If your company doesn’t have effective outdoor signage, you may be missing out on an important opportunity to increase brand recognition as well as revenue. Estimates say that having quality on-site signage has approximatley the same value as taking out 24 full page newspaper ads for a whole year, and good signage can result in a 75% increase in customer base size as well as referrals. Signs are key: half of the average start up business’ customers are attracted by the sign, and polls show that 79% of people in the United States report remembering a business because of its sign. Since signs are so critical to a business advertising strategy, here are some tips for making your commercial signs the best they can be:
Make Your Sign Design Memorable and Consistent
The sign outside your company has to always reinforce the brand, with keywords in large letters. Most people naturally read left to right and from top to bottom, so the focal point of your sign should be the upper left side. Remember, too, that lots of words in all caps are hard to read; in emails and in signage! Signs with lots of words in all capitalized letters also have a whiff of desperation about them. Color is an important consideration as well. Contrasting colors can make a strong impression, but they need to remain consistent with your other branding materials, and it’s absolutely essential that they complement the background color.
Do the Right Thing With Words
Custom signs allow you to say anything you like, so make sure what you’re saying makes the right impression. It’s important to limit the word count on your sign as nothing ruins the effectiveness of a sign like too many words. The number of words will depend on placement, size, and color choices. Sign companies can present you with choices and advice in making good wording decisions, but in general your sign should stick to just the essentials. It’s important to remember, too, that your sign is often something people are reading as they drive by. If it takes the reader too much time to sort out all the information about your business, they’re likely to find your business impression pretty underwhelming.
Place Your Sign Carefully
Some of this advice is pretty obvious: don’t put your sign behind trees or the signs of other companies that will obscure it. But there are other important considerations. What’s the speed limit on the street your sign is on? The speed limit will tell you how fast people are coming and going, which will let you plan for sign size and the number of words. Of course if you’re looking at custom lighting options, this can also influence sign placement. Sign installers will have the best advice on how to most effectively place and light your commercial signs.
Signage is very important, so don’t neglect this essential method of getting your brand into the community!
