Once upon a time, sign writers would fold a piece of paper into
a small rectangular cup called a sign writer's cup. They would
fill this with paint before clambering up ladders and
scaffolding with brushes and cup in hand to create advertising
signs.
Signs have been around a long time. Even today they are a key
component of a successful local business. They become even more
important if your local business has a website.
Why? Because with a window sign that boldly and clearly gives
your website address, and includes a tantalizing reason to visit
that website, you can acquire many new customers who would
otherwise just drive by and never give you a second thought.
Case in point, LaVita's Family Restaurant in Woodstown, NJ,
displays a nice big window sign, clearly visible from the road
that proclaims their introductory Buy 1 get 1 Free offer to new
customers who visit their website at www.lavitas.com.
During September, 2005, LaVita's acquired 27 new online
customers, of whom 12 indicated they heard of LaVita's online
ordering from their window sign.
LaVita's sign has a great message. The Buy 1 Get 1 Free concept
is a proven draw. And since the online coupon automatically
restricts itself to one time use to new customers only, LaVita's
doesn't lose business from coupon abuse. Their online ordering
service tracks new customer registrations, lets each customer
use the coupon once and never again.
This combination of old and new technologies has proven very
effective in attracting new customers and getting them to try
LaVita's food.
If your restaurant window is visible to a large volume of
traffic, it is a great place to display your web site and an
introductory offer to bring in the new customers.
Some things to keep in mind when ordering a window sign: 1. It
must be easily visible from the road 2. Its message should be
short and sweet. 3. Your web address should be easy to memorize.
4. Most important, give the potential customer a good reason to
visit.
Window signs and Web Addresses are a great example of two
diverse marketing strategies which have proven to be very
effective together. From window sign to web site to sale, is a
simple and convenient path which leads many new customers to
your door.
copyright by Rudy Vener 2005
About the author:
Rudy Vener is founder and president of Pizza Galaxy, a company
which specializes in online ordering and Internet marketing for
independent pizza shops and restaurants. Visit
http://www.pizzagalaxy.com to read more Pizza Talk articles or
to contact the author.
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