In the digital age, physical signage still plays an important role for business owners. High quality signs – designed and developed by a professional printer – can provide the following benefits:
- Capturing attention and holding it
- Reinforcing the company’s brand identity
- Helping people recognize and recall the brand
- Directing visitors to the business
- Encouraging additional foot traffic and sales
Business signage is the first thing visitors and customers see when they come to your location. As such, it must make a strong first impression that’s in line with your company’s tone and services.
The Importance of Business Signage: What the Statistics Say
There are countless marketing studies dedicated to business signs and how they influence consumer behavior. These studies found that people respond well to high quality physical signage.
One study, planned and published by Custom Neon surveyed 1,000 consumers and found the following:
- 77 percent of people have had trouble finding a business due to a lack of signage or due to unclear signage
- About 75 percent of people have entered a business because the building featured effective signage
- 80 percent of consumers believe that a sign reflects the quality of the business
- 70 percent of people would be less likely to patronize a business that didn’t have a sign
- 72 percent of respondents stated that a company’s sign is more important than its social media
This is just one survey, but it follows a pattern that’s been noted in many others. To summarize, companies have more marketing channels than ever before, but effective physical signage still plays a major part in attracting customers and boosting brand visibility.
Four Ways Businesses Can Make an Impact with Better Signs
Effective business signage provides several brand-enhancing benefits to companies. Four of them include:
- Attracting and holding consumer attention – Physical signage is more effective than other marketing materials in supporting brand recognition, brand awareness and brand recall. Put another way, effective business signs help people recognize and remember a company once exposed to its branding. With signage like this, your customers will have an attention-grabbing visual anchor to associate with your business. A memorable sign will also encourage people to think of your products first when it’s time to make a purchase.
- Supporting the brand’s tone and mission – Effective business signage supports the company’s branding – specifically, its tone and aesthetic. For example, a luxury clothing boutique may use elegant typography and incorporate the color black into signage, as both evoke quality. A sporting goods store may incorporate outdoor iconography and earthy color tones. A toy store may use bright colors and a playful font to create a whimsical feel.
You can think of your brand’s tone as the voice with which it speaks. If your company seeks to be an expert authority in its field, your branding should reflect that. Is your brand meant to be accessible and inviting? Its design should reflect both.
Signage designers use a combination of colors, fonts, layout, and other visual marks to craft the perfect brand tone for your business. - Providing wayfinding help for visitors – As demonstrated in the survey above, there’s a widespread wayfinding problem among businesses that don’t have signage. If your building is fitted with a highly visible sign, your business will have better success in attracting additional foot traffic.
Keep in mind, too, that many people only visit a business in person after reviewing it online. If your business signage is visible from the road, potential customers will see it on Google Maps (or something similar) and find your location with minimal trouble. It should be as easy as possible for new customers to transact with your business, and clear signage ensures your business can be found. - Driving additional sales – Effective business signage grabs people’s attention, it boosts the company’s reputation, improves its messaging, and helps people find the business, which equates to better sales. For small businesses that don’t yet have an established brand, effective signage can reliably communicate what your business does to the public.
If your business signage stands out for its quality, it will win your business sales it might otherwise miss out on.
How a Commercial Printer Can Help Companies with Their Business Signage
Your business signage is often your company’s first chance to make an impression, so it should be a good one. Commercial printers are the best equipped and skilled professionals in this area. Here’s why:
- Experience – Reputable commercial printers have extensive experience in crafting business signage that appeals to the right target audience. They also know how to maximize the visibility of your signage, taking into account the size and nature of your storefront. You’ll get maximum visual impact with a trusted commercial printer.
- Resources – Commercial printers also have access to an expanded range of printing technologies, including printing processes that can be used to create signage out of metal or other materials. They can provide exterior and interior signage, and assist with the company’s other graphics needs, such as trade booth graphics or packaging design.
- Volume – Reputable commercial printers also have the ability to scale their operations to fit the client’s needs. If those needs change, commercial printers can quickly make the necessary adjustments to ensure there are no issues.
Experience, resources, and volume are all important and they can all be provided by a reputable commercial printer.
Effective Business Signs are Proven Brand Boosters when Provided by an Experienced Commercial Printer
Signage has powered businesses to success for centuries, and even in this digital age, it remains a critical part of every brick-and-mortar company’s branding. If developed by a reputable commercial printer, business signage can help your brand stand out, reinforce your company’s messaging, direct customers to your building, and drive additional sales. If your business needs to boost its brand, effective signage is a cost-efficient way to do so.
