Renew your image in 2017, with the help of new signage

January is the month of reinvention. The New Year celebrations usher in a phase of good intentions, when we promise ourselves a period of self-improvement and transformation. Determined to shed the excess Christmas pounds, exercise more, drink less, learn a new skill, we all put our best foot forward at the beginning of the year, and hope we have the willpower to make and maintain those big changes to our personal lives.

But there’s no reason the positive thinking and good intentions should stop with our personal lives – January could also be the month when you implement some resolutions and revolutions for your business too. Setting yourself some ambitious goals now could see you reaping the rewards further down the line in 2017, and giving your business a bolder, stronger brand image could be just the thing you need to succeed in the challenging months to come.

There may be trouble ahead…

Last year’s vote to leave the European Union certainly threw the United Kingdom into a period of significant uncertainty. While some argue that it will open up new opportunities, others fear things will become more difficult as the country renegotiates trade deals and finds its footing outside the EU. With the timetable for leaving the union still up in the air, leading figures in the banking, retail, hospitality and manufacturing industries have all predicted that 2017 looks set to be a very bumpy ride for many businesses, up and down the country.

As the year began, some major players on the British High Street were warning that slower than expected sales could spell trouble ahead, with many people curbing their spending habits since the financial downturn of a decade ago, and the economy only slowly recovering. All this means that competition between businesses with a High Street presence is fiercer than ever. Whether you own or manage a shop, pub, restaurant, gym or independent cinema, this year you’ll need to pull out all the stops if you’re to stay ahead of the game and clinch those much needed sales.

A much needed boost

One of the most practical and cost effective things you can do to revamp your image in 2017 is to invest in new, high quality signage for your business premises. If the signs you have above your door are a few years old, chances are they are looking a little past their best and in need of some TLC to inject a new lease of life into your shop front. While renewing your image might seem like an expensive or frivolous pursuit at a time when we’re all feeling the pinch, a new sign is very much the gift which keeps on giving.

New signage is the very best form of advertising, and a bold, well designed sign which stands out from a distance can drive trade your way more successfully than any media marketing campaign. Signs do so much more than inform those passing by of your company name – they give out a very clear message about your brand, about what you can offer and about how you, as the business owner, view the work you do.

A well crafted sign which is well lit and kept in tip top condition demonstrates that you take an interest in how the world sees your business, while a run-down sign with missing lettering is an instant turn-off for potential customers. A pleasant and attractive façade promises a pleasant and attractive interior beyond the sliding doors, which is far more likely to make people stop and take notice of your window display or menu. When you consider the wide choice consumers have and the variety of options open to them, ensuring you are the business they choose out of a long line of stores and cafes is often all about how you appear from the outside, and first impressions matter. We all have short attention spans and we all make snap judgments, so the more eye-catching and the stronger your image, the more chance you have of grabbing that passing trade.

The best time for change

You should treat renewing your image as a little spring cleaning, ahead of the better weather. Imagine the impact a new sign could have, with your business name, logo and colours suddenly making the front of your premises that little bit bolder and more vibrant, despite the gloomy winter weather. A new shop sign is a wise investment when you consider the benefits – this is standout advertising which is working for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year.

We all know that 2017 is going to be a tough year, but when things look set to challenge us, the best thing we can do is take a proactive stance and not bury our heads in the sand. The fiercer the competition and the harder the market, the more need there is to reinvent your business and strengthen your image.

Here at the Sussex Sign Company, we have many years’ experience designing, fitting and maintaining the highest quality signs and way-finding systems available. We appreciate how hard things can be for business owners, which is why we do everything we can to work with you to find tailor-made solutions for all your signage needs. To revamp your image in 2017, simply get in touch with our friendly, highly skilled team today, and together we can drive your business forward to better things.

Brighten Up The Winter Months With An Illuminated Sign

Illuminated Signage

We are now well and truly in the depths of the bleak midwinter, when the evenings draw in early, the cold begins to get us all down and the weather is often as miserable as that post-Christmas feeling. It’s little wonder that when the January blues strike, most of simply bury our heads under the duvet and let our thoughts begin to turn towards holidays in the sun or taking solace in a little comfort eating or retail therapy.

This can, however, also be a time for fresh starts and reinvention. The New Year offers a new start, and with it a rush of good intentions and resolutions to improve on some aspect of our lives, be it a health kick after the guilt of overindulging in mince pies or starting that DIY project that has been put off for months. In our working lives as well as our personal ones, seizing that sudden flurry of motivation can be a fantastic way to counter the dreariness of the winter months and inject a little life back into proceedings.

Whether you own a small boutique shop or a large restaurant, this time of year can seem relatively quiet after the Christmas rush, so it’s an ideal time to act on those good intentions and give your business premises a little attention. Competition for trade is always a challenge, but never more so than when footfall on the High Street is low and the wintry weather is putting customers off venturing much further than the local supermarket.

One of the quickest, most effective and long-lasting things you can do to improve your chances of boosting trade during this quiet patch is sprucing up the front of your store with new signage. People notice change, and it catches everyone’s eyes when something they pass on a daily basis on the way to work or on the school run is suddenly given a makeover. By investing in illuminated signage in particular, you could banish the winter blues and give your business a new lease of life.

