Tag Archives: 3D illuminated sign

Where does SIGNAGE fit into your business

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Where does SIGNAGE fit into your business

Today I was reminded that Sales, Marketing as Branding are NOT all the same tasks, and while they may all have the same objective – improved turnover – they are not necessarily achieved by performing the same or similar tasks.

According to Bing.com Branding, marketing and sales are different but related aspects of a business. Branding is all about creating an image or identity for a product or company. Branding and marketing both use strategies to reach their goals for the business, while marketing focuses on boosting sales branding focuses on increasing the organizations recognition and loyalty.

Marketing is about uncovering and connecting with audiences most likely to benefit from any long-term ‘promises’ that a business makes, especially by using branding..

Sales is the ultimate objective of all branding and marketing, culminating in an exchange of value between the buyer and the seller.

When assessing signage in relation to branding, marketing and sales, one should figure where signage should fit in and what the sign should deliver in order to be considered successful.

Signage such as store name, vehicle branding, isle markers and product identifiers can all be considered part of the BRANDING mix. This is because these type of signs can relay a specific message at the same time as creating consistent BRAND awareness while keeping the BRAND front of mind.

Signage can be used as part of the MARKETING mix by reminding the viewer of the promise that the branding is committing to.

Signage at point of sales can be in the form of visually impactful bobbers or standardizing the signage of the store, constantly reminding the person of where they are and how they got there.

If you or your business are in the market for signage, SignForce has decades of experience and is available to assist.

Contact SignForce not on info@signforce.co.za

What is a CLIENT or CUSTOMER – and when is a ‘client’ neither a client nor a customer?

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Printed Sandblast Effect Vinyl

Impressive Printed Sandblast Entrance Sign

What is a CLIENT or CUSTOMER – and when is a ‘client’ neither a client nor a customer?

As one walks into a Stew Leonads physical stores (https://www.stewleonards.com/) there is a large rock at the entrance which states the store’s policy. It reads, RULE 1: The CUSTOMER is ALWAYS RIGHT. Rule 2. If the customer is ever wrong read RULE 1.

This is an amazing policy and a great focus on superb customer service, especially for the retail market. (For those of you who have never been to the store it an EXPERIENCE of note).

But is the saying true and valid for businesses that are not retail based? I suppose the truest answer is YES and NO. Yes, as it is a great target for customer service, and NO because since customers are also human, there are times when they too will NOT be right.

As a designer, manufacturer and installer of bespoke, customized signage, SignForce is NOT a retail distributor, and while we strive to follow the policy of Stew Leonards, there are times when we have to question if the policy that seems to work so well for the retail distributor can work equally well for a manufacturer that also falls into the category of service provider of signage.

A simple Google search (http://www.google.com) of the word CUSTOMER says the following:

customer, noun, a person who buys goods or services from a shop or business.

On the other hand Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer) defines a customer as:

In sales, commerce and economics, a customer is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea, obtained from a seller, vendor or supplier via a financial transaction or an exchange for money or some other valuable consideration.

In this writers opinion the Wikipedia is the better definition as it does not limit a customer to an INDIVIDUAL – the vast majority of customers, especially in SignForce’s business of supplying signage of all sorts, are businesses and corporates or institutions, NOT individuals.

What BOTH definition’s imply – or flat out explicitly state – is that a customer enters into a FINANCIAL TRANSACTION – meaning the customer receives something of value to said customer from the supplier who will receive FINANCIAL GAIN (read that as MONEY) for the goods supplied, so when a supposed customer does not pay for the goods, are they still a customer, or rather a liability and an expense?

I cannot speak for the world outside South Africa – but at the time of writing South Africa is a failed state (although many ill informed politicians and their cronies and ilk will argue otherwise) run by a poorly organized mafia (with no respect) known as the anc.

The once disciplined, moral and effective freedom fighters – or terrorists depending on one’s position (remember they are the two sides of the same coin) – did well to displace the apartheid government and have since failed dismally to show any morals or back bone or integrity or will or ability to build a nation – rant over.

