Introduction
Which is the better sign: a simple bi-colored sign that has block letters or a flashy neon sign containing bold colors? There is no right or wrong answer. It all depends on what’s best for your audience.
When choosing a sign, many business owners make the mistake of only thinking about their personal preferences or business tastes forgetting that the people who need their services or products are the customers and not them and their employees. The best practice is to choose a sign that attracts the people that are most important to your business and these are your audiences.
Therefore, with regard to fonts, logos, and colors, what is the best way to design a sign that attracts your target audience? We walk you through how to do this.
Narrow Down Your Target Audience
It’s not easy to market to an “everyone” target audience. You have to be really special to create products or services that everyone in the world needs. Therefore, you have to market only to the specific demographic that needs your business. Why might they need your products or services? Does your business fill their needs?
Next, you need to think customers might choose you and not your competitors. It doesn’t matter whether you offer a professional and no-nonsense environment or a fun and fulfilling atmosphere, it’s important to choose a sign that can match the needs of your audience.
Depending on the business you are in and your unique selling proposition or what makes you different, narrow down on the kind of customers you should target. In doing so, answer the following questions:
- How old are your target customers? Teenagers’ needs and senior citizens’ needs are worlds apart.
- What’s their gender? If you have more female customers compared to males, you are better off going for a design that’s more feminine. The reverse is true.
- What interests do they have? It could be that your audience values family, professional success, or fun. Some could be lovers of sports or they take part in charitable organizations. Before you design your sign, make sure you have understood all the things that will enable you to attract them, unless of course you just want a neon open sign.
- What’s their style? Are you advertising for jeans and T-shirt type of customers or those who would rather be unique and edgy? This is important because it helps you to determine whether to choose an edgy design or go for a look that’s more traditional.
- What concerns do they have? Do your targets struggle financially and merely making ends meet or are they concerned with their appearance and are keen to make an impression? Select the appropriate graphic design elements that appeal to your audience emotionally.
- Lastly, conduct customer surveys and research to evaluate your customers even more. This will enable you to hit the target with the perfect audience. If you realize that the audience isn’t what you expected, adjust your neon sign design to fit it.
How to Choose an Audience-focused Sign
With a better understanding of your audience, it’s now a great time to make the right decisions about the design of your sign. We will use the answers to the above questions to make the right design suggestions:
Age
If you are targeting a younger crowd, you will want to go with a unique design complete with bright colors. In case the majority of your customers are older, go with a familiar font and basic color scheme. In case your audience is of all ages, find something of a balance.
Gender
While this doesn’t necessarily mean choosing between blue and pink, there are some design principles that will generally apply to women while others are more attuned for men. If your audience is predominantly women, you need to go for light trendy fonts. On the other hand, men prefer fonts that are straight and heavy. Men general like bold shades while women will do fine with pastel colors.
Interests
If the interests of your audience align with your company’s vision, you will want to incorporate the interest into your design. For instance, if your company has a focus on the environment, and you also have an audience that has a passion for nature, you may want to go with earth tones as your design.
Style
If you realize that your audience is for the distinctive and trendy, go for a unique design and font for your sign. Where the members of your audience have a varied style preference, you could go with a traditional look as this tends to appeal to a wide group of people.
Concerns
One of your responsibilities as a business is to address the concerns of your audience. There is no better way to reflect this than through your neon sign design. If your audience is seeking an expert to guide them, seize the opportunity, and showcase your competence with serious design and bold font. If they are more inclined toward fun and friendly product choice, you could go with more experimental colors and fonts.
Even as you take these suggestions into account, it’s worth remembering that the design of the sign should always match not only your company’s but also your industry’s vision. While a bar could go excellently with a colorful and flashy design, the same would be very inappropriate for a law firm.
Discuss Your Needs with a Professional
Now you are probably worried about the design process. Where do you start? Can you incorporate all this into your neon open sign? However, you need not worry.
We have been in the business for 20 years and have designed amazing neon signs for various audiences. When you call us, you will speak with a sales representative who while listen to your style, needs, and aspirations and produce a neon sign that’s tailored to your specific business.
Interesting related article: “What is a Marketing Strategy?“