Thursday 23 July 2015

How to Use Signs in Your Retail Space

You know how important signs are in getting your customers to the checkout counters of your store. That is why you have ensured that they say what you want. But is that really what you need? Isn’t it more important that your signs tell customers what they want? The aim of a sign is to provide information and motivate purchases. To do that effectively, it must be customer friendly, not store management friendly. Here are a few tips on making your retail signs more effective and communicative.


Keep to the Point

We live in the age of Twitter where everything has to be conveyed in 140 characters. Novels are being written in texting language. Attention spans are getting shorter all the time. Customers are often in a hurry, and they want information as quickly and concisely as possible. Respect that and use signs to give them the information they want in the way they want it.

Make It Easy To Read

Ornate fonts with curly-cues and flourishes may look attractive and sophisticated. But you don’t want a customer to say “That’s a nice sign” and move on. The first objective is always to convey information that leads to a purchase: fancy lettering and colors can be distractive. Add extra touches to your signs only if these do not affect the main objective.

Give Reasons to Buy

Every purchase has a reason behind it. It could be a grooming aid to improve appearance. It may be a gift for an important date to please, or a reward for a child who got good grades. You know your business and you know your customers. Make it easier for them to buy by giving them compelling reasons  - for example “Get the latest look with this!”

Relate To Your Customers

A customer buys after visualizing how they would be using the product. Consider these two signs:
  • Straighten curly hair with XXXX.
  • Use XXXX to straighten your curly hair.
Which one relates more to the customer? Which one makes him think about how using the product will benefit him? It is the second one. Use expressions like “you”, “your”, “for you and your family” and so on, directly engaging them.

Use Images

Texting and social media like Twitter have made the use of emoticons an integral part of modern communication. A picture may not be worth a thousand words, but it is worth a dozen. With limited space on your signs and customer’s attention span itself limited, use effective images to convey emotions. Your sign could say “Buying XXXX will make you happy.” Or you could use instead a smiley face. Which one saves space and has a more positive impact?

The best way to get signs that work for you is to use the services of a signage professional. Tell him what you need the sign to do. Give him the specialized inputs about your business and customers that only you have. He can then combine his skills with your knowledge to give you the right signs that will work, and keep your checkout counters always busy.

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