Yesterday I worked with my staff on signage. Rick Segal has repeatedly said that signs on a display help sell that merchandise 43% better than a display without signs.
I talked about the first reason why in an earlier post.
Here’s another reason to consider… Value
Perceived Worth
When a customer enters your store, the first thing she is doing is putting a mental price on every item she sees. I call this the Perceived Worth (PW) – what it is worth to her.
If she doesn’t need the item, the PW is zero. If she does need it, she assigns it a PW and then checks the price. If the price is much higher than her PW, then she won’t buy it. Likewise, if the price is much lower, she still won’t buy it. At least not until she figures out why it is so cheap.
Value Equation*
The Value Equation here is when the Actual Price equals the Perceived Worth. When they match, the sale is made.
That’s where signs come in. They raise the PW of the products they are on.
Most customers are generally ignorant of all the features and benefits of the vast majority of your products. If they only knew how cool or beneficial the item was, the more they would think it is worth. And there are only a handful of ways for them to find out.
- Look it up on the Internet (and possibly buy it there, too).
- Ask an employee (which the other post explains why most men won’t do that, and half the women aren’t too eager to do that, either)
- Read the package (which often requires touching the box, something they might not be committed enough to do)
- Read the sign next to the package (which they will often do without a second thought)
Signs Bring Action
Signs take less of a commitment on the part of the customer, so they are more willing to read them than the package itself. A well-written sign gets them to commit a little more and compels them to pick up the item with a higher PW already in their mind.
Well-placed and well-written signs can make a huge difference in your sales. Just remember these three tips for crafting your sign.
- Answer the most frequently asked questions. The goal of the sign is twofold – raise the PW and get them to pick up the item. Answer whatever question a customer might have that would accomplish either or both of these goals.
- Make it about the Benefits. Why should the customer give this product another look?
- Handwritten signs are okay for temporary use, but more permanent signs should be Professionally printed.
You can quickly and easily increase your sales, move out slower merchandise, and make higher margins with the simple and proper use of signs.
-Phil
*PS For a complete explanation of how the Value Equation works, check out the FREE eBook Pricing for Profit.