The phrase “new year, new me” is something that gets thrown around every year. Usually, it’s said in conjunction with a New Year’s resolution to eat better, work out more, or keep the house cleaner. But when it comes to business, resolutions often have more to do with profit margins, marketing campaigns, and other goals. One of these goals may be to refresh your retail space or office.
Over the years, even the best-kept and cleaned commercial space will start to show its age. It’s bound to occur with the high amount of traffic these spaces get. However, while you may be aware that the carpet is becoming a little bare or that some tiles are cracked, there are other parts of your store or office you may not have closely examined. One of these areas is your signage. There are a number of ways your signs can become stale and out of date.
That’s where TNT Signs can help. We’re here to assist you with refreshing your outdated signs for the new year and beyond. Here are some of the ways a sign can become outdated and what can be done about it.
The Information is Wrong or Missing
Over the years, information on your custom signs can become outdated. Retailers may move items around on the shelves, for example, or departments may shift around in the office. In some instances, it may not be too bad. You can cover part of the sign or even cut off the bottom if that’s the part with the wrong information. You may end up creating temporary signs that get the job done but don’t look particularly good. Even if you intend to get them replaced eventually, you may still end up using them for months or even years.
Putting up new signs gives you a chance to correct this information or add any information that may have been missing from your signs. For example, you may find that there’s a particular product or type of product that people ask for all the time. Adding it to an existing sign or creating a new sign for that product may help increase sales. You may also need to remove products or services you no longer offer.
Keeping these signs updated does more than just help people find what they’re looking for. It also shows that you’re a professional. Temporary signs don’t look that good, and if they’re up for months, people will notice.
Your Branding is Off
Have you changed up your logo, slogan, colors, or other branding? If so, your signs may still have the old branding. That can be okay, especially if the branding isn’t that different or still conveys the message you want it to. However, the new year is the perfect time to refresh all of those signs. You want to have a cohesive look and feel to your store, and that simply can’t happen if your in-store or office signs use one branding and your marketing materials, website, and other materials have another.
Even if it’s just a basic sign pointing towards an office or other area, you want the branding to match everything else. It simply makes your business appear more professional and put-together. Even your temporary signs should have your logo or other branding on them.
The Look and Feel Are Outdated
In some cases, it’s not the branding or information that’s outdated by the overall look and feel of the sign. This could be due to some of the images you used on them, the coloring, the material used in making the sign, or even the font. Some standards have simply changed over the years, and signs that haven’t been updated since those changes are going to feel old.
That’s going to reflect on your business, even if most of your customers or clients don’t consciously realize it. Outdated signs may make people think that you’re stuck in the past. They may not think of your brand when thinking of technology or new products. They may not even fully trust your company, even if they can’t verbalize exactly why.
Your Signs Are Falling Apart
Older signs may no longer look good or be structurally sound. Interior signs may have corners ripped off of them or have faded in places. Exterior signs that are lighted may have some burnt out sections. It’s possible some of the letters could have fallen off or be so dirty that they can’t easily be read. None of this will help you stand out as a brand that pays attention to the details.
There’s also a safety risk associated with signs that are starting to age. They could fall and hurt someone. Exterior signs that are beginning to wear out could easily come down in high winds or if ice forms on them. Again, this is a safety issue that you don’t really want to deal with. Replacing any sign that looks like it could fall apart or down should be made a priority, even if you’re not replacing all of the other signs you have.
Your Signs Were Seasonal or Designed for a Specific Event
Sometimes signs end up staying in use longer than expected. This can happen with seasonal signs or signs that you put up for a specific event. Maybe you created some grand opening signs that you always planned to take down after a few months, but several years later, they’re still there. Maybe you have signs showing a wintery wonderland when it’s the middle of summer. These signs may not look bad or even be that old, but they don’t necessarily show that you’re conscientious of your branding. Seasonal signs can be saved and rotated in when appropriate, but you don’t want to leave them up all year round.
What Does a Sign Refresh Entail?
Refreshing your signs for the new year doesn’t mean completely redesigning them, although you certainly can. In some cases, such as if you changed your branding, you may actually need to redo most of the design. However, often, it’s not necessary.
What you will need to do is consider what you want your signs to say. This includes more than just the text on them. You may want your signs to communicate that you’re fun, or you may want them to convey trust and a sense of professionalism. Font, colors, text, and even the spacing between elements on a sign all work together to create this message. If you feel like your current signs aren’t saying what you want them to, it’s time to work on a new design that does.
Of course, you’ll want to make certain that your signs do literally say what they should. You will need to do a survey of your office or retail space to determine what your current signs say, which information needs to be added or removed, and where additional signs need to be. Don’t make any final decisions on design until you know what signs you need. You may put together a beautiful sign template only to discover that the sign needs to have more text than you left space for.
After the designs are done but before you send them to TNT Signs for printing, take a moment to envision them in your store. How will the colors you used work with the colors of the wall and other elements of the store? You don’t want to create signs that are going to clash with everything else.
Why Work with TNT Signs?
TNT Signs is one of the top printing companies in the Santa Rosa area. We’re here to provide high-quality signs, stickers, and other marketing materials that look amazing and last for years. We use only the highest quality materials, including ink, so that our products will withstand wear, tear, direct sunlight, and much more. Whether they’re indoors or outdoors, you can on a TNT Signs product holding up.
We do more than just print signs. We have a team of experienced designers who can help you translate your sign ideas into reality. Whether you just need a little help picking the right font or need someone to get you started, our team is here for you.
In addition to helping you design and print your signs, our crew also includes professional sign installers. Installing a sign, especially large or heavy signs, needs to be done by experts. If one of these large signs were to fall, it could cause a good amount of damage. Our team knows how to install various types of signs on multiple types of surfaces, and we will do so quickly and safely.
Contact Us Today to Get Started on Your New Signs
Don’t wait for the new year to start planning your new signs, stickers, vehicle wraps, or other marketing tools. The sooner you get started, the more time you’ll have to fine-tune the design. Contact TNT Signs today at 707-528-8523 to start the process or to ask any questions about sign design you may have.