Quality Signs: The Paramount Importance of Having Great Signage in Your Business
Quality Signs: The Paramount Importance of Having Great Signage in Your Business
Whether you’re using your aluminum signs to market your business, promote sales, help customers find different areas of your store, or for any other purpose, they all share one singular goal: Communication. A great sign is one that gets its point across clearly and concisely, leaving little room for misinterpretation. A great sign will be recognizable and highly visible. A great sign will be able to stand up to UV rays and inclement weather conditions, giving you years of excellent use in any environment. Those are the kinds of signs we sell at American Sign Letters, and we’ll never stoop so low as to cut quality in the name of sales.
The signs we sell fit into five major categories, which of course can then be broken down into hundreds of other subcategories. For now, let’s focus on the major ones:
Safety and Security – These signs are meant to protect your workers, comply with OSHA regulations, provide guidance in the event of an emergency, warn of hazards and predators, and generally protect your greatest investments. These signs come in many different forms, all of which you can find at American Sign Letters. We’ll talk more about this category (and all the rest) and discuss the primary examples of these signs in the paragraphs to follow.
Guidance – Sometimes called “wayfinding” signs by those in the business, directional signs are designed to let visitors and customers know where to find certain areas of a store/restaurant/campground/campus. These signs play an integral part in making a guest feel welcome. As such, this category is also home to signs you hang on the front door of your establishment, setting the right tone for a shopping or dining experience.
Rules – Every business needs rules, and these are the signs you use to communicate them to workers, guests, and anyone else who steps foot on the property. It’s always much easier to enforce the rules of your organization when you have them on display for all to see as they enter the building. These aren’t the flashiest signs in the industry, but they are arguably some of the most important.
Road and Traffic – Local government agencies, private residential communities, and even large businesses need road and traffic signs to keep the streets flowing smoothly. Chaos can ensue when the rules of the road are left to chance; when you employ these signs, you can keep motorists and pedestrians safe.
Access – There are areas of every business where customers should simply not be. The same may pertain to school campuses, campgrounds, and any other organization. It’s important to have signs that define the rules of access. This includes signs that address matters of accessibility, which include those mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Now that we have a broad overview of the major sign categories, let’s take a deeper dive into each one while we talk about some of the major industries that can put these signs to their maximum use!
MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS
Business Signs
Of all the major industries we sell to, this one is the broadest of all. We simply call them “business signs” because they are useful across the commercial spectrum. These signs encompass many of the categories mentioned above as well as some that we didn’t mention, such as promotions and marketing. Specific examples could include signs that post your company’s hours, signs that encourage customers to set an appointment, and signs that lead people into your store. No business is complete without quality signage; this category is the place to get the ones you need.
Gym Signs
As far as businesses go, a good gym is one of the most unique of them all. As such, it requires an entirely different category of signage that addresses the specific needs of a fitness center. Gym Signs run the gamut from safety and respect (such as signs reminding guests to re-rack their weights) to health and cleanliness (reminding guests to wipe down the machines). Some gyms even take advantage of custom sign options to blanket their facilities with effective branding.
Like gyms and businesses, schools are sufficiently unique as to need a category of signage catered just to them. The area surrounding a school campus is a particularly important space for good signage; when you have young children mixing with traffic, the need for safe driving signs is paramount. Of course, signs are also needed on campus to help students find their way to class, remind them of the rules, and much more.
Store Signs
Perhaps the most common type of business, the store is the lifeblood of the American economy. It is where Americans go to procure the goods they need, the ones they want, and the ones they want others to have. However common this style of business is, however, the ability to run a successful one is rare indeed. While Store Signs won’t take a failing retail outlet and turn it into the next Walmart, they can make for a more pleasant shopping and working experience for everyone involved – and that’s no small matter!
Restaurant Signs
Nearly as ubiquitous in the 21st century as stores, restaurants can be found dotting the landscape in any town in America. And unlike stores, restaurants don’t have to worry (as much) about competition from cyberspace. The dining out experience has been sharply disrupted in recent years, which makes the need for terrific Restaurant Signs that much stronger. Any establishment that survived the pandemic will need excellent signage going forward if they hope to compete in one of the most competitive markets in history.
SAFETY & SECURITY
Emergency Signs
No business wants to put their limited budget towards hypothetical scenarios that may or may not ever happen. Not when there’s no little profit to be made and so much marketing to be done! Unfortunately, safety and security signs are a must for any business, and that includes Emergency Signs that function as a beacon in the midst of a crisis. The Emergency Signs carried at American Sign Letters cover a wide array of potential disasters: Fire, flood, hurricane, chemical spill, and much more. The wise organization will invest in these signs, because you never know when an emergency will strike.
Covid-19 Signs
As we write this in March 2022, there is a lot of optimism about the possibility of finally – finally – moving past the pandemic and back into something resembling long-term normalcy. We’ll see if that optimism is well-founded soon enough, but in the meantime, there is still a need for businesses to invest in COVID-19 signs. It will be a long time before every American is fully comfortable doing away with masks, social distancing, curbside pickup, and other precautions. To signal to those customers that you take public health seriously, these signs are a must.
Construction Signs
When construction is in progress, dangers lurk for workers and customers alike. Every business should have a collection of Construction Signs on hand to warn visitors of the hazards they may encounter when entering certain areas of the building. These signs need to be bright, concise, and recognizable to maximize effectiveness. These signs can also be useful for the parking lot and surrounding roads, where drivers may need to take additional precautions to find their way onto the property.
