3 Reasons Why You Should Renovate Your Store-Front Signage

A storefront’s sign says a lot about a business. If the signage is well-maintained the business most likely takes care of their premises and the quality of their products. If the signage is well-maintained but out of style, the business is small and may not have the means to renovate but they do care about their business. The importance of your signage and the effect it has on your sales and overall customer experience are paramount to your business. Here are three reasons why you should renovate your signage.

Your Sign Is Your First Impression to Customers

It is unfortunate but customers do judge shops before they even enter them. You could be selling Fabergé eggs but if your storefront is messy and disorganized customers will not stop to look inside. This may be an extreme example but the lesson still stands to reason. If your storefront does not look its best, customers will not give you the chance to “wow” them and you will be artificially lowering the amount of sales you make per month.

While each storefront’s sign is unique depending on the needs of the business and the needs of the owners and operators, having a sign that engages customers yet displays the business is vital. Take the signage we designed for Mamma’s Pizza, a gourmet Toronto and GTA-based pizza chain serving authentic Italian food since 1957.

The signage has Mamma’s profile picture displayed in the center of the sign to showcase the importance of her legacy and recipes, as well as to differentiate between the comfort, service, and family feel of Mamma’s Pizza and the larger, corporate pizza chains. As well, the background colors, from left to right, are green, white, and red, the colors of the Italian flag. Although not all customers will immediately understand the significance of the placement of Mamma’s photograph and the colors from left to right, they will subconsciously know that eating at Mamma’s Pizza will be a unique, authentic, and personal dining experience.

Without her sign to display all these beneficial differences, Mamma’s Pizza would have trouble retaining customers and would have to compete with the big players like worldwide chains Domino’s Pizza or Pizza Hut.

Keep Ahead of the Trends, Not Behind Them

Fashion trends do not just change for clothing or cars. They change for architecture and building design as well. Nothing is more apparent to a customer than signage. After all, it is what they look for and is one of the few distinguishing features between one company and another.

One of the best examples displaying the importance of renovating your signage to keep updated with the trends is McDonald’s. In the 1970s, their signage displayed their name and the amount of burgers sold to date (19 billion!), embedded in a red inverted trapezoid with either one or two golden arches sticking out from the top. In the 1980s, McDonald’s added a mascot holding a sign that stated “Coast to Coast” and updated their number of burgers sold (99 billion).

They simplified their logo in the 1990s to the Golden Arches logo and the name embedded in a red rectangle with rounded edges. This was a much simpler and softer design than the previous two, but each signage design served a purpose in the decade it was introduced. McDonald’s knows that customers decide to buy their burgers before they even set foot in their restaurants and they know they have to consistently update their signage to reflect the times. So should you.

A Simple Way to Start Renovations

At least every decade or so, small and medium-sized business owners decide to renovate their store. It does not have to be a large renovation, it could be something rather small like a new coat of paint or updated machinery. However, unlike the large companies you may not have the budget to justify a complete renovation whenever you wish due to your financial constraints.

As a small or medium-sized business, it is hard to renovate without going into the red. You do not have immense budgets like larger companies and you must be more careful when spending it. Delays and hidden problems like prior shoddy craftsmanship mean you also have to spend less than your projected costs so you do not become indebted in the renovation process.

Renovating your sign is a simple, cheaper way to instigate renovations. Once customers are inside your store they are interested in purchasing your products. If your signage is not updated and indicative of your company’s wares, customers will pass you by for your competition. Instead of rushing into the renovation process like so many businesses do, spread it out long-term into manageable projects, the first one being a new, revitalized storefront sign to show customers you are invested in your business and in their satisfactory shopping experience.

Vital Signs provides all your signage needs in Toronto, Markham, Newmarket, Thornhill, and throughout the GTA. Whether it is your first visit or you are a return customer, we have professional staff to help make your next sign the best fit for your company. We are located at 90 Riviera Drive in Markham, Ontario L3R 5M1. If you cannot visit in-store, you can contact us on our website, or by phone at 1-(877) 667-5973.