The world of physical retail experiences is a far cry from what it once was, with the ushering in of the digital age and changing customer needs. Businesses are always searching for the best ways to serve their customers in their stores, especially since brick-and-mortar locations are considerably pricey. In a world of social media, there are more ways than ever to market your business to customers and digital “passers-by”, so where does that leave the traditional stores, and how can they best be utilized to strengthen your brand reputation and ensure that your customer wants to come back again and again?
Good design goes a long way.
A well-designed signage suite can pique the interest of new customers simply through the use of visual cues. Shop fronts are incredibly important as they can often from a first impression, especially if your business doesn’t have a large online following already. Furthermore, a shop front will serve as either a brand strengthening tool for large businesses that is already widely known, or act as a barrier of entry if poor presentation is shown.
Below are two images of different clothing stores, which of the two (in the case where you hadn’t heard of either before) would you more likely enter and purchase something?
Which of the two shops irrespective of brand name and popularity, do you think provides a better service and product? A research study carried out by FedEx showed that 7 out of 10 customers believe that a stores signage reflects the quality of a business and the products they offer.
Signage colour is important.
There have been decades of study into colour theory, and we have a good understanding of how different colours can have specific effects on our minds, although these connotations can vary throughout the world as different cultures hold different values. Focussing on the Western world, we’ll provide an example using the above store. The dominant colour on the store front is red, and in our culture, this can signify blood, and it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, and courage. Modern surveys in Europe and the United States show red is also the colour most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love, and joy.
We have already written a whole article based on how to effectively use colour in your signage to get the most out of your physical branded environment, which you can read in the link below.
https://www.blaze-signs.com/blog/using-colour-in-your-signage-correctly/
Cut the clutter in your signage.
A study completed by Custom Neon¹ in 2021, which surveyed 1000 Americans and Australians (aged 18 years and older, 50% male and 50% female) aimed to better understand the current influence of business signage on general consumers’ purchasing habits and attitudes.
Their study found that just over 76% of respondents had previously visited a store or business due to attractive signage. So what does it take to create an attractive sign?
In our over 4 decades of experience in the industry, we’ve found that the most effective signage is simple and bright. The most important aspect is to let tell people who you are, and what you sell, anything additional is superfluous; the average persons attention span is shorter than ever before, and to properly cut through the barrage of visual stimuli all around us, one simple message (i.e., your logo and business offering) is the most effective way to cut to people’s consciousness.
1: Study: https://customneon.com/10-business-signage-statistics/
The photo of Hamley’s toy store in Bluewater Shopping Centre shows a great use of colour and cutting the clutter to make an effective and engaging store front.
Is it worth the investment?
It is often believed that in the age of data and digitisation of business, more investment should be spent on online advertising and social media, however, according to that same study from Custom Neon, this is not the case!
Almost surprisingly, 72.20% of respondents believe that good signage is more important for a business than social media or newspaper advertisements.
The statistics talk for themselves, and when you consider that signage will likely remain in place for multiple years, it is an investment that can pay dividends to your businesses performance for years to come. If you take time to ensure your stores signage is effective and well-maintained, you can continue to attract new customers and keep them.
