BrandWeek.com reports on a recent consumer survey by Miller Zell that shows shoppers respond to different store medias. From the article: “In the survey, more shoppers (32 percent) rated in-store signage as "very effective" than they did out-of-store advertising, including television ads, billboards and other media (27 percent).”
How well is your store signed? Signs are referred to as “Silent Salespeople” with good reason. Your in-store signing allows you to communicate with customers without ever saying a word. Signing also reassures customers that they are making the right product choice. There are three important signing zones in your store:
Zone One Signs are placed high above a shopper's eye level to direct traffic in the store. Zone One Signing typically consists of departmental and directional signing. The goal here is to make it easy for time-starved and stressed out customers to locate what they came in to buy. If you run a self service store, or if you tend to run lean on help, then Zone One Signing is a must in your store.
Zone Two Signs go in the area just above the shoppers eye level. Zone Two is reserved for promotional signing, sales event signing and marketing messages. This is also your best bet for aisle markers: signage that hangs above the valley in-between two gondolas, identifying which merchandise is housed there.
Zone Three Signs are placed at average customer eye level – roughly 5’6” from the floor. There are many uses for Zone Three Signing: to announce sale or special purchases or to outline the product’s features, advantages and benefits. Zone Three is also a good place for brochures, project sheets and other point-of purchase materials provided by vendors. Use Zone Three signing to highlight any information that will help the customer make an informed buying decision.
What your store signing looks like will depend on your store décor. Generally speaking, you will want to print your signs on your computer or with a professional sign machine. Be careful with handwritten signing because it can be viewed as non-professional. That being said, we’ve seen wonderfully creative handwritten signs used effectively in all kinds of stores. If you have carefully created a handwritten sign, on quality card stock, then you are probably okay. You’ll know a bad sign when you see one.
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