Why Illuminated Signage?

What could be more inviting to the chilly High Street shopper than a warm and inviting shop front? Whether it’s a shop, restaurant, bar or any other business premises, a well lit sign and an attractive building façade are a welcoming sight when the mercury has plummeted and the rain is coming down in sheets. There’s far more to good signage than simply having your name spelled out correctly and your company logo pinned above the door. Illuminated signage has multiple benefits, especially at this time of year, making it a wise investment for any business owner.

Because the light begins to fade around mid-afternoon over the winter months, illuminated signage not only looks attractive but also plays a major role in ensuring casual passersby still notice you and potential customers can still find you. Having your name in lights above the entrance makes you more visible and more attractive, and the bolder, brighter and more beautiful your signage, the more likely you are to get people through the door. It’s a simple truth that people are more likely to stop on impulse, whatever the weather, if they see a shop or restaurant front which appeals to them.

A well-lit sign is, therefore, a permanent and prominent marketing tool. Acting as a beacon and announcing your presence to the world, your signage can be a powerful and effective piece of branding which it’s difficult for people to overlook – a strong design featuring your company name, colours and logo sticks in the mind and is remembered long afterwards, almost certainly giving you the edge over the competition.

A Pre-spring Clean

New signage is a belated Christmas present which your premises will thank you for, and despite the weather, this is the perfect time of year for having new signage installed. In fact, it’s arguably because of the weather that this is the ideal time.

Strong winds and driving rain can wreak havoc with old or poorly maintained signage, getting beneath the lettering, wearing away at fixings and generally causing it to look unclean and unsightly, not to mention the health and safety risks involved in elevated signage falling into disrepair. Investing in quality new signs might seem like a significant outlay at a time when passing trade has dwindled, but it will pay you back and be worth more than its weight in gold in the long-term.

Think of installing a new illuminated sign as a spot of spring cleaning, ahead of the better weather. If you’ve been delaying those odd-jobs around your business premises, then now’s the time to capitalise on the New Year good intentions, while things are slow in other respects and you have the time to give your shop front the TLC it so deserves.

Get That Glowing Feeling

If the weather’s getting you down and the post-Christmas lull is starting to take its toll, now’s the time to act. Not only will an illuminated sign help make your shop front more attractive despite the gloomy weather, it might even see you getting more customers through the door and more of those all-important January sales.

To find out more about how illuminated signage could benefit your business, speak to the experts at the Sussex Sign Company using our contact form or give us a call on 01273 417057. We have been providing beautiful, bespoke illuminated signs to businesses in East Sussex for many years, and with the highest quality workmanship and a wealth of knowledge, we can design, install and help you maintain your brand new signs.

Signage The Christmas Gift Which Keeps on Giving

We have already entered one of the busiest periods in the shopping calendar, with Christmas and New Year meaning bargain hunters everywhere have braved the cold and gloomy weather to grab those stocking fillers and fill their fridges for the celebrations. While retailers and restaurant or pub owners are probably already rushed off their feet, there’s one more job you should add to your to-do list and it could just be the one which helps you maximise sales over the festive period – installing new signage.

Competition in the retail and hospitality sectors can be incredibly fierce over the Christmas period, with everyone trying to outdo their neighbours with discounts, special offers and diversity of stock. It’s a critical time for making up if sales have been poor throughout the rest of the year, giving a much-needed boost to the balance books as the year draws to a close. Capturing your fair share of the Christmas market is, therefore, a big priority over the coming days and weeks, and new signage could be just the thing you need to catch the eyes of the Christmas crowds and pull in new customers.

Sussex and London: Shopping Destinations of Choice

It goes without saying that the capital is the number one destination for shoppers at this time of year, drawing in people not only from across the United Kingdom but around the world. While the wealthy fly in to stock up at Hamleys and Harrods, the majority of us will be spending our money in supermarkets, high street stores, big retail outlets and smaller independent shops. This year, spending is expected to bounce back to a level not seen since the financial crash of 2007, so it could well be a very merry Christmas indeed for the nation’s shopkeepers.

Oxford Street is, of course, one of the most popular shopping spots, but all across the capital shops, restaurants and bars will be hearing the tills ringing out in the Christmas period. Beyond the densely packed streets of Zone 1, there are countless London boroughs where you’ll find not only the big name high street chains, but slightly more unusual independent stores.

Sussex, too, has become something of a retail destination in recent years. Ideally situated within handy reach of the capital, savvy shoppers wishing to escape the worst of the crowds and find something a little different are increasingly drawn to nearby Eastbourne, Brighton and Chichester, which are all just a short train hop away. Smaller, more quirky stores located in picturesque towns such as Lewes, Rye and Arundel also pull in shoppers on the search for that elusive perfect present, as do the festive markets.

For shop owners, restaurant managers or pub landlords across Sussex and London, ensuring your premises are looking at their best can make a big difference to the footfall you get through your door at this time of year. People are automatically drawn to the most attractive, best-looking outlets, so a dreary shop window or a shabby façade can easily drive much needed custom straight into the arms of a local competitor.

