Yard Sign Marketing Strategies for Small Business Owners – SuperCheapSigns.com Blog

Vinyl lettering can be the perfect way to add a professional look to your business while driving traffic. However, the only way it’ll look professional and bring in new customers is if it is installed correctly. You’re probably reading this article because you have already ordered some vinyl lettering and are just now trying to figure it out how you get it from the box it was delivered in to your storefront window. This guide is here to help you with the installation of the vinyl lettering so that you can quickly get that lettering working for you.

Step 1) Be sure to clean the surface you wish to apply the lettering to. If this surface is a window outside, let it warm up a bit in the sunlight. It’s preferable to have a warm surface for the decals to mount on.

Step 2) Position the lettering on the surface and tape the sides down so you have an idea of what it will look like. Measure and make sure the lettering is straight and in the right place. Check twice! Or even three times!

Step 3) Place masking tape only on the top half of the lettering so you have a way to lift the letters off the wall without losing their position.

Step 4) Cut every letter apart so they each have their own hinge. This way you can install one letter at a time and check your progress along the way

Step 5) Apply fluid and spray the adhesive on the decal.

Step 6) Let a squeegee be the only contact that applies pressure to the lettering adhesive

Step 7) Slowly pull back the application material and check for air bubbles.

Now you can sit back, relax and admire your handy work! Try to maintain your lettering by keeping the window clean on both sides. Preventing dust particles from getting under the lettering will extend the life of it. But do try not to scrub at the lettering. This will only lift the edges off the window and create curling.

I can already hear you saying “What…”?

Though I’m not going to sit here and try to tell you there is no such thing as a sandwich bandit, I will say that I think your lunch is safe. I could be wrong. Who knows? However, the sandwich bandit I’m going to talk about doesn’t really want your sandwiches. So what exactly is a sandwich bandit? It is a combination of affordable advertising options!

As an alternative to expensive billboards and newspaper advertising many people are using corrugated plastic signs (known as bandit signs or yard signs) for advertising. These signs feature excellent quality printing options and are very well made to withstand outside elements. Many people find them useful for promoting their favorite candidates during elections, realtors use them extensively to advertise available properties and homeowners are finding them to be less expensive when advertising yard or garage sales. Small businesses are finding out that it is beneficial to use these in conjunction with sandwich boards.

Small business owners have found it very beneficial to use sandwich boards to promote their establishments. The A-frame style is commonly used by restaurants for posting their daily specials on the sidewalk to entice potential customers. These are great for that purpose because you can post your information on both sides of the sign making viewing available from either direction. Some of these signs are created using dry erase writing surfaces so the messages can be easily changed at a moment’s notice. Others use insertable bandit signs that can be easily switched.

A business should be using signage to actually sell its product since signs can reach potential customers even when you can’t. Sandwich boards can be used to advertise new products, as well as any ongoing promotions and special offers. Bandit signs are always on duty, always advertising your product, and always sending a message, so they can be just as valuable to a business as their salespeople are. For small businesses, bandit signs are cost-efficient ways of advertising. While radio and television advertisements end after the payments end, signs require only a one-time investment and will continue to provide leads long after that. Taking these two forms of advertising and combining them gives you a strong advertising front at an affordable price.

There are many different ways that you can promote your business. Marketing campaigns come in all shapes and sizes, no matter what you might need. One of the most affordable and effective marketing tools available is the use of lawn signs to advertise your business. There are a variety of sizes and designs to choose from, letting you determine exactly how you make an impact with your signs.

Lawn signs are a great way to promote a new business, inform people of specials and sales going on, and to get visibility for many other purposes. Most commonly, you are probably used to seeing these signs during election campaigns. However, they have many more uses beyond that. It’s all about finding what they can do for you.

The most common yard signs are made of a hard, durable plastic that is able to withstand the elements. Of course, there are lighter bag-style signs that are stretched over wire sign holders to provide a more affordable or flexible style of advertising. It doesn’t matter which signs you choose to work with, because they just need to work for your specific needs. There is no point in spending money on something that won’t last, so make sure that you choose signs that will hold out over time.

