The most basic pre-requisite to operate any highly successful and effective retail business is to get noticed.
It is very simple, really. Until you get noticed, you won’t be able to attract customers and drive sales and thereby earn profits. If you want to stand out from the crowd you will have to invest in highly effective retail store signage.
High-quality signage is both very easy and at the same time also a highly effective way to drive footfall to your outlet. It serves as the first point of communication with your customers whenever you decide to design your store.
Make Sure That the Message Is Easy to Understand
The average consumer rushing home from work has little time to stop and ponder at wordy signboards. Consumer attention spans are notoriously short, and they are always in a hurry— and as a business, you should respect that. This is the part where the age-old keep it short and simple (KISS) marketing formula comes into the picture. Make sure that the text and the graphics are simple and easy to understand so that there is no confusion in the mind of the potential customer. Yes, it is possible to get away with crayon scribbles, but it won’t do much for your sales.
Address Your Customers Directly
You should consider using the terms you and yours a lot in your retail signage. This will help your clientele to visualize your products a lot more than if you were to use simple and generic signs. For example, signs that read “You will look super cool with these eye shades” or “Your hair deserves XYZ conditioning treatment” are extremely effective in increasing sales.
Less Is Often More
People have now started shrinking their nonverbal messages. For example, text messages are down to a few words at most or even a single emoticon. It’s the 2020s and no one likes needless fluff anymore. Make sure that your message is both short and crisp and if you have to edit your copy very ruthlessly, so be it. It will also help if you were to write in headline text all the time. In fact, one of the first rules of marketing is that you have a great punch line followed by a call to action (CTA).
Never Underestimate the Importance of Good Location
While sign placement might seem very simple, that is not always the case. You have to figure out the best place for your signage so that you will be able to derive maximum mileage from it. You should always consider certain factors such as the glare of the sun or check and see if the view is blocked for any reason. If this happens, you would be wasting your funds to create signage that people would not be able to see at all. Apart from that, the traffic patterns are also very important. If your hoarding is in an infrequently visited alley, it would be a waste of effort.
In the end, you have to understand that signage in your brick-and-mortar business is extremely important and it should never be taken as an afterthought.
