You’re a What? Job Titles of the Future

May 16, 2013 Branding, From The Trenches, Increase Revenue, Marketing, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments

Handsome Young Businessman Pointing To Name Tag - IsolatedWouldn’t it be awesome to have a business card that reads, “Director, Ethical Hacking”? Or how about “Knowledge Sorceress”? Maybe “VP of Happiness”? These are just a few possible Job Titles of the Future, according to a list curated by Fast Company magazine. But social media creatives match them, with heartfelt Twitter profiles such as Chief Inspiration Officer, Quantum Navigator and Compassionologist.

If you’re looking to hire the most forward-thinking talent this year, why not put the question on a banner advertising your company’s job opening? For example, “We need a tech + HR whiz. Name your job title.”

The shifting sands of global demographics suggest numerous intriguing possibilities. How about AAA? Not the auto club of America; the Administrator of Aging Affairs. With Boomers graying the workforce as well as the world at large, there’ll be a need for managers who understand their value and unique contributions.

And given both the rising age of the workforce and the growing focus on employee wellness, perhaps a CPA is in order — that’s Cardio-Pulmonary Assessment Manager, “accounting” for the heart health of your team and creating catchy rewards programs, such as Reach Into The Well, which allows employees who’ve met wellness goals to retrieve coupons good for healthy meals at local restaurants and a “walk day” off (an extra vacation day they can use to engage in any health-promoting activity).

Just think of the custom license plates the job titles of the future might inspire. Who knows, these new titles could impel prospective hires to follow drivers right to your business’s front door! Now that’s an easy way to recruit.

What’s Your Story? Customers’ Values

May 10, 2013 Branding, From The Trenches, Increase Revenue, Marketing, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments

Were you a Cinderella and Snow White kind of kid? Or an adventure-loving child who preferred the evil queen or wicked stepmother because they were so (predictably) scary? Human beings are natural storytellers — and what we value affects the “signs” we carry.

This intriguing infographic from Zenzi.com shows how our values predict the stories we choose. Zenzi, a communications firm, explains how we can leverage this values research to better inform companies about consumer engagement. “A good marketing campaign is one that doesn’t feel like someone is trying to sell you something, but rather highlights shared goals.”

The study found that “people who value Power, Achievement, Spirituality, Tradition, Conformity, and Security seem to prefer stories that are closer to them, which they can relate to. In contrast, individuals who value Universalism, Self-Direction, Stimulation and Hedonism report a greater preference for stories that provide more of an escape from their everyday existence.”

vacationHow does this affect the signage you choose? If your business focuses on escape (a vacation destination, for example), your sandwich boards and vehicle magnets should rightly evoke self-direction and stimulation: “The trip of a lifetime” or “Better than windsurfing. Try THIS!” With vibrant colors and head-turning logo or graphics, you’ll capture the attention of consumers whose values match your business values.

On the other hand, someone who prefers tradition and conformity would likely find a quaint bed and breakfast nestled amid oak trees in a picturesque town much more appealing. The tastefully done vinyl banner reads “Welcome Home!” and the discreet yard sign promises, “Country breakfast just like Mom’s — maybe even better!”

So know your customers’ values, and you can create signs that speak straight to the stories they hold most dear.

Animal Instincts: Creative Advertising

May 3, 2013 Branding, Marketing, Real Estate, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs No comments

iStock_000019374791XSmallPeople who have pets tend to really love their animals. Really, really love them. So much so that they often make a photo of their cat or dog a screen saver for their laptop or cell phone. You know who you are.

Two techie cat lovers decided to take their feline fondness to the next level when they created this font generator, which, though you may do a doubletake, is comprised entirely of images of the founders’ two cats! We looked for a disclaimer, “Do not try this at home,” but couldn’t find one. Which set us to thinking…

While animal antics may not be ideal for your online or 3D marketing materials, they could be rather eye-catching on a sign. Imagine a real estate sign touting, “Home Sweet Home!” with a simple word — say, the word “Home,” or your business name, if it’s simple — spelled out in kitty graphics. Not only will this creative advertising be unique among other real estate signage; any prospective clients who are also cat lovers will no doubt feel an instant kinship (or is that catnip?). Super Cheap Signs can even help you design it, if you provide images of Muffy or Spot.