Add Signage To Your Christmas List This Year

Whether you’re based in Sussex or London signage should be top of your Christmas list. It may seem like just one more thing to get done when you’re already rushed off your feet, but the benefits of installing new signage are immediate and impressive.

Customers really do like to see attractive shops fronts and are more likely to venture inside if they can see that the outside of your premises is well-kept and appealing. Getting people to pause and examine your window display or cast an eye over your menu is half the battle when it comes to clinching those all-important Christmas sales, and a bold, beautiful and eye-catching sign can be seen from quite a distance and may well lure customers over.

A high quality sign speaks volumes about your business and about you. Nobody wants to go through the doors of a shop or restaurant where the sign above the door is missing letters or looks grubby and unloved, but a well-lit and well-maintained sign has exactly the opposite effect and offers encouragement. At this time of year in particular, when the weather might be dark and gloomy, the warming glow of a good sign is a welcoming invitation to the casual passerby and certainly helps your business stand out.

Choosing The Right Signage For Your Business

Getting your signage right is key, and done well it becomes the gift which just keeps on giving. Signage is an incredibly powerful marketing tool which is both prominent and permanent, advertising your business round the clock simply by being so visible. Good signage does more than just put your name above the door – it’s a prime piece of branding, so must be bold and memorable, perhaps including your company’s logo or colours.

When it comes to Sussex and London signage, the Sussex Sign Company is the market leading provider of high quality, bespoke signs. We work all across the county of Sussex, as well as serving all London boroughs, so wherever you are, we’re on hand to help. With many years’ experience in this field, we are able to work with you to design, manufacture, install and help you maintain your signage, offering innovative solutions to all your signage needs. For more information about the services we provide, or to get advice on the best signage for your business, simply get in touch with our expert team today on 01273 417057 or contact us using the contact form.

How New Estate Agent Signage Could Help You Prepare for the New Year’s Rush

We all know there’s a dip in the property market in the run-up to Christmas. After all, nobody wants the stress of moving into a new home only a few days or weeks before the busiest time of year. However, the quiet period almost always ends as soon as the New Year begins, and people who have been delaying putting their houses on the market or holding off on the start of their search for a new home suddenly see the New Year as a new beginning.

If you own or manage an estate agency, this is one of the most important times in the calendar, and anything you can do to increase footfall and drum up interest can only be a good thing. With competition from other agencies and online agents so fierce, ensuring yours is the go-to agency can be a challenge. So what can you do to make sure that the New Year brings those much needed sales and success? The first place to start is with your shop front.

If you make one New Year’s resolution about your business, let it be that you’ll spruce up your estate agent signage and give the façade of your premises a little TLC as we enter the darker, gloomier winter months. When it comes to attracting new customers, there is little that can have so immediate and impressive an impact as a new sign above the door, so look no further and read on, to find out more about the benefits of sparkling new estate agent signage.

The perks of proper signage

There’s nothing like the dawning of a New Year to fill us all with good intentions and the get-up-and-go we need to make some big changes. After all the fun and indulgence of Christmas, this can be a month of transformations for the better, and that extends from the health kick in your personal life to the little shake up your business premises needs.

For most people, the New Year marks a fresh start, so it’s often the time when people spruce up their homes ready for sale, or begin to trawl Rightmove once again in search of the perfect property. That’s all good news for you, but now you need to capitalise on this sudden rush of interest. In order to attract as many people as possible through your doors, you need more than some nice homes on your books. You need to look the part to the casual passerby in the High Street and pull in customers with a winning shop front.

Giving your estate agents a new, well made and eye catching sign above the door will certainly give you an edge over the competition. People notice change, and seeing your estate agent signage go from tired and lacklustre to bright, bold and beautiful will definitely generate new interest in your business. At this time of year, when the evenings draw in early and the weather can be miserable, a well illuminated sign and shop front will offer a warm and inviting welcome to people out and about in the neighbourhood, encouraging them through your doors and onto your books.

Reaping the rewards of good signage

Giving your premises a little love and care now will pay dividends over the winter months. Poor weather can really affect old or poorly maintained signage, often causing it to look shabby and run-down, all of which puts off potential customers. We have all passed shops, restaurants and other High Street facades, where the signage is falling to pieces and looking a little worse for wear, and you wouldn’t want to join that particular club…

Installing and maintaining new signage will not only make the front of your agency more appealing, it will also speak volumes about your company and the work you do. Like the front door of your home or the clothes you choose to wear, the signage you have fitted reflects something much deeper. Good signage shouts ‘good company’, demonstrating that you care about and take pride in what you do. A bold, beautiful sign suggests that what lies beyond the front doors is similarly promising, whereas poorly maintained and outdated signage doesn’t bode well in any customer’s eyes.

A well made sign is also a memorable one, which is precisely what you need in such a competitive market. If your sign is bold and helps put your brand on a more visible platform, you’re already well on your way to garnering greater interest in your business. People like to see attractive shop fronts, and images including your brand name and colours will stick more clearly in their minds if your signage is distinctive.

