There is a influx of new businesses popping up all over Leeds and West Yorkshire, a real push and demand for independent businesses! So you’ve got the new business idea, and the new premises – how do you now go about letting people know you are there? At Dock Street Signs, we have a huge range of signage and rigid media options to help promote your business and provide information. In this multi-part series, we will look at examples of works carried out and recommend ways of using signage to promote your business.
Part 1 – Shop / Retail Unit
A retail unit provides the most potential for external advertising, both for branding and product. Most clients will start with Window Vinyl prior to opening to let people know that a business is opening soon. An empty shop in a busy area will always garner interest and curiosity from passing traffic. Our clients have used this as an opportunity to show potential customers what they can expect, to advertise social media and to advertise for jobs.
One of Dock Street Signs’ clients approached us a month before opening to put up some signage in their Leeds premises. They wanted to let people know the cafe was opening soon as well as offering a competition for following them on social media. We chose white vinyl to produce the sign using the Cha Lounge logo and font, it was reverse-cut to be applied on the inside of the window. At a later date we added a couple of lines to advertise for new jobs, as well as a side window displaying the opening times and the types of food and drinks they are offering.
The Window Vinyl doesn’t have to be used just for temporary measures. When Cha Lounge is open for business, we will take down the ‘Opening Very Soon’ line and replace with their tagline. We did the same for Cat’s Pyjamas in Headingley, an initial opening soon sign was replaced with a permanent window feature as well as opening times.
There is usually great space above a shop window for a more extravagant sign, one that can boldly display your business name. There are a host of options here, everything from a nice simple Dibond to a fully illuminated Aluminium Tray. On top of this you can use trough lighting, projection signs and other bespoke features to really customise your signage.
Once inside of the shop, you need to think about welcome signs, directional / wayfinding signs, informative signs, decorative signs and sales / product signs. Generally this type would be made from Foamex, Acrylic, Dibond or from cut vinyl and printed vinyl. Some examples of what we have produced are below.
We hope this brief guide gives you some inspiration for your shop or retail unit, if you need any advice on materials, would like a quote or you would like us to visit for a chat, get in touch – 01133226442 | info@dockstreetsigns.co.uk.