Now, if your companion animal is a bit more exotic, perhaps a pet python or iguana, it might still lend itself to a creative and eye-catching sign. You just may want to think twice about using your pet’s image to promote your business — depending, of course, on the type of clientele you hope to attract. For a tattoo parlor, the serpentine motif could be perfect.

The ‘Elation’ in Relationship: Customer Closeness

April 26, 2013 Branding, Increase Revenue, Marketing, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments
Remember the bond you are cultivating with your customers and they will keep coming back!

Remember the bond you are cultivating with your customers and they will keep coming back!

You’ve heard the maxim is, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Taking it a step further, we might say, it’s not who you know, it’s how you connect. People like to do business with people they like.

To create this kind of relationship — not just with customers but with staff, vendors, and business associates — consider the following steps:

  • Give Your All. Your customers deserve your absolute best, in terms of attitude, service, products, and follow-up. We pride ourselves on customer service at Super Cheap Signs, so we know whereof we speak. First, make sure a potential customer is the right fit for your business: someone whom you can cheerfully and completely serve for years to come. If not, think about referring them to someone else in your field that might be able to serve them better. This builds tremendous goodwill that can come back to you as business in unexpected ways.
  • Go for Synergy. You’re seeking long-term customer closeness, not a one-time sale. What forms of mutual exchange are possible with this prospect? Can she refer you to other businesses that may need your services, for example, or introduce you to influential people at the Chamber, Rotary Club, and other organizations where you could give a presentation on your business?
  • Align with Allies. Do you admire the mission and values of the companies you’re seeking to do business with? Can you support their business approach? Your comfort level is critical to stellar service delivery; it’s difficult to conduct business with a client whose integrity you question or whose tactics you eschew. At Super Cheap Signs, for example, we align with a select group of carefully chosen partners in order to enhance our customer experience by offering extended product lines that focus on specific business needs.
  • Exceed expectations. Going the extra mile may be a tired phrase, but the principle is perennial. Once you’ve formed an alliance with a new customer, deliver more than agreed upon. If you can personalize that extra touch, so much the better. Perhaps you deliver a “goody basket”, except instead of fruit it contains full color vinyl decals, embossed with their company logo. Use your imagination to come up with an idea that is neither expected nor required, and that’s guaranteed to delight.

Selling Your Home? Make It Shine!

April 18, 2013 Branding, Marketing, Real Estate, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs No comments

Cleaning. Few of us like to do it, yet we seem more willing to spiff up our house for others than for ourselves. Housekeeper due to arrive? Quick, toss those dirty clothes in the hamper! In-laws invited for dinner? Polish the silver and run the vacuum!

So your selling your home? Pull out all the stops. Take an old toothbrush to the grout! Replace the kitchen linoleum! Should we paint the exterior?

We encourage you to enjoy a clean, comfortable house while you own it — and take all available measures to make it shine for a quick sale at the right price.

Besides a thorough indoor sprucing up, you’ll want to make your home shine on the market. Here are some key steps to take:

  • Aluminum real estate signs. Aluminum signs last for years, look terrific, and are available in a wide range of sizes to suit your needs and real estate market.
  • Corrugated plastic yard signs. Durable and portable, corrugated plastic real estate yard signs are a tried-and-true way to advertise your beautiful home for sale.
  • InfoPak. Place all the information prospective buyers need to be sold on your home in one easy-to-use, recyclable holder, right on your lawn. Holds up to 200 brochures!
  • Car magnets. If you’re “driven” to sell your home quickly, shout it from your car — not literally, but with an eye-catching, removable car magnet. Put all the pertinent info on your car magnet, attach to your door, drive about town, and voilà: your house-for-sale reaches hundreds of pairs of eyes easily.
Your hard work and intelligent advertising will turn into a big payoff!

Your hard work and intelligent advertising will turn into a big payoff!

