The quality of your signs can affect your business success – find out how.
When it comes to the world of retail, there are many ways to improve footfall and revenue – some more obvious than others.
The role of good signage in a successful business can sometimes be overlooked, but the truth is that it is one of your most powerful branding assets. In fact, the quality of your signs can speak volumes about your company to potential visitors and customers.
It’s also the case that the right branding and messaging can be a major factor in whether customers are attracted to your premises – or if they feel more drawn to a competitor.
In this post, we’re going to look at why every retail business needs to think about investing in high quality signage – and the effect that it can have on your bottom line.
Consumer trust makes all the difference
Whether you realise it or not, the sign above your door is a key factor in how customers feel about the business before entering.
For one thing, good signage reflects good standards. If you haven’t changed your sign for twenty years and half of the letters are coming loose, visitors are going to notice – especially if your competitors are better presented.
For certain industries in particular, a bad impression like this can be very harmful to a company’s image. Nobody wants to eat at a restaurant or visit a dentist’s clinic where the signage is dirty or run-down, as the worry is that poor front-of-house presentation may reflect low standards behind the scenes.
Great signage implies great service and a stellar customer experience. The effect in customers’ minds is subliminal, but significant – and best not to overlook.
Even if your signage was stylish and top-of-the-line when it was new, it’s important to maintain it over the years to ensure your look stays fresh. Whether that’s a simple matter of replacing the lightbulbs every so often, or even completely refreshing the design from time to time, it’s a good idea to ensure that your business is getting the best effect from its signs.
Communicating your offers
We must always assume that consumers don’t necessarily know what you do, what your current offers are, or why they should shop with you over the competition.
This is where your business branding and messaging come in. Customers need to know your unique selling points (USPs) – and that means you need to make them immediately clear.
This can be done very effectively with signage, whether installed indoors or out. Wide format wall and window graphics are a great way to let customers know what you can offer them and draw them in to do business with you.
Without these types of clear messaging, a business may be ‘just hoping’ that customers figure out why they should shop there. Often, this isn’t enough, and signage is needed to facilitate much-needed communication.
This is also true of time-sensitive offers. If you have a month-long promotion on a particular item, a large printed vinyl window sign or other decal can be a great way to let people know about it and encourage them to step through the front door.
Helping your customers find what they need
Especially for larger retail operations such as supermarkets, department stores and megastores, visitor navigation can be a primary concern. (After all, everybody has heard the stories about people getting lost in Ikea).
If customers can’t find the things they’re looking for, they are likely to become frustrated with the shopping experience – and may simply give up looking.
This is where wayfinding signage comes in. Wayfinding signage is a catch-all term for directional arrows, ‘you are here’ maps, aisle labels, and other types of signs that are designed to help visitors find their way around an otherwise confusing environment.
Good wayfinding signage is essential for creating an enjoyable customer experience at a large shopping location. It gives people the confidence to explore autonomously without getting lost or worrying about finding a staff member to help them locate specific items.
Without wayfinding signage in place, customers may end up simply abandoning their hunt and complaining that they ‘can’t find anything’ – which just translates to lost sales for you.
Attracting the right types of customers
No retail business will ever appeal equally to everybody. Even when we consider hugely successful giants such as Tesco, there are still many people who would prefer to shop at Waitrose. It’s always important to target your business correctly to the specific types of people who are going to be interested.
In order for customers to enjoy a congruent shopping experience – in other words, one in line with their expectations – they need to have those expectations set properly in the first instance.
Nobody goes into Poundland expecting to buy upmarket designer silverware and fine china, just as nobody goes to a Giorgio Armani shop to buy discount socks in a ten-pack.
Expectations are set by branding and reputation – and your signage can play a major role in that. Subway’s fascia signage is deliberately no-frills, brightly coloured, unpretentious, and friendly, because they want to attract people who need an affordable sandwich on the go (not upmarket customers looking for an expensive three course meal).
Great signage can help you get the right people through the door. If your current designs are confusing customers or giving the wrong impression, it can have a knock-on effect on your sales and visitor satisfaction levels – so it’s crucial to get it right.
This is a matter of brand values (in other words, the things your company stands for). One way to show congruent brand values is to make careful selections in terms of colours, typefaces, and other design elements.
What type of customer does your business seek to serve? What are your demographics? Does your business appeal to people with a specific interest or mindset? Are you a luxury offering, or do you focus on value? By really nailing down your place in the retail ecosystem, you can make design choices that support your strategy and make sure you get noticed by the right people.
Conclusion
Having the right sign above your door can make a world of difference to how customers feel about your business – in many cases strongly influencing whether or not they are interested in your offering, and whether they feel comfortable shopping with you.
And with great wayfinding signage installed throughout your premises, customers can enjoy a straightforward and easy-to-navigate shopping experience that will encourage them to come back again and spend money another time.