Don't sabotage your message

You want to convey a message to your customers, so you formulate a sign, have it made up and display it. What response are you hoping for? Chances are you're expecting an increase in footfall, wanting to raise your profile and be front of mind for potential customers or looking to reinforce your place as part of the local community. Perhaps all of these things. 
Unfortunately, too often good intentions are let down by poor execution and lack of care.

This got my attention for all the wrong reasons.

I came across this sign the other day. It got my attention, but left me shaking my head. The idea was a good one, and the window is in a great location, but many people will be walking away wondering about the professionalism of an outfit which can't get a simple sign right.

Pedantry? Perhaps. However, customers make shopping decisions for a myriad of reasons, some of them emotional and instinctive. If they're making a split second judgement of your store, make sure you're putting your best foot forward.

Whilst the example above is striking, there are other, less obvious, ways retailers drop the ball in how they present their message:

• Signs which are out of date, in poor condition or containing spelling errors;
• Handwritten signs (and not the creative, engaging kind);
• Sticky tape, fishing line, staples etc not cleanly removed;
• Too many messages;
• Not reinforcing what's stated externally, internally (if it's in the window, display it front of store, or at least make it easy to find).

The examples on this list aren't exhaustive, but they are commonly found. Unless you can say for certain none of this is going on in your store, then it's worth doing a walk through and checking for them. When you spend day after day in your store, it's easy to develop "store blindness", not noticing what's obvious to others. 

With so much competition for a customer's attention - and dollars - you can't afford to be ordinary. You certainly can't afford to look unprofessional. When you work hard to attract new customers and convince existing ones to return, it's a shame to undermine that effort with carelessness elsewhere.

Have you seen examples of good signs gone bad? Perhaps you have your own horror story. Don't be bashful, share the love.