Is your business signage outdated, damaged, or non-compliant? A regular signage audit is essential for protecting your brand, ensuring safety, and improving customer experience. Learn how to get started.
Honestly, when was the last time you took a long, hard look at your business signage? If the answer is “I’m not sure,” then it might be time for a Signage Audit. It doesn’t matter which sector you work in; whether you’re running a high-street shop, managing a hotel, or overseeing a warehouse, the signs around your premises play a critical role and should be checked regularly to ensure that they are still doing their job. And we are not just talking about branding. Signage is also necessary for everything from safety and navigation, to compliance. Over time, even the best-made signs can unfortunately become outdated, damaged, or simply less effective. A signage audit is the number one step to help you stay ahead of any potential issues, protect your brand, and ensure that both visitors and staff can find their way safely and easily. Read on to find out more.
What is a signage audit?
A signage audit can be as basic as it sounds or as thorough as you need it to be. It is a comprehensive review of every piece of signage found within and around your business premises – even those not found directly attached to the building (such as road side and car park signage). In it’s most simple iteration, a signage audit involves walking around your location twice: once as a brand new member of staff and once as a customer or visitor. The purpose is to look at each and every signage that they may come across and check it for a variety of factors. Is it in a good condition? Is the design clear and concise? Is the placement correct and helpful, easy to spot and within their natural eyeline? Is the signage still relevant and up to date? And finally, does it conform to any legal requirements and compliancy regulation?
This will encompass all kinds of signage types, from shopfront facias, to reception signage, wayfinding pointers internally and externally, safety warnings and even decorative branding artwork.
The overall goal of all of this is to identify anything that may need updating or replacing. Faded, broken, poorly lit or even missing signage needs to be replaced. Anything that is no longer consistent with your branding ethos or aesthetic will need to be updated or discarded.
It will also give you a clear opportunity to see where your signage may be lacking) and fill in any gaps in the customer experience or staff knowledge that signage can aid in.
A good signage audit helps ensure consistency, professionalism, and clarity throughout your space. For customer-facing businesses especially, first impressions count. Tired, peeling or broken signs may well be telling a story you don’t want told.
What is a wayfinding audit?
While a signage audit looks at all of the signs found on site, a wayfinding audit will merely look at the signage used to help guide visitors through your location. In an ideal scenario, a customer will be able to navigate through your store or location even without having to speak to anyone. Of course, this would be hugely impersonal, but that is how good you want your signs to be, so that during busier times, you know that customers can find the information they need.
The best way to do this is to imagine yourself as a first time customer. Can they navigate your building with ease? Are there clear signs pointing them from the entrance to the reception desk, toilets, or meeting rooms? If not, they might feel lost before they have even decided on purchasing anything.
Also, try to think of wayfinding as not just merely about the conveying of factual information, but it’s about the journey. If it were just about that, then one giant sign at the front door would suffice. Instead, it looks at visual cues, sight lines, spacing, and the logical flow of information, as well as how human nature may come into play. A wayfinding audit assesses whether your signage actually helps people get where they need to go, or whether it leaves them second-guessing or doubling back.
This can be especially important in hospitals, schools, transport hubs, or office complexes where clear navigation is essential to reducing confusion and delays, at a time when stress or distraction may be a factor at play.
Why would my business signs need replacing?
Even the very best, highest quality signage doesn’t last forever. Exposure to the elements for outdoor signs can cause fading, rusting, or broken lighting. Indoor signs can be exposed to contaminants that affect their visibility, or merely can suffer from accidental knocks, breakage from human interaction or fading from daylight. That is before we’ve even covered dated graphics and changes to contact information or rebranding issues…
Here are some of the most common reasons that a sign may need changing or updating:
- Wear and tear: Peeling edges, faded print, or cracked surfaces affect legibility and give a poor impression.
- Rebranding: If your business has updated its logo, colours, or messaging, your signage should reflect this consistently.
- Layout changes: Perhaps an office has moved, or a new business has moved in, or even the entranceway has moved. Signage must be updated to match.
- Outdated information: Are your opening hours still the same? Do the directions still lead to the right place?
- Regulatory changes: Health and safety guidance changes over time. This is especially pertinent in areas like fire exits and hazardous materials. Outdated signs could mean you’re not compliant.
What is a safety sign survey?
While most of the above are for business output purposes, there are other reasons to undertake a signage audit. Legal requirements and safety regulations need to be adhered to at all times and a safety sign survey can help.
A safety sign survey is an intensely focussed review of all of the health and safety signage across your entire site. This includes everything from fire exit signs, warning labels, mandatory PPE instructions, hazard warnings and any number of other compliance signage required by law.
The survey will look at the physical condition of the signs, examining them for wear and tear, as well as if they all meet the current and most up to date British Safety Standards. They will also look at whether they are correctly places, attached safety and are easy to understand by all staff and visitors (depending on whether they are located in a public space or back of house).
This is especially important in warehouses, factories, kitchens (and other places where food prep takes place) and construction sites. In these sorts of locations, the right sign in the right place can prevent accidents before they happen, and aid in proper procdures taking place if the worst was to happen.
But safety sign surveys are not just for high risk locations. Even offices and retail settings need safety signage. From highlighting a newly cleaned floor, to guiding visitors in the event of an emergency, an audit will help you to avoid fines and, more importantly, keep everyone safe at all times.
How can I make my signage last longer?
When you invest in signage, you hope that it will last, and regular signage audits can help you keep them lasting longer. But is there anything else you can do to extend the life span of your signage? Here are some of our top tips for keeping your installed signage in an effective and presentable state for years to come:
- Use high-quality, durable materials: For outdoor signage, this might mean UV-resistant coatings or weatherproof finishes. Indoors, sturdy substrates can prevent warping and damage over time.
- Custom-fit designs: Signs should be made specifically for your location and intended use. A generic solution may not hold up to real-world conditions.
- Regular checks: Schedule periodic walk-throughs (even informally) to look for damage, fading, or missing signs before they become a problem.
- Preventative maintenance: Clean signs regularly, secure loose fittings, and replace worn fixings. Address small issues before they become big ones.
- Stay current: If your business evolves, make sure your signage keeps pace. That could mean updating branding or adjusting navigation after renovations or expansions.
Instead of thinking of a signage audit as a separate chore, make it a regular part of your property upkeep routine. It will quickly reflect in the quality of your signage (which in turn will show you to be a proactive owner/manager who cares about standards of safety and upkeep) and will help protect your signage investments in the long term too.
Final thoughts
We know that signage audits are not the most glamorous part of owning and running a business, but they really will save you time and money if kept on-top of. Clear, well maintained and up to date signage significantly improves safety and customer experience, as well as helping your business to appear professional and stay compliant.
Whatever your business may be, from a little cafe on a high street to a multi building complex of care homes, a little time spent reviewing your business signage can save a lot of confusion, costs and complaints for everyone.
So, again, when was the last time you took a critical look at your business signage?
If your signs are in need of an upgrade, Medash Signs are here to help. We design, manufacture and install signage from our 10,000 sq. ft. factory in Ashford, Kent, and would love to use our decades of experience to help you with your signs. Get in touch with us today for a friendly chat with one of our expert signmaker specialists.