Tag Archives: sign design

Signs Make Your Businees Successful

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Signs Make Your Business Successful

OK, apologies up front for the click baiting, as we all know (WE referring to intelligent business folk) this statement is not entirely true, as there are MANY factors that make a business successful.

In general, from what this writer has observed, success in business is more often than not a result of doing the slog work, doing the same correct (that is imperative) behavior over and over and over and over and over – you get the point – beyond the point of boredom, beyond the point of repetition, to the point where one can literally do the task in one’s sleep. This is sometimes referred to as achieving efficiency at the task, and it is said this takes 10,000 HOURS of the same task.

Another part of the success of a business is MARKETING and SELLING. Without sales there is no money for product development, no money to train and pay staff (someone may want to point this out to the current anc leaders who have reportedly managed to bankrupt their 109 year old organization) and no money to grow your business.

Now marketing and sales a re multi faceted and not entirely the focus of this blog, but I would like to focus on #SIGNAGE – the one part of that marketing puzzle that SignForce sells. We do advise on signage in order to ensure your spending on signage is an investment, but we tend to do this for free (not great for our business turnover in the short term, but we never claimed to be great sales people). If anyone wants to take me for a drink I can explain the difference between TECHNICAL SELLERS (SignForce’s sales staff) and GREAT SELLERS (who tend to sell on emotion).

Signs SELL! So does collaboration 🙂

I have known this for many years and have seen many examples from our own billboard on the M1 highway to what happened with STAX (many years ago) when they upgraded their signage at a loss making store that was being prepped for closure, but I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when one of our clients informed the writer that he spotted SignForce when he passed out pylon.

The point of this ramble is that if you want your business to succeed, especially if you are a business that has physical products or a physical premises, you should certainly consider SIGNAGE as an integral – and initial – step in promoting your business.

SignForce LOVES assisting new and small businesses. This does not mean we are going to give you your signs for free, but we will do what we can to make your business visible in a manner that can help your business grow – both to pay us AND to help you grow.

For more information on how SignForce can assist your business contact us now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27(0)11 440 7525

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

Is there a limit on the sign job that SignForce will take on?

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High Rise Large Format Banner Removal

High Rise Large Format Banner Removal by SignForce

The quick answer to the question “Is there a limit on the sign job that SignForce will take on?” is YES, and NO.

Being in the custom sign business, #SignForce is in the business of taking on some really small and drastically LARGE sign work. So in reality, YES, there are some limits to the work that SignForce will take on – you can read that ‘some’ as very few :-), and NO, we will not limit our creativity and will generally take on any PAYING job if the sign will achieve the client’s objectives and there is money to be made.

These photo’s are intended to show the size of sign as well as height work that SignForce will gladly take on.

One fascinating thing about signage is that the visual on a sign gets smaller and smaller (to the naked eye) the higher it is installed. Put simply, the higher the sign the larger it needs to be in order to be legible, and more so to be legible from a DISTANCE.  It is for this reason that even though a sign looks MASSIVE when one stands close, the same MASSIVE sign will almost look small when it is installed AT HEIGHT, and needs to be viewed from a distance.

With our years of experience SignForce is well placed to help you make sure your investment in your sign pays off, in that it can be VIEWED and READ from a distance.

Contact SignForce now to assist with your signage. We are available at +27 (0)11 440 7525 or you can email SignForce at info@signforce.co.za

You can find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

 

When marketing is a priority, SIGN!

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#SIGN – refers to a NUMBER of marketing tools in a business (as well as a person’s signature – but for the purpose of this article we are not interested in that).

So when business is SLOW – SELL, SELL, SELL, or maybe put slightly differently, do your best to MARKET and SELL your product(s) and services. This is especially true in shrinking economies.

Marketing during difficult times is one of the most counter intuitive acts that can be instituted, but history has shown if a business can survive or even grow in shrinking environments, they are most likely to thrive if or when the market turns.

SIGNS assist with both marketing and sales. Signs do this by (1) acting as a silent sales person (2) the silent sales person comes as a once off expense (for a period of between 12 and 60 months) by (3) making your product or business visible (4) potentially 24 hours a day while (5) allowing clients and prospective clients to see where you are and that you exist.

