Getting Ahead of the Game

Over the last few years, many physical stores and high street businesses have faded away and changed in order to fit with the more modern world.

UK high streets would typically be filled with various types of retail stores and businesses that would serve customers over the counter and on the phone, displaying products through physical catalogues or in-store samples.

In 2023, print and sign companies are more commonly found in business parks and industrial estates with simple reception areas to greet partners and big clients.

The physical experience for customers and clients when visiting a business is still hugely important and a big part of business, however, equally as important is a company’s online presence.

High street businesses and stores still have their place, but as buying habits change, so too do our high streets. In-store experiences have become very important and certain industries simply rely on customers due to the face-to-face interactions they offer.

However, that being said, a website can be someone’s first experience of your company and paint the way they see and think about your business.

Many businesses operate entirely with online stores and offer a set range of products in specific volumes and sizes. Print can often find itself more commonly offered in this way, but in many cases an online store might not be the best solution for certain types of signage.

Due to the fact fabricated signage is bespoke, it is down to your website to showcase your capabilities and services when a potential customer considers using your company.

Therefore, web-to-signage isn’t a clear-cut path. Products and substrates can be offered online while more straightforward or personalised solutions can lend themselves to online stores.

Bigger projects and more bespoke signage requires a lot more information and communication to be executed correctly. If communication and expectations are not clear, customers can be left disappointed due to a lack of understanding or information.

Due to the many elements of creating a big sign or print project, an online portfolio, gallery, or case studies can be the perfect way to ‘sell your product’. A less direct way of selling online, but an online experience nonetheless.

With all this in mind, we hear from professionals in the industry who advise on the best ways to make your online presence work for you. 

What’s Right For You?

One of the strongest elements of the signage industry is the collaboration that takes place within it.

 
Businesses can work together to achieve the best for their customers and in turn empower them to become masters of what they do best.

A business that continuously works with other businesses is The Sign Group which supplies trade signage for the sign, display, and point-of-sale industries.

Managing director Grey Hoole, says: “We work closely with sign companies, contractors, designers, and architects to bring their signage visions to life. We're all about making businesses stand out from the crowd and doing so with a smile on our face.”

Discussing the importance of online growth, Hoole comments: “It is incredibly important for companies to establish and expand their online store and web presence in today's digital age. It allows businesses to reach a wider audience, attract new customers, and provide convenient access to their products or services.

“In the signage industry, an online store/website serves as a platform to showcase offerings, demonstrate capabilities, and streamline the ordering process.”

Grey Hoole, managing director of The Sign Group gives his advice on starting your display business and reaching new audiences:

Growing or expanding your business is a long game. It’s important to have that mindset before you start.

For most businesses it starts with the website. It is the place where you want every interaction with a potential customer to end up. Whether that's from a social post, email marketing, or traditional advertisement, the website is where you want them to end up. For this to happen, there are three critical things that need to be set up at the beginning.

1. Your website - a user-friendly website that is up to date and has some personality

2. A way of communicating with customers suc as an email marketing program

3. Your audience - a database of potential customers

Building an audience has to be in the thought process for every interaction you have. Whether that's an easy form for them to sign-up to a newsletter on your website, a link to a sign-up page on your email footer, or simply asking people during conversations. Building that database is crucial, and remember:

• Whilst building the database, you want to make sure your website is current, user-friendly, and has some personality. The better the information is on the website, the more likely it will be that people will stick around and have a look at your business.

• Simple emailing software is pretty cheap nowadays, and you don't need anything fancy to start with. Using something like Mailchimp will be fine as a stepping stone until you start looking at more complex marketing strategies.

Once you have these things running, your database will grow, visitors to your site will grow, and you'll have more opportunities to quote and sell.

Rob Finnie, commercial director at Nettl agrees, adding: “It’s your shop window to the world. It’s an essential element of your brand identity and provides a vital opportunity to create the right impression before customers have even spoken to you. Thousands of potential customers are searching online for local businesses and without a website, businesses will lose out.”

The company has around 200 co-brand locations in the country and 100 more placed around the globe. Finnie states: “We win new clients online, we sell online, and we help other SMEs grow online too.” 

Commenting on the suitability of online stores for different businesses, Finnie says: “If objectives are clear, expectations are realistic, and the ‘thing’ being sold is suitable for an online purchase, then an online store can certainly fit different businesses in this industry.”

Despite his encouragement Finnie also emphasises his point about, suitability, adding: “If what you’re selling isn’t suitable for an online purchase then don’t expect to sell many. I think this is definitely prevalent for signage. Lead with your fixed products for online sales, and then focus on how to best utilise your online presence for reducing internal admin burden of other key services.

“Make the client’s journey easier rather than just relying on e-commerce. This can happen by enabling them to obtain online quotes, book surveys, make payments, send files, and manage project timelines.”