The point being made is as a failed and further failing state – South Africa under the anc is doing all it can to follow the economic downfall of Zimbabwe and Venezuela, meaning doing business in South Africa is becoming increasingly difficult and costs of materials in South Africa, even when converted at US$ 1 to R20, are still prohibitive, making it extremely difficult for South African businesses to compete in the international market.

In 2023 many signage products can be acquired from China (no surprise) or America or Europe or the middle east (all big surprise) at lower cost than the can be made in South Africa .

As a South African based business this is scary as it makes a country, even with an atrocious exchange rate less competitive and will most likely only lead to greater job losses and more imports. A recipe for continued economic destruction.

When one is operating in such an environment – dare one say a war zone – this is sadly true as there are currently more violent deaths per day in South Africa (as a result of crime) than there are in most war zones in the world. This writer is not a statistician so please feel free to fact check my comments – one needs to ensure that ALL work time is compensated for, which once again comes back to wolves disguised as customers who are more than happy to prey on businesses that believe that turnover is more important than profit.

Part and parcel of the writers experience of of the signage industry over more than two decades is for people to ask for the world – based on an idea – and then over time refine the ideas until they come to a place where they are happy with what they see – both in vision and in associated cost.

As a signage supplier the typical South African attitude of I can do it myself, better and cheaper, comes at a huge cost in time (and often money). This includes prospects who are not yet customers requesting multiple ‘minor’ changes in design, revision in quote, etc., as even every ‘minor’ change requires a rework that can take hours. As such a quote that may take three to five changes can take longer to produce than the production of the signage, and this is all expected to be done at the signage suppliers cost.

So now assume there have been three changes to a quote and the graphic, and the client then decides that either they do not have the budget or they shop around using your intellectual property (IP) to get ‘competitive quotes’ – (remember they have not paid for your time that you are entitled to charge for) this is a topic of an entire book, not only a blog, and surprise surprise, they can get it CHEAPER.

When this occurs is the CUSTOMER or CLIENT still a customer or client as they are not paying for any of the sign suppliers input – both time and intellectual property (IP) – or are they an expense and liability that needs to be dropped for good – or in the thinking of this writer, charged for time if ever they approach the supplier again with the carrot (or promise) of potential future business?

Another question is at what point does the signage supplier disengage with ‘customers’ with all commitments of the supplier falling away. If a customer is with-holding final payment (we assume no business will be prepared to work without receiving an up front deposit) because some possible ‘snags’ are not being addressed, is it to be assumed that the signage supplier MUST make good and then fight on to get payment or should the client pay in full to fulfil their part of the financial transaction and then hope the supplier will make good?

Why is it that the often smallest cog in the value chain is expected to cover ALL the costs of prospect’s multiple mind changes and revisions, and is expected to not charge for their IP and time?

Sometime people we consider to be customers need to be fired so we can focus on PAYING customers who do not expect suppliers to work for free.

This writer is asking anyone WHO believes they may have answers to the various questions and issues to please contact the writer who will gladly take anyone who can give practical ideas for a cup of coffee in order to generate new ideas on how an industry which is seen so poorly so as to be on a par with second hand car sales, can educate clients sufficiently for them to get a grasp of value that they receive from their professionally made business signage.

SignForce is a full service signage supplier

If you are in the market for signage that will get feet into your business 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 the services SignForce offer by visiting http://www.signforce.co.za

When EVERYTHING that can go wrong DOES go wrong

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3D illuminated letters

Illuminated 3D signs

When EVERYTHING that can go wrong DOES go wrong

In the signage business, as I am sure with almost every other surviving and thriving business, things tend to go well most of the time (say 95% of the time) BUT when the 5% happens it ‘feels’ like the entire world is collapsing.

When things go wrong, the superstitious will be looking for the 3 things because ‘bad things’ happen in threes. It may not be 3’s, but from our experience when things go wrong, it definitely seems that they go wrong on more than one thing.

