As a business owner you know that you need signage to let customers know where you are located and identify the products or services you sell. Signage is the single, most cost-effective method of creating or enhancing your company’s visibility and branding.

But, have you ever wondered what the real value of a sign is?  How can the success of a sign be measured?  How will the sign benefit us and can it be quantified?

These are difficult questions and typically, the answers are subjective.  Oh, that’s a nice sign folks say, “I bet you bring in lots of customers with that sign.”  But, how many people are you really attracting or influencing?

The Small Business Administration has done an excellent job of trying to quantify the value of signage.  The SBA views proper signage as “a critical component of visibility.”  They go on to say that “without a properly designed and placed on-premise sign, a commercial site cannot function at its full economic potential.”

According to the SBA, the function of a sign is to:

1.        Develop a memory for a location and the products or services available at that location.

2.        Reinforce that memory and extend the recall of other advertising efforts that your company undertakes.

3.        Attract new customers.

4.        Modify customer purchase decisions.

So, how can we measure a sign's effectiveness?   Measuring readership is one way.  Identifying “impulse – stop percentages” is another.  Still other methods involve surveying the actual purchases by customers influenced by an on-premise sign.  All of these methods try to quantify whether your sign is effective by measuring customer recall and whether the on-premise sign impacted their behavior.  

Consider the results of surveys and tests conducted by The International Sign Association, The California Electric Sign Association and The Business Identity Council of America and as reported by the SBA. 

One of the studies measured the impact of signage in influencing whether a customer stopped at the business when that business was not the original, intended destination.  For those businesses that rely on impulse stops, the results were remarkable and conclude that effective on-premise communication can help persuade a passerby to stop and shop.  Impulse stop percentages ranged from a high of 40% - 45% for convenience stores, fast food restaurants and for gas stations.  Small shopping centers pulled in 35% of their patrons on impulse.

Readership asks whether your sign is sending the intended message to the intended audience.   The survey discussed by the SBA was that of a Burger King study done to support evidence in a legal action.  The survey asked the question, “How did you first become aware of the restaurant?”  A huge 35% of the respondents said they saw (the sign) while passing by in their cars.  Of course, the percentage of responses for other types of restaurants such as family or atmosphere restaurants was less.  But, for fast food restaurants, effective, on-premise signage is critical to attract people on the move. 

Consider the following when considering an on-premise sign for your go-ing concern:

·          It is estimated that between 35-50% of the consumer population shops outside of their local area.  On-premise signage will assist in attracting a large percentage of these non-local, new customers.

·          Effective on-premise signage provides 24x7 exposure of its message to a large pool of potential customers at a faction of the cost of other forms of advertising media.

·          U.S. society is a very mobile, consumer oriented and communication driven population. On-premise business signs function as optimum advertising in this environment.

·          In the U.S, there are approximately 1.35 occupants per car, and each car travels about 15,000 miles per year. In addition, about 40 million Americans move annually to a new home. All this mobility means your sign captures a large viewing audience. 

·          Approximately 95% of retail business occurs on site.  As consumers pass by your place of business, the right sign will attract consumers when they are ready to make a decision or purchase.

·          Shopping habits can be changed with effective signage. Pricing and/or availability information can shift the choice of a consumer's or prompt an unplanned stop.

·          The right sign can turn even a non-descript site into one that is distinctive and.  In such cases, your sign should be the focal point of your building street frontage exposure.

·          A sign is “on” 24 hours a day extending your businesses visibility.

In summary, although measuring the direct cause and effect of an on-premise sign to increase revenues for your business is difficult, there is enough evidence to support the fact that an effective, on-premise sign is critical to the success of any business and should be a part of an overall business plan. 

 Written by Marie Pellaton