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You Need an Effective Form of Branding for Your Business: You Need Sign Boxes
Branding is most easily built through signage. Good signage can tell you everything you need to know about a business before you even set foot in it. Think of branding via signage like using a business card at a formal party. Your business card says very little about you Typical information related on a business card is usually as follows: • Full name • Educational credentials • Most important/recent job titles • A logo or slogan advertising yourself If you think about it, there really is nothing different about business cards and signage. The only difference is that you advertise yourself with a business card, and your business with signage. Of course, the opposite can be true as well if you have ever seen a billboard for real estate or you own business cards for your business. The heart of the issue is this: branding is important. You can effectively pre-select your customer base based on your signage. This is a great way to reduce the noise to signal ratio when it comes to window shoppers versus actual customers. If you can do something which positively raises your branding you should do it, and one very effective strategy is to use signage to accomplish this goal. Why is Branding Important? Branding is important because it tells potential customers who you are and what your business is, without them having to even enter your store. Branding allows potential customers to determine whether or not they want to purchase your goods and services, simply by viewing your signage. This is a great strategy to weed out potential customers who are not interested in purchasing your goods and products before they even enter your store. This strategy results in a larger concentration of people entering your store who are ready and willing to buy. Signage therefore, can help increase your sales and revenue potential. Why are Sign Boxes Important? Sign boxes are important because they work. In the decades of advertising history where they were used, few other forms of signage were as effective. If signage is effective, there is no need to replace it with newer forms of signage. In addition, many “new” forms of signage are simply technologically updated versions of “old” signage. A television advertisement is simple a radio advertisement that you can see, a marquee is simply a changeable sign, and a poster affixed to a metal wall is no different now than it was thousands of years ago scribbled on a Roman stone wall. Very little changes in the world of advertising. This is why “old” forms of advertising are still seen today, still as effective as ever. You Can Customize Your Sign Boxes Signage is great because you can customize it to your liking. You can choose the colors, the font, the size, the location, the style, and so much more. Your signage essentially becomes an extension of yourself and of your business. Few other forms of advertising effectively allow you to do this. When it comes to traditional advertising, you cannot do better than using sign boxes. Signs area a great way to advertise your products as well as reach customers. For the best signage available, and to learn how to use signage effectively, contact Vital Signs. Businesses in and around Toronto, Markham, Richmond Hill,...
read moreKeep Your Awnings Permanent and Your Canopies Temporary to Increase Sales
Customers love to window shop. Window shopping is like a first date. You are simply gaining information about a product (or in the case of dating, a person) and you are deciding whether you want to continue this relationship. In the same way that shoppers might enter a store to get a better look at an LCD television being advertised in a storefront, a dater might ask for a second date to get to know his or her date better. Obstacles to this progression can disrupt the natural order of things. When it comes to window shopping, the easier you make if your customers to effectively window shop, the more likely it will be that a customer will purchase your goods or services. To be able to get the best of both worlds to facilitate window shopping, you should use both temporary and permanent structures to provide great coverage for customers from the elements at any time of the year. The more time a customer has to window shop, the better it is for your business. Why Awnings are Great as Permanent Fixtures for Your Store Affixing awnings to your store front, especially over the front window, is a great strategy to do two things: keep your products in the window display out of the sunlight, and allow potential customers to window shop while being protected from weather like rain, snow, and even sunlight. As permanent fixtures, awnings also provide a great look for your store. Your store will look like a store out of a Disney movie, which is a great way to appeal to all customer demographics. Depending on the angle and width of the awning, protection from the elements can cover anywhere from half of the sidewalk to the entire sidewalk. A permanent fixture can ensure that many, many customers get to window shop at the same time. While it is statically improbable that this will happen often, you may need to accommodate a family of shoppers all at the same time. Why Canopies are Great as Temporary Fixtures for Your Store Canopies are temporary structures. They can be set up and taken down at will, making them perfect for use during sidewalk events, or even during times of extreme weather conditions. If it starts to rain really badly, or if the sun is beating down on the sidewalk, you can install a temporary canopy. This will allow your potential customers to continue window shopping without needing to cover themselves to escape the weather. The more freedom a potential customer has to window shop, the more likely it is that he or she will enter your store and purchase a product or service. With canopies, you can ensure that customers can window shop at any time of the year. This is actually a more precise strategy than affixing awnings to your store because they are permanent, while canopies can be set up and taken down when needed. For quick results, install one awning and canopy each outside your store. For the best results install multiple awnings and canopies outside your store. Providing customers with protection from the elements is a great way to endear them to your business. Vital Signs, with satisfied business owners and operators as customers in and around Toronto, Markham, Richmond Hill, Concord,...