I have often heard people say EVERYTHING that could go wrong DID go wrong, but this is seldom true. In reality we don’t know what we don’t know, so the chances are that while a number of things went wrong, there are most certainly other things that did not but could also have gone wrong – things that were not even on the person’s radar.

Now to the point.

There is always a potential for things to go wrong. It doesn’t matter how well you plan, one cannot plan for circumstances beyond one’s control. This made me think of the recent floods in South Africa. The writer read a call for help where foreigners were trapped away from their base, and were running out of time to exit the country. No amount of expert planning could have prevented them from being isolated, as the weather forecast was not expecting the anomaly that occurred.

When things do go wrong, it tends to be HOW the events and the aftermath are handled that are more important and remembered for longer than the actual event. As such it is when one feels that the world is falling apart that it is most important to keep a cool head, analyze the situation and do what one can to make good and move forward.

SignForce has years of experience and we play comfortably in the signage industry, but sometimes things still go wrong. It is then that the guarantee we offer, our reputation, our established network and our years of experience make the small additional fees we may charge seem like a very good investment.

If you are in the market for quality signs at a fair price contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413 or call +27 (0)11 440 7525

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

Where is the VALUE in your SIGNAGE?

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Illuminated Signs

Custom, old fashioned, illuminated signs

Where is the VALUE in your SIGNAGE?

Ever stopped to contemplate where the VALUE in your SIGN is?

What about your sign makes it an INVESTMENT versus an EXPERNSE?

I was recently reminded that as people we tend to focus on (1) NOW, and (2) diminish ourselves. Stated differently, when we focus on NOW we tend to focus on where we are CURRENLY in a specific place, we project that we will ALWAYS be in the same place – literally – even if we know we will physically be in a different place tomorrow. A different way of stating we DIMINISH OURSELVES is that we tend to elevate others and put ourselves down. A simple example of this is forgetting the skills we have – to change a light bulb, fix a car, post on the internet – whatever – because we believe that if I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN DON IT. This is not true. Every one of us has at least ONE specific skill that very few other people will have. Also, too often we BELIEVE the AMRKETING that is presented to us – so we BELIEVE that everyone else has a better life, something we don’t – so we don’t see how we can add value to anyone else.

You may be wondering WHAT all this has to do with SIGNAGE – so let me explain.

When you purchase a sign, you may believe you are ONLY getting the physical sign that gets delivered and or installed, because that is what you SEE. However, in reality the delivered END PRODUCT is exactly that – the END PRODUCT. The END product is what comes after EVERYTHING before the end product – all the design, the planning, the manufacturing without which the end product would either not exist or not be as it is.

Why should this interest you, and more to the point, why should you be be concerned about the process as much as the end product?

Have you ever heard about a Friday Alpha Romeo, or a Monday Alpha, or a Mercedes, or a Rolls Royce? Why do all of these names ring a bell? They all ring a bell because people see them, because they have PERCEIVED value and because of the PERCEIVED STATUS attached to each of the named products.

What about DeLorean, Bahia, Badedas, South African Airways and South African Railways. If you have not heard of these businesses it may be that you are not in South Africa, or it could be because they are all BUST, BROKE and going out of business, many due to lack of qualified management, but some because the products they sold were not up to scratch or they were not competitive in a world where competition is everywhere.

The latter list tended to focus only on the END RESULT, but did not give sufficient attention to the PROCESS, the list of little steps that are needed for the end product to exist.

For signage one of the PROCESS elements is the sales person, the person who makes the suggestions as to what type of signage you require to MEET YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS. If the business sign you order and receive is almost free but does NOT achieve your objective – whatever your objective is, it does not matter what the sign cost, it can be considered an EXPENSE as it cost you money but is not generating the money you hoped it would generate – in which case the sign or signs would qualify as an INVESTMENT.

At SignForce we have over two decades of experience in signage, keeping abreast of the local and international trends as well as what materials are available, not only in our primary market in South Africa, but also internationally.

