“Adding a support to a sign sale can increase that total sale by up to 50%.” Patti House, Sign Design, Inc., Purcellville, VA

“The support added value for the customer and also increased the amount of the sale.” Nathan Folsom, Sign-A-Rama, Chino, CA

“About 50% of our customers are also looking for hardware.”Patti House, Sign Design, Inc., Purcellville, VA

“Customers know their sign will work with their mount.”Robert Burnes, Mouse Design Studio, Cumming, GA

As a store owner, you know them well: projection signs, projection banners, pole signs, freestanding signs, and even the most complex custom applications. He is dedicated to helping his customers find the sign that best suits their needs.

But, what does it offer when it comes to mounting and hanging your customers’ new signs? When they ask you, do you send them elsewhere? She may have never given much thought to the supporting structure of the sign, or dismissed it as someone else’s niche. Today, however, there is more of a market than ever for many styles and types of sign holders, including hanging flag sign holders, light pole banner holders, hanging basket holders, pole and panel sign systems. , and independent sidewalk folding or with structure in A. signals. In fact, common sign criteria now require a leaf sign: the vast majority of new shopping malls specify a leaf sign above each door.

Why miss out on a perfectly good opportunity? It is well aware that without the core functionality that allows the sign to display properly, it has little more than a pretty image. By letting your customers walk away with just a sign, you’re sending them home with only half the package, or perhaps to a sign retailer that offers hardware, which could help a competitor snare their customers.

In general, you may have always thought, “Business is decent and my customers seem pretty happy. Why would I even consider going to the trouble of expanding my sign business and carrying sign stands as well?” Of course, that was then, before the 2007-2008 economy. Adding value to customers and revenue for yourself by offering mounts and accessories is clearly a good idea to maintain and grow your customer base.

Take for example the owner of Mouse Design Studio, Robert Burnes, in Cumming, Georgia. Within the past 18 months, Burnes has begun offering mounting hardware and brackets as an integral part of its overall high-end sign package. Last week, a customer walked into Burnes’ store with a complicated print-only logo that he wanted to turn into a dimensional sign.
            
“My only requirement is to maintain the basic shape that is part of my brand,” the client told Burnes. When Burnes showed his client the scroll brackets that Mouse Design was carrying, it turned out that one of the brackets was a perfect fit for the logo. The client immediately saw what the sign would look like when it was finished and installed, and he loved it.
            
“Because of the support design, we were able to secure that business and the customer didn’t have to look any further,” says Burnes. “It really solidified us that the decision to offer hardware products was the right decision because it really made us a one-stop shop, and customers know their sign will work with their mount.”
            
The benefits of braces
Burnes’ decision to carry stands is one many sign shop owners are making, and for good reason.

“About 50% of our customers are also looking for hardware,” says Patti House of Sign Design, Inc., in Purcellville, Virginia. “Adding a support to a sign sale can increase that total sale by up to 50%.” House has found that her clients even buy the sign to go with the mount instead of the other way around, and they always appreciate being able to save time and buy both at the same place.
            
In addition to increased convenience, selling brackets actually saves House customers money by ensuring signs are mounted on quality hardware to minimize wear and tear. “We made a carved oval sign for a family, they took it home and hung it themselves,” says House. “Because of the way they hung it, after some high winds, the sign almost got destroyed. They came with a sign for me to redo, but this time I also sold them a bracket and it became a success story.” House strongly believes that purchasing the initial support would have saved his client money in the long run.

And meeting customer needs is what business is all about. “Customers love options. Having different bracket options available is one way sign companies can add value to their customers,” advises Laura Harvey, sales manager of The Sign Bracket Store (of Hooks and Lattice ) in Carlsbad, California, which supplies retailers with sign mounts.

The right provider for you

As sign store owners like House notice a growing demand for brackets, many are turning to a third-party vendor like Hooks and Lattice’s The Sign Bracket Store. “Retailers should work with sign holder providers that offer a wide variety of options to their customers, to better serve them,” says Harvey.

What if you’re short on space or don’t want to spend money on inventory? You don’t need to stock media to sell it. We offer print and online catalogs that, combined with a few samples, will allow you to sell sign holders quickly and efficiently. “And because there’s not a huge cash outlay, it can help you keep your prices competitive,” adds Burnes.

There is a small disadvantage of not having stock in the store. “The main problem is the delivery time,” says Burnes. “The only way to get over it is to find a provider that delivers what it promises.”
And if you know what to look for, this relationship can be as enjoyable as it is beneficial. “Find a supplier with a wide range and variety of compelling products, and don’t add an entire product line at once,” Burnes suggests. “Just add two or three products that work with your most popular products, integrate them, refine the vendor relationship, and then scale.”

Through her years of experience as a sign broker, working for a local sign company, and selling herself, Harvey of The Sign Bracket Store has learned a thing or two about dealing with vendors. She says a good supplier has three essential qualities: 1) A wide selection of standard sizes and designs, 2) Non-branded catalog availability as a tool to help retailers showcase products to their customers, and 3) Fast turnaround times. fast, with orders Usually ships in two to three days.
“We’re committed to fast turnaround times, even the same day if needed,” she says. “We know that our job is to make the sign shop valuable to its customers.”

House agrees that the vendor’s speed is what makes bringing hardware a breeze. “Some stores may think that carrying supports will cost a lot of time and money, but that’s not the case,” she says. “Much of what you need is available from stock and can be ordered quickly, in just a couple of days. You can even get personalized support in a week or two.”

Also, once you find a good provider, the hard part is done. Burnes appreciates his relationship with his former supplier. “We’ve known our vendors personally for so long. We consider them friends. We strive to do the same for others; that’s how we serve and retain our customers.”

smooth sale

Keeping these tips in mind will help ensure that the media selling experience is a positive one for you and your customers.

First, find the sign support products you like and stick with them. “Product repeatability is key,” says Burnes. “We offer a consistent product from sale to sale and from location to location. Offering consistent hardware helps secure your customer for future sales.”

Second, make sure your online presence, catalog, or in-store support is up to date and truly represents your product offering. According to Nathan Folsom of Sign-A-Rama in Chino, California, this helps customers understand they’re buying a quality product even when they can’t see or touch it.
              
As a result of offering hardware to complement signs and banners, store owners like Folsom find that customer satisfaction continually increases. A recent client, a development in Pasadena, needed banners and wanted to create a stylish look. The banners were going to be displayed on lamp posts, so Folsom recommended an ornate parchment stand to impart the luxurious feel they were going for.

“The scroll work on the stand became an inspiration for the design and we even created some additional banners for them as a result,” says Folsom. “The support added value for the client and also increased the amount of the sale. Our client was very satisfied with the work.”
“By offering mounting brackets and hardware, a sign shop moves from being a product supplier to truly being a full-service solutions provider,” says Harvey. “It’s that kind of focus that will drive the success of a store.”

Experts’ Top 5 Hardware Mistakes

Whose go to a welder. They won’t be able to replicate what you want. Sign holders are complex and they may not understand how to design them to fit and install correctly.

Whose plan the sign, then choose the support. Let the customer select their support, then choose a corresponding blank for their design.

Whose never use a mount that is not powder coated. It may rust, stain your sign, fade, or not be durable over time.

Whose forget to recommend lighting if the business is open at night.

Whose Forget writing down the distance to the power source when ordering stands and lighting, to make sure your cables are the right ones.