A resolution worth keeping

Resolutions are hard to keep – just one last chocolate before the diet starts, just one more weekend before you hit the gym, just one more hour in bed before you start your novel. Whatever resolutions you might have made (and already broken) in your personal life, make new estate agent signage the one you keep for your company’s sake.

With many years’ experience providing bespoke and beautiful signage, the Sussex Sign Company are the number one choice when it comes to providing the best signage solutions for estate agencies everywhere. We can install and help you maintain the new signage your premises needs, so for more information on the services we offer, simply get in touch with our expert team today.

New Year, New You: How Fresh Signage Could Boost Your Gym or Trampoline Park’s Profile

Signage for Gym’s and Trampoline Parks

It’s the time of year when many of us begin to turn our thoughts from all the Christmas over-indulgence, to contemplate a new fitness regime for the New Year. As soon as the mince pies are all safely out the way, the list of New Year’s resolutions suddenly begins to look very challenging indeed. Lots of people want to shed the festivity-induced extra pounds and get back on the treadmill, either for the short-term fix, or with an eye on a more long-term healthy living overhaul. With so many different gyms and trampoline parks out there, all offering New Year deals to lure in the guilty, how do you make sure yours stands out from the crowd and attracts those all-important new members?

One of the best ways is through new gym signage, or treating your trampoline park to a façade facelift. This is a time of year when we all hope for transformations of one sort or another, so it’s the ideal time to look to the future and make things happen. Signage should be a critical part of your New Year, new look premises, so consider this a late Christmas present to your business and see the positive effects a new sign can bring.

Good resolutions

We all know how difficult it can be to keep New Year’s resolutions, but investing in new gym signage shouldn’t be a chore. With so many people on the lookout for a membership bargain, the competition between gyms can be fierce at this time of year and anything you can do to raise your profile can only help in the battle to attract new customers.

People inevitably notice when things change, particularly if it’s for the better. If someone walks past your gym and sees a change in your signs, they’re more likely to stop and investigate further. Just by being an eye-catching and noticeable alteration to their regular walk to the station or drive to the supermarket, you’ve already won half the battle by attracting their attention.

Thanks to the surge in interest for trampoline parks, this time of year is also going to be busy if you own or manage one of these. As more people look for fun ways of burning off the Christmas excess, making sure you build your brand identity and promote it in time for the New Year rush could be the very thing to put some spring back into your business.

The benefits of good signage

Installing new gym signage or a new sign for your trampoline park really could see you reap the rewards in fairly short order. Your signage is your brand identity, the first thing people will notice when they pass your premises. It acts as an introduction to you and your company, and it’s therefore important that you make a good first impression or you run the risk of putting potential customers off for good.

Well presented and well maintained signage not only makes your gym or trampoline park more visible to the casual passerby, it also says that you take pride in your company and the services you offer. It takes just seconds for people to reach a judgment on whether they’re interested or not in your brand, so it’s important you make a positive impact before they have a chance to move on. Well looked-after signs say you care about what you do, that you take your work seriously and have a lot to offer your clients. Good signage bodes well for what lies beyond the double doors, and people are more likely to be tempted in, whereas they will be wary that poorly maintained or shabby signage is likely to lead them to disappointment.

Good signage also has an added advantage at this time of year, when the gloomy winter months seem to make the high street feel cold and uninviting. With poor weather and the usual January blues likely to be affecting quite a few of the people who pass your gym front, a well-lit and attractive sign is like a big, warm welcome invitation to come in out of the cold. Everyone can feel cheered by a well-presented business premises in their neighbourhood – it elevates the tone of the area and can elevate the spirits at the same time – just the thing you need when the rain-lashed streets make everyone feel like shutting themselves indoors and comfort eating.

New year, new look

This really is the perfect time of year to revamp your gym or trampoline park, because it’s probably also your busiest. How well presented your premises are really could impact on how much of the post-Christmas market you can capture – whether they’re impulse exercisers or long-haul gym goers.

Investing in new gym signage or sprucing up the signs you already have are one late Christmas present your business will thank you for. There’s nothing like the start of a new year to concentrate the mind and fill you with good intentions, so if you act on them now, you could see the rewards before too long. A new year and a new look could be just the tonic you need to get you through the coming winter months, so set aside some time to think about the designs you want and make sure you stick to this resolution, even if the rest fall by the wayside.

Here at the Sussex Sign Company we have many years’ experience in crafting bespoke and beautiful signage, so you can rest assured that we’ll help you find the perfect signage solution to give your premises a new look for the New Year. We can’t promise those well-intentioned new customers will stick around until after January, but we can help you get them through the door. For more information on how we can help, simply get in touch with our expert team today.

For more information contact us on 01273 417057 or contact us using the contact form.

How good signage could boost Christmas sales for businesses in the Capital

Great signage in London

Christmas is always the busiest time of year for retailers, and with only a handful of shopping days left until the big day, clinching those all-important Christmas sales is crucial. Retail analysts are predicting that spending on Christmas this year will be at the highest it has been since the financial crash of 2007, which means retailers everywhere will be hoping for a major boost to profits during the festive period. Restaurants and hotels, too, see bookings spike around the middle of December, thanks to office Christmas parties and people travelling to visit relatives for family get-togethers.

