Should We Always Give the Customer What They Ask For?

Or asked differently, when the prospect TELLS you what to do, what materials to use and how to do it, do they actually know what they are talking about?

I am sure everyone reading this can relate to the situation where a prospect contacts you and tells you what they want. Once they have told you what they want, they proceed to tell you what materials you should use, how long it should take to make the sign, how to make the sign, etcetera’s.

This is when we should start asking questions to establish what the client wants the signage to achieve and how they know the materials they are talking about.

The reference to materials is especially pertinent in the current world of signage manufacture. I say this because there have been MASSIVE changes in the building and SIGNAGE industry over the past 5 – 10 years, so while ‘traditional’ signage materials may still be appropriate and get the job done, they may not be the best materials from a life expectancy or cost or results perspective.

One such material is NEON. Traditional ‘glass’ neon – in South Africa because that is where we are based – is extremely costly, is not great when exposed to rain and even worse in HAIL! Traditional glass neon is also not the best for the environment as it uses fairly toxic gasses to get the neon to burn and can also pose a danger when the glass breaks. This says nothing about the HT cable that is used for traditional glass neon, cable that has a tendency to short and ignite the neon, which is one of a few reasons neon has not been a favorite in shopping centers, or I would imagine, for insurers.

Today in South Africa the use of traditional neon is extremely limited, because there is a new, LED based neon called NEONFLEX, and while neonflex may not be able to achieve 100% of the effect of traditional glass neon, the advances in neonflex makes it easy to use, about 85 – 95% as aesthetically pleasing as traditional glass neon, more cost effective and way less likely to ignite.

Another signage material that is no longer always the most cost effective option is Chromadek.

Chromadek is a treated metal that holds signage well. It is normally a thin (think 0.3 – 0.8 mm thick) metal sheet so it is fairly flexible and as such if used without a frame can look flimsy and possibly even cheap.

Thicker Chromadek is less flexible and still a favorite for road signs, however the cost of steel has risen substantially in South Africa over the past decade making any metal way more expensive than it was in previous decades. Fortunately for sign manufacturers and clients alike there are modern materials that can often be used to replace the expensive metal of signs. The most commonly used ‘new’ material is ACM – a composite Aluminium sandwich – and compressed plastic which has wonderful properties for outdoor use, one of which is that unlike Chromadek, because ACM is thicker (ranges from 2 to 5 mm) the material can be used FLAT against walls and does not look wobbly.

The main point I am trying to make is that there are new materials that may well do a better job and perform better and be more cost effective for a client than the material(s) the client is are aware of.

It is the humble opinion of this writer that many people try to elevate themselves by using the limited knowledge they have of the product (in this case signage) in order to prevent being ripped off or to show they have some knowledge of the subject. However by using the materials they know they either expose their limited knowledge and / or they focus the signage supplier so they end up getting what they asked for which may not be the best VALUE they can get.

It makes more sense to TRUST the (hopefully) professional person you have contacted to get you the quote, answer their questions, ask questions and then decide what you as the buyer believe will best suite your needs from the new information you have gathered.

It is also important for a decent sales person to ask enough directed questions to establish what is best in order to achieve the stipulated goals of their signage that the prospect or client has expressed, because the sales person – or the people in the office doing the estimates – should have better knowledge than the prospective client of available materials with their pro’s and con’s and how they can benefit the client better .

If you are in the market for signs that you want to achieve a specific objective, SignForce is here to assist.

Contact SignForce NOW on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za