Having a sign might be a major leap forward for your marketing efforts—but that doesn’t mean it will transform your company overnight. You have to work with the right sign people. More importantly, you have to have a plan. Here are some ways to solve common problems with most business signage plans:

Problem #1: Your sign isn’t getting enough attention.

This is the most common problem out there—and it’s usually because business owners don’t take the extra steps to ensure that their sign will get noticed. Whether your sign is buried behind something literally blocking it or it’s simply being blocked out due to the prevalence of other signs in the area that look similar, you’ve got to do something to ensure that first and foremost your sign is actually getting read. And to accomplish that, you’ve got to take action.

Solution: Take some time to look at other signs in the area. Try to pick out two or three that really stand out to you—and then write down the principles that make those signs stand out so well. Are they offering something? Do they have better visual contrast against their environment? Is the raw size of the signs what gets your attention? Put yourself in your potential customer’s shoes and see what comes to mind.

Problem #2: Your sign isn’t inspiring enough sales.

The most obvious problem you’ll have is when you create a sign meant to promote a certain product…and then that product doesn’t sell. What gives? You took the extra time and effort to promote this product and you can’t even get people to notice it?

Solution: You have to give the customer something worth looking into your new promotion. You have to make it worth their while. One valuable bit of marketing from Robert Cialdini’s masterpiece “Persuasion” says that if you give out something with no strings attached, you’ll tend to attract more customers. Try giving out free samples on your sign—even if you offer a service, try giving out free “coupons” for a brief, free moment of that service. There’s nothing that grabs customer attention quite like the word “free.”

Problem #3: Attention isn’t converting into sales.

There’s an old word for this: a sales funnel. If you want to grab attention, that’s great, but you have to have a plan for what happens when your customers set their foot in the door.

Solution: Think about the next step. Write up a basic script for people who call up your business because they saw your sign and be sure to direct them to what the next steps might be for them as well. If you don’t have these in mind, then you’ll want to reconsider the entire campaign in general.

Making sure you get the most out of your sign doesn’t have to be rocket science. Simply find the areas in which you can improve and ask yourself, “if I were a potential customer, what would move me?” Once you put yourself in their shoes, you’re sure to succeed. And if not, you can always contact Sign It Quick for more help.