Onsite store sign is more effective than TV advertising

How can an onsite store sign bring more business than TV advertising?

You have an opportunity to get TV advertising that will be broadcast in a tri-county area. It will cost $1000. You turn it down. Next you get a quote for a store sign that will cost you $900 and you quickly agree. Why in the world would you make that choice? You will get your advertising out to more people with the TV advertising. For $100 more you can reach many more people! Your accountant may be having to do breathing exercises to slow his pulse. Is there a reason you made this decision? Let's a take a look at some facts and see if this was the wise choice.

Who will see your commercial that won't see your store sign?

That's an interesting question. Picture this, there are many families sitting around the TV watching the same TV show in this 3 county area. They are laughing and talking and watching the show and making comments. Now your commercial comes up on the TV. It is a very well made commercial and has all the key elements an advertising agency would recommend. But what about the audience? Some will get up to grab a snack and never see the commercial. Several phones will ring and someone will jump up to answer it. A certain number will watch the commercial, but how many of them will be your target audience? The Small Business Administration has noted that 85% of a businesses sales comes from consumers within a 5 mile radius. How many of the people watching that commercial are within a 5 mile area and how many of those are your target audience? And so the $1000 that you spent on the TV spot may not bring in $1000 worth of business.

Will the cost of your store sign really be a good investment?

Again we look to the SBA, and find that they state "good signage can make the difference between the success and failure of a business" Maybe they are on to something. When you have an onsite store sign it has a number of functions. It identifies your place of business of course, but it is also a sales person as well as a marketing tool. A store sign doesn't just tell your business name, it promotes an image and creates interest. Both are key factors of marketing. A store sign will result in 50% of the total sales of a store, according to the SBA. When you consider a store sign, you are considering a long term investment. If you purchase a 3 month run of TV ads, and they bring in a trickle of customers, imagine what outdoor signage that will remain year after year will do for you.

If we look at the facts as stated above we can see that choosing the store sign was the better choice. A store sign can be an identifier, a marketing tool and a sales person all in one. We'll leave the TV advertising to someone who has money to waste.