Businesses across the country are struggling and retailers are looking for ways to bring more people into their stores. The important thing to remember is that you can’t change business conditions – just the things that your business does.

One of the first things you should consider is what you’re doing to help people find their way to your store. Sure, you’re advertising online and doing the marketing you need to do, but how can you get more foot traffic from the people who are actually walking by outside?

It all starts with signs.

Creating a Visual Pathway to Your Store

We really don’t think much about it, but signs are actually an extremely important part of how we get around on a daily basis. Like a real-life map, they’re a visual pathway that leads us exactly where we want to go. And if they’re well designed, they’ll intrigue us enough to go exploring.

The Most Important Kinds of Signs

Consider how a shopper scans the environment they’re in and you’ll quickly see how necessary it is to have signs that lead them to your door. Major retail franchises generally have four outdoor signs that help people navigate to their store.

Monument Signs

The first is usually a street-side monument sign that people can see from their cars while they’re driving on the street. This makes it easy for them to know that they’ve found the right place – especially if your building can’t be seen from the street – and gets them to pull into the parking lot.

Building Signs

The next is a large building sign that they can see as they pull into the lot so they know where they should try and park. People don’t want to walk a football field to get where they need to go. This helps make their trip as quick and convenient as possible.

Blade Signs

Once they’re out of the car and approaching the building, they won’t be able to see your building sign anymore, so you’re going to need a blade sign (a sign that is mounted to and projects from a building façade, storefront pole, or another surface that’s perpendicular to the normal flow of traffic) that helps pedestrians locate your store front. Even a simple A-board on the sidewalk can serve this purpose, especially if you use it to cleverly advertise your latest sale or newest product.

Window and Door Signs

Window and door graphics let them know they’ve reached the right door and should come inside. You can even use these to promote sales, new products, free samples – anything that you think might make them stick around longer, browse more products, and decide to make a purchase. Confirm that they made a good decision visiting your store that day by offering something of value. It doesn’t have to be a huge something, either. Anything that piques interest will do.

Bonus Signs: Barricade Wall Graphics

If your business is opening its first store or a new location, chances are there’s going to be some construction and prep going on inside, which you’ll cover with a barricade wall. Instead of leaving this blank and making people guess what’s going on there, build interest early with an eye-catching graphic.

If you’re interested in upgrading your signs, give us a shout. We can help you design new ones and are able to print or wrap almost anything to turn it into an advertisement or landmark for your business. Call us at (702) 566-8326 to discuss your options or, if you already know what you want, get a quote!