An established business with multiple locations must choose signage carefully. While sign design for multi-location businesses is similar to other enterprises, each branch’s needs should be considered independently. Businesses that own two or more stores may want uniform signs to represent all of them. However, their branches can still have unique features if they’re handled properly instead of being ignored completely.
Determine the Scale of Your Business
Companies that own multiple branches should decide how many locations they have, as this number will inform their signage choices. If you only have two stores, you may want to use one imaging for both. If you have several locations, each branch can receive its own unique design or theme if desired.
Keep Colors Consistent Between Signage and Stationery Items
A good rule to follow with multi-location businesses is to use the same color palettes on all signs and stationery items across branches whenever possible. Consistency helps customers easily identify your brand and its image. This way, whether you’re communicating with them on paper or out in the world, they will always associate the two thanks to matching colors and design elements.
Use a Location’s Theme as Inspiration for Signage
For example, if one of your branches is located in California near Disneyland, why not have fun with it? If possible, let customers know about this connection by including small details on signs that refer to Disney characters or special events nearby. Doing so can give your customers more reason to visit each branch instead of just visiting one because they’re already in the area. Even information about local landmarks may be useful because some customers may choose stores according to where they are at any given time.
Ensure Signs Do Not Create Confusion Between Branches
When choosing signage for your multi-location business, make sure to avoid creating any confusion about its various locations. This is helpful because signage should always reinforce what a company wants from their customers to connect with them and be recognized as an established brand. If there are similarities in place names or neighborhood layouts between stores, try to incorporate this information into your overall sign design so it doesn’t come off as unclear or misleading when viewed by the public. If your company name is already long, you should minimize the number of locations it appears on each sign for this very reason.
Include Contact Information
No matter what signage you choose, make sure to include contact information in some form or another to ensure customers know how they’re able to reach you. While digital forms of communication are popular, phone numbers and physical addresses will always be there if people forget to do their research online before stopping by your business.
Limit Any Possible Distractions
Multi-location businesses must keep their signs clean and uncluttered so everything about them clearly represents themselves to customers. This means deciding whether or not any distractions flags, flags, banners, awnings, or other items should be displayed on top of signs or elsewhere near them. If they don’t add to the sign’s image, they shouldn’t be there.
In summary, there are many ways for multi-location businesses to incorporate signage into all of their locations in order to give each one its own unique feel while keeping the brand itself intact. Whether you choose a universal design for all of your branches or build separate themes for each location, it’s important to keep customers in mind so they keep coming back again and again. Remember that consistency in branding is key, so follow these tips when choosing signs that will fit any business layout or design.
