A few decades back advertising via A5 leaflets, in local newspapers and by shop front signage was all the advertising a small to medium size business needed or could afford for that matter. TV advertising was way too expensive ever during the quiet early hours when only a few people are watching where you now find those dodgy, questionable chat line and gambling adverts hoping to find those people who have drank too much and stayed up late.
For genuine high street businesses stand out signage ruled supreme back in the 1970's and 1980's and when customers walked past your store the idea was to grab their attention and stand out from your rivals who where probably on the same street.
Roll on a few decades to the 2010's and now the 2020's and small businesses have started to neglect retail signage in favour of Google Ads, Facebook Ads and other forms of online advertising which simply doesn't work for every business and this was the issue a few years ago when a number of large retailers such as Woolworths, Staples, Toys-R-us, JJB Sports, Comet, BHS, House of started to go into administrations after spending millions with online marketing companies and failing to get that money back, let alone any profits.
The sad truth is that a lot of these city centre internet marketing companies where just style over substance and where just ripping off these clueless corporations where no one seem to be responsible for how much was being spent on online advertising and with the boards made up of older men and women who simply didn't have a clue about the internet it was recipe for disaster. That is until someone gets wise to the fact that it doesn't cost millions of pounds every year to reach customers online or that a lot of the digital marketing companies are actually inexperienced are spending money on fancy offices rather than learning how internet marketing works
A lot of the time you can't blame the business owners as they tend to be the older generation and set in their ways so they decide to instead employer someone younger to head their new I.T. department snot understanding that I.T. is a very broad term and someone who sets up networks and installs virus software is not necessarily a marketing expert or a web designer and the skills are so far apart it's akin to hiring a plumber to wire up your electrics simple because they both work inside residential homes. Another trait of older business owners is that they believe every single young persons knows everything there is to know about the internet, computers and online marketing when in reality the younger generation are the most clueless ones and simply know how to operate the devices
For many high street retailers internet marketing simply does not work and they would be better of spending some of their advertising budget on new attractive signage for their shop front. Signage does still work and does still attract new customers and the best thing is that unlike digital marketing you're not paying every single month, you just get a sign designed and fitted, make a one off payments and you're done.
Going Back to basics is the answer for a lot of companies
If there is one thing that has continued to work throughout history it's signage. The first signs advertising businesses date back to the 17th century and a stand out attention grabbing shop front sign still works today especially after many businesses called it a day in 2020 and closed down due to the current climate leaving passers buy not sure which shops where still trading and which had closed down.
It's also a great time to get new retail signage too as advanced and more cost effective manufacturing methods bring prices down meaning that rather than just opting for a plain old flat, printed sign above your shop you can go for illuminated signs, 3D signs, Raised Signs and reflective signs, these signs work well and if you're also considering pavements signs, A Boards and Banners there is no way customer will miss you.
So what's the cost of quality retail signage?
Obviously exterior retail signage costs vary depending on the type of sign, the size of the sign and what equipment is needed for fitting such as scaffolding, hydraulic lifts etc but you can guarantee that its a lot less expensive than a few months of internet marketing and with new signage at least you have something to show for your money.
One of Manchester's longest established and most respected signage companies is Universal Signage based at Trafford Park who have been in the signage industry for over 20 years. Recently the company started a print and design arm too in an effort to bring down printing costs for things like business cards, flyers and brochures without sacrificing quality like you do when using cheap online printing companies.
Want to survive 2021? You may just need new signage
