Marketing with Signs 101 is a three-part series on how to effectively use signs to generate more business. This article is part three of the series.

What does the term “branding” mean when we’re talking about marketing?

Well, it’s one of those squishy words that people define differently – some people say it’s a logo and some say it’s the all-encompassing promise that defines every aspect of your business.

Although we here at Super Cheap Signs tend to be at the latter end of the spectrum, we know that signs can help improve and reinforce branding regardless of how you define the term.

For this article, we’ll describe branding as “the promise your company makes to it’s customers.” Or, put another way, if I’m your customer, what should I expect from your company – Low prices? High Quality? Professional Service? Fast Service? etc.

Design your signs to reinforce your brand
Design of your sign is very important. Everything about a sign tells people a lot about your business. Stark simple design and materials may suggest discount prices and no frills. Elegant and expensive sign materials may suggest luxury goods and services.

Using your company logo, fonts and colors on your sign will help people remember your company and identify you when customers are in need of your service. A potential customer can’t have expectations about your company if he or she can’t recognize or remember your company.

Repetition and consistency build your brand
Potential customers usually have dozens of interactions with a company before they ever do business with that company. Someone may hear a radio ad, see some of your signs on their drive to work and drive by one of your locations and see your building signage, before they finally give you a chance to earn their business.

If your message and design aren’t consistent from sign to sign; and across all forms of communication or advertising, people may not be able to “connect the dots” and build a perception of your brand at all. It is a lot easier to sell a product or service to someone who has heard of your company and has some sort of expectation about dealing with you.

Why custom yard signs are perfect for giving your company a branding boost
As we’ve pointed out earlier; design, messaging and repetition are the most important factors in building a brand. That’s what makes custom yard signs the perfect brand-building tool.

Yard signs are inexpensive, you can easily design your signs to match your corporate image and when placed in a high-traffic area, people will drive by them every day, increasing the recognition of your brand.

Marketing with Signs 101 is a three-part series on how to effectively use signs to generate more business. This article is part two of the series.

In the last article, we talked about using signs to build awareness of your business. Today, we’re going to talk about using signs as an integral part of your online advertising efforts.

I like to compare the sign portion of the advertising strategy to the worker bees in a beehive. (I could compare other advertising tactics – like radio or TV ads – to queens or drones, but I don’t really know what those bees do for the hive.) Back to the worker bees, they just work – all the time.

Really, that’s the great thing about signs; they’re always working for you. And, when you realize what the cost is, per impression (which is basically the number of people who could potentially see it) there is not a more efficient way of advertising.

This is why signs drive business efficiently:

Advertising is about volume and repetition – studies have shown that advertising effectiveness depends on the number of people who see it, and how many times they see the message repeated. Your signs and banners communicate to potential customers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, week after week, month after month, and year after year. The mere repetition of the message will help them remember your business.

You can control where the signs are placed – signs do not waste your money by requiring you to pay for wasted advertising coverage. The people who see your sign are the people who live or work in your trade area.

People read signs and retain the information – signs have been around for centuries and everyone is used to looking at signs for information. Studies have shown over and over that people do read and remember what is on signs. You can’t program your Tivo to skip signs or change the channel.

Signs are inexpensive and easy – you can design and order your own signs over the Internet in about five minutes. Compare that to engaging advertising agencies to plan, design, produce and place your print or media advertisements. Plus, you can easily install signs yourself or pay someone a reasonable rate to place your signs at busy intersections.
The bottom line is that signs work. They always have. Since the first caveman scratched out a picture on a cave wall saying “the buffalo are over here” to the signs you passed on your way to work this morning, signs have been paying off huge dividends for those people who use them correctly.