Introduction

At SignsIDesign, our pledge is to help reliable local business people to gain better recognition for their particular products or services and to provide tools to effectively design and display temporary signage which improves communication between you and your potential customer. This will ultimately help to increase your share of the local market.

The average business does not stand still. It either grows or shrinks. Many business’s feel that everyone in their local market knows of them and their service. This is not necessarily the case. National Surveys indicate that in the average American community….
                     15% to 25% are NEW residents
                     10% are dissatisfied customers
                     35% are occasional buyers of your product or service with no real     
                     commitment to any one provider of your service

When you add this up, it may be surprising to you, but at least 60% of your local potential customers are uncommitted and must decide where to go or who to call for “reliable service”. Add to this the growing potential for them to seek help via the internet and it becomes increasingly clear that much consideration should be given to the strategy employed to increase your share of your potential market.

That is where we can help. SignsIDesign is here to provide you the tools needed to create an effective, low cost temporary signage program. The objective from which is to keep your business growing. Since you know your business better than anyone, who better to create a strategy to make it grow?

First, below are questions to consider:
 
- Can “human nature” benefit the impact of my temporary signage?
- Are there ways to increase the effectiveness of my temporary signage?
- Can temporary signage compliment my permanent signage?
- Should I develop a strategy with regards to deploying temporary signage?
- What things should I consider when developing this strategy?
- How can I evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy?
- Are there hardware considerations that I should take into account?
- Is more signage always better?
- Can motion help attract the eye?
- Can fabric signage offer advantages over vinyl?

These questions and more will be discussed in the following pages. Taking several minutes to consider the answers to these questions can truly impact the results of your investment in temporary signage.

Can “human nature” play a role? Yes. People are creatures of habit. They also become “oblivious” to “the same” in their daily routine. People tend to take the same route to work each day. They stop at the same place for their morning coffee. They gas up at the same station..you get the picture. If you have a business located along their daily route, it will likely fade into the background and receive “little” to “no notice” by these potential customers. This, like it or not, is human nature at work. This phenomenon can either hurt or help the effectiveness of your temporary signage. Leave the same banner up in the same location for weeks, months or even years and its effectiveness diminishes dramatically, very quickly. This becomes “the same” in their daily routine and hurts the effectiveness of your message. On the other hand, take a banner down after a few days, put another (different color, message, etc) in its place and the likelihood of increasing exposures to your message is enhanced. Combine this with relocating a banner or even creating motion (discussed below) can have a very positive affect on your business.

Are there ways to increase the effectiveness?  Obviously the design of the signage is very important (refer to our design tips) and can drastically enhance the effectiveness of a properly displayed sign. A temporary sign should not look like a temporary sign or your customer may think you are a temporary business. Each sign should be hung so that it is not drooping anywhere. This can normally be accomplished by securing it to a wall or frame using ALL the attachment points rather than just the corners. We also offer “mounting hardware” to enhance the look and reduce the time to install temporary signage. However, a well designed sign that is well displayed in the same location for months will become less and less effective as time goes on. Change your message, change your background colors, or even change the location of temporary signage frequently to keep it fresh in order to catch the consumer’s eye. Remember, contrary to common belief, better than half of your potential local customers are uncommitted as to where to go for the products and services you offer. Temporary signage is a low cost alternative that can help to make them aware.

Can Temporary signage compliment my Permanent signage? Yes. In fact we have several suggestions as to how temporary signage can actually be attached to the permanent sign structure itself. If you use hanging “fabric” signage as the attachment to bottom of your permanent sign, it will fly like a flag. The motion of this “dancing fabric” created by the wind will cause motion which in turn will generate even more exposures to your message. If your local zoning “sign ordinances” are prohibitive, using this type of technique often fly’s below the “code enforcement” radar screen, particularly when it is not displayed all day, every day.

Many business’s fly standard “open flags” these days. This is a good idea but misses a promotional opportunity. Why not customize your open flag  to reinforce a service or to create a greater “public image”. Your company is a “cut above”.

Should I develop a strategy with regards to deploying temporary signage? Yes. Generally business’s have more than one product or service to promote. Your permanent signage typically focuses on your company name / logo which itself may suggest your main offering. It is generally a good idea to include your company logo on temporary signage as a reinforcement. However, the focus of temporary signage should be on a product or service offered or an event. There should be a call to action. Leaving the same banners up indefinitely is something we already know is not beneficial. Changing background colors is good. Changing the message is good. Having no banners deployed is good at times as well. If things are always on sale, customers begin to make assumptions. Assumptions can be dangerous. In certain environments, the message can change with the time of day, day of the week and so on. You have a limited amount of promotional opportunity at your place of business. Careful consideration should be given to how you handle this opportunity. If a particular message has not delivered results, try something different. Constantly evaluate your results.

What should I consider when developing this strategy? First is to determine your budget for these type of promotions. Since a 3 foot by 5 foot custom banner costs you $50 plus freight at SignsIDesign, you may want to budget one banner per month. If you have a 33% markup on products, this means you need to sell $150 in additional product in the month just to cover the cost of the banner. If the customers whom accounted for the $150 in extra sales in the first month ultimately buy another $50 each consecutive month due to the first exposure to the product, this can begin to generate a nice return on investment. Assessing the value of these promotions can be difficult. The standard line is “50% of my advertising works and 50% is ineffective”…”the problem is I do not know which is which”. As you can see, making an effort to assess the impact of promotional signage is not easy but is worth the effort. Ask customers what got them to you. Keep track. You may discover that people are going to the internet rather than the phone book. If that were the case, you may want to rethink your allocation of resources. If a banner did not bring customers in, what went wrong? Why would I put it out again?  

Typically you would want to promote those niche products and services which contribute the most to your business success, though these often vary with the time of year and are influenced by the degree of local competition. Certainly promoting new products & services or products that could or should be a greater portion of your revenues can be very appropriate. Only you have the market insight to know which products to market when.

Many times business’s utilize several mediums to promote an event or product. This can involve point-of-purchase banners & flags, radio, television, coupon mailers, internet, newspaper, yellow pages and more. Typically graphic professionals encourage design continuity between mediums so that consumers can recognize an event or product being promoted across all mediums.

Is more signage always better? Absolutely not. Too many signs, flags, banners lined up in front of your business serves to minimize focus. It may cause consumers to look but, since they might only have a few seconds, a “call to action” may not be the result.

Can motion help attract more exposures to your message? Yes. Motion can be created by the wind or with other sources of energy. Our preference is obviously flags and banners. Fabric signage tends to dance with the wind much more gracefully than vinyl but both can work. Placing a fabric banner between two poles and tying off the two top corners with bungee cord can create a beautiful effect in light air. It really dances! Another option is hanging a fabric or vinyl banner on the bottom of your permanent sign. Yet another is using a flag on a flag pole. If the pole is mounted at a 45 degree angle, we offer a custom open flag cut at this 45 so that the image can be read whether or not the wind blows.

Can Fabric signage offer advantages over vinyl? Yes. It looks more elegant. It displays your commitment to quality. It is considerably lighter than vinyl so the cost of shipping to you is lower. It is normally easier to install. The image cannot scratch. Wrinkles can be pressed out with a hand iron. It can be washed when soiled. It is not affected by extreme temperatures. The colors can be more brilliant when dyed onto fabric. Glare is not an issue.