When you’re just starting out, these signs can help you build your brand. People will see your signs and remember your business as the place to go when they need products or services that you offer. As time goes on, you can continue to benefit from yard signs. You can use them to promote new services or products, advertise deals and specials, and let people know what’s going on in your business.

You can place the signs in the yard of your business, at your home, at homes of people in the community, and even along busy roads and intersections to get people interested in your business. If you have an event going on, these signs will be helpful in promotion, as well. A newspaper ad is only seen by people who read the paper. However, if you put a lawn sign in a place that most people drive by regularly, you’ll get much more visibility.

Finding the best marketing campaigns and tools for your business is the goal here. If you want affordable marketing ideas that provide better success rates for less money, you should consider lawn signs. It doesn’t matter whether your business is big or small, or what type of marketing you are trying to accomplish. Whether you use the signs in a specific location or for a certain event, they will be effective in many different situations.

If business is stagnant and needs a refresh, consider a grand reopening to reboot your business. Change the look and feel of your business and reinvent what you already do. Change the interiors, update them with the new style, remodel your lobbies, and take a look at adding new services. A change of pace might be all that’s needed to invigorate an aging business. If you’re in the restaurant business, you might need to refresh the menu and add some new items that the customers might be craving.

If you’re considering a grand re-opening you’re going to want to consider how you’ll inform the public that already knows you’re there or has probably forgotten. Word won’t get around that an already established business is reopening its doors. A new store sign that’s refreshed for the times will help but if people aren’t looking for a redesigned store, they won’t find it. A good way to initially advertise the grand reopening is by using vinyl banners outside the business to announce the news. Banners are large and are nearly impossible to miss. Every store in a strip mall will have a sign that’s similar looking. Not everyone has an eye-popping vividly color banner. Draw attention with the banner so people know you are there.

Additionally, you can use lawn and yard signs to advertise in the surrounding areas. Place your lawn signs near the intersections with all the hustle and bustle, and place them near your place of business so that at the very least, drivers that see the sign might turn for a second to see what’s going on at your store. They might notice the new changes and be interested in coming for a later visit. Be sure to reach as many people as possible with the new signs and banners. Use your signage to briefly explain what changes have been made. New Menu Items? Tell them! New services? Tell them!

Refresh your business, attract attention and build new business. Those are the key steps to invigorate your business.

So, you got your bandit signs all prepared. Your strategy has been decided, the rallying speeches have been given and you’re ready to set your “weekend warriors” loose on the world (or at least the neighborhood). Now, how do you get them to make a “stand”? Well, you have three options:  

H-Wires (or wire stakes)

There are metal stakes that you can buy with the bandit signs. These are called H-wires. There are large H-wires and smaller half wires. There are these little slats between the plastic of the bandit signs often referred to as “flutes”. The stakes are in an H format and you take the top part of the H and slide it up through these Flutes. Then you take the bottom part of the H and push that into the ground. These H-wires come in a regular strength and heavy duty strength.

Wooden Stakes

The other option is a wooden stake. You would pound that into the ground and then you would staple the sign itself onto the upper part of the stake. This option can be more labor intensive and doesn’t work as well because the wooden stake becomes unstable. Still, they are an affordable option and work well in places where the soil is softer.

Using a sign stapler

The third option is to use a sign stapler (or staple gun) and staple your signs to a tree or wooden post. Many people will staple their bandit signs to telephone poles. While this may seem like a handy option, this is generally not a recommended practice. The telephone folks don’t much appreciate having signs or staples all over their poles.  Once you determine which option will work best for you, it’s time to take your bandit signs and make a stand that lets customers know you mean business!

