Checkers and their new wall signs

Brooklyn Center, MN has a new restaurant, Checkers

I used to go to the Checkers down in Florida, I love Checkers hamburgers. They make great hamburgers. If you were like me, you only found out about them and tried them because of their street signs and wall signs.

Checkers has a great outdoor sign image. They tag everything. Directional drive thru signs, pylon signs and wall signs. They even do border neon (now LED) on many of their locations. Checkers is a very noticeable restaurant chain.

Do your customers notice your exterior signs?

According to a survey done by a national restaurant, they found that about 40% of destination drivers buy from the competition because they saw their exterior signs. That means, people going to a particular restaurant stopped elsewhere purely because of signage. That chain immediately upgraded their exterior signs.

If a national chain recognizes the need for maximizing their exterior signs, wouldn’t it have a similar effect on your Minnesota business?

There are other places to put your name so that folks driving by will notice your business.

What are you waiting for??

The sign guy is a 4th generation sign guy living and working in Ramsey, MN

Summer Signs of MN

It’s summer in Minneapolis, MN (if only for a few days) how are your sales?

Many people take the summer off for vacations and the kids are out of school, so life is a bit different. Many companies are busier also during the summer. All that being said, the summer is not the time to quit marketing. Here is a short list of things that you can take advantage of during the summer to keep your business busy well into the winter:

1. Wash / maintain your lit signs. Why? Because it’s cheaper then waiting for a problem in the dead of winter
2. Visit your referral sources. Why? The weather is nice, you might as well enjoy it.
3. Plan a new wall sign now? Why? You may be able to get a deal as the summer winds down, sign companies in MN want to stay busy also.
4. Re order your promotional products. Why? The trade show business picks up in the fall and you don’t want to get caught up in the rush, right now you may be able to find a deal.
5. Get that Pylon sign by the road in the ground. Why? Were in Minnesota, do I have to tell you why?
6. Add an EMC – Electronic message center. Why? Cuz they work!!!

This is just a simle few items. You should be planning the fall even during this busy summer season. Drop me a note of some of your good ideas.

good signing

The sign guy is the owner of signs by rsg located in Ramsey, MN.

Sales 101 – Don’t sell

You heard me, Don’t sell. People hate being sold. I hate it, you hate it. We hang up on phone salesmen. So, don’t sell anything.

I can hear you shouting, but what do I do?!!? I have to sell stuff in order to make my quota so I can get my commission. (as heard through nasally whiny voice)

Become a fireman

Here is the simplest answer I can find. Tell the prospect only one thing; WIIFM!

WIIFM  What’s In It For Me?

Your prospect does not care about you, your product or service, how much it costs and they certainly don’t care about your commission. As a matter of fact, most of the time they care about how to get you out of their office or off the line so they can get back to putting out their fires.

Did you notice the answer to our question? Your prospect is trying to put out his fires. He needs a fire extinguisher. Get the prospect a fire extinguisher. We’re all trying to sell a product that will help our prospects, but we spend far too much time describing the color and size of our extinguishers, and not enough time showing them how it will put our their fires.

Describe how your fire extinguisher puts out fires the best.

Follow the analogy a moment. If a guy is struggling with a fire and you show up with matches, what is he going to do? However, if you show up with a fire extinguisher……..He’ll knock you down getting it from you.

Your job is to figure out how your junk will put out those fires. Do your homework, ask some questions.

In my sign business, no one wants a sign. So I sell them a customer / cash generating machine. If their fire is not enough customers, my extinguisher is a new wall sign, channel letters or Electronic message center. What’s your extinguisher?

go sell something.

The sign guy is the sales manager for Signs by RSG, a Minnesota sign company. He is available for seminars and training on sales. 763.753.7571

Marketing for profit

What is marketing? Is it the yellow pages, not really. Yellow pages are advertising, and so are wall signs, pylon signs or any type of sign or ad.

Marketing is getting the right message to the right people through the right media.

We learn marketing from the people who sell advertising. You know it is true. Their job is to find out how much you spend on advertising and then get it.

Do you want to make money with your marketing? Then you must figure out how to get the right message to the right people through the right media. Otherwise, we are not ‘marketing’. We are ‘blowing money’ on ‘hit and miss’
advertising—which is exactly what 99% of ALL small businesses do!!!

One way is through a well planned sign plan. Either wall signs or pylon signs on your property.

Proper marketing is the only part of your business that creates income for your business. No customers, no work, no money. The more that customers know about you, the more work, the more money. It is that simple.

The hard part is figuring out what method works. Yellow pages? TV? Newspapers? Signs?

All are important parts of the marketing plan. If you have a building with a road in front of it, remember, the best way to get a client to come into your store is when they are right in front of it.

If you need clients from different parts of the Twin cities, then gear your marketing to those media that will reach them.

I like to test and measure before committing large sums of money on advertising. The other thing I like to do is to market in a variety of ways. I go to networking groups, community groups, vehicle lettering, road signs as well as other print media. My thinking is if you have customers coming in from multiple sources, then you won’t have any problems if one of them stops working.

I also like the web. I am beginning to think that this internet thing is not going away.

good signing

The Sign Guy is the owner of Signs by RSG located in Ramsey, Mn. He and his brother (The sign dude) are 4th generation sign makers and can be reached at 763.753.7571

Signs are Marketing

A Minnesota business needs to be marketed, and signs are just one part.

