Optimizing Your Retail Business with New Signage
How Signage Can Help Retailers in 2020
The holiday season is just around the corner. This is of course an important time of year for retailers, but especially so in 2020. This year hasn’t been easy for small businesses, but we can still maximize on this season by increasing foot traffic. With competition tighter than ever, signage can play a huge role for retailers as we near the holidays. Let’s explore what types of signs can benefit your store, and how to get the most out of them to drive sales.
All Signs Point to Retail Success
Pandemic-Related Informational Signs
In 2020, these just might be the most important signs in your store—especially considering increased crowds. Signs can be highly effective in establishing health and safety guidelines for customers walking in. In addition to being informative, signs can also act as a friendly reminder to wear a face covering, practice social distancing, and adhere to other guidelines your store has in place. Also, consider other pandemic-specific signage such as floor markings to encourage social distancing.
Wayfinding Signs
The easier your store is to navigate, the more enjoyable the shopping experience will be. If your customers can find a product, there’s a higher chance they’ll buy it; if they can’t find it, well, there’s no way they can buy it. Retailers put in a lot of hard work to bring products to the shelves, so let signage make all your work worthwhile.
Signs not only can help drive sales, but they can also help customers and employees stay safe during this time. For example, if your shop has a specific direction customers should navigate through the store to encourage social distancing, signs can help manage the flow of traffic. Think of how most Publix stores have arrows on the floor to control crowd flow. This is just another step that could keep your store safe and your customers comfortable with operations, making them more likely to return or recommend the experience to a friend.
Storefront Displays
Your storefront is free real estate for marketing. If you have a deal, special operating hours, or an exciting new product, why not let your customers know by using signage on your storefront? This will not only let people walking in know what they can expect, but it will draw in passersby by enticing them with your great offerings. Storefront signage is an effective and low-priced way to let your customers know about your can’t-miss deals inside.
Best Practices for Retail Signage
Make It Easy to Read
What is the best way to get your message across? It’s easy to over-do the design for your signage—let’s talk a little bit about how to nail your sign design to get the message across.
Font/Typeface
What typeface you use is just as important as what you say. Generally speaking, bold and simple fonts work best on signage so that readers can easily scan what it says. Also, keep in mind your branding and the tone you want to convey—font can make or break your intent.
Copy
You only have so much space on a sign and will have your readers’ attention for only a split second; make it count. You may be surprised that writing only a few words of copy can be harder than writing an essay—but that’s what it takes to write good copy. You’ll have to put in some work to come up with something catchy, but the results are worth it.
Design
You’ve got the copy, and you’ve got the right font—let’s put all these ingredients together for the best design. Consider what colors will work best and how the eye moves across the sign. Design aspects such as white space will go a long way and bringing your sign together to make it as effective as possible.
Have Fun with It
If you get inspired with a creative idea for a sign, make it happen! It most likely will grab your customers’ attention better than a straightforward sign would. One-liners, puns, and wordplay are effective in drawing eyes to the sign and helping customers remember the message. We would caution, however, not to make the pun too hard to understand. If it takes a few rereads to understand the joke or message, it’s probably best to roll with more direct copy—back to our earlier point, make it easy to read.
Location, Location, Location
Where a sign is located can have a great impact on its effectiveness. While that may seem obvious, it can’t be overstated that we have to think this through. Consider how a customer will navigate a store and where their eyes will naturally go. For example, let’s say there’s an immediate right turn in your store right after the entrance. Consider how a customer will walk in and instinctually look right, not left, as they enter. Noticing small nuances and patterns like that could help you determine the best spots to place your signs to draw eyes to them.
Here’s Your Sign: Synergetic Media is Ready to Help
As a fellow small business, we want your store to be successful to wrap up this difficult year. Our graphics and printing team will get you the best signage for your store. Matching your branding, we create attractive, quality, and eye-catching point-of-sale signage that will help your retail business excel this season.
Reach out to us today at 770-992-2832 to get started. To keep up with our latest, connect with us on Facebook and YouTube.
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