banners play an irreplaceable part in attaining those goals.