read moreWhy Should I Purchase LED Letters for My Store?
When choosing to install letters to the front of your store, there are specific design choices that you need to make. Not only do you need to determine whether you want the letters to be illuminated, but you also need to choose the method of illumination. Many store owners like LED lights for their letters, because LED lights are cheap and plentiful, and easy to replace. Here is a helpful scenario to explain this: You need a form of signage. Option A is cheaper to install, and cheaper over the course of its lifetime. Option A is also cheaper to replace. Option B, however, is more expensive to install and more expensive to maintain over the course of its lifetime. Option B is also more expensive to replace. However, while Option A and Option B are the same type of product, Option B is more iconic. Nevertheless, the majority of people who use Option A and Option B will never know the difference, or ultimately care about the difference. This, effectively, is the difference between LED lighting and other forms of lighting like Neon signage. LED lighting, or Option A, is the best option for your business, and for your wallet. The Cost of Maintaining LED Letters Luckily, LED lights are cost-effective. Other forms of lighting may be more expensive, like neon lighting. If a neon light tube breaks, it can be costly to replace. Not so with LED lights! In part, the cost efficiency of LED lights is owed to their great energy efficiency, which means they will last a very, very long time. A huge part of business, and this involves any expense, not just lighting or signage, is the ability to create a basic outline financially about what your investments will cost you in the future. If a product costs $10 to buy, $15 to sell, and $50 in shelving space, it may not be the best investment, simply because you can use your shelving space more economically if you purchase more popular goods for sale. The same is true with lighting. Neon lights look cool. LED lights, however, are more cost-effective. Over time, you will be able to profit more with LED lighting, and only you will know the difference between light types. This makes LED lighting a great investment, knowing that your investment will not only pay for itself, but pay off greatly in the near future. The Popularity of LED Letters Beyond store signage, LED lighting is everywhere. This popularity helps lower costs and increase the stock supply of LED lighting for when you need to replace your own lights. Here are a few industrial uses of LED lights which indirectly help lower your marketing expense budget: ● Street lights ● Modular lighting ● Area lighting (both indoor and outdoor) ● Garage lighting The uses of LED lighting are endless, as you can see from their prolific usage. They are so popular and so cost-effective that many business in practically every industry is using them. You should consider using them for your store lighting as well. Consider installing some signage with LED lighting today. You will not regret it! For the best in channel letters, especially lit letters like led letters, contact Vital Signs today. With years of experience outfitting similar businesses to...
