Signage and Business Success

Are you still wondering if your signage really affects your business? Believe me, it does—but here are some statistics that help build the case for building signage:

• The U.S. Small Business Administration attributes as much as 50% of a company’s business to its signage. 
• A University of San Diego study found that the number of onsite signs may affect revenue by as much as 4.75% for each additional sign. 
• That same USD study found that each additional sign increased the number of transactions by 3.94%.

If you’re still not convinced, or perhaps you don’t have a brick and mortar building, you can still use signs to your benefit, on your vehicle(s). According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America:

• Mobile advertising can be the most effective and efficient form of outdoor advertising, reaching consumers at the lowest cost per thousand impressions. 
• Media targeting vehicle drivers and passengers reaches more than 95% of Americans. 
• One vehicle wrap can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions daily.

Thus, as you work toward finalizing your marketing budget for 2014, we suggest you don’t overlook the category of signage. We’ll be happy to work with you to determine how you can update or modify your current signs or create new signs that will bring new customers to your door or website.

www.sdsar.com

Signage and Business Success

Business Owner’s Holiday Preparation Checklist

  
by HEATHER SANTO

 It is almost that time of year again! Business owners are wishing that had more hours in the day to work on their latest information products or deciding what huge sale they are going to have. Have you guessed it yet? Get out your calendars because it’s fourth quarter and time to start thinking ahead to Christmas! I know that you may not be ready to even start thinking about this yet, but the farther ahead you are now, the easier it will be when it is close at hand.

 If you have been sitting on an Information product that you wanted to release and haven’t gotten around to it yet, now is the time so that you can have it completed by Black Friday. Christmas will be a great time to have it available because of all of the impulse buying and gift giving. Make sure that you are setting aside time to get it done and make it a first priority. Write down the things that you need to have done to free up some time so that you can get it done and then outsource those items. You will have your product done in no time!

 Now is a great time to start looking into getting a holiday Facebook header and/or Twitter cover created or creating it yourself. By placing your order now you are beating the crowd. If you don’t change up your header every once in a while not only will you get sick of looking at it, but your audience will too. If you get it now all you have to do is hit ‘change cover’. Easy.

The holidays are a great time to show special appreciation to your customers. It is very easy to have the great intention of sending out Christmas cards to your clients and even easier to never get it done. Start checking out getting some Gratitude Concierge work done. Your Virtual Assistant may even get the ca rds for you so all you need to do is send them a list of names and addresses. That is what I do as part of that service because I know it is crazy busy and a business owner ma y not want to go shopping for a great set of cards and worry about getting them all sent out.

 You are going to be very busy taking care of items at home as we ll as in your business and I know that this is the time of year th at you want to spend more time with your family, not less. What you don’t want to do, however, is neglect the audience on Social Media that you have worked so hard to build or the Facebook membership groups that you have created. If you think that may n eed a hand, get some help to manage your client care on social media and your emai ls. Don’t forget to introduce the Virtual Assistant to your clients/audience so that th ey know who they are and that they can be trusted to give them correct answers.

 If you start getting ahead and preparing now, you will be able to enjoy the holidays, your customers and your family. What part of the ho lidays do you think that you will need the most help with? 

www.sdsar.com

Business Owner’s Holiday Preparation Checklist

Signarama – Kearny Mesa: Focus on Color

Do the colors you use on signs affect their visibility? Can color help drive customers into your business and encourage them to purchase your products or services? You bet!

Regardless of your company colors, there are a few guidelines that will enhance your signs’ design:

• Think contrast—use a light color on a darker background or vice versa. 
• Make it simple—choose fonts that are legible and uncomplicated. 
• Ensure the message is the star—eliminate busy backgrounds or graphics that take away from what you’re trying to say. 

Many companies choose one or two colors to represent their business and play off them in all their marketing materials. Is it time to look at your colors? Do they send the message you intend? Are they antiquated?

There’s no reason you can’t rebrand via color and if you do so, keep the following suggestions in mind:

• Yellow evokes happy feelings (think McDonald’s) 
• Blue reflects business confidence (IBM) 
•  Green is associated with healthy products (Starbucks) 
• Purple can reflect royalty, mystery or wisdom (Hallmark) 
• Orange denotes joy or optimism (Dunkin’ Donuts) 
• Pink exudes femininity and love (Victoria’s Secret) 
• Brown is no-nonsense (UPS) 

Many stores and restaurants choose warm colors to encourage people to linger—those with layers of reds, oranges and yellows. Signature colors like hot pink or electric green will always get you noticed, as will yellow, a universal favorite. Strong reds and blues are popular, too, but remember that good old black on white is always a good choice that reflects professionalism and elegance.

Signarama – Kearny Mesa: Focus on Color