Follow the signs

About 10 minutes into the trip to Eildon Dam for a picnic lunch on Sunday, we realised we hadn’t put the sat nav in the car. Bugger. It’s not that the map book doesn’t work, it’s just that we feel the sat nav is a higher authority, ie. we don’t argue when the sat nav tells us the route.

But “No matter” we thought, it’s sure to be a signpost that will also help avoid arguments. One of the things my wife and I have noticed is that when you are in tourist mode, you see all the tourist signs that help you get about. The same signs that are completely invisible when you are not in tourist mode.

This got me thinking about signs as part of a marketing plan. What should be on them and what makes a good one. So I Googled “basics of sign design”, and found heaps of interesting tips, such as not crowding the sign, fonts and colours to use, and thinking about whether it will be exposed to weather or not. Unfortunately there was almost nothing about deciding which content I should put on a sign, despite the fact they have been around since the Egyptians were building the pyramids.

So because I like to have conceptual frameworks for structuring my thinking, and wanting a signage plan for the Churchill Club, I came up with the following thoughts on sign content. There are three basic types of signs that we can create separately or combine.

Information signs

Information signs form the backbone of any customer experience. Online it’s the button that says “purchase tickets here”. Offline they say, “Push here”, “Staff only” or “Queue here” etc. It’s probably a good idea to role play as a customer, to figure out what you need. Try roles playing both the dumbest and smartest customers you can think of to determine how to stop embarrassing mistakes but without offending anyone.

Branding signs

It’s said that nobody ever buys from a billboard. That’s true, but when they look up options online or in the Yellow Pages, they say, “Hey, I’ve heard of that group”. When deciding where to eat, they want to know your restaurant does Thai or Indian or something without actually going inside, and online they want to know who you are and what you do without having to read pages of your website. Figure out where your potential customers are looking (just ask them), and place your branding signs there to give your business mind-share with potential customers.

Specific offer signs

At least four times a week I pick up a menu to decide what I want to have. I may have already chosen Indian food, but the menu gives me the specific offers. Online it’s pretty much the same thing. When deciding to purchase, most people want a hard offer put in front of them that they can either accept of reject. The pricing also needs to be upfront so they don’t feel they have been scammed.

So what does this mean for the Churchill Club? Well online we are pretty good, but offline there appears to be a problem. We already have a number of banner branding signs, but we are missing some information and offering signs.

A common problem is that when an unexpected guest or two turns up without booking, it’s likely we can fit them in. However, neither the ticket price or how to buy one is obvious. It relies on me greeting guests and telling them. This can lead to an embarrassing moment when those wanting a last minute ticket find the price a bit steep. The solution of course is a sign next to the entrance with “Last minute ticket prices”, and information on how to buy them. The other common problem is when new guests arrive, they are unsure of where our function room is. A temporary “Churchill Club upstairs” sign needs to be put downstairs.

But back to the start of the story. So on the way back from Eildon, we managed to stop in and have a drink with friends at the Badger Creek Camp ground, which wasn’t actually in our map book. We found it just by following the signs.

Brendan Lewis is a serial technology entrepreneur having founded: Ideas Lighting, Carradale Media, Edion, Verve IT, The Churchill Club and Flinders Pacific. He has set up businesses for others in Romania, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Vietnam and is the sole Australian representative of the City of London for Foreign Direct Investment. Qualified in IT and Accounting, he has also spent time running an Advertising agency and as a Cavalry Officer with the Australian Army Reserve.