12 Don'ts for 2012
A Dozen Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Sign Program
By Bob Egan
What’s the first thing your customers see when they arrive at your store or office? Your company’s sign. And in that moment of arrival, you have an opportunity to make a great first impression on customers old and new.
Signs matter. Sign strategy is something your company needs to think about. To help you get started, I put together a list of the 12 biggest sign program missteps that can cost you money, time and credibility.
- Making the assumption that you don’t need a sign management strategy. Sign management is enormously complex. But I’ve seen too many companies push it to the “low priority” pile. Great sign programs require extensive planning, thorough project management and an intense focus on meeting deadlines.
- Failure to create a Design Control Document (DCD). The DCD tells your sign management partner exactly what to build and how to build it, from colors and fonts to letter sizes and logo treatments. The DCD brings consistency to your sign management strategy, and consistency helps reinforce your brand.
- Not sticking to the plan. Plan ahead and then stick to your plan—no matter what. When you are diligent with the upfront planning, you have a clear roadmap to keep you on the right path.
- Too many decision-makers. When signage decisions are outsourced to individual locations, inconsistency is almost inevitable. That’s why companies should appoint a brand manager or one well-trained individual in charge of all decisions regarding the brand.
- Only relying on an RFP to choose a vendor. In the sign business, a request for proposal may not be the best way to identify vendors. Because of the complexity of sign management, sign vendors may not be able to offer a realistic price on a project through the traditional RFP process. A trial order is a better way to go. It gives vendors the opportunity for vendors to show potential clients that they really are the right people for the job.
- Ignoring the visibility factor. Too often, companies design their signs without taking into account how visible that sign is actually going to be for the passersby. To have good visibility, your lettering must match up to the site it will serve. For instance, to be visible from 150 feet, letters must be at least 4 inches tall; to be visible from 525 feet, those letters must be at least a foot tall.
- Using font styles and colors that make the sign difficult to read. We all love some of the creative fonts and color schemes out there, but if your customers can’t read the sign instantly, you’ve missed an opportunity to deliver a key message about your brand.
- Choosing neon over LED. When it comes to illuminated signs, neon is out; LED is in. The technology is simply better, cheaper and greener than the old neon lights.
- Ordering signs first and then checking on permit requirements. The “do-over” is one of the biggest time and money wasters in a sign program. Make sure you know your local permit requirements before you move forward with your sign program, which brings me to the next misstep.
- Managing the permitting process without having an expert on your team. No matter what kind of signs you need, you'll have to get permission from local governments before you can install anything. And getting signs approved through a municipality is a complicated process. When you have a municipal code guru on your side, you’ll save time, money and lots of aggravation.
- Poor program status reporting. An up-to-date and detailed status report can help your sign project stay on track. Infrequent or inadequate status reporting can cause you to miss milestones and waste resources.
- Failure to have a maintenance plan. Sign management doesn’t end when signs are installed. It’s important to always be mindful of maintenance-related matters. Even the best made signs won’t last forever. Eventually, they will need to be serviced, repaired or replaced.
About the Author: Bob Egan is the President of Egan Sign, and has been in the sign industry for over 21 years. Egan Sign specializes in regional and national sign management projects.
Contact Egan Sign and learn how Egan Sign can save you time and money on your large sign management projects.
