H & L - Signs & Lighting 4 Your Store

Signs can be found anywhere. There are many types of signage that you can see on the street like oil stock sign, neon sign, modular and others. But the most elegant type of signage is the custom- made signs and monument signs which is designed according to the customer's specification. Signs are best recognized in the form of painted or carved advertisement for shops, inns, etc. They are one of the various emblem methods used to call customers attention to the place to which they refer.

Every businessman wants their store to stand out from the rest to get ahead of the competition.  A store that can accommodate all the customers' needs are not enough to attract the attention of the attention of the people. Making the store more beautiful and presentable would be a great advantage.

Sometimes, customers need to be nudged before they go inside a store. They don't need to be verbally invited but rather, their attention should be called upon. Thus, improving the appearance of the store should start from its exterior design. No one will go inside a store that doesn't even look like a store at all. Here are some ideas on how to make an attention-grabbing exterior setting.

1. Lighting. Different lighting fixtures can be very helpful in making your store attractive. There are modern lighting today that can add style in your store aside from the light that it provides. Gooseneck outdoor lighting should be placed on your store's signage to illuminate it. Gooseneck lights can highlight the name of your store so that it can easily grab the people's attention. Most business operators would even leave the gooseneck lights on at night even after the store's operation to let the people know that they are welcome anytime.

2. Signs. Invite your customers to go inside the store by putting signs outside. There are different types of outdoor signs that can be used - sign frames, sidewalk signs, and monument signs are some example. Illuminate them with barn lights or gooseneck lights and they'll look even more inviting.

3. Flowering Plants. The best thing that could make your outdoor space look beautiful and attractive is to put flowering plants on your facade. They can make a store look refreshing and customers would feel comfortable going inside the store. They would give life to a store and soften its strong and solid features.

4. Outdoor Furniture. Providing an outside seating arrangements for customers would make a store very accommodating. This would be most suitable for restaurants or cafes.

Businessmen should never take their outdoor spaces for granted. It is very important to dress up the store inside and out to make the customers feel welcomed upon passing the store or going inside it. The store doesn't have to be overly decorated. Making it look clean, elegant, and stylish can be more than enough.

"Few weeks ago I visited a store that sells a wide variety of items for office and and home accessories. I was planning to buy bedding for the bedroom and I was also searching for beautiful candles that I can use for this coming Christmas season. The store is selling jewelry, cards, candles, silverware and wall art. The storefront is magnificently decorated with Barn lights on both wing of the store highlighting the banner brackets. When I entered the store, I felt a lot different compared to other stores that I visited - not too cold just exactly right for my body temperature. The lights are soothing and convenient to shop around. I hadn't notice any glare lights throughout the store. I walked around for more than 15 minutes before I bought the items I need. At the counter, when I was ready to pay for the items I need, I was staring at the jewelry on top of the counter table. I stopped for a moment and took a few minutes to look at the jewelry. I am not an impulse buyer but there was something on that time while I was looking at that piece of necklace displayed on the jewelry rack. I thought it will make a perfect present for my girlfriend this Christmas. I knew I still had spare money to buy the necklace. Well, I bought it and now I am waiting for the Christmas come. I am so excited and I know my girlfriend will be happy for my Christmas gift for her this year." - Unknown Shopper

Barn lights are very popular in stores nowadays. Business owners are installing these fixtures inside and outside their buildings for illumination. These provide lights that they need for task lighting, above the counter table and inside the production area. These can also be used as sign lighting to illuminate sidewalk signs and sign frames. The 12" inch Barn Light with 9.5" Straight Arm Extension is an ideal fixture to use for task lighting. You can also choose different globe options depending on the color of the light that you need- clear, frosted, prismatic, amber, green, red and blue bulbs. As a tip, clear and frosted bulbs are usually compatible to retails and convenient stores. Amber lights are usually used on boutiques, and these are ideal for accent lighting. Prismatic, green, red and blue globes are usually used in bars and pubs.

It is very surprising why most stores use barn lights than any typical lights that are available in the market. Because there is more to it than just providing light. It feels less like visiting a store and more like coming home.

The mood of your store depends primarily on the lighting effects. Most business owners never even focus on the lighting scheme of the store. In fact, the theme you have in your store is actually defined by distinctive lighting. That is why it is important to put artistic lights like goosenecks and rlm lights inside and outside of your store. These provide adequate illumination and create a friendly, distinctive ambiance.

RLM lights, barn lights, and gooseneck lights are very common to factories, warehouses, barns, and stores that need sign lighting and illumination. The appeal of these uniquely crafted lights was already popularized in the 30's and 40's. The need for additional sizes is increasing in industrial and commercial applications. Throughout this evolution, lights continue to provide a glare-free expanse of light capable of illuminating large and specific areas.

Today's versions come in a wide range of finishes, colors and sizes. With optional glass globes, these souped-up sconces can hang just about anywhere, from rustic cottages to contemporary homes. And while most are rated for exterior use, they make great indoor lamps, too.

Whether your primary goal is to create an abundance of adequate storefront lighting, agricultural lighting, barn lighting; gooseneck lights provide a broad coverage of light due to its robust reflector. Regardless if it is installed outside of an apartment or used to illuminate a garage, the unique appearance can surely leave a memorable impression through its mix of vintage functional design and modern aesthetic.

Simply barn lights, outdoor gooseneck light, and rlm lights are not for barns anymore. As seen in "This Old House" and hundreds of other magazines, the barn light is making a huge come back in both residential and commercial applications.

