A Guide to Successful Signage for Your Franchise

There are hundreds of decisions that go into growing and managing a successful franchise. With multiple locations in a number of areas, it’s important to make sure that each one represents the quality and consistency of your brand. Signage for your franchise locations is often one of the most critical decisions because it is the first thing people see and associate with your brand.

When it comes to attracting attention, sometimes a well-designed, old-fashioned sign can be your best bet. Here are a few statistics that speak into the value of successful signage for your franchise:

• A well-placed sign can expose local consumers to your brand about 50 to 60 times per month. (Source)
• The value of one on-site sign equals 24 full-page print ads per year. (Source)
• 3 out of 5 people acknowledge that they’ve driven past a business they were looking for because the signage was too small or unclear. (Source)

Bottom Line: Striking signage is critical for the overall success of any franchise. Not only does it capture the attention of those who know your brand, but it also introduces your business to people who might later become customers.

Priority #1: Attention-Grabbing Design

First-and-foremost, you want to design your sign in a way that ensures it gets noticed. This doesn’t mean creating some wacky, obnoxious design. Sometimes, simpler is better. When it comes to choosing the right exterior sign for your business, franchisors should be focused on maintaining brand consistency, while ensuring that the signage stands out and looks great.

Priority #2: Consistency Across Each Location

When it comes to branding best practices for your franchise, consistency is everything. You want people to recognize one of your locations and be able to immediately associate it with another. This is why creating brand standards and corporate identity packages for your franchise is so important. These become the foundational principles for signage, even if the size and structure are different at each location.

Priority #3: A Partner Who Knows Your Brand

While consistency is important, not every location nor market is exactly the same. In many cases, franchisors run into signage problems because of certain restrictions imposed by local townships or property landlords. This is one reason why it is beneficial to use one sign company for all your franchise locations. Having a partner who understands your brand makes it easier to develop variations of your signage, especially if you’re forced to design different shapes, sizes, or illuminated and non-illuminated signs.

Priority #4: A Simple & Scalable Process

As a franchise owner, it’s in your best interest to make everything as easy as possible for your various franchise locations. This is another reason why working with one vendor is advantageous. A national sign and print partner for franchises can help you manage all the details for each location and streamline the process for both the franchisor and franchisees.