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Does Your Shop Sign Follow the 45 mph Rule?

July 23, 2020 By Nadeem Muaddi

The Hog Ring - Does Your Shop Follow the 45 mph Rule - The Shop

The most important and effective marketing tool that any small business can invest in is a good sign. Unfortunately, not every auto upholstery shop gets it right.

Instead of commissioning signs that are simple and bold, many shops opt for strange colors, hard-to-read fonts or complex graphics. What’s more, some shops don’t even hang their signs in prime locations.

Whether you’re in the market for a new sign or worried that you’re existing one may not be ideal, check out the article “Shop Sign 101” in The Shop magazine.

The article, written by a sign expert, is full of tips on how to get the most from your shop sign — including, the “45 mph rule.”

One of the biggest mistakes is shop signs with fine details that are hard to see. […]

Maybe you have a complex logo. That might need to be simplified. And sometimes, your artistic pride might have to take a backseat to the needs of your customers. […]

The most common mistakes are trying to cram in too much information, complex backgrounds (like a photo of your work), fancy fonts and/or lettering that is way too small.

Think about it as the 45-mph rule. If someone cannot clearly see what’s on your sign at 45 mph, then it’s kind of a waste.

To read the full article, check out the March 2017 issue of The Shop by clicking here.

For more business tips, check out The Hog Ring’s “Better Business” section.

Filed Under: Archive, Better Business Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, The Shop

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ed Wolford says

    July 25, 2020 at 11:06 am

    Word of mouth will beat any sign . Let your work be your sign . My work will Out shine any sign

    • Nadeem Muaddi says

      July 25, 2020 at 12:17 pm

      True. But combine word of mouth with a good shop sign and you’re golden.

  2. Perfect stitch says

    July 25, 2020 at 1:16 pm

    A business with no sign, is a sign of no business,
    A word of mouth become after the sign

  3. TERRIE Boddaert says

    July 25, 2020 at 1:44 pm

    I own a sign shop and see it every day people come to me with these graphic that must of took a week to do . Then say they want it all to fit on a 2×3 sign. Hmmmm i say sorry not interested in the job. Because i know they will be mad that it looks like all one color at 45mph.

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