TOP 10 REASONS YOU NEED WINDOW GRAPHICS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

APRIL 22, 2019| SpeedPro Rochester

Windows are everywhere. Just picture your place of business. In many cases, your storefront may be solid windows all the way across. But are you using these windows for more than just blank, clear space? Window displays can be an artistic and innovative way of using your windows to benefit your business. Let’s look at 10 advantages of window graphics that can improve your business.

1. INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS

Marketing isn’t always intended to immediately drive a direct sale. In many cases, the goal is to simply get your name out there. The extent to which the public is familiar with your brand is known as brand awareness. Your brand encompasses far more than just your name. The types of goods or services you provide, any logos or slogans attached to your company and your company’s core values are all part of your brand.

Familiarizing the public with your brand is an important step if you want people to think of your company when they have a need for whatever you have to offer. Ideally, you want your company to be the first one to come to mind. So, how can window graphics help you increase brand awareness?

Covering what would otherwise just be a plain window with a colorful graphic that includes your company’s name, logo and possibly other aspects of your brand is an excellent way of getting your brand out there in a big way. Anyone who walks or drives past your place of business will see a visual display of your brand. Since you can expect many people to pass by day after day, seeing your window graphic over and over again can reinforce that brand awareness.

It’s also important to note that brand awareness shouldn’t only be a concern for for-profit businesses. Other types of organizations, such as non-profits and religious organizations, should also be concerned with raising awareness for their cause. You can think of this cause as your brand. To get people involved with your organization, they need to know you exist.

No matter what type of company or organization you’re a part of, getting your brand out there is crucial. You can do just that with an eye-catching window graphic.

2. SHOW PASSERSBY WHERE YOUR BUSINESS IS LOCATED

Not only does a window graphic help you familiarize people with your brand — it does so in a way that also lets people know where you’re located. Most businesses already have a fascia sign above their door, so you may be wondering what window graphics would also be useful for showing people where you’re located.

There are two reasons window graphics can offer a unique advantage when it comes to showing people the physical location of your business. One is that, while a sign above your door may be visible from a distance, people walking down the sidewalk or across the parking lot directly in front of your building may not be able to see it. To catch the attention of people walking by your building, you need some signage at eye level. Window graphics are the perfect way to let passersby know where your business is located.

The other reason a window graphic is an especially effective way of raising awareness of your business’s location is because it allows for a greater degree of customization compared to typical fascia signage. Whereas a sign above the door will likely only feature your name and possibly your logo, a window graphic can include far more text and imagery to communicate what you do and why someone should either step inside right then or return at a later date to take advantage of your products or services.

If you’re a non-profit business, the same principle applies. You can communicate a lot about your values and what you have to offer by using a window graphic. This benefit of a window graphic is especially relevant if your business is located on a street where you experience a lot of foot traffic outside.

3. DIRECT CUSTOMERS TO THE RIGHT ENTRANCE

On a very practical level, custom window graphics can also serve as directional signage. Your business’s storefront will often be how customers form their first impression of your business. You want that impression to be that you care about your customers and want to maximize their convenience.

If your storefront includes more than one door, but you only use one as a functional entrance, there’s a good chance customers could walk up to the wrong door at first. Rather than allow their experience at your business to start with aggravation or embarrassment when they try to open this door, use a window graphic to let them know where to go.

For example, the locked door can feature a graphic that directs customers or patrons with an arrow and a line of text along the lines of “Entrance this way” or “Please use other entrance.” Depending on the style of your branding, you can even have some fun with this directional signage. For example, you could amuse customers with a line like, “You found our secret entrance! Sorry, this one stays locked.”

If you use multiple doors as separate entrances into your building, you can use window graphics to help label these entrances. For example, if you’re a retail store, you could label these doors by which department they open into. You could also mark entrances by which direction they face: north, south, east or west. Store window graphics that label entrances help customers remember which door they went in and subsequently where they are parked. Again, it’s all about creating a convenient experience for your customers that communicates your business’s helpfulness.

4. DRAW ATTENTION TO SALES AND PROMOTIONS

Have you ever been walking past a store and saw that they had a sale happening? If you’re like most people, this probably increased the likelihood of you stopping in to look around.