GUIDANCE
Bathroom Signs
Whether you run a store, a restaurant, a gym, or a school, chances are that you have public bathrooms on-site for visitors and workers. As such, it’s important to outfit your restrooms with Bathroom Signs that relay rules and accessibility information, as well as signage that helps customers actually find the facilities once they’re inside your establishment. This can all be done affordably and professionally using the Bathroom Signs sold at American Sign Letters, so don’t hesitate to peruse our stock today.
Front Door Signs
If there is one minor category of signage that no business can afford to skimp on, this would be the one. Front Door Signs are a customer’s first encounter with the quality of your service, and they can make a big impression on a first-time visitor. It’s important to make sure that impression is a good one, so purchasing professional signage is a must. These signs are also extremely useful – from denoting business hours to providing instructions to customers and delivery people, Front Door Signs are an essential communication tool.
Campground Guide Signs
Few places require guidance signs more crucially than parks and campgrounds. These places often sit at the juncture between civilization and “the wild,” making it all the more important for visitors to know the rules, pitfalls, emergency routes, and trail names surrounding them. It’s very easy for a first-time camper to get lost or injured without the proper guidance, which is why these Campground Guide Signs are so necessary. Post these up throughout your park, and you’ll get an immediate return on your investment.
RULES
Prohibition Signs
Every business will have a list of dos and don’ts for guests to follow, and it’s probably a very similar list for the vast majority of companies. Very few employers will encourage their workers to bring drugs or alcohol onto the premises, for instance (though it may still be important to have signs up making the point clear). In other cases, Prohibition Signs may be needed to point out prohibited things and behaviors that aren’t so obvious. These could include a No Pets mandate, a No Cell Phone Use rule, or the always-popular – No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service sign. Use Prohibition Signs to make it clear what your business, park, school, or hospital will not tolerate.
These technically fall within the broader category of prohibition signs, but it is such a significant subcategory that we felt it deserved a special mention. Prohibiting food and drink is of priority importance in many different scenarios. For the average office, it may simply be to cut down on ants and low productivity. For a campground, it could mean preventing attacks from the surrounding wildlife. For a laboratory, it may mean protecting the chemicals from corruption. We’re Americans – we’re used to snacking on the go – but that doesn’t mean that food and/or drink is always appropriate. Use these signs to make your policy clear.
No Trespassing Signs
Perhaps the ultimate rule surrounding any property regards the owner’s right to forbid unauthorized entry. This is as important for an organization as it is for a private homeowner, and the importance only grows when it is difficult to distinguish your property from what might be considered public land. With No Trespassing Signs, you can make it perfectly clear to any would-be intruder that they are entering private property and will encounter consequences if they proceed. These signs are an essential aspect of any security plan.
ROAD & TRAFFIC
Stop Signs
From local government agencies to highway authorities to private landowners, anyone whose job entails providing for safe motor vehicle passage must invest in high-quality Stop Signs. If speed limit signs, curve ahead signs, and yield signs are the seasoning for a coherent traffic control strategy, the Stop Sign is the main course. They are used by schools, large parking lots, private residential communities, and more. American Sign Letters is proud to offer some of the most effective Stop Signs in the industry, so please stop by when you need this essential road & traffic sign.
Speed Hump Signs
When it comes to traffic control devices, few are as effective as the mighty speed hump. While a gentler solution than its abrupt speed bump cousin, the hump is still quite effective when it comes to keeping vehicles under a certain speed. At the same time, these humps can damage suspensions and vehicle undersides if drivers are not properly warned of their existence. You don’t want to incur a lawsuit for your troubles in slowing down area traffic, so make sure your traffic control devices are properly labeled with Speed Hump Signs.
Parking Lot Signs
One of the largest categories of signage in this broader spectrum of “road and traffic” signs is this one: Parking Lot Signs. They are of absolute importance if you run a business of any significant size. With them, you can help slow down area traffic, reserve spaces for specific types of people, control the flow of cars, and make sure your property is a safe place for all who visit. A customer’s first impression is being formed as soon as they pull into your parking lot, so you’ll want to invest in high-quality signs that impart the style and professionalism you want your business to reflect. Very important!
ACCESS
Keep Door Closed Signs
When it comes to many of the signs in this article, we’re talking about signage that can benefit a business or organization by making the property friendlier, more secure, and more welcoming to visitors and customers. However, access signs are about more than that: In many cases, they are about complying with the law. Such is often the case when talking about Keep Door Closed Signs. While there are privacy and other considerations that may require the use of these signs, their primary use is in keeping hazardous and flammable chemicals in a safe room, where explosions and fires can be contained. An essential sign for any business that keeps such liquids on hand.
Employees Only Signs
There are very few businesses in the country that don’t have at least one or two Employees Only Signs hanging up in the building. Their popularity is only matched by their usefulness. By limiting certain areas of your business to employee use, you can accomplish several things at once. One, you can improve security by making sure you don’t have sticky-fingered thieves wandering where they don’t belong. Two, you can preserve your privacy, which may include sensitive materials or industry secrets that you don’t want falling into the hands of the competition. And three, you can ensure the safety of your customers and avoid a fatal lawsuit should someone get injured in a place they shouldn’t have been to begin with.
ADA Signs
At last, we come to our final sign today: ADA Signs. Required by the Americans With Disabilities Act, these signs promote and provide greater access for customers and workers with disabilities. It’s not just important from a customer service standpoint to have these signs on hand; it’s the law. Federal inspectors can issue substantial fines when handicapped access is not up to par, so every business should make sure they are following the codes and regulations that apply to them. When you purchase your ADA Signs from American Sign Letters, you’ll know that you’re living up to both the spirit and letter of the law.