When you’re ready to move on, aluminum real estate signs, corrugated plastic signs, InfoPaks and car magnets are some of the best ways to make your home for sale stand out from the crowd. They might even impress your mother-in-law … when the house sells for a great price.

Real Estate: Get Ready to Move!

April 11, 2013 Branding, Marketing, Real Estate, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments

Question: How is real estate like a Zumba class?

Answer: Spring is a super time to move!

And while the sign of someone who’s Zumba-ready is a spandex-clad body and athletic shoes, real estate signs can range from basic yard signs to big directionals to super creative car magnets. The key isn’t just the signage you choose, but how you use it.

So you’re ready to move: Selling a home involves a great deal of time, thought and effort. If a real estate agent or broker is handling the listing, one of their first tasks is creating and placing a real estate yard sign on the property that states the agent’s or broker’s contact information. (If a party is selling the home directly, the sign will usually state, “For Sale by Owner”.)

Simple informative and concise always helps sell homes!

Simple, informative and concise always helps sell homes!

Next comes sign content. Most critical: the name and phone number of the contact person — unless the sign is advertising an upcoming open house, in which case the sign should state the open house date, time and location (if the sign is placed elsewhere than on the property for sale). And while it can be tempting to create a colorful sign, what’s most eye-catching is a real estate sign that uses only two colors, such as red on a white background on blue on a white background, both of which are easy to read. Red is deemed most effective for attracting potential buyers.

Real estate yard sign placement strategies

Once you’ve created your real estate sign(s), placement is crucial. You may want to use multiple signs, depending on where the home is situated. For a house located mid-block, a single sign facing the street will be noticeable to people driving by from either direction. For wider properties, or those where the home is set far back from the road, we recommend placing a real estate yard sign at each end of the property.

For corner lots, place signs on both perpendicular streets to attract traffic traveling the main road and side street. For country properties that may be far from the beaten path, add spinner signs or big directional signs to attract the attention your property deserves.

Finally, let the web bring you buyers. Today most real estate firms offer a virtual tour of featured homes on their website, so potential buyers can get a sense of their new home before ever setting foot on the property.

Home Sweet Home Services

March 21, 2013 Branding, From The Trenches, Home Services, Increase Revenue, Marketing, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments
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Winter has passed and people are ready to fix up their homes…make sure they know that you’re the right company for the job!

The winter weather is abating at last, and that means homeowners’ minds will turn to: fixin’ up the house! It seems to be something in the air: as soon as the leaves begin to bud and spring beckons, people are ripe for remodeling. Which means it’s the season for home services: contractors, roofers, house painters, construction companies, landscapers, all — come feast at the banquet of new business.

Of course, your first step is letting potential customers know you exist. One of the smartest ways to do this is by placing a lawn sign on the property of a current client while you’re working on their home. Ask if they’d mind a small, tasteful sign that lets the neighbors know what you offer. If the client doesn’t want a yard sign left on the lawn overnight you could take it with you each afternoon when you leave.

Here are a few tips for creating eye-catching, customer-pleasing lawn signs and bandit signs:

  • Color me appealing. Even if your personal taste runs more to chartreuse or neon, it’s best to stick with tried-and-true colors for advertising your business. Use your company colors, ideally no more than two: red and blue, blue and gold, or a single color on white are all excellent color combinations for your home service yard signs or bandit signs.
  • Just the facts, Ma’am. Keep the information basic: the name of your company, what you do, and contact information. If your company name describes the business (e.g., Jackson Construction, Lawson Bros. Landscaping) all you’ll need to add is a phone number.

    Keep it simple.

    Keep it simple.

  • Make it sturdy. Just like your good work, our plastic yard signs are built to last. Corrugated plastic is a lightweight, weather-resistant material that performs admirably under adverse conditions. You’ll be able to re-use the yard signs you create for years to come.
  • One size doesn’t fit all. While standard yard signs are 18×24″, our signs come in eight different sizes. So again, think about what will best suit the information you need to include, as well as placement and portability, and select the size that fits your unique home services business needs.