While bargain hunters might have snapped up some deals during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, when it comes to Christmas shopping, the vast majority of us still like to do things the old-fashioned way. Online sales might have increased and the Amazon effect might have made things harder for smaller independent shops, but at this time of year most people still like to brave the crowds and see and feel the goods they are buying. The same holds true for restaurants. People naturally look to online reviews to gauge how good an establishment is, but just as often, you’ll find people have paused to study a menu and make a booking on impulse, having walked past a restaurant whilst out and about.

At this time of year, it’s hardly a surprise that London is the number one destination for Christmas shoppers, drawing in the crowds not only from across the rest of the country but from overseas. The capital boasts some of the best shopping destinations in the world, not only in the inner city areas but across all the outer boroughs and in the many outlying towns which surround the capital. The bright lights of Oxford Street have a major pull factor, and big brand names or the likes of Harrods and Hamleys are never going to struggle. For smaller businesses in the capital, however, standing out from the crowd can be hard. Shoppers on the lookout for something a bit out of the ordinary might have more luck outside of the department stores, so competition between independent retailers can be fierce.

Capturing the Capital’s crowds

So how can you make sure your business stands out and catches its fair share of the capital’s crowds this Christmas? The most obvious answer is through better signage, and in London signs really need to stand out.

It’s no longer enough to simply spruce up your window displays and crank up the Christmas songs, and shop owners today have to go that extra mile if they are to compete with the bigger players. Your shop front is the first impression a potential customer has of you, and since there are no second chances, you need to make sure it’s a good one. A bold, bright and memorable sign will help you stand out from the competition and catch the eye of the casual passer-by or the impulse buyer, and that means more chance of them returning.

A high quality sign speaks volumes about you and your business. We’ve all seen unappealing shop or restaurant fronts with missing letters or wonky logos, and when we do, we naturally expect that what they have to offer beyond the double doors is not going to be of a very high standard. A high quality sign tells the rest of the world that you care, that you take pride in what you do and that you want the public to take an interest in your goods or services.

The best time of year for a new shop sign

There are lots of competing pressures on retailers or businesses in the hospitality trade at this time of year, but it’s also the best time to give your shop front a revamp. People notice when things change, and seeing a new sign as they’re out and about doing their Christmas shopping will certainly turn a few shoppers’ heads.

The colder and darker weather at this time of year can, in fact, be an advantage when it comes to luring Christmas shoppers in. A well illuminated and well maintained sign is an invitation that’s hard to refuse, so whether you are the owner of a small toy shop or the manager of a restaurant, investing in a high quality sign will attract attention. People are far more likely to stop and examine your goods or read your menu if the sign above the door jumps out at them.

The feel-good boost we receive in the run-up to Christmas can quickly descend into post-festive gloom throughout January and the long winter months, so acting now to give your shop front some TLC could help counter the winter blues. If a change really is as good as a rest, then sprucing up your shop front as part of a pre-spring clean could not only lift business but lift the spirits too.

With many years of experience in this field, the Sussex Sign Company are the go-to people when it comes to signage and our London signs team work right across the capital, in every London borough. That means wherever you are, we can be on hand to design and install your new sign or help you maintain the signage you already have. For more information contact us on 01273 417057 or contact us using the contact form.

Why use The Sussex Sign Company for corporate signage.

Corporate Signage:

When thinking of a company or a brand, what comes to mind? Perhaps the last experience that you had with the company flashes in front of your eyes, or maybe an advert that you saw which referenced the brand in question. When we consider our encounters and relationships with businesses and brands, we experience an emotional response. Depending on the nature of the experience, that emotional response can be positive or negative.

These emotional responses, founded on actual experiences, are highly significant to consumers when it comes to making purchase decisions. Naturally, if you’ve recently had a positive encounter with a company that led to your needs being met in a timely and efficient fashion, then the positive emotional response that you experience when considering whether to purchase from them again is likely to tip the scales in that company’s favour. A negative emotional response due to a bad experience, however, means that you are likely to remain wary of that company, even if they offer a special deal or particularly low prices.

Given that the associations that consumers have with your brand could literally make or break your business, it’s clear how crucial it is to do everything you can, as a business owner, to make sure that your customers leave your store with a smile on their face. This includes all of the things that you should be doing anyway, such as providing outstanding customer service.

However, your levels of customer service, for example, are determined by your corporate culture, your attitude and that of your employees. There is a far easier way to influence customer perceptions of your business, boost your brand visibility and improve consumer brand recognition. This is done via the clever and strategic use of corporate signage to create an integrated and unified brand image.

The Power of Corporate Signage

Whether you’re about to open your doors for the first time or you’ve been operating for decades, signage remains one of the most critical considerations for bricks-and-mortar businesses. First and foremost, an attractive and creative sign is vital to indicate your presence. If your customers and any opportunistic wanderers can’t find your business, then they can’t buy from you.

