Signs are the most affordable means of advertising for many businesses, and most businesses - new or not - don't have a dollar to waste. Signs are the most effective, yet least expensive form of advertising for the small business. What's more, signs are always on the job for you, advertising 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
An on-premise sign is a communication device whose message and design relates to a business, an event, goods, profession, or service being conducted, sold, or offered on the same property as where the sign is erected.
There are many solid, measurable reasons to obtain an effective on-premise sign for your business, and the bottom line is that your business' success depends on it. An on-premise sign helps:
Communicate with a Highly Mobile Society
The U.S. society is very mobile, consumer-oriented and communication driven. Your
on-premise business signs function as an optimum advertising and marketing device in
this environment, offering both affordability and availability with excellent return on investment.
In the U.S, there are on average 1.35 occupants per car, and each car travels about 15,000 miles per year. In addition, about 40 million Americans move annually to a new home. All this mobility means your effective sign captures large viewing audience.
Approximately 95% of retail business occurs on site (or is place-based). Because of our mobility as a society, streets and highways provide a premiere communication opportunity. As consumers pass by your place of business, the right on-premise signs will attract and direct the consumers when they are ready to make a decision or purchase.
Influence Purchasing Decisions
Your sign is the only indicator that you are there, and would like the customers' patronage.
Without adequate signs, potential customers will not notice your business. These easily lost customers may represent the percentage of business you need to become profitable.
Shopping habits can be changed with effective signs. Pricing and/or availability information can shift the choice of a consumer's purchases or prompt an unplanned stop. Signs are the ideal choice for place (or point) of purchase information.
Nearly all businesses rely on impulse visits or purchases to maintain profitability. Those most dependent on impulse stops include gasoline stations, value oriented motels, and quick-service-food sites. For the national franchiser or chain, on-premise signs reinforces all other media advertising, and maximizes advertising effectiveness at a low cost.
Brands your Business and/or Site, and Leverages Your Advertising
Even if you aren't part of a national franchise or chain, backed by major media
advertising to increase recall and recognition of your sign, the right sign can
brand your site in your local trade area. If appropriately designed and placed, your
sign will develop top-of-mind awareness of your product or service in all who routinely pass by.
The right sign can turn even a non-descript site into one that is distinctive and branded. Sometimes a sign is the only indication that your business is there. In such cases, your sign should be the focal point of your building facade or street frontage exposure. Such signcentric site development and design will catch attention and lead consumers from the street to your door.
If your business lacks good street visibility, but is next to a freeway or major highway, a high-rise sign can function like an outdoor advertising structure by providing multiple street frontages. An optimally visible high-rise sign will increase the potential market exposure of any retail site.
Because of enhanced sign technology, sign faces can be easily changed or retrofitted to match evolving economic marketing circumstances. Increasingly, signs requirements are met by use of variable copy electronic message units. New developments in lighting, plastics, and paint mean signs can now achieve the same visual effect as four-color magazine advertising.
Your sign design can be copyrighted. This not only protects your design, but also increases the sign's value as a commercial asset, particularly with respect to the "goodwill" it represents.
Most communities wish to remain attractive while encouraging business activities. The advances in sign design and technology mean that, via signs, you can communicate effectively to potential customers in a way that enhances both your site and the community at large.
Learn more about:
Types of Signs
Working with a Sign Company
Frequently Asked Questions
Terminology
