A Sign of Success: Start a Sign Making Franchise

The sign industry in the UK is worth an impressive £1.1 billion. This isn’t that surprising when you consider how much we rely on signs for the majority of our everyday processes; for instance, driving, directions, hazards, the list goes on. They provide an easy way to communicate a message to a large group of people.

The use of print over other forms of media to advertise, educate, entertain and inform has many benefits. Print is highly effective and can communicate messages simply and cheaply. It can have immediate impact and has longevity, as signs placed in prominent locations can grab people’s attention for much longer than any Facebook ad or radio commercial can.

Why should small businesses use signs to promote their business?

In today’s competitive market, small businesses are constantly looking for the most effective ways to promote their brand. Choosing the humble sign is one of the most successful ways to advertise and is used by many businesses across the country. Here are some benefits of using signs and why a sign-making franchise is worth investing in:

Eye-catching

The main reason that businesses choose signs to advertise is because people passing by will see them. Unlike with digital advertisements, there is no uncertainty as to whether your sign has reached its target audience. A good-looking sign placed in the right location is a powerful marketing tool that will attract customers and encourage them to use your business. There is potential to reach a massive number of customers with just one sign.

Variety of options available

Gone are the days when a sign was nailed to a stick and planted in the ground. Of course, if this style works for you then this type of sign is still available, but now there are numerous options to choose from. From backlit signs for 24-hour visibility to ads printed directly onto windows, the options are varied and exciting. A sign is intended to increase the interest of prospective customers, so working with an experienced sign-making company can help you achieve this.

Flexible and cost-effective

A simple sign offers you a huge return on investment. You don’t need access to a massive marketing budget to be able to produce an impressive sign that will catch customers’ eyes. And unlike more expensive advertising methods, signs can be easily altered or replaced when promotions or products are changed. They’re low-maintenance, affordable and can be placed anywhere.

Read more:

• Start a Shop Signs Franchise
• Start a Sign Company with a Franchise
• Store Signs Industry Franchises
• FASTSIGNS: Get On Board with This Exciting Sign Franchise

Typical Day at a Sign Making Franchise

Working at a sign-making franchise will usually involve designing signs, meeting with current and potential clients to discuss their needs, manufacturing signs, sending designs and paperwork for work that’s outsourced, networking with suppliers, reordering supplies, keeping up to date with the latest trends and developing a constantly evolving marketing strategy.

It’s important that sign-making franchises actively look at ways to innovate their business model. New technology and techniques are always being introduced into the industry. If you want your brand to stand out from your competitors and have long term success, it needs to keep up with the times.

Why take the franchise route?

When starting any business, you need to consider whether to launch a business from scratch or buy into an existing franchise. If you choose the latter, you can benefit from an established brand that should already have a national presence and customer base. This should get your business off the ground much sooner. Also, the business model has been tried and tested, so it is a less risky option.

Am I right for the job?

So, you’re wondering whether starting a sign-making franchise should be your next business venture. Well, if you enjoy interacting with customers and creating a long-lasting relationship with them, you’re off to a good start.

Having a creative flare would also be beneficial so that you can give advice on the design of the signs. Also, like a business in any sector, you need to be dedicated to the success and growth of the brand.

You may not have thought of it in this sense, but it can actually be a very rewarding job too. Your sign-making franchise can play a part in a small business’ growth into a million-pound enterprise. And, if you’ve always provided a transparent, trusted service, it is likely to stay loyal to your business even when it’s transformed into a globally recognised brand.

Now’s the right time to start a sign-making franchise

So, it’s understandable why businesses use sign-making companies to generate customers, sales and profit and, for this reason, now is a great time to start a sign-making franchise.

Take a look below at some of the best sign franchise opportunities in the UK at the moment.

FASTSIGNS

FASTSIGNS is a multi-award winning sign-making franchise that prides itself on providing customers with high-quality products and customer service. This has resulted in it being one of the most recognised brand names in the industry.

It offers its franchisees a fantastic opportunity to receive world-class training, support with the launch day, a 24-hour, web-based learning management, sales support, marketing campaigns and much more.

Now let’s consider some more reasons why investing in this innovative brand should be your next business venture.

There are over 675 centres operating in 10 countries across the globe, 20 of which are in the UK. Therefore, being a brand with such a strong global presence, potential customers are more likely to choose your services than a new start-up business.

Being established in 1985, the company has over 30 years of experience in the industry, and to still be thriving all these years later, it’s clearly doing something right. Also, FASTSIGNS offers its franchisees protected territories and help with site selection.

FASTISGNS’ ideal franchisee is someone who is highly motived and a hard worker. It isn’t essential to have experience in the industry, as all this will be covered in the training period. However, it is important to understand what makes a successful, smooth-running business.

If you’re tempted by this opportunity, you will need to make a minimum investment of £25,000 and a total investment of £120,000. The franchise fees are £21,000.

Signs Express

Signs Express is the largest sign franchise in the UK and Ireland and a clear frontrunner in the industry. With more than 65 franchisees in over 80 territories in the UK and Ireland, it evidently has a wealth of experience and expertise in the field.

Signs Express helps its franchisees find the right location for their business premises, as well as finding quality employees to staff them. A UK-based training centre provides franchisees with coaching and ongoing support in all areas of the business, from operations to marketing and sales, to business development.

Some of the additional benefits of joining this sign-making franchise is that it has a tried and tested business model that has served the company well for almost 30 years. It also, therefore, has a huge amount of experience in delivering cost-effective, relevant and beautiful signs and labels to a wide range of customers.

Signs Express doesn’t require its franchisees to have prior sign-making experience – all necessary sign-making and business ownership training is provided.

In order to invest in this fruitful franchise, you need to make a minimum investment of £40,000 and a total investment of £115,000.

Your franchise fee of £20,000 will be reinvested back into your business and Signs Express will invest a further £10,000 towards set up costs. This should mean that your franchise business can become profitable even sooner.

Signarama

Signarama is another leader in the sign-making industry with more than 30 years of experience worldwide. When you invest in this award-winning sign-making franchise, you can take part in an extensive training programme over a five-week period.

With the first two weeks of training held in West Palm Beach, Florida, this opportunity just gets better and better. The state-of-the-art facility at Signarama’s headquarters will provide you with all the sign production training you’ll need, as well as the management, marketing and finance know-how to give your business the best possible start.

The comprehensive training continues on your return to the UK with a week spent learning on the job at an existing, successful Signarama franchise. The remaining two weeks of the programme will be spent at your new sign-making franchise business, where you’ll be joined by an experienced trainer. You’ll have a recap on the technical skills you learnt at the headquarters and finally learn all the marketing tricks of the trade to generate new and returning customers for your franchise.

And if all this isn’t enough, Signarama offers some more compelling reasons to join the company as a franchisee. This includes the fact that it has a proven track record of success, with nearly 900 stores globally and a strong customer base in any economic condition.

Unfortunately, Signarama isn’t looking to expand its UK franchise network with us anymore, but keep checking back to our website for updates.