If you’ve walked down a busy street these days, it’s hard not to notice all kinds of signage, especially signage bordered by LED lighting. Technological advances have made electronic signs for business easy to spot and there’s no doubt they work. Good signs stand out. Good signs are effective. Good singage grabs a customer’s attention.


Need further proof?

• 35% would never have discovered a business had it not been for a sign
• 71% of people read messages on both traditional and digital billboards
• 58% of adults became interested in an event they wanted to attend after reading a billboard
• 32% of people visited a retailer who’s billboard they saw within a week of seeing it

As you can see signage, if done correctly, works extremely well and makes customers take notice. In some cases, signage is more effective in getting a customer’s attention and keeping it than posting something on social media. If your company is looking to use electronic signs for business to draw in customers, here are some tips to doing it the right way.

• Know the audience: Digital signage can get people’s attention, but companies need to know who their intended is. Without knowing that, companies may put up and use signage that appeals to know one, so zeroing in on a target demographic is key.
• What’s the goal: Signage can be used by brand-new companies or companies with well-established brands. The goal is to figure out what the signage is designed to accomplish. Is it for event promotion? Is it for sale promotion? A clear and concise goal can go a long way.
• Remembering the Rule of Eight: It’s estimated that the average customer is exposed to roughly 3,000 ads and messages every day. Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of messages and not all of them stick. A company can make sure that theirs does by communicate a clear message and using LED lighting effectively to make sure a customer sees a sign. The rule of eight refers to the roughly eight seconds a business has to grab a customer’s attention.
• Have fun with it: Ultimately, you want your company’s signage to be direct and easy to read, but there’s nothing wrong with having some fun with it too. Any way you can make your company’s message stand out and be creative at the same time is a good thing.
• Make it readable: Digital signs can be as creative as company’s graphics team might be able to think up, but the key is that for all the visual benefits, a sign ultimately needs to be readable. If a company has just eight seconds to gain the attention of a customer, it’s wise to create a simple, direct message that’s going to make a customer think twice. Simple, direct fonts and simple directed messages with proper lighting can be seen, digested and then acted on.
• Encourage customer involvement: It’s been established that good signage can do wonders to capture the imagination of customers, but another way to ensure that happens is to get customers to interact with your business. Getting customers to interact with your social media pages, offering them immediate sales or getting them to call or stop is a good way to make sure they remember your business.
• Be careful with movement: Finding the right mix of simplicity and creativity can really make a company’s signage rise above the competition. One of the most prime examples is when it comes to using animation and movement. Some businesses can use it just right, but it might be something used best in moderation. Movement should be slow, so customers can read any messages and shouldn’t take away from the company’s intentions.

It’s no secret that today’s American consumer is bombarded by a lot of information. Companies who want to gain a customer’s attention and keep it can do so by using signage and LED signs effectively. With a simple message, the right mix of creativity and keeping in mind its intended audience, companies can get customers engaged and get them to stop in rather than just walking briskly by.