In today’s fast-paced business environment and tight real estate market, many business owners opening a new location find themselves crunched for time between signing the lease on their spaces and the targeted opening date. That’s understandable – property owners and agents are experiencing huge numbers of transactions, closings are delayed, and by the time the deal is closed business owners feel like they’re behind schedule. So they accelerate build out, typically planning to open four weeks after signing the lease.
What’s the Problem? Time.
At MetroCenter Signworks we routinely talk with owners who (rightly) want their new brand prominently displayed on the day they open, if not before. The problems come from incompatible schedules… while buildout make take only four weeks, outdoor signage can take up to eight weeks to design, permit, fabricate, and install. In Metropolitan Nashville, permits alone can take three to four weeks, even if the business owner is only changing faces on an existing sign. (Most surrounding cities are approving permits in less than one week.) Lighted signs should only be produced by UL-certified, high quality fabricators; the truly qualified fabricators currently have three to four week lead-times. And just like the rest of the construction industry, qualified sign installers are booking several weeks out as well.
When you add it up it’s easy to see how a sign can take eight weeks or more to be installed:
- Design and approval – 1 week (including landlord approval)
- Permit application and approval – 3 weeks
- Fabrication and shipping – 4 weeks
- Installation – 2 weeks after delivery
Help! I’m Opening in Four Weeks!
Here’s the good news: there are things you can do to both maintain your opening schedule and showcase your brand.
- Start early! Don’t wait until you’ve signed your lease to start talking with your sign provider. If you’ve selected one or two preferred spaces and have started negotiating with the owner, call MetroCenter Signworks! We’ll be happy to look at the property, discuss your goals, and get all the information we need to prepare a proposal. When you sign the lease we’ll be ready to get started.
- Take a little educated risk. At MetroCenter Signworks we understand zoning, signage codes, and the permitting process, so in most cases we already know if a proposed sign will be approved or not (and in most cases we don’t start down the path if we aren’t confident it will be approved). Armed with that knowledge, it’s usually (not always, but usually) safe to start fabrication before permits are issued and shave three or four weeks off the process. The emphasis here is on educated – as a business owner you don’t want to take this risk with a sign provider who isn’t an expert in the process.
- Take temporary action. Virtually all cities allow temporary banners (without a permit) to announce that a business is “Coming Soon” or is “Now Open”. Use that option to your advantage – put your brand on a large banner and hang it where your permanent sign will be, and do it before you open! You’ll be more visible to your neighbors and customers earlier.
What’s the Special Offer?
At MetroCenter Signworks we know how important brand awareness is to the success of a business, and we want to help you create that brand awareness as soon as possible. We’ll do everything we can to get a top-quality permanent sign installed as fast as we can. But until we can make that happen, if you order your permanent sign from us, we’ll provide a temporary banner at no charge that will start to build your brand image as soon as you hang it. And we’re not talking about a generic off-the-shelf “now open” banner – we’ll put as much effort into making a great temporary sign that showcases your brand almost as well as your fabulous permanent sign.
Great – How Do I Get Started?
That’s easy – just call MetroCenter Signworks at 615-649-5003, or visit our website at metrocentersignworks.com and fill in the request form. Make sure to mention the Free Banner offer!
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