Customers Judge Your Store by its Sign

From New Hope Natural Foods Merchandiser: New marketing research finds that signs are an important marketing tool for retailers, second only to television ads. Make your indoor and outdoor signs useful and attractive to environmentally- and health-conscious consumers with these tips.

Think you need to invest in pricey radio, Internet or newspaper ads to lure customers to your store or product? Think again. According to a new study by University of Cincinnati researchers, you'll get the most bang for your buck by sprucing up your signs.

"Signage, a basic form of technology and communication that evolved in antiquity still works, even in today's Internet age," says University of Cincinnati marketing expert James Kellaris, PhD, who collaborated with BrandSpark market research firmand Better Homes and Gardens for the annual American Shopper Study, released this month.

The survey of more than 100,000 North American households found that consumers ranked television as the most useful source of new product or store information. But indoor signage was a close second (tying with magazines) and outdoor signage ranked third, beating out radio, Internet and newspaper ads.

To read more about the study plus tips for your signage, click here.