There are several ways to market your business, whether your in Minneapolis, Coon Rapids, Edina or anywhere in Minnesota. Let us talk about some of the most obvious ones.

On site marketing – Wall signs, banners, pylon signs:
Signs on your building or property are the most obvious ways your clients will find you. If you have a retail business where you rely on walk in business, the building sign is the most vital part of your marketing plan. Many business find a great location with high traffic, then shoot themselves in the foot by not putting up a well designed, lit wall or pylon sign.

Point of Sale signs:
Point of purchase signs, the sign people see when they are in your store promoting a special product, are often under used. Think about this, why does Target, WalMart or any other major retail outlet have in store displays? Because they sell more stuff. The next time your in one of those places look around and see all of the signs, then notice how they’re being used.

Promotional products:
Not typically called a sign, but promotional products like pens, t-shirts, golf balls, all emblazoned with your company name, are like mini signs. A business card is important, but they get thrown away all to quickly. Promotional products allow your name to be in front of potential clients much longer. More about this in a future blog.

Thank you Cards:
Again, not thought of as a sign, but saying thank you to your clients is a must. Don’t buy just any card, get them printed with your company name. My company uses SendOut Cards. This has been one of the easiest ways to keep a client. You would be amazed at the results. For about $1.50, I can send out a printed card from my computer, with my company logo and my signature to any or all of my clients. I can even create campains and let the program do it auotmatically.

Your customer then receives a hand written card in the mail. Beleive me, they get opened and read.

This is just the tip of the ice berg. Next week I will share with you some other ideas that we know will help your business in these tough economic times.

good signing

The Sign Guy is the owner of Signs by RSG located in Ramsey, Mn. He and his brother (The sign dude) are 4th generation sign makers and can be reached at 763.753.7571

Lit Signs work!

Does a lit sign really help, or would a non lit wall sign work?

We answer this question every day with another questions; When will your clients be coming by your store?

If the answer is at night, then a lit sign is the way to go. If the answer is during the day, then yes, you may ignore the thousands of potential clients who drive by your store at night and get a non lit sign.

Do you see my point. A well designed lit wall sign or pylon sign works for you 24 hours a day and is seen by your most likely clients. THE ONES DRIVING RIGHT PAST YOUR DOOR (usually on their way to your competition)

In Minnesota, we have an added challenge, and that is night comes earlier and lasts longer during the winter months. So, your Minnesota Signs should be lit to give you the maximum benefit.

Your sign works for you and literally could only cost just penny’s a day. This is by for the cheapest and most effective form of advertising.

good signing

Minneapolis sign installer

So you need a sign installed in the Twin Cities, eh?

What should you do first? You just found a guy going out of business, bought his sign off of Ebay and had it shipped to Minnesota. Now what?

Your in luck, here is a quick check list on the things to do to get your new old sign installed here in Minnesota.

1. Does it fit? All cities have size restrictions on wall signs. Usually 10-15% of the area of the wall on which it will be installed.
2. Does it match? Many landlords and some cities require that the sign match the other signs in the shopping center.
3. Did the landlord approve? It only takes a moment to ask.
4. Is it up to code? Check the sign for a UL label. This tells the electrical inspector that this electric sign was manufactured to specific criteria for safety.
5. Does it work? Surprisingly, many signs that have been shipped in, that you bought dirt cheap, doesn’t work
6. Did you call a licensed sign installer? Many if not all cities in the Twin Cities require a licensed sign installer to actually hang the sign.

Just a couple of simple questions, but questions that could save you hundreds, and maybe thousands of dollars. No one wants a wall sign that they can’t hang.

good signing

PS – call your local sign guy (763-753-7571) he may have some used signs hanging around looking for a good home.

Twin Cities, Minnesota, Sign Opportunities.

Exterior Sign Opportunities for your Minnesota Business

Your business probably has more opportunities for exterior signs than the average business owner knows. As business owner that spends thousands of dollars per month on your location, you should take advantage of all the exterior signs possible.

Starting with the most obvious type of sign would be a pole sign which is most likely the first thing people see when they notice your business.  It is the largest and most noticeable sign upon first glance therefore should tell your customers everything you want them to know before they enter the business.

Like the pylon sign above, there are also Directional signs. Directional signs are usually allowed if they aren’t truly advertising but showing the entrance of the business. There is a limited amount of area but can be very effective.

If you have a drive thru, this is a great sign addition that can also attract business by having an attractive drive thru menu board.

Next we have wall signs, these can include channel letters, box signs and banners.  Banners are more temporary and cheaper than channel letters.  They usually advertise special events and sales.  Channel letters, because they are more permanent, tend to just have the name of the business. Box signs are less expensive than channel letters and should not be ignored.

Then there is window lettering.  Window lettering can be less permanent simply because it’s easier to put up.  However, once it is up it is probably going to stay there for a while so this type of sign advertises products and services.  Along the same line as window lettering is store hours.  It is surprising how many small businesses don’t take advantage of the simple opportunity of store hours signs. Don’t allow walking traffic to miss you just because they can’t see the main sign.

In short, since you are spending so much money on your location, make sure that your exterior signs are doing all they can for your business.

In a few days we will talk about the interior sign opportunities to increase business, and more profit.

good signing.