Signage as a Marketing Tactic

Signage is a key marketing tool that many people overlook. Most businesses benefit from identifying their location or promoting a local presence. For retail and service businesses, it is imperative that customers are able to find you. Signage plays a key role in this, along with having your location clearly numbered. For other businesses, signage can express messages about your brand. For example, building signage can convey your size or importance by virtue of the size and/or location on the building.

In addition, way-finding signage within buildings or business parks can influence the impression customers have of your company. If they are confused as to where to go or can’t find you at all, their frustration could adversely affect your business regardless of their opinion of your product offering or customer service.

Street-level advertising, such as transit shelters, sandwich boards or billboards, can be used to provide directional messaging or to supplement branding efforts. If your location is off the beaten path, off-building signage can generate traffic by indicating where you are. In addition, this type of advertising can help build awareness with pedestrians and motorists traveling near your geographic location. This is also useful if you are unable to install the building signage that you desire.

Regardless of the type of signage and its location, the key to success is that your signage is both legible and clearly expresses your brand. Legibility is one of my pet peeves. If a customer can’t make sense of what something says — whether it is a sign or other marketing material — how can you expect them to take the action you want them to. Therefore, it is important not only to choose fonts and colors that are easy to read, but also to think carefully about what you say. Too much text will clutter a sign, but consider whether it is important to include some key descriptors to ensure people know what your business does.

Color will also create an impression about your brand, so you should consider choices carefully. For example, the combination of black and yellow is highly legible, but it is also a color combination used for caution (police) tape as well as the labels on some “no name” (generic) products. This may not convey an appropriate message for some businesses.

Some color choices can reveal information about the product. Ethnic restaurants often use colors that identify with the kind of food they serve: Greek restaurants typically use blue and white, while an Irish pub may include green and orange. Recently, I learned that the colors of the New York Knicks — orange and blue — are symbolic of the Dutch origins of Manhattan.

Lastly, the quality of the signage can also make an impression. Generally, a hand-printed sign does not project an image of a very professional business and may cause some people to simply ignore it. However, a hand-written chalkboard sign highlighting today’s specials, creates an immediacy that could generate the incentive for customers to act more quickly.

Good signage will take into consideration all four elements: location, message, design and quality, but the greatest impact will come from signage that also fully expresses the company’s brand.