Creating a welcoming environment for your customers is one of the most important things you can do in your business. A large part of ensuring your store is customer-friendly is to make sure you have quality business signage. While every company will have different needs when it comes to the content of the signs, there are a few common traits every one of those signs should have.
1. Branding
Any marketing expert will tell you that prominently displaying your logo is an important part of creating brand recognition. Consumers learn how to recognize your company by your logo or a tagline you use. This can bring you both first-time and repeat business. While not every sign in your business needs to have your logo, you should be sure to include it where it is appropriate:
• On at least one of the walls of your store
• On any signs advertising sales or specials
• On your front door
2. Clear Message
The signs you produce should always clearly communicate what it is you are trying to say. In general, you can say more with less. Your customers do not want to spend a great amount of time standing and reading a piece of paper. Be concise and clear about your message. If you are displaying your business hours, make sure the format is easy to read. Within just a few seconds of reading a sign, your customer should be able to glean all the information they need.
3. Clean Design
Most graphic designers agree that the design of your sign should be clean; in other words, do not clutter your signs with excessive text and images. You can pick one dominating image to draw someone’s attention, supported by text that utilizes some special effects. Your text should follow the rule of three: Do not use more than three effects on the text, in terms of font size, color and style elements like italics or bold. Having some variety is a good thing, but too much will make your design overwhelming. Some good design elements you can consider including are:
• A border around the sign
• Using more than one color, as color can actually increase the likelihood someone will read your sign by as much as 78 percent
• A graphic that can take the place of text; such as a cup of coffee on your pricing menu
4. Correct Grammar
There are entire websites dedicated to making fun of companies that have grammar or spelling errors on their signage. You can avoid making the mistake by having more than one set of eyes look over your signs before you order them. Take advantage of things like spell-check and print proofs for other members of your staff to read.
5. Proper Placement
No matter how good your signs are, they will be useless unless you properly display them. Putting signage at eye level is a good idea, like on the top of clothes racks or on the register at checkout.
Your business signage can go a long way toward helping increase your sales and communicate your message. Make sure your signs have good grammar and clean design. Include your logo wherever possible to increase brand recognition and make sure to display the signs appropriately.