Ok, so what in the world do I mean by “signage recipe?” I can already hear you thinking that I have gone right off my rocker. But this is a very effective analogy when you get right down to it. Having that perfect recipe for cooking is the goal of chefs around the world. Obviously because this is the only way of making customers remember them and hit sales. Now, let’s relate that to advertising: a perfect recipe is also needed when coming up with advertising campaigns in order to catch the taste of consumers and get their support for your product.

Your experience may tell you that in order to have an effective banner or sign you have to follow a lot of solid principles that most graphic designers use to create attractive, high impact custom signage that will help you yield the greatest return on your advertising expense. This is true most of the time because they are the experts. Some entrepreneurs spend their money just to get the experts’ advice. However, with a few tips you can save some of that expense and get straight to creating that special sign recipe that will have clients begging for more.

You need to meet with your colleagues to discuss exactly what you want to impart on your banners and signs because just one missing ingredient can have a negative effect. You want to be as clear and concise in as little space as possible because the majority of people are either driving by at speeds that demand their full attention (meaning you get just that two second glance to make your impression), or they already have their own goals and objectives in mind when they glance over and you want to create enough lure to make them stop and take notice. A jumble of words will have them walking on pretty quick or shaking their heads and turning their attention back to the street.
We all know about IM and text messages. We also (most of us) have joined one or two (maybe more) social networks online. Etiquette says that all capital letters means you are yelling. While yelling might be what you want sometimes (come on, admit it…) yelling at customers is not one of those times. When creating that special recipe for your banners and signs, do not use all capital letters. Contrary to popular belief, this does not make you message stand out more. Mixing upper and lower case text is friendlier to the eye and has been scientifically proven in visual tests to be more legible. You may have thought (or used?) that using those capitals would a great attention grabber when it can actually have a very negative impact. Remember your manners and who you are. Be polite. Don’t yell. You are not desperate so don’t give that impression!

Be careful when choosing the text font for your message. Don’t overdo the text in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. To maximize legibility of your text use an easy-to-read text. In addition, do not use more than two different type faces in one banner or sign. This is also irritating to the eye and can have people turning away before they ever get your message!

That perfect dish can be a mouth watering delight or it can be a savory hint of flavor and spice. When it comes to cooking, less tends to be better. Too much spice can bury the flavor of the dish. The same applies to advertising. The general rule of thumb is the fewer words the better. This is because you don’t want to jumble your message with a lot of meaningless chatter; doing this will simply make your message a hodge podge and the meaning will be utterly lost on your audience. Fewer words will make it easier for people to retain the message you want to convey. Another key thing to remember: the less you say the easier it is to remember later!

When cooking, “HOT” spices generally have a red label, mild spices tend to have yellow or pastel labels (go on, go check the spice rack…), and bolder spices – those packed with stand out taste – have a lot of black, yellow, white and red in their labels. Have you ever wondered why? No? Well… you should! Color says a lot. You can say SALE in bright red words with a white background and you have just caught the attention of about half the population. Saying Sale in big black letters on a red background will not have the same effect because it appears too aggressive. Your color scheme is just as important as your message.

To make a perfect sign recipe, use a subtle blend of simplicity, color and appeal. Stir gently and serve!

Company cars cost a business a lot of money over their lifetime. There’s the initial purchase, the registration and insurance, the gasoline and the cost of repairs and maintenance. Naturally a company should try to get every bit of utility out of a big investment like a vehicle. The best way to start adding some value to a company vehicle is to start turning it into an advertising machine. If you have a company car and are looking to turn it into a moving billboard, here’s a guide to help you.

First of all, if you’re willing to make some permanent changes to the look of your vehicle, you might want to consider using vinyl decals and lettering on the body of your car. They’re professional looking and can be very big and easy to read. The only downside is that they’re fairly permanent and can’t be taken off and put back on. If you do plan on going this route make sure your car’s color will work with the vinyl decals and lettering you choose. For a simple example, white lettering on a white or silver car is going to be very hard to read.

If you’re not willing to permanently change the appearance of your vehicle you can also look into car magnets. These custom magnets can feature your business logo, address, and phone number. To boot these magnets can be removed and replaced just as easy as well….a magnet! So if you ever decide to sell your company car or want to change the look later, the magnets won’t mar the appearance.