read moreHow to Choose Awnings and Canopies For A Business Storefront
Every day of the year, your visitors and customers may tell you they want some sort of weather protection attached to your storefront. In the summer, the sidewalk gets really hot. In the fall, the leaves fall everywhere. In the winter, the snow falls on people who simply want to window shop. In the spring, rains can disrupt even the most efficient of errand running. Weather can strike any day of the year! Luckily, there is a simple way to provide protection from the weather: install an awning or canopy outside your storefront for visitors and customers. You can even leave them installed year round if you like. However, purchasing one is a little bit difficult, but no more difficult than reviewing a list of specifications. Essentially, you need to understand how well an awning, for instance, will help your store’s revenue generation. The best money spent is money that helps you generate revenue. Here are some suggestions to help you through the purchase process. Consider How Well Your Awnings Match Your Store's Colors | Awnings Toronto & GTA Symmetry is a thing of beauty. This applies greatly in the business world when it comes to design and marketing. A mismatched structure in front of your store can look awkward and odd to a visitor or customer. If your store’s color scheme is red and black, you cannot have a yellow or blue structure outside your store. It will not look like it belongs. Consider the power of color matching to reverse this negative effect. Awnings & Canopies | Decide If You Want a Permanent Structure or a Temporary One Contrary to popular belief, awnings are not the same as canopies. Canopies are mobile structures, and awnings are securely fastened to your storefront, just above the window. It is of great importance that you know whether you want a permanent structure or a temporary one. There are many factors that you can observe to determine which structure is best for you. Here are a few. Weather Street traffic Storage space The opinions of your customers Consider the Impact of a Canopy or Awning on Your Sales The purpose of maintaining an attractive storefront is to entice potential customers to enter your store. If your customer is not willing, you need to convince them to do so. A real life example can be seen outside any coffee shop ever that offers free wifi. From time to time, people will sit outside in front of the storefront in the shade, connect to the free wifi service, and sit for hours. They will usually refrain from entering the shop and purchasing a coffee or a bagel. A great way to counter this is to prominently display your wares in the window, showcase your business’s promotions and deal, and make your store more visible. Everyone loves great deals, and prominently showcasing great deals will result in more business. The key here is to promote your business as best as possible, using every marketing avenue available to you, including your storefront. Awnings & Canopies Toronto | Vital Signs When it comes to installing even a single awning or canopy, you need to make sure that doing so will help your business and build your customer base. Awnings and canopies can be great tools for...
read moreNew Designs of Pylon Signs Are Always “In” Fashion | Toronto, Markham & GTA
You have probably seen a lot of signage in your life. Big signage, small signage, wide signage, and more. When exploring how best to build pylon signage, it can be a bit overwhelming. This is because, when it comes to signage, most pylon signage follows a very distinct pattern. Signs like these look like gateways, arbors, and arcs. There is hardly any originality in this design. That is not to state that this type of design does not work. It works very well. Many big box stores use this type of design to alert drivers to their various locations. However, this is not the only design available. Here are some unique designs that used to be popular, and can still be, when it comes to gaining more visitors and customers to your store. Three-Sided Pylon Signs | Vital Signs These signs feature the ability to advertise in three different directions at the same time. Unlike signs that are two-directional, there is a greater chance that a driver will see this sign. These signs are simple. A strong metal stem leads to a three-sided hollow metal prism resting on top of it. You place your advertisements on the face of this three-sided prism, and viola! You are now advertising your location with great signage. Thinking outside the box like this can be a great marketing solution! Make Your Pylon Signs Look Like Your Logo | Pylon Signs Toronto For maximum familiarity for customers and visitors, create a sign that looks like your logo. Many stores and businesses already use this strategy, as their logos have become synonymous with their businesses. Everyone knows McDonald’s by its Golden Arches, and everyone knows Apple by its half-bitten Apple logo. There is no need to remind people of these companies because their logos do it on their own. You too can use this strategy to increase your public profile. If your logo is too complicated, it may be worthwhile to have your logo re-designed to make it simpler. Complex logos can work, but customers and visitors will be able to remember simpler ones better. Use Color to Decorate Your Signs | Signs Toronto Many businesses have great signage, but the signage itself is bland. These companies do not use vibrant color profiles, which is a shame. Having a great-looking sign that stands out is a surefire way to gain visitors and customers. Simply adding any color at all will make your signs look better than black and white signage. You too can benefit from injecting color in your signage. There are many options available to you, as you can use practically any color you want. If you want your sign to stand out in a crowd, choose colors on the opposite ends of the color wheel. If your signs are in front of green shrubbery, color your signs red or orange. If your signs are in front of a brown building, color your signs yellow. There are so many choices to choose from, any of which can be successful at getting customers into your stores. Pylon Signs Toronto, Markham Mississauga and the GTA | Vital Signs Your pylon signs do not need to look like every other business’s signage. Create unique and inviting signs in order to gain more visitors and customers. For more...