We wish you a successful year — that’s a sign of the times!

Stickers: Marketing That Sticks

March 15, 2013 Branding, From The Trenches, Increase Revenue, Marketing, Sign How-Tos, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments

Sticky is great for candy — as long as the candy is in someone’s mouth and not on the sofa. New wheels may give us sticker shock. And nobody likes getting into sticky situations. But we’re sure you’ll love Super Cheap Signs’ stickers, which are a fun way to create marketing messages that stick — and stick around.

Stickers are a cost-effective way to promote your message in almost any location. Ours come in three varieties: premium cut vinyl, bumper stickers, and decals. Cut vinyl includes logos or graphics and text, imprinted on top-quality, 4mm glossy PVC vinyl. It makes our stickers look sharp and last a long time. We even provide step-by-step instructions for sticker application. NOTE: If your stickers are larger than 12″ x 18″ we highly recommend professional installation for best results.

Our stickers are a tried-and-true low cost marketing tool! Stick your message anywhere!

Our stickers are a tried-and-true low-cost marketing tool! Stick your message anywhere!

But maybe you want to tour your message while on the road. You might have already invested in one of our car magnets, which turn any vehicle into a rolling billboard. Or perhaps you simply want to promote your business or cause to the thousands of cars that will be traveling behind you in a given week. Bumper stickers are the way to go. Economical, full color, digitally printed on white vinyl with UV-cured inks for long-lasting, fade-proof results, our bumper stickers are an incredibly affordable, fun way to get your message across.

Bumper stickers have a close cousin in vinyl decals, which are so affordable you can have them on hand as giveaways for kids when the adults they accompany are making a purchase. Or just to woo customers in the door. We can even create custom size decals and bumper stickers, by the sheet or individually.

So get your promotional engine unstuck with unique stickers that suit your business needs. It’s marketing that sticks.

Color Us Successful: Choosing The Right Color

March 7, 2013 Branding, Increase Revenue, Marketing, Sign How-Tos, signs, Super Cheap Signs, Uncategorized No comments

When it comes to signage most of us tend to think about the type of sign we need (yard sign, directional sign, car magnet etc.), the wording, the design, and of course, where we’ll place the sign. But how often do we pay close attention to the colors we use, other than making sure what we select is visible to a driver at 55 mph?

Choosing the right color is critical because it sends a marketing message that affects your prospective customers on a subconscious level. Pastels, for instance, are calming and subtle. That’s why hospitals generally paint the walls a pale yellow or mint green. Babies’ clothing usually comes in sweet pastel colors because pastels also tend to impart a new, young, growing energy. Children’s toys, by contrast, are often created in bold primary colors: reds, blues and vibrant yellows designed to grab and hold the attention of young children.

Every color has multiple associations that also vary culturally. Here are some examples of color connotations:

ColorPick

Colors can be VERY important in the world of signage; Take care to choose colors that compliment your message!

Red – love, enthusiasm, action, aggression, anger, sex

Orange – warmth, energy, fun, flamboyant (it’s also the most controversial color)

Yellow – mentally stimulating, memory activating, optimism, happiness

Green – peace, relaxing, renewal, harmony, abundance

Blue – trustworthy, dependable, committed, calming

Purple – uplifting, spiritual, royal, creativity

Brown – organic, earthy, natural, orderly, stability

Black – authoritative, powerful, sophisticated, mysterious

White – purity, neutrality, cleanliness, mental clarity, fresh beginnings

Gray – timeless, practical, solid, expectant

Gold – prestige, expensive, warm, powerful, masculine

Silver – cool, scientific, prestigious, feminine

Which is the right color for your signage? It depends on the type of product or service you provide, and your target audience. For instance, if you sell toys, as mentioned above, bright colors will work for the merchandise itself, though you might want to select slightly more restrained color choices for your marketing materials, since your target audience for the purchase is going to be an adult. You can still use bright colors, just fewer of them! High contrast colors such as yellow and blue work best on signage — and send a positive message of stimulating, dependable toys that will enhance your child’s memory and happiness.

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