Sales and special promotions have long been known to benefit businesses. That’s why they continue to be a key part of almost all retail business’s marketing strategy. Whether it’s a clearance sale, a store-wide discount sale or a special promotion on a particular product, special discounts can attract both new and returning customers to visit your business. Research also shows that they will likely spend more money when they come in for a sale than they would otherwise.

Of course, to get consumers through the door, you first need to make them aware of your sale. There is a variety of ways to promote a sale through print and online ads. However, you don’t want to neglect advertising the sale where it matters most: at your place of business. You want anyone who drives or walks past your business to see right away that there’s a timely reason to visit. Ideally, some of these consumers will be inspired to stop in right then.

Since store window advertising works well as temporary installations and is visible to passersby, it’s an excellent way of drawing attention to sales and promotions. You can use bright colors and large, bold text to grab people’s attention. Traditionally, the color red is associated with sales, so it’s an effective color for getting the public’s attention. You can also include other details about the sale in a smaller size or prompt people to come inside to learn more.

5. SAVE MONEY ON MARKETING

Cost-effective advertising comes down to getting the highest return on your investment possible. In other words, for an ad to be successful, it should drive an increase in revenue that exceeds the amount spent on the ad. The less an ad costs, and the more it leads to successful conversions, the better.

Unfortunately, with most types of advertisements, there are multiple layers to the cost. You need to invest time and money into producing the ad as well as the ad space. This is true both in the world of online advertising and in physical ads. Whether in a magazine, on a billboard, on a park bench or at a bus stop, you have to pay for that space — in some cases, hundreds or even thousands of dollars every week, depending on the site. In some cases, you may also have to pay for a city permit.

When you post advertisements at your place of business, however, you don’t need to pay for that space since it already belongs to you. That means all you’re paying for is the production of the ad itself. Therefore, there are no ongoing weekly or monthly fees you have to budget for. Instead, after paying once, any business your ad brings in is pure profit.

There are multiple ways to advertise your business on your own premises, such as with flags or banners, and we recommend incorporating these types of ads as well. However, especially if your office building or storefront is covered in large windows, a window graphic can be an especially great way of marketing your business to the public.

6. CREATE PRIVACY

So far, we’ve primarily focused on the way you can attract and inform the public on the outside with window graphics, but window graphics also have some important benefits for the inside of your building. One is that window graphics can provide a greater degree of privacy for employees and customers inside your building.

In an office building, your employees probably enjoy natural light coming into the office, but they probably don’t want anyone passing by on the street to be able to look directly into their office. Frosted window graphics, known as crystal films, are a great solution that instantly solves this problem. They allow a great deal of light to pass through but still create a veil of privacy. Perforated films are another great option since they are designed to allow complete visibility from the inside out while blocking visibility from the outside in.

It isn’t just employees who may enjoy some privacy, either. Depending on the business, customers may also appreciate the view from the outside in being obscured. Here are a few examples of when customers may want a bit of privacy:

• Working out in a gym
• Enjoying a cup of coffee or working on their laptops in a cafe
• Eating in a restaurant
• Socializing in a bar
• Reading and working in a library
• Swimming in an indoor hotel pool
• Receiving a massage at a spa

If your business is a type where customers would prefer a more intimate and less exposed feeling, you can help create that by covering windows in graphics. If you think customers would prefer vision to be blocked both ways, go with an opaque window graphic rather than a crystal film or perforated film.

7. GENERATE CURIOSITY

When window graphics obscure the view inside your business, that can cause people outside to become curious about what’s inside. If you successfully create a window graphic that’s eye-catching and intrigues passersby, they may want to learn more. How can they do that? For one, they could look you up online. But they may also walk through your front door.

After all, they’re right there, and walking into a business doesn’t signal any sort of commitment. It’s a quick and easy way for potential customers to see what you have to offer and whether they may want to get a table, place an order, shop around, schedule an appointment or whatever the next step may be.

You can create intrigue by making your custom window graphics visually appealing and by keeping text minimal. Give them just enough information to make them curious. You can even include an explicit call to action telling them to step inside if they want to learn more. If you’re promoting a sale, you could tell them to ask an employee for more information. Or, if you’re simply generating interest in your product line or services, you can prompt them to come inside to take a look for themselves.