read moreSign Boxes are Timeless And Can Serve Your Company Well For Decades
There are two types of old signs. The first type is the type that needs to be replaced or at least redesigned. The paint is peeling. The information on the sign is no longer accurate. The design is faded. The second type is the type that does not need to be replaced. It is so good-looking that it has become “retro” or “vintage.” The paint has held well over time. The information on the sign is still accurate. There is nothing wrong with the signage. However, there is a stereotype in the design community that exists around signage, specifically that older designs are not as good as new ones. We feel this with every new fashion trend, every new font preference, and every new design tool that hits the market. This stereotype is not completely accurate though. While it is true that new designs look “fresher”, there is also nothing wrong with an old design. The problem with old designs is that they sometimes look amateurish and sloppy in comparison to newer, sleeker, designs. The best thing to do if you have signage that looks “old” is to evaluate it. Ask yourself the following questions. Do I like the way my sign looks? Is there anything I want to change about the sign? Do I have the budget to change the sign? How to Know if You Need New Sign Boxes There are a number of ways you can tell if you need to upgrade your signage. Here are some of the more common reasons to do this. You Want to Illuminate Your Sign Boxes Adding a backlight behind your signage is a great way to increase its visibility in your local community. Regardless of the time of day, more visitors and customers in your store will be able to see your signage as they walk by or drive up. Make Your Sign Boxes Look Slicker If your business is a public one, like a club or a fashion store, your signage needs to reflect hipness and youth. This means that you will consistently need to update your store’s design in order to attract new generations of youth over decades. Redesigning and redecorating your store does not just stop at the interior. Oftentimes, you will need to upgrade your signage as well. This is a very rewarding, but very expensive endeavor. Make sure that you follow up with a signage design company to get the most value out of your signage! The Bottom Line | Best Sign Boxes in Toronto and the GTA | Vital Signs Signage is a very useful and versatile tool that every business owner and operator can use to his or her advantage. There are no set rules when it comes to designed and installing effective signage. The best barometer of effective signage is to look at your competitions’. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? If you could redesign their signage, how would you do it? This is the way to increase your public profile, as well as stand out in the crowd. When it comes to designing effective sign boxes, look to recent fashion and design trends, but make sure that any new revisions to your signs are warranted. A sign can be old and still be effective. Effective signage...
read moreCanopies are Great for Festivities!
Festivities can happen at any time, and on any day of the year. You do not need to wait for a civic holiday to have a celebration in your store. You can celebrate something tomorrow in your store if you would like! Celebrations are great because customers are happy, they can receive small discounts, and you can sell more merchandise. Creating a cause for celebration is a great way to sell under-performing merchandise. Everybody wins! Festivities do not need to be as big as Woodstock was to be successful. You can enrol your store to participate in a local event like a farmer’s market or a sidewalk tour. At a minimum, you can setup a booth outside your storefront and sell merchandise on the sidewalk. These strategies will help you generate more customers to add to your customer base. Awnings are permanent fixtures and not all stores have them installed on their exterior. However, canopies are a quick and simple solution to providing customers with shade, cover from the weather, and a place to window shop. Setting up a canopy is simple and can be done in a lunch break! The ease of setup is what partially makes canopies so effective. How Window Shopping Works with Canopies There are three types of people who purchase things. The first group walks in and knows immediately what they want to buy. The second group walks in and has an idea of what they want to buy. The third group walks in and does not know what they want to buy, but they want to buy something. Window shoppers are usually in that third group. By installing canopies outside your store, you can help facilitate this third group and help them choose out goods and services that they need. Window shopping is the first step to making a sale. A customer needs to feel that he or she wants to purchase the item, before he or she actually does. If your store is small, you may not have enough space to let visitors and prospective customers window shop. However, if your storefront has a large window, they can look in and determine whether they want to purchase your goods and services, without ever stepping in the door.. You Can Even use a Canopy in the Winter Snow canopies are great outdoor structures that allow you to conduct store-related activities in the snow. They can be set up and installed quickly. All you need to do is drape and secure the cloth lining to the metal frame. Secure the metal frame with tent stakes if you can, or tie off the lining to a nearby pole or fence. In the winter, you can use a snow canopy to host an event, display your merchandise outside your store, or even just provide a place for customers to congregate (if you are a restaurant or serve food). Canopies are very versatile and can be used year-round, depending on the activity. Whether you choose to sell merchandise under a canopy, or you want to mingle with customers, you can increase your sales by just increasing your relationship with your local community. For the best in awnings and canopies, visit Vital Signs, with satisfied customers in and around Toronto, Markham, Richmond Hill, Concord, Newmarket, Thornhill, the GTA,...
