If you own a business with a physical location, an important part of your marketing mix that you may have not even considered is good signage. Business owners often give little thought to their physical signage, choosing to concentrate instead on things like social media marketing. But the right signage is important, as more than one-third of people report that they wouldn’t have even been aware of a business if not for seeing its signs. There are a number of different choices and strategies you can take when it comes to signage, and these decisions can be influenced by things such as cost, visibility and local laws.
Cost can be a big factor when it comes to spending on signage. Many businesses are on a tight budget and may not feel they can spend a lot of money on a programmable LED sign or other types of high-tech signs. However, signage for businesses is an investment that can produce a good return. Studies have shown that adding signs or making other changes such as upgrading a sign or changing its position can have a direct positive effect on revenue. And if you don’t think your business can afford to spend money on signs, consider this: an onsite sign brings you the same value as two dozen full-page newspaper ads, something that would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Signs can be more or less important depending on the location of your business. If you are in a high-visibility location, then good signage can help to boost walk-in traffic. You still need signs if you aren’t in a great location, but because they will not be as visible, they will bring less value. In that case, you might want to consider offsite business signage, such as a billboard.
Another factor in your determining your signage needs is local government codes. Many cities have laws that restrict things like the size and locations of signs. They may also have laws regarding changeable signs such as programmable LED signs, including where they can be placed and how often the displays can change.
If you are thinking that you can’t afford to spend money on programmable LED signs or other types of signs for your business, you might want to think again. It’s more likely that you can’t afford not to spend your money on signage. Research has shown that having good signage can be just as important and effective as using other types of marketing.
