The practice of local marketing, also called “neighborhood marketing,” is not new, but innovations in technology are enhancing its success to target and attract local customers. While many businesses are focusing on online channels (e.g., mobile applications, social media, search engines, and email) to attract local customers, printed sign and display graphics still play a powerful role in engaging and influencing customers. All businesses, regardless of whether they are small independently owned operations or large operations with many locations, can reap the benefits of localizing signage to align with the needs of customers. By using images that reflect a local area, promoting products in a specific locale, or altering prices based on a business’ location, brands can use signage to garner more attention and engage customers at the local level.
Point-of-purchase displays, posters, banners, and signs are all effective communication tools for powering local marketing efforts. At their most powerful, sign and display graphics will visually communicate promotional messages, influence consumer behavior, and do both of these things at a reasonable price. Recent research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicates that more than 50% of consumers rely on signage to learn about a business. Signage typically costs less than mass media and offers a longer duration of prominent exposure. Compared to other forms of communication (e.g., radio, newspaper, television, and direct mail), signage is one of the most economical media in which to promote and reinforce a message. For instance, an ad placed in a local business directory may only reach those individuals who are actively searching for a specific product, whereas hundreds or even thousands of people may view a sign every day. In addition, point-of-purchase displays prime the impulse-buying pump of consumers.
Sign and display graphics deliver key value to local marketing efforts on the following fronts:
- They build brand equity: Posters, banners, point-of-purchase displays, and signs build brand equity and recognition because they emphasize the images, words, graphics, or symbols that are associated with an organization’s products or services. Signage is in a consumers’ daily visual environment, so it attracts attention, encourages message retention, and drives sales.
- They increase brand recognition: Every business wants top-of-mind awareness. In their day-to-day lives, consumers may pass by a business 50 or 60 times each month. Getting the right message out with drive-by or walk-by reinforcements builds top-of-mind awareness and supports brand building. Frequently refreshing images or targeting messages to a local market demonstrates a firm’s commitment to customer service and also enhances the customer experience.
- They establish long-term awareness: Unlike other forms of advertising, signage is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- They yield results: Studies have shown that signage and graphics can be between 4 and 20 times more cost-effective than other traditional forms of advertising (e.g., television, radio, newspapers, and magazines). A national survey conducted by the University of Cincinnati found that frequent sign changes resulted in significant, positive effects on a business’ sales, number of transactions, and profits. About 60% of the businesses surveyed reported increases averaging about 10%.
- They compel purchasing: Posters, banners, and point-of-purchase displays influence consumer behavior. According to another study of over 1,000 consumers[1], 68% of consumers purchased a product or service because a sign caught their eye. In addition, 76% said they entered a store they had never visited before based on its signs.
- Localized messaging: The latest technologies for printing sign and display graphics offer the ability to customize content to more effectively communicate advertising and promotional messages. Marketers can incorporate unique elements based on local demographics or regional details.
Localized sign and display graphics are a highly cost-effective, visual way to inform customers, enhance the customer experience, and promote products and services. Research indicates that businesses investing in sign and display graphics are seeking more effective ways to target, engage, influence, and win customers. Whether they include relevant lifestyle imagery, language, offers, or pricing, signs/graphics that are localized or versioned will typically yield better results because viewers will be better able to relate to the messaging. Here at Tukaiz, we’ve invested production technologies that offer you efficient and cost-effective options for localized sign and display graphics to deliver the right messages to the right market at the right time. Contact us today to help you leverage the power of signage in promoting business, capturing customer attention, and driving results.
[1] Conducted by Ketchum Global Research & Analytics