Here are a few examples of calls to action you could include for various business types:

• Denim Store: “Step inside and see what the perfect pair of jeans feels like.”
• Furniture Store: “Ask us how you can furnish your home for $0 down.”
• Restaurant: “Taste what you’ve been missing.”
• Diner: “Come in and see why we’ve been voted the best burger in town.”

8. DOUBLE THE EXPOSURE

Double-sided window clings are made to be viewed from both the outside and inside of your building. That means with one window cling, you can get double the exposure. This is a unique advantage window graphics offer that most other types of signage can’t replicate. This means you can get far more mileage out of one graphic display.

The reason this is such an advantage is that there’s a lot to be gained from marketing your business to current customers inside in addition to consumers outside. Did you know that current customers spend an average of up to 67 percent more than new customers do? Retaining your current customers should be a top priority.

When people are shopping, dining or otherwise patronizing your business, you want to make them feel like they’re in the right place and encourage them to plan their next trip right then. By advertising upcoming sales and events, you can motivate people to come back again. By sharing your company’s values, mission statement or other aspects of your branding, you can reinforce customer’s understanding of and admiration for your company.

Keep in mind that double-sided clings must be opaque so that they can be printed on both sides without showing a shadow of the other side. This way, whether looking from the outside or inside, your graphic will appear vivid and clear. And, of course, the text will be readable from both sides.

9. TIE INTO YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING

Another advantage of a window display is that it can help promote your online presence and any digital marketing campaigns you have going. On the most basic level, you can simply include your web address and any names or handles for your social media sites on your front door or windows to encourage customers to check them out.

Since window decals are an easy and effective type of temporary signage, you can also use them to promote temporary campaigns. For example, if you’re advertising an upcoming event, why not include a QR code or hashtag on your window graphic? With a QR code, people could use their smartphone to scan the code, which would take them directly to the appropriate site, web page or social media page to give them more details about the upcoming event. With a hashtag, they can post about the event or search for other posts about it.

Hashtags aren’t only a good digital marketing tool for event promotion. They can be a great way of encouraging customers to post about your business on their social media pages while they’re at your place of business.

For example, if you own a coffee shop and you want to capitalize on social media marketing, create a hashtag that includes the name of your business. When people take those social media-worthy photos of their latte and croissant and post them, they can use your hashtag. This way, it won’t only be their friends and followers who see their picture. It’ll be anyone who looks through photos that are tagged with that hashtag.

One of the best things about customers and clients posting about your business is that it’s free advertising. Take, for example, the fact that teens on Instagram have an average of 150 followers or that the majority of Facebook users have over 200 friends. Every time someone shares their experience at your business with their friends or followers, that’s hundreds of people that are potentially exposed to your brand.

10. IMPROVE THE AMBIANCE WITH ART

Business window graphics aren’t just advertising tools — they can be works of art. Creative window graphics on the outside of your building can make your storefront the talk of the town and a bright spot on someone’s commute each day.

Artistic displays are especially effective if your business is in a field where aesthetics are important, such as interior design or hair and makeup. A clear, vivid photo of a model with an impressive hairstyle, for instance, could create far more intrigue and entice more people to come into your hair salon than a basic sign with your company’s name.

If your company donates a certain percentage of profits to reforestation efforts, for example, you could share this information through text, but imagine a large window graphic featuring a photo of a lush, green rain forest along with this text. A rich image like this is sure to create more intrigue and grace your section of the street with a positive ambiance.

Employees also benefit from artistic displays in your office or business space. One survey found that 78 percent of employees believe that having art in their workplace leads to lower levels of stress. Double-sided window clings are a great solution for providing the same artistic displays to people inside your building as outside. You can also apply window graphics to glass walls and interior windows throughout your building.

WINDOW GRAPHICS FROM SPEEDPRO

With so many benefits, window graphics are an excellent way of enhancing the face of your business. No matter what type or size of window graphic you’re interested in, SpeedPro can bring your vision to life. We use the highest-quality materials and bring our expertise to the table to create vivid and durable graphics that meet your needs and expectations.