But besides marking out where your store is located, signage also plays an important role in distinguishing your business from the competition. The high street is a cut-throat environment and this doesn’t look set to change. Every town in the country has a number of pet shops, bakeries, repair shops and so on. Signage gives you an opportunity to indicate why yours is different and why consumers should come to you instead of your competitors.

Of course, only a small minority of the people walking past your shop are likely to come in, but signage helps to plant the seed for sales further down the line as well. Market research indicates that consumers are more likely to buy from a company whose brand they are already familiar with. So, make sure your signage is memorable and appealing, and your business will enjoy the effects of a boost in brand recognition.

The Medium is the Message

The power of corporate signage to serve as a kind of silent salesperson for your business, brand and products is clear. A well designed and eye-catching piece of signage can help to make a favourable first impression on potential customers before they’ve even set foot in your business. Getting this right is vital, though, because if you get your signage wrong, your business not only wastes the investment of time and money put into the signage, but actively loses additional income in the form of earnings from customers put off by the inappropriate signage.

Inappropriate in this context needn’t mean ‘offensive’. Signage can be inappropriate simply by not speaking to your target group of consumers in their language and thus communicating to them a message that you didn’t intend to send.

For example, imagine a sign made up of built-up lettering that is initially poorly installed. The faces of some of the letters slip slightly, a couple drop away totally. This sign communicates certain messages to any would-be customers in no more than a split second.

Firstly it gives the impression that you don’t care about the appearance of your business, and thus probably don’t care about other areas of your operations such as customer service or product quality, either. Secondly is the suggestion that health and safety isn’t on your radar as a business owner, as the lettering could easily fall and hurt someone.

Then come other messages, some occurring subconsciously in the mind of the consumer, that the business clearly isn’t doing very well, as they can’t afford the time or money to repair and replace the sign. This sets off other alarm bells – why aren’t they doing well? This acts to reinforce the initial negative impression obtained at first sight. Purchase decisions like these are made in a matter of seconds and very often, as with all first impressions, they cannot be undone.

Why Use The Sussex Sign Company?

Getting signage right the first time is evidently vital to your future as a business. To do this, you need to use a signage company capable of meeting your needs. At The Sussex Signs Company, we offer holistic corporate signage solutions where we take care of everything from design to installation.

We are able to do this effectively because of our in-house teams and preferred partners with a wealth of experience, qualifications and ability that gives you peace of mind in knowing that an expert will be working on your project every step of the way.

We also believe that installation is not the end of the job – it is simply a transformation of our working relationship into one where we manage the maintenance of your signs to ensure that they keep turning heads and providing maximal return on your investment far into the future. Call us today on 01273 417057

Only Trust a Commercial Signage Specialist with Your Business Signs

Why Should You Only Trust a Commercial Signage Specialist with Your Business Signs?

Commercial signage is perhaps the most fundamental way of promoting a business. Signage indicates to everyone who passes by that your business is located here. This way, not only will those who have encountered your other forms of marketing be able to find your premises, but opportunistic customers walking past will also be able to drop in on a whim.

Trade signage communicates more than just your name and location, however. The quality and finish of your commercial signs also speak volumes about the level of importance that your business places on its image. This might sound superficial, but we all know the importance of first impressions – after all, if it’s bad, you don’t get a chance to make a second one.

If your signage, through its lack of professionalism, gives the impression that you don’t care about your business’ image, then some people may feel concerned that this carries over to other areas of your operations, such as a lack of regard for good customer service or the quality of your products.

This represents a real missed opportunity to attract new custom, build your business’ profile and extend your brand’s reach, and costs you money in two senses. Firstly, the money that you have invested in marketing is wasted because your campaign fails to reach its full potential, and secondly, potential earnings from customers who would love to patronise your business will never be realised, having been put off and turned away at the door.

The importance of effective and professional signage is not in doubt, then. Any commercial organisation seeking to improve its appeal and visibility to potential customers and local residents whilst avoiding the pitfalls detailed above should enlist the services of a creative, experienced and skilled commercial signage specialist. We’re going to look at what such a specialist could offer your firm that no-one else can, and why, in our view, the services of a signage specialist are integral to the operations of any company.

What Can a Signage Specialist do for Your Company?

There are many types of business signage available and each one is designed to communicate your message to a targeted audience in a uniquely effective way. These types of signage include freestanding signs installed into the ground, or wall- and roof-mounted signs commonly seen in built-up towns and cities where free ground space is at a premium. Then there are premises where the building itself is used as a sign, with a shop frontage bolted on and fashioned in brand-specific colours and styles.

Internal commercial signage is another type, commonly encountered in shopping malls, arcades and other areas where businesses share space. With all of these types of signage to choose from and more, it’s vital that business owners choose a signage solution that complements their image by being appealing to their target consumer group. Without this, the signage will be ineffective at best and at worst, counterproductive. Fortunately, getting this right is something that a signage specialist can be trusted to achieve. But that’s far from everything that a specialist can do.