Another benefit of working with SignForce is the years of MARKETING experience that we have acquired over the years in the signage business. But that is not all. The main sales people at SignForce also have years of marketing experience that comes from studying marketing and practical psychology, AND putting those studies into practice.

When you come to SignForce for SIGNAGE you are privy to our years of experience in making and psychology which is why we can design and produce signs that WORK and can thus be considered INVESTMENTS.

Now one concern we do have at SignForce is that we are often perceived as being expensive. This may be because a competitor may be able to produce a sign at a lower cost than we can. The issue is the INFORMATION CAPITAL that comes with the signs that SignForce design and manufacture, because, while signage is a simple industry, it is only simple for simple signs, and when it is not simple it is very quick to become overwhelmingly complicated.

At SignForce we strive to keep the system SIMPLE for YOU, our client.

If you are looking for signage that works, SignForce is the signage business to work with.

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 by visiting http://www.signforce.co.za

What are you ‘buying’ when you choose a sign company?

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What are you ‘buying into’ when you choose a sign company?

SignForce 'invisible' sign

Partially Invisible Sign  – do you notice how the top left seems unattached?

It seems the standard method used to purchase a sign (and many other high ticket items) is to decide what you want, or at least have a rough idea of what you want or are looking for, or what you want to achieve. This applies to signs as much as it does to purchasing appliances, cars or televisions, all considered high ticket purchases.

Well that is only partly true. While cars and the other listed purchases (especially in South Africa) are definitely almost always seen as high ticket items – even for entry level models, signs and SIGNAGE are very often seen as a cheap after thought – that is, until quotes are received.

But I am digressing so back to the standard method of purchase.

  1. Have an idea of what you are looking for

  2. Hopefully have an idea of what you want your purchase to achieve (I know this sounds obvious, as you purchase a fridge to keep your food fresher for longer, DUH, but not everyone knows or understands WHY they purchase a sign.)

  3. Look on Google for a possible keyword – lets use signage or pylons or cut out letter signs.

  4. Wait – generally less than 1 second – for Google to give you a list of suppliers you can contact. ** This is where the fun begins and will require it’s own paragraph

  5. Call, WhatsApp or email the suppliers listed on Google to give them an idea of what you are looking for and ask for a price.

  6. Copy and paste the same message to all the possible suppliers listed on the first page *** of Google. Not sure where to mention this but are you aware that the top and bottom (of every page) few sites listed or ‘recommended’ by Google are paid sites – what Google refers to as sponsored – also known as paid adverts. This is only a FYI comment but is worth noting as there are possible additional benefits and costs linked to businesses that do and do not use sponsored adverts.

  7. Wait for feedback from the potential suppliers you emailed or called, or follow up the email with a call to make the potential sign supplier aware that there is an incoming email.

  8. Get quotes from the potential suppliers who respond to your request for a quote

  9. Assess the cost from each supplier making the assumption that ALL quotes are for the same ‘thing’ ****, especially as you sent the same request to all potential suppliers.

  10. Choose a supplier based on cost and possibly on a picture they have provided. *****

  11. Delete all correspondence from the alternative suppliers

** When you get the list of possible, potential suppliers, you are doing a wide range, generic search. Your search has no specifics and doesn’t necessarily tell you much about the businesses you are approaching. A cursory search of the proposed supplier’s website should give you a little more information, but please always remember that we live in a world of INFORMATION, and not all information is necessarily true, so a general rule is to do a little more digging (formally known as due diligence), make a call and see what response and ‘feel’ you get.

*** How often do you search beyond page 1 of any Google search? How often do you look at the number of responses Google provides – and the time it took to get the list. For example, a simple search of cut out letters took 0.6 seconds – well under 1 second – to provide a list of 2,120,000,000 web sites that MAY provide a good match for the simple search. This is an overwhelming number and is why almost every business strives and pushes to be on page 1 of the world’s largest business directory – Google!