The image above is for ROGER WOLFSON & ASSOCIATES, a Johannesburg based Prosthetist, who, since he decided to display his wares on LARGE signs in front of his business has been more visible and thus getting more inquiries for his products.

If the 5 reasons above – and the Roger Wolfson example –  are not enough to convince you that your business needs a SIGN, contact Arnold on +27 (0)82 558 6413 or arnold@signforce.co.za and ask for case studies that show where and how SIGNS are quite possibly one of the best investments your business can make, especially in troubled times.

Is my low tech #Sign job in jeopardy?

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Is my low tech #sign JOB in jeopardy?

With all the advances made in technology, especially with relation to the #sign industry, there are times that I wonder if I am in danger of losing my job to a computer. This may happen as artificial intelligence (commonly known as AI) improves, but I am not sure how creative AI thinking is. While there are times I get concerned about the value I add to my client’s and thus about my job security, there are also times when I think – or realize – that as much as technology improves, there are certain skills that simply require ‘out of the box’ thinking.

For me this was highlighted when two incidents happened within fairly close proximity to each other.

The first was a YouTube video I saw and the other was a job I was asked to print. The video is by a somewhat radical news reader, @Liz_Wheeler from TIPPING POINT on OAN who is not scared to ask very hard questions – she doesn’t always answer them – but the fact she stirs the pot should create enough fodder for some interesting dialog. The particular idea I am referring to can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAS_p-6Rnc where Liz takes an extreme view on how far the ‘trans’ movement can or should be pushed. In particular she makes the comment “can a teenager buy alcohol because he identifies as over 21 years of age”. This got me thinking about how young adults are viewed and treated in society at large, in MY society in particular and how, being so much more tech savvy, they could replace this old goat.

The second was when my son asked me to print a graphic for a school project. The graphic is a beautiful design that was done by a 14 year old class mate. The design is beautiful and one can easily see the thought and effort that has gone into the design, and I am sure that once printed, the design will achieve the desired objective and help sell products at the school’s market day.

What got my brain linking the two was the lack of ability of the tech savvy 14 year old to complete the task  – something which I have seen numerous times with well respected designers who, while they can make the design come to life on paper or a screen, are unsure how to get the design to come TO LIFE if a 3D model of the design needs to be produced.

The ability of a designer to get their brilliant design off a piece of paper and onto a 3D model is, sadly, much rarer than one would imagine, and as such, the FEAR that MY #sign job is in jeopardy of being lost to a less expensive, much more sophisticated software package is certainly reduced.

If you have a brilliant design that you want made into a 3D model, contact us st #SignForce where we have almost two decades of experience making 3D masterpieces from beautiful paper designs.

Contact us now on + 27 (0)11 440 7525 / 4 or arnold@signforce.co.za

Why rushing when making a business sign is almost a GUARANTEE of failure

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Rushing a sign – Almost a guarantee to make a mess

I love the saying “ the quality is generally remembered long after the headache of the delay “

We believe every non-cyber business needs a sign – and even some cyber businesses – need a sign. As the true, old adage goes – A Business Without A Sign Is A Sign Of No Business 

However, because we believe that all businesses need a sign does not mean that everyone agrees, especially when setting up the business and planning a budget. As such, we often see businesses that only remember they need a sign the day before they open their doors, when their budget has been depleted, and then they expect us to deliver their quality, complex sign the next day. 

Most people do not understand what makes a sign work, and they do not understand the process that goes into making a sign. While this is as it should be, it does bring it’s own challenges, especially in this modern world of IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION where many people believe that they can simply make a call or send an email and their custom sign – custom design, custom colours, custom size – will pop off the shelf and be ready in a matter of hours – which is not always realistic or possible as most components are HAND MADE.

The process involved in making signs is generally a very simple one consisting of a number of time consuming, labour intensive steps.

  1. The sign needs to be designed. Even when our clients have and supply a logo, very often the logo is not in a format that we can manufacture from. This takes a designer time to prepare.

  2. The sign needs to be manufactured. Depending on the sign this process can consist of computerized and / or manual labour. When manual labour is involved each component is made by hand, and this takes time to get a quality finish.

  3. When necessary the sign needs to be coloured to match the client’s colour specifications. Another manual, time consuming and labour intensive process.

  4. The sign needs to be prepared for installation – to ensure that the sign looks like the client’s name and / or logo and ensure that the image the sign projects is as per the client’s expectations. Another time consuming, manual labour process.

