A sign is the only piece of marketing that works twenty four hours a day, never sends an invoice, and reaches everybody who passes your door.
Most small businesses underinvest in it, and then wonder why nobody knows they are there.
PEOPLE CANNOT BUY FROM A BUSINESS THEY CANNOT FIND
This sounds absurdly basic and it is the single most common problem we see. Businesses tucked into a complex, upstairs, or behind a security gate with a sign the size of an A4 page.
If a first time visitor has to phone and ask where you are, your sign is not doing its job.
GOOD SIGNAGE MAKES YOU LOOK ESTABLISHED
A professional sign signals permanence. It tells someone passing that you are a real business that will still be here next year.
A faded, peeling or handwritten sign says the opposite, however good your actual work is. People read the sign before they read anything else.
IT CATCHES PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT LOOKING FOR YOU
Online marketing finds people who are already searching. Signage catches the person who drives past every single day and suddenly needs what you sell.
That accumulated familiarity is why so many walk-in customers say they have been meaning to come in for ages.
WHAT TO GET RIGHT
- Legibility over cleverness. Your name and what you do, readable from the road at the speed traffic actually moves.
- Contrast. Dark on light or light on dark. Mid tone on mid tone disappears at a distance.
- Height and angle. Think about where people are when they first could see it, not where it looks best from your own doorway.
- Lighting. If you trade after dark, or want to be seen after dark, illumination roughly doubles the hours your sign works.
- Durability. Coastal KwaZulu-Natal is hard on materials. Salt, humidity and sun need marine grade fixings and UV stable print.
THINK IN LAYERS
Most businesses need more than one sign.
- A main sign for the building, visible from the road
- Directional signs if you are hard to find within a complex
- Window graphics, which are cheap and transform a plain shopfront
- Door and operating hours signage
- Internal signage so people know where to go once inside
- Magnetic door signage on vehicles, which turns every trip into local advertising
Our signage page covers each of these.
CHECK THE RULES FIRST
Municipal signage bylaws, landlord restrictions and body corporate rules all exist and all get overlooked. Find out before you order, not after it is mounted.
IT IS A ONE OFF COST FOR YEARS OF EXPOSURE
Spread the cost of a good sign over five years of being seen by everyone who passes, and compare that to the same amount spent on advertising. It is rarely a close contest.
Send us a photo of your premises and we will tell you what would make the biggest difference.