The challenge comes in that for this specific search only 2 of the listings on the front page MAY fulfil my requirements. As such I tweek the search to CUT OUT LETTER SIGNS. This search took 0.4 seconds and provided a list of 925,000,000 possible sites. A great reduction of over 1 billion sites, The refined search has made it simpler to find what I am looking for and thus made it very simple to find at least one supplier on page 1 that should meet my requirements, so why go to page 2? The reason is due to the limited retail territoryavailable on page 1. Only a limited number of potential suppliers can be listed on page 1 (or every page) so there is a high likelihood that good suppliers may also be found on pages that are past page 1.

**** “making the assumption that ALL quotes are for the same ‘thing’”

When you contact multiple potential suppliers you will most likely assume that because they are listed on Google that they are capable of doing the job. What you have no idea of is if there is any additional service or benefit you can get from any of the suppliers. In order to find out if the suppliers can provide any additional ‘services’, a number of questions need to be asked. History shows asking these questions while TALKING to a person tends to give great benefit.

***** If you are making the decision of which supplier to use based purely on PRICE (and a possible picture) you may be doing yourself a great disservice, as you may be expecting to get the same quality and same sign from all the potential suppliers, but you would be shocked to learn how many different possible interpretations there can be for the same sign brief, and as such you may not be getting the full benefit of any or all the suppliers.

A case in point is a recent request by one of SignForce’s longest standing and largest clients. The request seemed a little strange at the outset, but made sense later on when all the elements fell together. The request was for photo’s of premises, information about staff, a list of machines on the premises and a few other VERY PERTINENT questions. It turns out our client’s client was requesting the information, possibly as a means of doing part of a due diligence. The other points that may be lost when only looking at cost is quality and cost of material to be used, expected lifespan of the signage, type and quality of paint and if the sign that you have requested is in fact the BEST sign to achieve your intended outcome. At SignForce we have the benefit of a number of years of experience (as well as the formal qualifications) to provide input regarding your marketing strategy and what signs would best suite your needs. This information is not charged for, although our signs may sometimes ‘cost’ more than a competitor, but the added value is definitely there to be taken advantage of.

Which brings us back to the question of what you are buying when you choose a sign company.

It goes without saying you expect the company to produce a sign. You may expect them to design and install the sign as well. It is possible that you know exactly what you need and how it should be made in order to get the most beneficial results from your signage, but it is highly unlikely that you would know as much about signs, their benefits and cots and the best placement to maximize your investment, as the sign producer, especially one who has years of experience, and possibly some formal qualifications in the field.

Trusting your signage manufacturer means you believe they have some knowledge you don’t have. In addition you are not only looking for a sign, but if the signage business is a decent one, they will make sure that your purchase is an investment so that your sign helps to generate more income than it costs. In order for this to happen it means that you also value the experience of your supplier, you value the expertise of your supplier and you are quite right to expect a level of after sales service. The question from the sign suppliers perspective is what is the commercial value of these additional – add on – benefits, and what, if anything, Is my client prepared to pay for these benefits.

At SignForce the senior management have a depth of knowledge and experience in signage – as can be expected after more than 20 years in signage – but also have a depth of knowledge in marketing, visibility, design and project management, which means that when you use SignForce you are investing in a team that will gladly take on and supervise your signage project with the intention of making you look good, ensuring you signs work and your deadlines are met.

Contact SignForce now on info@sgnforce.co.za or call 27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413 for all your signage requirements as well as for advice on signage and what signage will work best for your unique business.

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

What is the value of CONSISTENCY in Branding?

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Consistency makes a sign successful

What is the value of consistent branding?

In reality I, as the author, am not in the pay grade to give a number that will answer this question, but I can make a number of observations

Generally speaking brand consistency refers to the practice of maintaining a cohesive (solid) and unified brand identity across all touchpoints and communication channels.

Brand consistency involves presenting a consistent brand message, visual identity (such as signage and packaging), tone of voice, and overall brand experience to your target audience. The value of brand consistency can be significant (think Coke, Amex, Pepsi, Epstein, Cosby and Weinstein) and can impact various, if not all, aspects of a business.