  5. If the sign needs to be illuminated the entire process of wiring and connecting the lights is a time consuming, labour intensive process.  
  6. Finally the sign needs to be installed, which is ALWAYS a time consuming, manual process.

As can be seen from this extremely oversimplified list, there are generally a number of manual, time consuming, labour intensive processes involved in the production of every sign.

It is because of the manual component that rushing a sign is more often than not a guaranteed recipe for something to GO WRONG, for the finished product to be poor quality, and ultimately for the sign to be rejected.

It is always advisable to ASK your sign maker HOW LONG they expect it will take to make and install your sign, then, unless they have a guarantee associated with the deadline, add in a few days to make sure that you can realistically plan for when the sign will be installed.

For signs with a GUARANTEED deadline contact us at SignForce. We design, manufacture and install your quality signs, starting with the view that your successful sign needs to deliver on your expectations.

Call now on +27 (0) 11 440 7525 or email us at arnold@signforce.co.za or david@signforce.co.za

You can also view our gallery at http://www.signforce.co.za/gallery.php or view pictures at Google+https://plus.google.com/b/118104575416251079229/+SignforceCoZaforbestsigns or FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/SignForceSouthAfrica

#SignForce  #BusinessSigns  #Signs

Is SIGN QUALITY more, as or less important than PRICE

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Is quality dead and should it be buried?

Riding the emotional roller coaster that is life, especially in the soft economy that we are currently experiencing in South Africa in 2014, I have been wondering more and more about whether people are becoming so desensitized and expecting of poor service and poor quality that they are simply no longer prepared to BUY QUALITY and would rather look at the short term cost.

At SignForce we focus on giving advice and delivering the best quality signs we can. When we offer advice it is because we believe the signs we recommend will IMPROVE OUR CLIENT’S BUSINESS – and we want our clients to GROW so we can grow with them.

There have been occasions when we have advised against our client’s buying certain signs because we look at our clients business as our own, and if we feel we would not spend OUR money on a specific sign, then we advise our clients AGAINST spending their money.

In general we have found this works for SignForce because it entrenches SignForce’s integrity and ensures that the advice we offer is in our client’s best interest. We are very aware that we are not always correct, but we do bring a number of years of marketing studies and practical experience to the table, so more often than not our advice WORKS.

Of course going to site to assess and offer the advice comes at a cost, and more and more of late we are finding that prospects are looking to us for the advice yet not going with SignForce for the final manufacture and installation of the signs because they can show our designs – designs which incorporate our advice, experience and expertise – to our competitors who may use different materials and then charge less for the final product.

Yes, it is true we do charge a small premium for our advice and expertise, but more importantly we charge because we only believe in using QUALITY products, and we believe our advise and products will earn the small premium we charge back to our clients over and over and over again. We also honor our guarantees, we carry insurance and we pay our staff a fair, living wage. We also build in a small fee because we are very aware that if we called ourselves a DESIGN or BRAND SPECIALIST company this would be the norm, but for some reason the sign industry’s design aspect – one of our highest costs – seems to be viewed and expected as a ‘free service’. Any idea’s on how we can change this perception will be greatly appreciated.

That we lose jobs and long standing clients to competitors who do not necessarily use the same structural designs or materials we do but DO come in at lower prices makes me wonder if we are not nurturing our relationships enough or if our prospects are simply becoming more and more price sensitive to the point where they are prepared to invest in the same sign more than once over the expected life of the sign simply to save a buck now. (SignForce have seen time and time again the HIGHER long term cost of using lower cost materials which is why we do not).  Are SignForce in fact farting against thunder by believing in quality and service? Does the market dictate that we join the masses and ignore quality?

If you are in the market for professional looking, quality signs, or simply require advice [you are prepared to pay for] on how best to get your business seen – email arnold@signforce.co.zaor david@signforce.co.zausing the subject line: ADVICE PLEASE and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

http:www.signforce.co.za

A business without a sign is a sign of no business!

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signs; lightbox; illuminated signs

This beautiful LED illuminated sign is on a main road

20140213_192923

This is a photo of a recent job we installed in Hartswater, South Africa – yes, we can assist you anywhere in South Africa or the world!

