Why does a small business need a custom business sign with a corporate look?

One of the single most important reasons to purchase custom made signs is for the survival and ongoing prosperity of your business. How can any business fulfill it's economic potential without the right type of signage?

Thousands of advertising impressions are made daily by effective custom signs and vinyl banners in order to draw new clients into your place of business. Signs work silently to promote new business transactions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Custom signs develop memory for your location and the products and/or services you offer encouraging a change from usual buying habits. By giving a corporate look it will instill confidence in consumers as well as make it easier for them to remember you when they need your product or services.

What is a corporate look for a business sign?

A corporate look is like creating an entity that will represent your business. It is used to project the beliefs and values that your business stands for. By giving a consistent image you promote your own “brand”, which consumers will come to recognize and relate to.

Consumers get a perception of what your company is about from your corporate image. You can tell them what you want them to think about your business, but they will form their own opinion. Much of this opinion will be based on the visual cues you send them.

Those visual cues are mostly from your business signs and your logo. This is more than your personal trademark, this is a way of communicating with your potential customers. If they feel you are communicating poorly, or if they don’t like what you are saying, they will not patronize your business. On the other hand if your custom sign makes them feel confident about your business, and gives them a good impression they will more likely become a loyal customer.

Does my custom sign have to have a logo in order to have a corporate look?

There are no absolutes when it comes to the design of your business sign. However, a corporate look does typically include a logo in some form. Sometimes it is the name itself that forms the logo, such as in the case of Dell. We all know the look of that name, we identify the company quickly and easily.

Creating a logo that reflects your business and what you stand for is an important step in creating a custom sign that will attract customers. You should choose your colors, fonts and any graphics you plan to use with care. You want to project your strengths, your purpose, your values and your unique features in your logo and your business signage.

This may all seem a bit overwhelming, but at SignsUS.com we are here to help you.

How can small businesses use signage with a corporate look to create "brand" awareness?

A custom sign brands a location just as a product label brands a product. Companies use signage, logos and graphics to repeatedly reinforce their business image and create top-of-the-mind awareness with consumers within their immediate business community.

Adopting a uniform business image and identity to display on signs, banners, vehicles, business cards, stationary, uniforms and promotional items will serve to brand your business and location, creating greater consumer awareness and recall when your products and services are needed.

Two examples that stand out would be the golden arches of McDonalds and the mouse ears of Mickey, that have become a symbol of Disney. This branding worked because they used the same logo and name in everything they did. It is their corporate image. People would recognize the brand when they saw a sign, and a certain comfort level was established because of the familiarity along with the image projected.

As the businesses grew the logo became iconic. If you say “the golden arches” to most people they will instantly think of McDonalds, even if there is no sign in sight! The same can be done in small business. After all, even Disney and McDonald’s had to start somewhere.

Can a small business afford a custom sign in today’s economy?

We know that in these hard economic times everyone is trying to find ways to cut corners and save a few dollars. Some businesses feel that a custom business sign is an expense they can cut from their budget. However, Custom Signs are the least expensive and yet one of the most effective forms of advertising for any business, large or small.

Custom signage and custom vinyl banners work like a silent salesman promoting specific messages to a target audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And you can get full color banner printing for the price of a one color vinyl banner from SignsUS.com. Using other media for advertising requires paying month after month and you never have the benefit of ownership. Plus, you have no assurance that you're reaching potential customers.

The Small Business Association gives the following statistics regarding custom signs for your business.

1. On average, one additional on-premise sign resulted in an increase in annual sales revenues of 4.75%. This translates to a $23,750 increase in average sales revenues for a typical store in the study group with annual sales of $500,000.
2. On average, one additional on-premise sign increased the annual number of transactions by 3.93%. This translates into more than 3,900 additional transactions for a store with an annual average of 100,000 transactions.
3. On average, one additional 36-square-foot wall sign added $0.06 per transaction, while one additional 144-square-foot pole sign added $0.78 per transaction.

From a business owner's perspective, a custom business sign is a capital investment. When you factor in your return on investment, custom signs are not expensive at all. In fact, the signs routinely pay for themselves many times over.

Do I have to use a specific type of custom sign to get a corporate look?

Absolutely not! There are a wide variety of materials to choose from. When you decide how your signs will be mounted and where they will be displayed you can decide on the type of sign you want to get. By creating an entire campaign using the same look you can give the image of being a large company as well as instilling confidence in your customers.

You could put together a full campaign that would include:

• An aluminum sign for the front of your store
• A vinyl banner announcing a special sale or the grand opening
• Business cards that have the same look and feel as your storefront business sign
• Acrylic plastic signs at the checkout point
• Coroplast signs (a corrugated plastic) in locations to attract attention to in store specials

The possibilities are endless. You may choose to get a wood sign. The wooden sign seems to always be a popular choice, even in today’s high tech business world. You may prefer Dibond (which we call Alumaplastic) for your signage. The fact is, we offer just about every kind of business sign you can imagine, except billboards.

How do I choose the most effective business sign for my company?

The first step to choosing the most effective custom sign for your business is to determine the exact purpose of the sign. For example:

• Will you be advertising your business, using the sign as an informational sign or direct traffic flow?
• Is the custom sign intended to be permanent or temporary?
• Where will the sign or custom vinyl banner be displayed? Inside or outside?
• Who do want to see your message?
• How will the business sign be installed?
• What is the viewing distance for the sign?
• How many seconds will your audience have to view the sign?

By starting with these basic questions and reading the information pages contained within this site, you will be well on your way to matching the attributes and characteristics of all the sign types available to fit your individual needs. You will have the information to not only create a sign, but your own personal “brand” as well.

When you need help, SignsUS.com is only a phone call or e-mail away.

How can you help me create a corporate look for my custom business signs?

At SignsUs.com we help small businesses across America to develop the look that they want. We understand that a corporate look is the image that so many businesses want to project. That is why our staff is dedicated to exceptional customer service and our graphics department is outstanding at helping to make your ideas come to life.

We offer a number of ways to create and purchase your custom business signs. You can give us a call at 1-800-899-6272 and speak with a sign specialist, you can email us or you can order directly from our website. We are also pleased to offer a complimentary service called DesignMagic™ developed in order for you to work one on one with a graphic designer, no matter where you are.