Despite the convenience of shopping online it’s easy to forget that the process of creating that experience is far more complicated than some may think. But the steps to building an effective online platform shouldn’t put you off.

Hoole comments: “Embrace the digital world with open arms. When adding an e-commerce platform to your site, make it as user-friendly as possible. Showcase your signage with captivating visuals and descriptions that make customers go, ‘Wow, I need that!’ And don't forget to provide the type of customer support that'll make customers happy and come back for more.”

Discussing the balance of digital and physical interactions, Hoole adds: “Be mindful of maintaining that personal touch, even in the virtual world. Embrace technology to provide exceptional customer support and ensure timely communication. But remember, just like a well-crafted sign, it takes time and effort to find the right balance between online and offline interactions.”

Finnie agrees, circling back to his earlier point about the suitability of e-commerce, he says: “We expect to be able to do everything online in this day and age. Because of this, e-commerce seems the obvious thing sign and wide-format businesses should do. But it’s important to think deeper than that. It’s about enabling self-service.

“Sure, it’s nice when people do stuff for us, but the truth is, that doesn’t always suit us. We’re living in a world of instant gratification. We don’t like waiting; we all want things right now. Enabling your clients to do more things for themselves online is more important than ever before.”

Finnie and Hoole’s comments make it clear that easy options are not always the best solution when setting up an online presence for your products.

If a website or online store isn’t regularly maintained or updated then this can have a negative impact on how you present your business to others. Due to this, establishing your online solution isn’t a one-time job, but an essential piece of maintenance like any other component of your business.

Avoiding Pitfalls

As with any new task, it’s easy to make mistakes along the way. As previously mentioned, a website or online store is a window to your business, so it’s crucial to make as many early errors before your digital platform goes live.

As previously mentioned by Hoole, customer service is key, along with the ability to spot mistakes and quickly fix them.

“Do more than just look pretty,” says Finnie, adding: “User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are super important and require a lot of planning. People don’t like hard things, meaning if a website is difficult then they’ll be more likely to bounce to the next one. Especially as there’s plenty of companies and websites to choose from.

“Being easy to use and good looking is important, however, think about the websites you’ve used in the last week or so. Chances are, you’ve done more than just read stuff. You’ve probably interacted with the sites in some way.”

Finnie highlights the experiences customers have when undertaking tasks like buying shoes or booking restaurant tables. The convenience of these acts along with the day-to-day necessities like bank transfers, quote calculations, questionnaires, and grocery shopping means people want simple to understand answers and solutions.

“When it comes to offering a bespoke service online, keep things light and fun,” adds Hoole, who suggests clearly communicating the customisation options available to customers.

“Make it easy for customers to bring their unique vision to life. Use visuals and descriptions to spark their imagination and get them excited about the possibilities,” he continues, adding: “And remember, bespoke is all about that personal touch, so keep the communication channels open and be ready to collaborate.”

When it comes to the potential technical pitfalls of operating online, as well as the admin that comes with it, Finnie says: “The reality is that productisation is a challenge. Instant quotes and online transactions require full productisation and merchandising of your whole range which is going to take you quite some time.”

Finnie’s advice is to start with simple products and save complex quotation processes for employees in the business.

“Manage your own expectations. Split your budget. Sending a website live is like putting a poster up in the desert. No matter how beautiful it is, and how easy it is to use, no one is going to see it unless you market it effectively.”

Just as important as establishing your website and showcasing your range of products is marketing your website just as you would market the rest of your business.

“You need to spend money from your marketing budget in order to drive traffic to your site, especially the traffic you want and need,” says Finnie.

“Searching locally for customers is definitely a priority. Use long tail keywords as you want people who are ready to buy, not people who are only browsing.”

SEO and google analytics have become an integral part of the success of a website, meaning that understanding that field, whether lightly or in depth, is key to understanding your online success.

Finnie says: “A common pitfall is investing in the wrong search terms. The owner of a car sales website may think they want to rank for ‘cars for sale’, but the people searching that are just the people who are browsing. Search ranking for ‘Ford C-max with leather seats, blue, in Birmingham’ will get less search volume but more importantly will get the site visits that bring focussed buyers who know what they want and are ready to buy.”

To conclude, it’s clear that making a website or web store is far from straight forward, but this shouldn’t discourage or deter businesses.

A major pitfall is taking an easy option or investing in an online solution that will cause you problems down the line. Popular website builders can often take ownership of URLs, IPs, or processes, which will give you less control of your business.

To understand what products and services work online, and how you demonstrate that will all ultimately demonstrate a better understanding of your business and its operations.

Hoole adds: “Being online opens doors to endless possibilities and allows businesses to be found by some potential customers they may not have had the chance to ever meet with before.”

While Finnie concludes: “Put some real effort into thinking about what you want your site to rank for. The process is not as costly as you might think. The benefits outweigh the costs. Get started now.”

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