Why Your Exterior Sign is the Single Most Effective Investment You Can Make For Your Bar

Whether you already have an existing bar, or are in the planning stages of opening up one, you need to be aware of how powerful your store sign can be in drawing traffic to your business, and why, if you have the right sign, it can be both the least expensive and the most effective form of advertising you can have.

Signage is Targeted

One of the reasons we are very high on outdoor store signage is the fact that is targeted to the people who are most likely to purchase from you. According to the Small Business Administration, bars make 85% of their sales from people who live within 5 miles radius of their bar. Think about it.

Newspaper, television, radio, and yellow page advertising targets potential customers across a large area - people who in all likelihood will never consider buying from you because you are just not convenient.

This makes these forms of advertising very expensive for the amount of traffic it produces. Unless you have multiple locations, is not an efficient use of your advertising budget.

Since your potential customers live around your bar, it is very important that you have a well designed and well located sign that announces your bar and makes it easy to find to those that are driving or walking by.

Signage Results in Customers

Many bars who have tracked the advertising sources of their customers report that anywhere from 40 - 60% of their customer base comes solely from their exterior sign. These numbers are hugely significant!

Simply put, signage works. Ignore it at your bar's peril.

Traffic from Signage is Cheap Compared to Other Types of Advertising

As we discussed, customer traffic from your exterior sign is targeted to those who reside in a 5 mile radius of your bar's location, which makes it a very efficient form of advertising. It is also much less expensive than other forms of advertising.

Average Cost of Advertising per 1000 Exposures
Newspaper	$7.39
Television	$6.26
Radio	$5.47
LED sign	$1.17
Channel Letter Sign	$0.27
Free-standing Sign	$0.14

Signage is Usually a One Time Investment

Unlike other forms of advertising, your exterior bar sign is usually a one-time investment, with a quality sign not needing to be replaced for around 10 years. It is likely the most significant advertising expense a new bar will make in the first year of opening. Fortunately, it is an investment that your business will recoup many times over. And, unlike other forms of advertising, it continues to work for you as long as you have it, while other forms of advertising quit working once you quit paying for them.


You Get What You Pay For

Signage is not an area to take the cheap route. Since it drives close to half of your bar's traffic, you should maximize all signage space available to your bar. Put up multiple signs if you are allowed. This is truly a case where the bigger the better and the more signs the better. If your landlord offers includes signage in your lease, double check to see if you can make the sign better, even if you have to pay extra. Anything free is usually worth about the same.


Is it Time For a Signage Upgrade?

If you did it on the cheap when you first opened, it's time to take another look at your signage. Analyze the sources of your customers if have not done so recently. Poll your customers: how did you hear about us? If you find that less than 50% of your customers are responding to you sign, see what you can do to upgrade it.

If regulations allow, investigate LED signs. Bars upgrading to LED signs are reporting increases in traffic of 30% -70% That's a huge traffic increase! These signs can be purchased outright, or leased. LED signs begin around $10,000, and can be leased, depending on the type, from between $100 - $400 per month.


First Steps For New Bar Owners

You'll need to investigate the sign ordinances in your bar's jurisdiction first. Check with the building department office or the city clerk's office. Find out about the materials you can use, size allowed, numbers of signs you can have, the location of the sign, height, lighting, colors, the distance it overhangs the sidewalk, and how the sign can be mounted.

Once you find out what is allowed, then you can begin the design process. Research the ordinances first - there's no point in designing a sign that cannot get a permit.

If you are locating in a historical area, you'll need to plan ahead, as the permit process tends to take some time.

You also need to investigate the rules for signage for the location you are considering. If you are locating in a shopping center, find about the signage restrictions. If you are not allowed a sign to you liking, then avoid that location.

Location is important, but bar traffic is even more important. Having a well-designed and well-located sign is key to having enough traffic to run a viable and profitable business.

If you are locating in a free standing location, check if you can get a permit for an LED sign. This type of sign will pay for itself many times over.

When having your sign designed, don't forget to tell people what you sell - a bar name by itself mean nothing to your potential customers.

Your bar's signage plays a tremendous role in how much traffic your bar will receive. Smart bar owners understand that investing in signage that is well designed and well located is one of the single most important investments they can make in their business.

• Low-cost marketing strategies
• Easy to implement bar promotions to increase your sales
• Proven ways to cut your pour costs and your overhead
• First hand insight into running a profitable bar business

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