Maximise Your Marketing Potential

Signage is all about communicating a message, so it follows that a specialist in signage best knows how to creatively transmit a unique message appealing to the general public and easily understood by your target group of consumers. A carefully chosen and designed signage solution can even enhance your business’ image by expressing your agenda and values, leaving a strong and lasting impression on viewers.

As well as this, well designed, professional signage has several other advantages. Unlike marketing techniques that use digital or print media, usually with relatively short print runs, signage promotes your business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for as long as it is standing. The effectiveness of this form of advertising, as opposed to hiring a billboard or a radio slot, is clear to see. Consumers will be familiar with and recognise your brand even if they’ve never set foot in your store. When considered in terms of ‘cost per day’ or ‘cost per view’, signage is also far cheaper than these other forms of promotion.

Signs are also able to appear to a much wider audience than other forms of advertising. Radio slots or television commercials might look very flashy and tempting, but if few people are watching or listening at that time, then the advert is totally ineffective and the investment was wasted. Likewise, newspaper adverts will, by default, never reach anyone who doesn’t read that newspaper.

A professional sign designed and installed by a signage specialist, however, will be seen by whoever walks past it, which is likely to be a reasonable cross-section of society, depending on the location of the sign. This initially wide audience can then be selected from at will by using your sign to deliver a targeted message at a particular segment of this total audience, as detailed earlier. This makes signage a far more versatile and effective form of promotion when used correctly.

What’s more, market research has demonstrated that signs are actually far more effective at swaying uncertain customers than other forms of advertising. This further indicates the importance of a well-designed sign. All of the effects and abilities of signage discussed here are contained within every sign, but the point is that with the assistance and knowledge of a commercial signage specialist, these standard effects are enhanced, ensuring that your signage provides the best return on investment possible.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have the keenly honed expertise to be able to offer a holistic signage creation service with experts and specialists working on every stage of your sign, from design to fabrication and installation. Only this way can the marketing potential of your brand by maximised. If you’d like to know more, don’t hesitate to get in touch, Call us today on 01273 417057

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Shop Signs!

You’ve spent months of planning, designing and building to spruce up the interior of your high street shop. It’s now opening day, and despite the marketing campaign you don’t attract anywhere near as many customers as you hoped and expected. It hurts even more because you’re sure you did everything right, no?

The answer could be staring you in the face. It’s often overlooked, but thankfully very straightforward to put right – the issue is signage. With market research suggesting that in the UK, even in the contemporary age of social media and the internet, up to 50 percent of new customers make an on-the-spot decision to enter your shop on the basis of your signage outside.

But it’s not just new businesses that risk putting themselves at peril by underestimating the importance of signage. Regardless of the age or nature of the business, there are a whole host of reasons why signage shouldn’t simply be an afterthought, but rather must be a well-integrated facet of any marketing plan. We’re going to take a look at a few of these now.

Shop Signs and New Custom

The answer, according to a wealth of market research, suggests that signage is highly important due to its effect on attracting new customers. Seeking new custom is a task that no business is exempt from and must do in order to survive, whether the company has a hundred years of trading behind it or only opened last month.

Indeed, one study showed that just under 30 percent of those passing your premises won’t even be aware that your business exists if you don’t have visible and clear signage on your shop frontage. This means that your business misses out on opportunistic and impulse buyers, resulting in an immediate loss of both footfall and profit.

This has the knock-on effect of depriving your business of the repeat custom that can arise from wowing these impulse buyers with excellent customer service. As well as the repeat custom of new visitors, your business will also miss out on the chance for these customers to be impressed and drive even more custom by doing your promotional work for you via word of mouth.

Further marketing studies have found that, depending on the focus and location of your business, the proportion of impulse buyers varies from 25 to 45 percent. Given all of the above benefits to be derived from attracting new and opportunistic custom alone, imagine the power of a sign that reminds this demographic that they’ve been meaning to buy such-and-such for a while, and that your store happens to sell it?

Driving Local Custom

Most bricks-and-mortar shops are generally dependant on local custom for the majority of their business, making signage highly important for shops in this position. It won’t come as a surprise to shop owners to learn that, on average, 85 percent of a shop’s customers live within five miles of the store. What’s more, people living within this radius, including non-customers, will be exposed to your signs around 50 to 60 times a week if your store is located on a busy thoroughfare.

This represents a vast pool of potential customers, but only if these people know where your store is located and what it has to offer them. People who have been recommended to visit your shop will also need to be able to find your premises, and preferably as easily as possible. The statistics and studies quoted above clearly show that signage is the most effective way to communicate these important pieces of information to your target market.

It’s also worth remembering that this pool of potential new customers renews and changes annually, as around 20 percent of the population move house ever year. In light of the growing popularity of e-commerce and internet shopping, along with the capacity of shop signage to maximise the pulling and selling power of your store, shop signs are clearly something that can no longer be ignored or left as an afterthought.

Shop Signs: A Business Investment?

As we’ve seen, signs are vital for driving new custom for all businesses, whether they’re new start-ups or established old hands. In this sense, shop signage is most accurately viewed as an investment like any other – it involves an initial expenditure which should, if employed correctly, deliver a substantial return.