Here are some key benefits of brand consistency:

1. Brand Recognition: Consistent branding helps customers recognize and remember your brand more easily. When your brand elements, such as logo, colors, typography, and messaging, are consistently applied across different platforms and marketing materials, such as signage, vehicle branding, packaging and letter heads, the consistency of the visual identity creates a strong brand identity that stands out in the minds of consumers. This brand consistency facilitates brand recall and can lead to increased brand recognition and awareness. Coke is an excellent example of brand identity using color and font. Think of coke’s visual marketing (signage) and you can see that they consistently use a SPECIFIC red and a specific FONT making the coke red and coke font (universally?) recognizable.

2. Building Trust and Credibility: Consistency builds trust among consumers. When your brand consistently delivers on its promises, maintains a consistent quality of product or services, and communicates a unified message, your brand consistency establishes credibility and reliability. Customers are more likely to trust and engage with a brand that appears professional, dependable, and authentic. An example of how branding can affect perceptions is an observation of an American Express (AMEX) sign in Cape Town a number of years ago. Watching prospective customers they would approach the bank, look at the signage, look at the rates and move on. VERY FEW prospects cam e back to do business. It is possible that the rates were excessive, but on further investigation it appeared that the branding had accidently been reversed so the sign looked like the store may be a ‘fake’ knock-off of AMEX, and thus people tended to not trust the signage.

3. Differentiation: In a crowded marketplace, having a consistent brand helps your brand stand out from competitors. By maintaining a unique and consistent brand identity, you create a distinct image and position in the minds of consumers. Consistency allows you to communicate your brand’s unique value proposition and differentiate yourself from others, making it easier for customers to choose your trusted brand over competitors. It is for this reason that large companies trade mark certain colors, shapes and slogan’s. In this respect think of ADIDAS, NIKE and Dolce & Gabana. In South Africa a recent example is WE BUY CARS who have named their business as such and as a result are able to take legal action against any other motor dealer who states WE BUY CARS – even if that is what their business does. I suppose this could also be seen as an example of KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME – which we buy cars did and played well, even if morally and ethically frowned upon.

4. Customer Loyalty: Consistent branding helps create and maintain customer loyalty and advocacy – what in known s RAVING FANS in social media terms. When customers have positive experiences with your brand and consistently encounter your brand identity, they develop a sense of familiarity and emotional connection. The emotional connection can lead to increased customer loyalty, repeat purchases, and positive word-of-mouth recommendations, the ultimate aim of all marketers. Customer loyalty can be seen among many of the worlds top brands such as APPLE, TOYOTA, MERCEDES, COKE, PEPSI to name very few.

5. Efficiency and Cost Savings: Brand consistency simplifies marketing efforts and can possibly reduces costs in the long run. By establishing brand guidelines and templates, you create a framework that streamlines the creation of marketing materials, both online and offline. Consistency eliminates the need to reinvent your brand’s visual and messaging elements for every campaign or platform, saving time and resources. In signage brand consistency comes from the corporate hand book that every business should have. While a very detailed hand book can lead to less innovation, it certainly makes the life of the signage manufacturer simpler by specifying what materials should be used, how they should be used, where the materials should be used and what the outcome should be. It is possible that such specifications can add to increased cost, but the cost is certainly worthwhile when one considers what the alternative can be when people look at multiple signs from different manufacturers and they are all visibly different.

6. Employee Alignment: One often overlooked advantage of brand consistency is how consistent branding benefits internal stakeholders, such as employees. When your brand has clear guidelines and a consistent identity, it becomes easier for employees to understand and represent the brand effectively. Consistency aligns employees with the brand’s values, mission, and vision, creating a sense of unity and shared purpose. In the modern business world it is also know that if certain levels of employees do not SEE their employers branding they feel they are not working for a business that has MADE IT, or can even make it, so they prefer to go to the recognized market leaders.

