Tag Archives: Signs
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Do you have a promotions strategy?
Promotion marketing, whether of a product or service, is one of the most important elements of any successful marketing mix. As a business owner, you engage in promotion constantly, whether or not the action is intentional. Everything from sales and advertising to talking about your business at a cocktail party is part of promotion marketing.
However, without a clear strategy which considers all elements of your marketing promotion from signage to public relations, the chance for success is greatly diminished. Therefore, designing a conscious, deliberate programme which not only communicates to your potential customers but engages them is absolutely essential. As we quickly head into 2015, every business must ask itself: do we have a promotion strategy?
What Is a Promotion Strategy?
The purpose of a promotion strategy is to systematically regulate the communications initiatives between a company and its customers. This sort of coordination includes both one-way communication such as signage and advertising as well as two-way communications such as social media engagement and direct sales. Together, the “strategy” includes the planning, implementation, and control of these communications through a number of channels. There are different direct ways to promote a business, its products, and services as well as several marketing elements that are common to any promotion strategy mix.
Push vs. Pull Promotion Strategies
There are two main ways in which businesses implement a promotion strategy: push and pull marketing. A “push” strategy aims to literally push a product or service onto consumers by putting it directly in their path. Common ways in which businesses execute push strategies are through trade shows, direct sales, and supply chain management. On the other hand, a “pull” strategy operates in the opposite way, attempting to “pull” customers into a business through compelling offers such as sales, referral bonuses, and customer relationship management tactics.
Specific Promotion Strategy Programmes
Designing a promotion strategy for your business is about more than an individual sale, trade show, or sales effort. Instead, it is a concentrated and connected effort to either push a product/service into the lives of consumers or pull them into your business. Combined, a proper promotion strategy includes all of the following:
- Advertising
- Direct Marketing
- Interactive/Internet Marketing
- Personal Selling
- Public Relations
- Sales Promotions
- Signage
By deliberately planning a promotion strategy from the offer down to the follow-up, businesses position themselves in such a way that capitalises on consumer needs and habits, maximising their returns. Executed on its own, any one element of a promotion strategy has the potential to draw in customers and make sales, but its effectiveness is greatly reduced without supporting programmes that enhance the customer’s engagement and keep your business on the tip of each customer’s mind.
Are You Ready to Design Your 2015 Promotion Strategy?
Putting together an effective promotion strategy for 2015 needs to start now so that you are ready to hit the ground running in the New Year. Beginning with offers and outreach, consider how to best promote yourself and your products/service to current and new clients. This mix of elements varies from industry to industry.
However, once you are ready to get the ball rolling your local Signarama store is ready to help you design the signage you need to get your message out and implement a promotion strategy that makes 2015 a year to remember.
Importance of Signage in a Business
Signs help draw attention to your business.
If you operate or are planning to start a business, an important consideration is how you plan to use signage. A creative, attractive sign can help your business stand apart from the competition. According to ChamberofCommerce.com, customers are more likely to purchase from a business they have already heard of, so a sign can help plant the seed for future sales.
Function
Signs serve as a type of silent salesperson for your business. Exterior signs draw attention to your place of business and help differentiate it from others on the street. Interior signs help customers locate merchandise and can lead to impulse sales when added to special displays. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration website, signs serve as a primary link between a business and its customers.
Types
Exterior signs can be ground-mounted or building-mounted. Ground-mounted signs can take on a variety of shapes and sizes, and are typically mounted near a road to attract the attention of passing motorists. Building-mounted signs are attached to the place of business and may be useful in areas where foot traffic is prevalent, such as a downtown shopping area.
Significance
Signs can be an essential component of a business’s overall marketing strategy. A sign that contains a business’s logo can help reinforce its brand. Signs are also used to draw attention to promotions and to convey information about the business. Because an exterior sign is visible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, its effect is continuous.
Benefits
For businesses that have limited marketing funds, signs can be a cost-effective form of marketing. According to the SBA website, the cost-per-thousand, a common method used to measure the cost of reaching a thousand potential customers, is much lower for signage than other types of advertising, such as radio, televisions and newspapers.
Considerations
Signs can also be effective for off-premises use. Strategically placed billboards can convey a concise message to passing motorists. You can also place magnetic signs on the side of your vehicle to serve as a form of mobile advertising as well as pay other motorists to place signs on their own vehicles for additional reach.
Signarama supports sports
Signarama Middleburg sponsored the first netball team of HTS Middelburg this year and were involved in the “optog” which is basically about 100 odd vehicles, ranging from fire trucks, tractors, quad bikes, bakkies, anything as long as it is red or white.
On Friday morning the whole “optog” got together before the FNB Classic Clash, which by itself drew about 10 000 spectators on the Saturday, and all 100 red vehicles drove through town with the different school teams and spectators in and on them. An amazing time was had by all as can be seen in the images taken by Johan and Mariette, well done Jonty and the whole Signarama Middleburg team, your generosity has created a great opportunity for these girls in a sport that does not receive enough recognition in South Africa.
Signarama, The way to grow your business and make a difference!
Vehicle signage and brand recall: An important relationship
Adding vehicle signage to your marketing strategy does more than just advertising your products or services; it has a huge impact on your brand recall.
The marketing term “brand recall” refers to a consumer’s ability to recall a specific brand name (yours!) when prompted to do so among classes of products or services. For example, if asked to name cola drinks, which brand(s) would respondents automatically recall?
The goal of increasing brand recall is to bring a product, service, or brand to the “top of the mind” of the consumer without the use of prompts. This is known as spontaneous or unaided recall. And, while this is more easily accomplished on the national and international level (how many responded “Coca-Cola” to the question above?) local brands and businesses can benefit from such strategies as well.
Using Vehicle Signage to Promote Local Brand Awareness
Vehicle signage, including both magnetic signs and vehicle wraps, is one of the most cost effective and successful ways to promote brand awareness at the local level. Consider this, the average South African spends 28 minutes each day commuting to work, and that’s only one way! During this time, travellers generally take the same routes –you are among those travellers! By adding vehicle signage to your car(s), you give all the motorists you interact with each day the chance to see, recognise, and eventually recall your brand.
How Vehicle Signage Can Promote National Brands as Well
For those of us who work for larger brand networks, these same strategies can still apply. Remember, just because a brand is national that does not mean that they should abandon advertising on the local level. In fact, by outfitting the proprietor of each store within the network of a national brand with vehicle signage, the impact on brand recall is magnified exponentially.
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