Only goosenecks can make your store and house look beautiful and classy. Aside from the light it provides, the vintage look can make your t house and store beautiful as you can never imagine before. Start now, and make your own scheme and develop your store and home for comfort and leisure. This will not only make your store and houses presentable but this will provide a warm feeling for you and your customer.

One of the common mistakes when putting up a business is the lack of landscape lighting. Why spend thousands of dollars for beautiful landscaping to only enjoy it during daytime when the most dramatic time to see your landscaping is at night? Proper landscaping is exceptionally important to showcase your store at its greatest potential. Like they say you never get a second chance to make the first impression. If you will be entertaining guests in your restaurant or store at night and your store do not have enough lighting, you are bound to lose a great opportunity to showcase the value of your service. However, if it is properly lit, it can provide a warmer and more inviting feeling and that would be a much better first impression.

Looking the right gooseneck lighting outdoor fixture can also become a mistake when people choose every small fixtures. Though gooseneck light fixture looks a lot larger in the showroom it is actually smaller when installed outside your store. Remember, a fixture looks about half as big as it does thirty feet away on the street, than it does when you are right next to it.

Do not over lamp your fixtures. This means that do not put in the bulb just because you can. Many of the fixtures are rated for 60 watts bulbs, but 180 watts bulb is much too bright for an outdoor light fixture in general usage. Putting gooseneck light rated for 25 watts or 40 watts maximum is advisable. You can step down to 15 watts because the idea of putting an outdoor fixture is to give warm, soft glow to the front of your building and of course provide security if you have steps. You do not want to blind your customer and you do not want to make it glary. You just want to make your store more inviting as possible.

If I could increase your sale by three percent, would you hire me? What if I offered proof like I will improve your sales for about sixteen percent, would you give me a job? How about a research showing that my work for you will lead to an increase in sales of thirty four percent and some cases over a hundred percent, would you hire me then? Let me make the offer a little more attractive. I will work for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I never call on sick  and I won't steal from you. I'm never late from work. While you are home enjoying your family, I will be out in front of your business communicating with the public attracting eighty percent of the passing mobile market, spending a moment with each potential customer telling him or her who you are and what products and services you offer. I will effectively increase your sales and profits from three percent to over 100 percent in some cases and I will do it all for less that twenty dollars a day. Now, will you hire me? I forgot to tell you, I am a sign.

That's right, a sign and those figures above are real. The University of San Diego conducted a two year study of 187 businesses and their signage. They concluded that adding sign frames and sidewalk signs to your business will increase gross sale by three percent. Now three percent may not sound like much but it could be the difference between the business that is profitable and one that isn't. The right use of signage can increase sales in excess of thirty percent and some areas over 100%. In fact, thirty years of research that in order to grow a successful business you must have an effective signage.

Most people do not value the power of signage. Signs are so common that people take them for granted. In fact the research tells us that if you are like small business owners you are probably thinking of one of these three things.

"My Customers already know where I am."

Research indicates that eighty five percent of your customers live or work within 5 mile radius of your business. But according to the US business bureau, 18.6% of the population relocates every year which means some of the customers do already know where you are, are moving out. Every year you are losing customers and you must replace them with new customers moving in just to break even. If you only want to sustain your business you just maintain your customer base. But if you wanna grow your business, you must increase your customer base. The quickest, easiest and most economical way to track new customer is with signage.

"I already have a sign."

When you already have a sign then you should be ahead of the game. But is it the right kind of sign? Is it visible, conspicuous? More importantly is it effective? Is it working as hard for you as it can? You must answer these questions for you to know how your sign brackets and sign frames promotes your business.

"Can a sign really make a difference?"

Yes, signage is not sexy, not glamorous, it just works! The value of your business is not determined by its location but by the number of people that stop, come inside and do business with you at that location and the main reason they do that is because of your effective signage.

As a suggestion to boost sales 24 hours a day you must make sure that your signage is highlighted everyday, every night. Adding gooseneck light fixture  to your signage can create a great impact to showcase your store to your potential customers. This is a great advertising campaign of promoting your business by spending a little amount of money but giving a vast exposure of your business.

Most people do not think of a sign more than a painted board marking a business location. In ninety percent of all United States retailing, the business sign is the basic link to the public, attracting new customers, branding the business, creating impulse sales. By example one of the most famous food chain in the country has 26 thousands locations spend forty thousand dollars on signage per store, that is one billion forty million dollars worth of signs. Why would fast food restaurant spend so much on signage? Because a one year survey revealed that that forty thousand dollars on signage was responsible for over six hundred thousand dollars in sales. This simply explains that there is an incredible value in signage especially when it is viewed to market a business. When used to over all strategy its full potential can be realized, increasing sales, cutting cost, helping businesses grow. This in turn increase jobs, improve communities, and promote tax revenue for cities.

For almost all businesses the most efficient form of advertising is the on premise sign stands and sidewalk signs. To confirm this, one only has look to the results of what is to our knowledge the largest most extensive and on going survey conducted in sign industry. Over ten years, nearly eight hundred businesses and some twelve thousand customers have been surveyed. These businesses have just installed the new sign and the customer surveyed with them for the first time.

These first time customers were asked, "How did you learn about us?" Almost half, forty five percent said the reason they came to know the business was because of the sign, not newspaper, not radio, not TV but the sign. The significance of this cannot go unnoticed. This is why signage is so important to a retailer. Businesses stand a much greater chance of thriving in a competitive market if they can increase customer based while cutting cost. This is only achieved by adding signage like sign stands and sign frames in the store.

On premise signage is both effective and economical. It is a powerful marketing tool for making the most advertising dollar to reach potential customers.