read moreChannel Letters are the Perfect Interior Signage
When installing signage, most store owners install them on the exteriors of their stores. However, you can install signage inside your store as well. One such type of signage are channel letters. Letters are versatile and can be placed in a variety of places, depending on your marketing needs. Most stores can find a use for letters as an advertising tactic, whether letters are installed as part of an interior decoration, or as an added utility to help customers find products more easily. Here are some examples of how stores can use letters to their advantage. A convenience store can place LED letters above certain food sections to advertise to new customers where different types of food are located. Big box stores do this because their stores are the size of several city blocks! A store located in a mall may install lit letters near their storefront in order to advertise to mall shoppers where their store is, or what their business is. These letters may be illuminated by LEDs, but they do not have to be. Letters can also be a part of a marketing technique. Spelling out your store’s name in large letters is a great way to draw attention to your store, as well as attract new customers. The Best Place to Install Channel Letters The best place to install your letters will depend on many factors. Here are a few to consider. Where is your merchandise located in your store? If you shelve all your merchandise, customers may require letters installed from the ceiling in order to know what products are shelved near the back of the store. The shelves may be too tall for customers, especially teenagers and children, to see over them and have a clear, unobstructed view of the back shelves. What are your operating hours? Illuminated letters are a great fixture in your store if you have night-time operating hours. Customers may need some help staying awake and they may be distracted. Having bright letters show them where their desired products and services are is a great strategy to increase your sales. What is your store’s theme, if it has one? Some store themes work better with letters. It is common for big box stores and office supply stores, for instance, to hang letters from the ceiling to help visitors find their way around. Classic diners also have large lettering on both the interior and exterior of the store. There are many uses for letters, depending on the store’s thematic interior decoration. Designing Channel Letters You have a lot of choice when it comes to designing letters. They can be lit or non-lit. They can be large or small. They can be different colors or just one color. You can design your letters to fit your store’s theme exactly, without needing to worry about whether the designs of the letters will clash artistically with the rest of the interior decoration. If the perfect design for letters that you need does not exist, you can easily have them manufactured. Letters are a great advertising medium to install in your store as a result, as they are simple, effective, and useful for store owners and customers alike. For the best in channel letters, lit letters, and led letters, contact Vital Signs. We have...