Possible disadvantages of brand consistency can be in rigidity and cost. This is especially true in signage if you want to produce all your signage in one factory and then have to pay shipping costs to get the signs delivered to various locations, whether nationally or internationally. That said, the cost of centralized production also has the advantage of generating some (even if very little) economies of scale – something that is vary rare in the custom sign industry.


Brand consistency can thus be seen to play a crucial role in shaping how consumers perceive and interact with your brand. Brand consistency helps build recognition, trust, differentiation, loyalty, and efficiency. By investing in brand consistency, businesses can establish a strong and memorable brand that resonates with their target audience and drives long-term success.

If you are looking to partner with a signage company that takes brand consistency seriously, SignForce is the signage company for you.

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 by visiting http://www.signforce.co.za

Handling Expectations

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Printed Sandblast Effect Vinyl

Impressive Printed Sandblast Entrance Sign

 

Handling [Unrealistic?] Expectations

Regardless of how great one’s communication skills are, it is always possible that a message is received ‘differently’ to how it was intended when sent – ask anyone in a long term relationship.

Language skills, mood and / or intention of the recipient and reader are three of MANY reasons miscommunication can occur. A simple example could be that a signage quote is sent with standard industry jargon but when it is received the recipient does not ask for an explanation of the jargon but rather assumes the words used have their standard, common, meaning. If this happens it is then possible that when the work is completed the client’s expectations are not met, and a dispute arises.

From experience most times mis-communication happens it is best to talk to the client so as to clear up any misconceptions, and that will mostly resolve the issues.

However for the more complicated situations, it would be fantastic if there was a formula to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of all parties.

According to business guru’s the most successful way to handle issues of misunderstanding are to:

  1. Be Honest and Transparent. This may help close the gap between where the client’s expectations and reality lie.

  2. Communicate openly, focusing on the problem without being judgmental or allocating blame.

  3. Try anticipate the client’s requirements in advance. This is not always possible as when client’s are faced with multiple options they may (incorrectly) believe that all options are similar, and without asking for clarity they may not get this right. An example of this is a client following standard good governance and getting multiple (3) quotes for a sign. When the sign quotes come in from say A, B and C, the wording on the quotes may be identical, but if none of the quotes SPECIFY what material will be used, yet the quotes vary widely. The variation in the quotes can be due to very different materials being quoted on, with different life expectancies and different looks and feel. No signage client could be expected to know these differences if they are not specifically explained.

At SignForce we have been accused of being long winded and our quotes giving more details than needed. This is generally to avoid the possibility of misunderstandings by clients and also to hold ourselves accountable to ensure the correct materials are used.

If you have physical premises and you want SIGNS that WORK, consider partnering with SignForce.

SignForce has been in the market for over two decades, and have built our reputation on giving the best possible advice and producing quality signs.

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

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

Signs and Technology

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Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers out there

One positive aspect (and sometimes negative) of the modern world is how fast information can be shared.

This can be positive as, for example, when a message on one of the writers groups went out in the early hours of this morning asking for help as it sounded like someone was in their property and needed assistance, within minutes not only were the first responders on site, but helpful, potentially life saving tips were shared almost instantly.

The possible negative of the speed with which information is shared (mostly negative for politicians) is that, except for the most draconian or dictatorial regimes, information is on tap for people to know what is going on around them. If modern world politicians had a collective brain cell they would KNOW that the truth WILL OUT far quicker than they like to believe – even though FAKE news is said to spread something like ten times faster than truth – as the saying goes, when what you see makes you react INSTANTLY – ASK IF IT IS TRUE!

Technology has certainly helped speed up communication. Unfortunately this has brought with it a number of ailments linked to not keeping up, the fear of missing out, the lack of ability to THINK enough to ensure what is being seen and heard and spread is TRUE, and a number of anxiety related conditions because, especially among the the younger generations, people have forgotten that they are in charge of their devices and thus are too afraid to turn them off, resulting in energy being drained.

