Having good signage outside of your business is a lot more important than most people realize. Nearly 35% of people in your area only find out about local businesses when they see the signs they have out front. When at least half of people who try a business for the first time, they say they did so because they saw the sign. For brick and mortar businesses, 83% of their customer base lives close by. There are some things you can do to get the most mileage out of your business sign. Whether you are advertising your restaurant, shop or need commercial real estate for sale signs, you want your sign to get your point across.
Tips to Making Memorable and Awesome Business Signs:
- As always, brevity is your friend. People’s attention spans were short to begin with but now they are even shorter. Think about your Twitter account where your messages are limited to 140 characters or your YouTube channel where the shorter videos get the most views. Think about your Vine account where you are limited to a whopping sic seconds to get your point across. Your business signs are no different. Have commercial real estate for sale signs? You do not need to go into more details than what your company name is, how to reach you and the fact that you have commercial real estate available for sale. Make your text short and sweet to have the greatest impact.
- Edit your sign. In writing, they say you have to “kill your babies.” Any kind of business sign, whether is is commercial real estate for sale signs or signs advertising a hair salon, you need to use the smallest number of words as you can. Avoid adverbs, for instance. Use action verbs. Write your test, edit it, leave it alone, go back and edit again. This is such an important point that it is worth repeating.
- Save the ornate and fancy fonts for something else. You can have the best message in the world for your business but if no one can read it, no one will get it. That fun, swirly font may be great for something like decorating your daughter’s room or birthday cake but you need to use simple fonts that are easy to read from a distance. Your clients and customers may just glance at your sign as they are driving or walking by. They will not take the time to decipher a challenging font. Make it easy on them (and yourself). Smaller signs are also harder for older people to read. If you are unsure what font is the best for you, work with your sign company. They should be able to tell you which fonts work best.
- Make your signs catchy. Using the words “your” and “you” can be helpful. “Tame your mane with (insert product) name is a catchy phrase that people will remember. That is why you see “If you lived here, you would be home” on so many real estate signs, people remember it. There are even variations on that for commercial real estate for sale signs that say, “If you worked here, you would be closer to home,” or something similar. You want your text to be memorable and short. It can be a challenge to do both but it can be done.
- Make sure you test all of your signage. Take a look at your sign at different times of the day and in different conditions. You may have thought it was the perfect sign for your business when you installed it and then you drive by during rush hour and you cannot read it because of the angle of the sun. Do not be afraid to make changes to the sign itself or where you have it placed. This is always going to be a work in progress and that is ok.
Outdoor business signage can go a long way in attracting new customers and clients to your business. You can and should have some fun creating your sign. While it should be appropriate for your client and customer base and kind of business, you can still be creative with it.
