Common Retail Signage Errors
Any retailer knows that you’re only as good as your marketing campaigns. Whether it’s word of mouth, television and radio ads, direct mail, or catchy signage, you must come up with a way to attract customers into your store. Retail signage can be an especially effective way to market. Catchy signs in the window draw customers in and let them know a little bit about your product and the overall feel of your business. However, as effective as retail signage can be, if you are not careful, it can actually cause more harm than good. Poor grammar, careless spelling, and confusing messages on your signage can turn your store into a joke.
There are some classic mistakes that many store owners have made on their retail signage. Failing to have a professional proofread the signage before it goes to print can result in a terrible – and perhaps a little hilarious – grammatical error. Misplaced quotation marks are among the most common. Many people think that it is grammatically appropriate to use quotation marks for emphasis around a word or phrase. Unfortunately, the resulting effect is usually the word or phrase looking deceitful or sarcastic. A sign saying ‘“Fresh” Vegetables for Sale’ makes it look as though the vegetables aren’t actually fresh. “50% Off” Sale” gives the impression that the sale isn’t really 50% off. This type of error can produce some pretty funny results, only they won’t be so funny if they’re happening to your own business. The first rule of retail signage is to check for misplaced quotation marks!
Another common problem on retail signage is misspelled words. Spelling a word incorrectly on your signage severely reduces your credibility and makes it difficult for people to take you seriously. One famous example of a misspelled sign is one outside of a board room that read “Executive Bored Room.” Though this might not be a retail sign, it’s still a business sign easily viewed by clients. One simple error not only changed the meaning of the sign, but made a large corporation look completely ridiculous, unintelligent, and incapable. If someone can’t even spell a word completely, would you trust them to do business with you? Probably not! Your retail signage must be checked thoroughly for spelling errors, unless you want your business’s claim to fame to be having a picture of your sign circulated around the internet for other people to laugh at.
When done correctly, retail signage can be a great booster for your business. It can draw people toward and into your store, add to the atmosphere, and tell people a bit about your business. Just make sure that if you decide to use retail signage, you proofread it and have it printed by a company that will carefully check for any errors as well. Taking the time to do it correctly might seem like a bit of a hassle at first, but it will all be worth it in the long run, when it gains you customers rather than laughs!
When you have signage that is error free, make sure it looks great in your store and that it can be hung up safely and easily by using our Reel E-Z Display pulley system. This system is designed so that one user can quickly and efficiently change your retail signage without having to use a ladder or lift the sign overhead. The user stays safely on the floor at all times and the signs are held securely as to not put your shoppers at risk. The best looking, error free signs deserve the uniformity and safety that only Reel E-Z Display can provide.