Depending on your situation, you might want to go with either of these options or even both. Maybe you permanently want the truck to have contact information for the business, but would like a magnet that has the driver’s contact information on it. That way each driver can switch out the information. Which route to take is up to you.

Many small business owners use signs solely to announce their location to the public. Primary identification is a great use for signs; the reality is that they can be used for radically more than just that. More often than not, correctly utilizing signs for multiple functions can make the difference between a highly successful business and a less successful one.

People read dozens of signs a day. Whether it’s a wet floor sign in the aisle of a grocery store, a traffic sign on the road, or a business sign on a building, people interact with signs constantly, most without even realizing it. Signs are often the first way a business communicates with a customer. Before a prospective customer enters a business, look at a product or service, or talk to the employees, a sign has already delivered a message to them. Making sure that a business’ signage delivers a positive message about their business is absolutely critical.

Sandwich board signs are a great way to attract new customers, especially foot traffic. They are proven to provide an effective and economical increase in your advertising coverage and generally require no special permits for placement. One of the unique and value added benefits stems from the ease of changing the message. Most are designed for two printed inserts, easily changed when a new or reused message is required.

They are most effective used for those businesses hidden in the depths of a strip mall, with no direct exposure of their signage to foot and road traffic. They allow for conscious placement of your advertising for the best traffic patterns, and as mentioned earlier allow for a quick change of your message.

Sandwich boards are easy to spot. It’s hard not to notice them and people can’t help but read what they have to say. The fact that sidewalk signs are also double-sided reinforces this. Take advantage of all that free advertising space outside your establishment. For a minimal investment upfront you can reap the benefits of a strategically placed marketing plan designed to add to your bottom line.

Sandwich board signs are a must for today’s small business. They increase traffic to your business, are durable and economical. If not in it already, sandwich boards signs should be a part of your small business arsenal.

MDO is a hybrid material made for outdoor applications such as sign painting. It has a core of 5 or 7-ply plywood that is manufactured using moisture resistant resins and bonding agents between the ply’s. 

MDO, or construction signs as they are more commonly referred to, are the most versatile of all the signage. MDO signs are very popular in situations where longevity is important. The most common application for an MDO sign is as a jobsite sign or an entrance sign where cost is of moderate concern. One of the most time-honored materials used for today’s signage, MDO (medium density overlay) signs are plywood laminates with a very smooth finish. One of the most versatile materials available, MDO signs can be seen at businesses, churches, schools, construction sites, billboards, and just about any other place one can think of. MDO signs carry a clear message and deliver the structural properties required of large signs.

MDO plywood is a treated wood that has special paper that is impregnated with resin on either one or two sides. This creates an ideal surface for paint and vinyl application, and makes for an incredibly strong sign that will last a long time. This material is ideal for the outdoors and is widely used for signs in 1/2″ or 3/4″ thickness.  Also called Crezon, it is covered with a bonded layer of a stiff paper product providing for a smooth, longer lasting surface.  It is then primed & painted and ready for vinyl application.

MDO surface overlay is generally opaque and smooth. The surface veneer is typically wood-toned color but other colors are also available. Manufacturers offer textured and factory-primed MDO plywood that is well-suited for siding applications (in homes) and painted signs. MDO plywood is chemical-resistant (it resists benzene, chloroform, methyl alcohol and acetone), weather-resistant and wear-resistant.

The MDO sign is a very common sign company product used for site signs, heavy duty exterior displays and main organization signs for long term exterior life. MDO Plywood signs are rigid and durable. They are primarily used for signs that need extra strength and are semi-permanent. They are great for real estate or construction applications.

Long lasting durability make construction signs one of the most cost effective solutions to your signage needs. Not only are you getting a product that will be a never ending salesman, but you are getting one that can, like the mail man, provide potential customers with your information through snow, rain, heat and gloom of night for years and years to come!