While we understand that not everyone wants their business sign and name up in lights, and sometimes there is no benefit to having your sign illuminate, there is NO DOUBT that the old adage ‘a business without an sign is a sign of no business’!

Signs are in all likelihood your best marketing investment, because a well designed sign will require one payment and last for over five years, ensuring that your intended prospects know where you are and can easily find you.

Your sign (whether on a shop front or a vehicle) also often gives the first, ‘irreplaceable’ impression of your business. If your sign is shabby, what are you telling your prospective clients about your business?

A few years back a client asked us to REFURBISH their existing, tired sign so they could run a closing down campaign as the store was running at a loss and a new store would open in a nearby location about eight months later. The sign was broken and had birds living in it. The refurbished sign looked way better, and before the closing down campaign could run the store started to show a profit again – the ONLY change was the refurbished sign. Needless to say the staff all kept their jobs and the store only closed at the end of the eight months when the new store opened.

If you have not looked at your sign with a FRESH, CRITICAL eye in the last few days, give us a call (if you are in Johannesburg or Pretoria we do the check for free) so we can see your signs with fresh eyes to ensure that the message you are conveying is the message you WANT TO convey.

Email arnold@signforce.co.za or david@signforce.co.za or call on +27 (0) 11 440 7524 / 5

SignForce is a full service sign supplier. We strive to take all the pain you may feel out of the sign purchasing process, with a team who can design, manufacture and install every sign – visible communication – you want or need.

Who is SignForce South Africa and what do they do?

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Who is SignForce South Africa and what do they do?

SignForce is a full service sign design, manufacture and installation business specializing in giving advice on signs for all custom made signs.

What that means is that SignForce is in the business of designing, manufacturing and installing EVERY conceivable type of sign. If it is something that your marketing department want – like a pylon, billboard, banner, flag, name slat, sign or vehicle decoration – or something that your HR or administration department want, like name badges, desk names or office names, SignForce is in the business of getting you these.

Having taken over an existing business in 1999 the current management team has extensive experience in ensuring that your signs are an investment in marketing, meaning that we believe that any sign we supply should be capable of generating more income than it cost.

SignForce is based in Johannesburg South Africa and works throughout South Africa, with a number of our signs being shipped to destinations as far afield as New York and Malawi.

The following is a comprehensive list of all the signs SignForce can assist you with.

2D Cut out letters & Logo

3D Lettering & Logos

3D cut out Logos

Advice on signs

Aluminium signs

Architectural signs

Banners

Banner walls

Billboards

Brass signs

Chromadek signs

Computer cut out vinyl

Corporate identity design

Cut out signs

Directional signs

Directory boards

Door signs

Electronic signs / Electronic Billboards

Engraved signs

Entrance signs

Fabricated signs

Flags

Free Standing Signs

Front illuminated signs

Full colour digital printing

Illuminated signs – Front illuminated signs

Illuminated signs – Internally illuminated signs

Illuminated signs – LED signs

Illuminated signs – Neon signs

Illuminated signs – Rear illuminated signs

Individual cut out signs

Interior signs

Interior design – Office signs

Interior design – Reception signs

Interior design – Sandblasting effect

Interior design – Stained glass effect

Interior design – Wallpaper

Interior design – Window tinting

Iron signs

Labels

Large outdoor signs – Billboards

Large outdoor signs – Free Standing Signs

Large outdoor signs – Pylons

Large outdoor signs – Signboards

LED signs

Lobby signs

Machine signs

Mandatory signs

Metal signs

Mine signs

Modular signs

Monument signs

Neon signs

Office signs

Parking signs

Plastic signs / Perspex signs / Plexiglas signs

Plaques & awards

POP up banners

Printed signs

Printed wallpaper

Pull up banners

Pylons / Pylon signs

Reception signs

Road signs

Safety signs

Sandblast effect decoration

Sandblast vinyl

Sandwich boards

Signboards

Sign advice

Sign design

Sign manufacture

Sign writing

Steel signs

Stainless steel signs

Stained glass signs

Vehicle decorations

Vehicle signs

Vista Modular signs

Wallpaper

Way finding signs

Window tinting

For advice on signs and how to best project your business’s image, or if you are in the market for professional looking signs at “FAIR VALUE” so that you can consider any funds you spend on marketing and signs as an investment, please contact the writer at arnold@signforce.co.za or david@signforce.co.za and use the subject line: ADVICE PLEASE and we will get back to you.