Signage is also well placed to produce a particularly substantial return on investment. Shop frontage signs are in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, spreading your message to anyone and everyone who ventures past your premises. Compared to hiring a newspaper advert for a week, or a TV slot or billboard for a month, it is clear that, as a form of advertisement and promotion, signage is without a doubt the most effective means of reaching your target audience of potential customers.

On the other hand it’s worth noting that poor or absent signage due to lack of investment doesn’t just mean that no money is spent on signage – it means that the business is actively losing money as a result of failing to attract potential customers daily. This lost revenue adds up over time, alongside lost engagement and connections with these potentially life-long customers.

Final Thoughts

Any business decision involving expenditure should be carefully planned and thought through, especially something with the power and effect of signage. Fortunately, we at The Sussex Sign Company are well-placed to help guide you and your business through any hard decisions. With over two decades’ experience in the sector, we have the expertise to help draw up a tailor-made solution to the uniquely specific needs and requirements of your firm. Get in touch today to find out what we can do together, call us on 01273 417057

Why should you use a professional sign company for your business signage?

Your external signage represents your business, either working to impress and draw passers-by into your store, or make them turn away without ever giving your business so much as another glance. Poorly maintained or low quality signage can even leave these potential customers with actively negative opinions of your firm, despite never having set foot inside.

Few business owners would dispute the necessity of having some form of external signage. But, now that you’ve got a signage solution in place, the job is as good as done, right? All you have to do now is to wait for the customers to come flooding in? If only it were that simple.

More to signage than meets the eye

That your signage is essentially an ambassador for your company is indisputable, but the quality of the sign is almost more important than the sign itself. As a demonstration of this, imagine an exchange where one person suggests to another that they visit your business. The latter person responds that it looks a bit run-down, but there’s another very similar company just up the road, so they might as well go there instead.

Your business may well have the best service in town, but if customers are put off before they get through the door, you may as well not bother. Even if your business is locally acclaimed with a solid base of repeat customers, signage retains its power to draw in or turn away, and it would be unwise to slip into complacency. What can be done to ensure that your business signage stays on-message, leaving the very best impression possible with the thousands of potential customers who walk past your premises every day?

The solution

The answer is, fortunately, as cost-effective as it is simple: for the professional signage necessary to communicate the professionalism of your business, use only a professional sign company. We’ve explored the reasoning behind this in the sections below and have taken a good look at each one to find out exactly what high quality signage from a professional sign company can do for you.

Increase your brand recognition

Signage can be as simple as stating your trading name and perhaps a slogan, but by incorporating your brand into your sign, the latter is transformed into a much more powerful tool. Research shows that consumers are far more likely to buy from brands that they recognise. You can create repeat customers by making your store particularly distinctive so that it becomes known as, say, ‘that perfume shop’, instead being thought of as just another shop selling cosmetics.

Thinking more broadly of the importance of brand recognition, imagine that you run a pet shop. The majority of the thousands of people passing your shop daily probably have no reason to buy something from you. However, should any of these people decide at some point to get a pet, or should a friend ask them for a good store, yours will be the first that comes to mind. Provided that your signage is professional and has created a good impression.

In-house design and advice

Many professional sign companies offer in-house graphic design services. Effective design is vital to attract customers and avoid confusing them or putting them off. External signs should be simple, bold and legible at a distance. Consistency across all of your promotional channels is important, so incorporating your branding is a good idea. Being memorable is equally important, but avoid squeezing excessive amounts of information onto the sign or you risk confusing the reader.

Regulatory compliance

When giving your shopfront a facelift it’s easy to get carried away, but don’t forget that signage is subject to a number of regulations. Signs don’t usually require planning permission, but the situation depends on the extent of the work being undertaken and whether or not your building is listed. Health and safety regulations lay down the responsibilities of the installer and the owner of the sign, with most of the liability for maintenance falling on the owner. Professionally trained installation technicians can be relied upon to deliver high quality, safe work from the outset.

Long-term maintenance

As mentioned above, the responsibility for sign maintenance lies with the owner of the sign. This is not optional; the law obligates the owner to keep the sign, its fittings and fixtures in good working condition in order to minimise the risk of harm. Liability for any injuries sustained by falling signs due to lack of maintenance also lies with the owner.

This means that preventive routine maintenance to pre-empt problems before they occur is practically a necessity. Reactive maintenance – dealing with a problem that has already happened – simply isn’t sufficient.

For this reason, professional sign companies usually offer maintenance plans, believing that sign design and installation is only the first step in a job that won’t be completed until the sign has reached the end of its life. Many companies can even tailor the maintenance plan to your specific needs.

Boost your bottom line

Not only can professional signage increase customer footfall, but research from America suggests that a well-designed and maintained sign can even reduce the required expenditure on other forms of marketing. This makes signage a particularly economical marketing solution.

At The Sussex Sign Company, we have over two decades’ experience under our belts, giving us the know-how to produce a truly professional signage solution specially designed for your circumstances. We are committed to working with you throughout the years of your sign’s life to ensure that your investment reaches its full potential. Please don’t hesitate to contact us today.