One of the advantages of traditional signage is that it is timeless. The signs that one often sees are simple fabricated items that while eye catching and sometimes very technical, do not drain the viewers energy, even while inviting feet into one’s physical premises.

If you are opening physical premises and you want signs that WORK, consider partnering with SignForce.

SignForce has been in the market for over two decades, and have built our reputation on giving the best possible advice and producing quality signs.

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

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

Never too old to learn

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Fire with LED sign

Fire and signs

One is never too old to learn

There is an old saying that we are never too old to learn. This is true in many aspects of life and was clearly demonstrated to the writer this week when called to a site where I was informed the sign had burned.

With no other information than the fact it had burned and the size of the sign I – very incorrectly – assumed the sign was a large banner and had been caught in a grass fire.

When I arrived on site and saw the damage, my first thought was the fir was because the NEON HT cable had made contact with the backing board. However, when I looked up, I saw the sign was not illuminated with neon but was in fact illuminated with LED modules.

This is then FIRST LED illuminated sign this writer has ever seen that has burned, and especially one that self ignited.

Fortunately I was able to call some contacts and had people who had a greater understanding of fire – and burnt signs – than I do, and they were able to pinpoint the flash point where the fire most likely originated.

This is a great lesson and worth spreading that while LED signs are immeasurably safer than neon, they too can burn, especially with the new blended wire that is now available. The best lesson here is that even LED signs need maintenance, and, especially if your LED sign is old, one should have the wiring checked – preferably once a year – to ensure the wiring is not brittle and to prevent any possible fires.

SignForce is available to maintain all signs and are well enough connected that if we do not know, we WILL bring in the experts!

To get your sign checked or maintained contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413 or call +27 (0)11 440 7525

Find you more about SignForce by visiting http://www.signforce.co.za

Will SIGNAGE survive the current AI revolution

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3D sign

White, Illuminated 3D sign

Will SIGNAGE survive the current AI revolution

If you are alive and online – which we can assume you are if you are seeing and reading this post – you MUST have heard of AI (artificial intelligence) and how it is likely to reshape the workplace and employment in the future – both foreseeable and long term.

When asked if Signage will survive the current AI revolution, ChatGPT answered as follows: “Absolutely! While artificial intelligence is revolutionizing many aspects of business and technology, signage serves a different purpose entirely. Signage is a tangible and physical way for businesses to communicate their brand, products, and services to customers. Signs can be seen, touched, and experienced in a way that AI cannot replicate. Additionally, many signs are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, which is not a task that AI has yet mastered. So, rest assured that signage will continue to be a vital part of businesses for many years to come, even in the age of AI. “

This writer tends to agree with ChatGPT, but not necessarily for the same reasons.

While there are AI programs and Apps available that can CREATE wonderful pictures, logo’s and pieces of art, all of which can be incorporated into modern signage, it is the physical creation (or manufacturing) that has yet to be repalced by a machine.

Yes, there are computer based tools such as 3D printers and benders that can help create a 3D sign, but at this time – and for the foreseeable future, it does not look likely that sign makers will be replaced by robots. Good news for sign makers, not necessarily such good news for customers as when items are not made by machines they tend to be more costly.

This is definitely the case when it comes to signage, especially since the vast majority of signs are custom – custom look, custom design, custom feel and custom size – there is very little chance of an affordable robot taking over the physical work that is necessary when making most, especially 3D, signs.

One can ask if signs will be required in the future, especially as the world moves to digital which can do so much and is fast becoming more and more affordable. This writer believes that digital signs will be used more and more to sell – lifestyles, products, services and time – BUT for the foreseeable future BUSINESSES will still be physical – people want to touch and smell and feel – which cannot be created online, and as long as people want to touch they will want to go to physical stores (or physical destinations) which will most likely continue to want signs to make customers, prospective customers and suppliers aware of where you are. People want to SEE your business.

To find out how SignForce can assist your business to make itself visible contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413 or call +27 (0)11 440 7525

http://www.signforce.co.za