 

 

Why SignForce believes teamwork is essential

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Why Teamwork is essential for SignForce!

I was recently watching a soccer match and I found it entertaining that I was essentially watching 22 individuals with possibly as much as 44 ego’s all working for a ‘common cause’ – that is, to beat the other team – the opponents, “THE ENEMY”!

It got me thinking about teamwork in our business, because out of the entire 90 minutes of the game, there was only about 60 seconds of PURE TEAMWORK – and that teamwork produced TWO goals. Now if that isn’t an indicator of the power of teamwork, I have no idea what is.

It was funny that my introductory video on teamwork, partnerships and collaboration was made a few hours before I get to watch the match – you can view the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-OoENj6cEQ because I was looking at teamwork from a very different perspective.

At SignForce we believe in working as a team, and strive to do so all the time. Sure, there are times when we don’t get it right, but I would like to believe that we do get it right the vast majority of the time, as shown by the fact that our client’s come back and we meet most of our deadlines – we are still working towards meeting them all!

We work to entrench teamwork from the start with the employment process being a collaborative one, where new employees are assessed by existing team members to ensure that the ‘newbie’ has the correct work ethic to fit into the team, and will support the team when necessary. Once again, this is not always easy, sometimes resulting in new people being with us for a short period, not because they cannot do the work but because they simply do not fit in with the rest of the team.

Next we instil teamwork (and sustainability) by training all interested parties to do everyone else’s work where possible. Yet again, this is not always a simple task, and it has to be ongoing, yet the rewards are great, as, with a business like ours where we keep the core staff as small as possible, if one person is not at work, and no-one else could do the required work, deadlines would be missed and clients lost.

We believe teamwork is also essential from a perspective of support, recognition and responsibility. Each team member is responsible for upholding the good name of the business AT ALL TIMES! If a bad decision is made by an individual, the individual is held accountable, and when brilliant decisions are made, where possible the individual is supported and rewarded.

The SignForce attitude towards teamwork can be seen when visitors enter our premises as well as when we go to site. It can also be seen by the manner in which we deal with our clients, suppliers and competitors, because we believe that teamwork is part of the life blood of our business being successful.

For great advice on how to have signs that make your team look great at a fair price, signs that will enhance your teams image and, as an investment, will generate greater income than their cost, contact SignForce now. David: david@signforce.co.za Arnold: arnold@signforce.co.za

www.signforce.co.za

www.signforce.co.za/blog

Why does my business need a sign?

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Why does my business need a sign?

I have been asked this question on more than one occasion, and my standard answer has been the old adage, “A business without a sign is a sign of no business!”

While this adage is old to us sign people, it is non-the-less as valid today as it was when it was first uttered many years ago.

While it is true that not EVERY business will need a sign – if you are an internet based consultancy, with absolutely no live visitors, how would a sign benefit you?

On the other hand, I have recently been approached by an internet based marketing firm – they are so focused on the internet that they refuse to get a telephone of any sort (all correspondence being via email or on their website) – to make them a sign as their suppliers and shippers are having difficulty finding them. This is a business that only sells to on-sellers, and has absolutely no dealings with the public, yet even they feel they need a sign.

Since signs are among the oldest forms of marketing, they are a firmly established means of communication a number of points about your business.

A sign is considered to be ‘good’ when it clearly displays where you are doing business and / or tells the reader WHAT it is you do. At the same time, almost every sign sends the subliminal message about HOW you as a business, do business – a dirty sign gives the impression you are not concerned about taking care of the finer points. Imagine a fast food outlet where the sign is going black with dirt. How FAST will you walk into that store, especially if the competitor next door has a bright, clean sign?

Signs can also be seen as a symbol of success.  The larger and more sophisticated the sign, the viewer will ‘respect’ your success as a business.

For more information as to how signs can help your business view this video. http://youtu.be/054rkBBfSSE

For signs and sign related advise contact SignForce now and one of our dedicated and experienced team will gladly assist you.

david@signforce.co.za   +27 (0)82 654 5495

arnold@signforce.co.za  +27 (0) 82 558 6413

http://www.signforce.co.za

Tel: +27 11 444 3331