read morePylon Signs are Great for Business
Companies exist to sell merchandise. As a company owner, you need to sell as many products and as many services as you can, every day that your store is open for business. There are many aids and tools which business owners use to sell increasing amounts of goods. Some of these tools, like holiday-themed sales and discounts, storefront sales displays, and customer rewards pricing, are well known. Other tools include signage, which you can use to increase customer awareness in your store. Signage is often overlooked because it is taken for granted. In the minds of many store owners, signs exist to notify customers that a store exists. However, signs can do more than that. Great signage can help you sell more merchandise. Signs not only notify customers that a store exists. Signs provide an indication that a store is good, depending on how the sign looks. A great sign can attract more customers to your store. What Customers Value Customers value a good deal when they see it. They want to know they can purchase the goods and services they want, and at the price they want. Customers also want to feel relaxed, as they look at different products on the shelves that they did not initially anticipate buying. Stores that can provide customers with this experience will sell more and make more revenues. The purpose of signage in this context is to provide prospective customers with the notion that they can receive this shopping experience in your store. A clean, neat, and stylish sign can create a sense of trust and belonging in the customer. Use Pylon Signs to Advertise Your Worth You can have the greatest store in the world with the most loyal clientele. However, you still need to advertise your store to new customers. If your store is based on a niche, like a candy store, you risk your customer base growing up and moving to new businesses. Constantly seeking out and gaining new customers is a great way to increase your business’s profitability over time. Pylon signs can be installed right outside your store. Seen, sometimes, from miles away, these signs will advertise effectively to anyone who is driving or walking past your store. In some instances, like if your store is on a hill or in a valley, your sign can become part of the landscape, meaning that more people will see it. What Makes Pylon Signs Special? The first and main advantage a pylon sign has is its size. These signs are huge, and it is possible that a pylon sign can be larger than the business it is advertising! Second, such signs are custom-made, and can be manufactured to resemble traditional signs or custom shapes. You could install a sign that looks like a product, your store mascot, or even just a random shape. Your possibilities are only limited by your imagination and budget. Third, you can choose the colors, the lettering, whether your signage includes LED lighting, the size, the shape, and more. You have the opportunity to create and install a truly-unique sign in front of your store that no other business will have! Vital Signs has helped countless store owners and operators in and around Toronto, Markham, Richmond Hill, Concord, Newmarket, Thornhill, the GTA, Brampton, and Mississauga,...
read moreTop Four Benefits of Awnings and Canopies
The proper installation and placement of awnings and canopies can help revitalize your business, especially if you are a small business owner or operator. Here are the top four benefits that you can receive if you install at least one awning or canopy in your store. Awnings & Canopies | The Nostalgic Factor You often see canopies used in “happy” environments, like weddings, parties, and open-air festivals. They are used so much in these environments, that many people associate the canopy with a happy event. You can use this nostalgic factor to your advantage. By placing a canopy outside your store, you can make pedestrians, store visitors, and customers feel happy, even if they do not consciously know why they are feeling this way. Regardless, they are definitely a mood enhancer while they are around your store, and what can be better for business than that? Your customers will come to associate your store with happiness, and they will be more likely to return to purchase your products and services. All-Weather Protection Awnings and canopies are great at protecting your storefront from the weather. Sun, rain, snow, and more can all have dire effects on the aesthetic beauty of your storefront. The paint on your exterior wall could peel, leaks could occur, and glass could be chipped; obviously, the less of this that occurs, the better. The more protected your storefront is, the less maintenance and repairs you will need to do. Over time, installing an awning or canopy outside your store can save you a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere. Keep your business looking better, for longer. Expand Your Store Outside Onto the Sidewalk Store space is limited for every business. However, usually smaller businesses are more affected by limited store space than larger businesses. Big box stores often have shelves stocked in an area the size of a city block. However, for the mom and pop store on the corner, it can be hard to keep up with only a store the size of a room. Installing awnings and canopies onto the exterior of your storefront can alleviate storage and space concerns for many small business owners and operators. While it might be daunting at first, this really is no harder than storing your products inside. Many fruit and flower shops already do this. Every morning, you take collapsible or portable shelving outside and place it under an awning or canopy. The products sit out there, protected from the elements until you close for the night. Then, you bring everything back inside and repeat the process the next day. Save Money All-Year Round Energy-efficiency is spreading like wildfire throughout the business community. Everyone wants to save money and help the environment at the same time. In addition, customers and potential customers alike enjoy the idea of helping the environment. Reducing the carbon footprint and using renewables are popular ways that people support this ideal, but another way to help the environment is to reduce heating and cooling costs. The more awnings you install, the more energy-efficient your store will be. You will experience cooler summers and warmer winters by default. This will allow you to save on your utility bills, since you will not have to alter the interior store temperature as much. For...
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