Proper signage ensures that the right image of your business reaches the public, so the right buyers will come to you. Signs also help define the area in which you do business.

Here are some things that strong signage can do:

* Inform passing customers. A sign communicates important information to consumers in your business's immediate trade area. A trade area is the marketing vicinity from which a business owner draws customers -- usually within a half mile to a mile of the business. Trade areas differ in shape and size depending on the business and its reliance on transportation networks, and may vary seasonally.

* Build image. Signs build an image for your wash or detail shop and help you identify the market segment you are trying to reach. Through materials and design, a sign can appeal to a specific group of potential customers.

Color and lighting effects can enhance the impact and psychological response to your business. Spend some time when choosing these attributes.

* Enhance advertising recall. Signs reinforce other advertising expenditures by repeating commercial messages. Many national firms incorporate their logo into their mass media advertising campaigns, such as television, thus increasing product or service awareness.

* Generate impulse business. Signs generate business by catching the attention of visitors and newcomers who traverse a trade area. Studies show approximately 50 percent of all consumer items are purchased on impulse sales directly attributable to signage drawing consumers to the point of purchase.

Community Image

Signs also play a role in portraying the overall image of a business community. Done wrong, signs create a tacky trade area and turn off customers; done right, they bring people in to spend money.

For your local business community, proper signage can:

* Enhance the aesthetic environment. Signs enhance the environment by making certain zones of a city or town more attractive and dynamic and giving them a particular atmosphere. Because the environment is so important, quality signage conveys an image of responsible citizenship by a business owner.

* Help community safety. Signs can help reduce crime and traffic accidents. A well-placed, visible, attractive sign helps direct vehicular and pedestrian business traffic, allowing ample time for driver decisions, thus reducing the potential for traffic accidents. Government studies find that accidents actually decrease at intersections where there is commercial signage.

Ambient lighting from signs is a major crime deterrent in urban areas. Police reported a 30 percent rise in crime when downtown signs were turned off during the energy crisis of the 1970s. People feel safer entering well-lighted commercial areas.

Why They're Right

Signs may be necessary to the continued success of businesses, especially small ones. Many industries can attribute a large percentage of business to their signs.

Some fast-food outlets attribute as much as 80 percent of their business to their on-premise signage; the travel industry 30 percent; gas retailing 50 percent; and hotels and motels 50 percent. A visible, readable sign can make the difference between profit and loss for many businesses.

For small business owners, signs offer good benefits for a low cost. When compared to other advertising costs such as radio, newspaper, television and direct mail, an on-premise sign is inexpensive.

For example, the cost per 1,000 adult exposures with a sign is only a few pennies for 24-hour-a-day coverage. In addition, an on-premise sign cultivates cumulative, long-term awareness of a business, stimulating repeat or "brand-loyal" buying of the products and services offered. For businesses with a limited advertising budget, a sign is an inexpensive method to maximize returns .

To ensure signs will play the proper role in your business, make sure they are included in renovation plans or in discussions of a new location. A business plan should include signage as a major part of the marketing strategy. Because signs are vital to a small business they should be included in any loan package.

Your sign is a permanently visible part of your business and should be considered an investment. Signs are the most efficient, effective and consistent revenue-generating device for small business.

Reprinted with permission from the U.S. Small Business Administration On-line. It was produced under cosponsorship with the National Electric Sign Association.