Signs - your silent salesman
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
For a first-time customer walking into your store, a clear signage package throughout the space can be the difference between that customer feeling comfortable enough to navigate the shop for a purchase OR feeling overwhelmed, turning around and walking back out the door.
Writing for BicycleRetailer.com Holly Weise, owner of 3 Dots Design and expert in the field of strategic retail design and visual merchandising, said store owners often say, "Doesn't everybody already know what a helmet and shoe is? Seems silly to put up all the signs." Well, yes, presumably most people do know what these things are (although don't assume everybody does), but people often don't know where they are in your store. In fact, most people aren't paying any attention at all as they wander through, and if you can do anything to make their experience easier, it's likely to keep them browsing longer, which means increased sales for you.
According to Chris Brennan, senior vice president global retail development for the NBA, "We know that if we keep the customer in the store for more than 10 minutes, we increase conversion by 200 percent." So, by using in-store signage we can keep customers browsing for longer and increase the chance of making a sale.
Along with visual merchandising, there are more practical considerations. One of the most important is making prices and other important information quickly and easily visible. Although there are a few exceptions, the vast majority of retailers should have items priced to make the shopping process easy. The same goes for highlighting sales and promotions: how will your customers know what's on offer if it's not made clear?
Signs are your ‘silent salesmen'. It's one thing to make sure your staff are telling customers about the promotions and offers you have, but what about a customer who's not made up their mind about purchasing yet? They may not even engage with a member of your sales team before walking out of the shop empty handed and going elsewhere.
So where do you start? Weise suggests first removing every handwritten, mismatched, outdated, ripped or dirty sign that's in your store. Hire a local graphic designer to create a basic category sign package. Include your logo, pick a bold, clean font, and be sure to have a strong colour contrast between the sign background and the letter colour.
If you're a Ride it away retailer, the ACT have the perfect merchandising package to promote finance to your customers. Window stickers, hanging banners, and swing tags on products that show just how little an item can cost each month on finance can boost your sales greatly. Get yours now by logging in to your ActSmart account and selecting 'Stationery and POS'.