Great signage can make or break a retail business. When your retail store’s signage is eye-catching and effective, it’s surprisingly easy to generate attention and attract a large volume of customers.

One of the most common signage-related questions is “What information should be included on our retail signage?” It’s often quite difficult to strike a balance between listing too much, and creating a cluttered sign, and listing too little.

From your business’s phone number to its website URL, working out what to add to your retail sign and what to remove can be tough. Read on to discover four elements that you definitely should include in your company’s retail signage.

Your company’s logo

Does your business have a logo? A surprisingly high number of small businesses are lacking a logo, often due to the belief that a logo just isn’t necessary until a business reaches a certain size.

Your logo is the first thing most people will remember about your business, making it essential that it’s clearly displayed in its signage. If your business doesn’t have its own logo, make designing one your first marketing priority.

Make your logo as visible as possible in your signage, as brand familiar should be an important priority for your business. Over time, people will easily remember your business’s logo due to repetition, even if they never visit your store.

Your website URL

It’s 2015, and commerce is no longer something that’s exclusively offline. Even as a small business, it’s important to make people aware of your online presence to build a strong relationship with your target audience and community.

List your company’s website URL in your signage so that it’s easy for people to visit you online. A large number of people that pass your store in their vehicles or on foot may follow up by researching your business online.

This is particularly important if you offer products and services online. A “lost sale” due to a customer driving past your store can be regained by offering great deals on products and services through your business’s website.

A great call to action

What is the goal of your retail signage? Most businesses hope to inspire action with their retail signage by encouraging people to place orders, enquire inside or enter into their shop and purchase a product.

The key to achieving action is a call to action – a strong statement telling passersby what to do after reading your signage. A call to action can be simple – such as “Come on in” or specific, such as a call to action related to a certain deal or offer.

It’s important that your retail signage features a call to action, as signage without a call to action rarely encourages people to visit your store. Use a straightforward and simple message to encourage people to act and enter into your retail store.

A value proposition

What value does your business offer? How does it help people? People are naturally drawn to businesses and people that can help them get ahead in life, whether it’s by selling a unique and helpful product or by offering a useful service.

Your business’s value proposition is a statement of how it helps people. This can be a direct explanation of the value that your company offers or a specific benefit that your product or service has for customers.

When you state your value proposition in your retail signage, you encourage people to take action. Backed by a clear benefit of visiting your store, they’re far more likely to enter and browse the products you have available.