“It is so fine, and yet so terrible to stand in front of a blank canvas.” – Paul Cezanne
As any artist can tell you, a blank wall is an invitation to send a graphic message. Are the interior walls in your workplace actually working to support your branding messages? If not, then here’s how you can start using effective and affordable vinyl wall graphics to put those blank canvases to work.
Unlike other forms of marketing communication, interior wall graphics do not need to create awareness or generate new prospects. The customer viewing a wall graphic message is already inside your place of business, and has either bought what you offer or is about to buy.
Accordingly, the messages conveyed by your interior wall graphics should focus on four broader marketing goals: (1) building brand recognition; (2) affirming the buyer’s decision; (3) nurturing the long- term relationship; and (4) developing on-brand behavior among employees.
Building Brand Recognition
Branding is enhanced by aligning your marketing messages to sharpen your identity in the minds of customers and prospects. The primary objective is to clearly differentiate your business from your competition, confirming the credibility of your selling proposition and helping your customer connect emotionally with your unique way of delivering your product or service.
The short-term goal of this emotional connection is to encourage the customer’s initial buying decision. The long-term goal is customer loyalty to the brand. How can you make an emotional connection using wall signs and graphics? Start by partnering with a graphics professional who can help you focus your branding message and communicate it effectively through arresting words and images.
Affirming the Buyer’s Decision
Once a purchase is made, the next objective of brand messaging is to make the customer feel good about their decision. Welcoming interior graphics can reassure the customer that they are in the right place, that the product or service will be as great as they expect and that their business will be valued.
Affirmation can be as simple as paying attention to the customer after the sale. Graphic messages can thank them for their business, offer customer-only specials, determine whether the product or service met their expectations, or solicit feedback on their overall customer experience.
Nurturing the Long-Term Relationship
No matter where your customer happens to be in their buyer’s journey, brand messaging can guide the long-term relationship, with direct outcomes impacting your ability to retain customer loyalty, influence future buying and grow your business through their referrals of new customers.
Emphasizing your support for community needs is a great way to generate lasting goodwill with existing customers. Interior wall graphics are an ideal way to promote your involvement in community activism such as local charities, food drives, youth sports or scholarships.
In cases where a business may have negative press to overcome (such as public criticism of a lender or a land developer) social activism is an effective way to push back with a sustained positive message. Most people will accept and respect a business that resolves to be a positive force going forward.
Developing On-Brand Behavior
There is one more audience to influence with interior graphic displays. Your employees are among the most important targets for brand messaging. They need to receive it and believe it in order to promote your brand with authentic pride and conviction. Writing in “Selling the Brand Inside”, Harvard Business Review noted that “by weaving brand messages into employees’ everyday environment, owners and managers can ensure that on-brand behavior becomes instinctive.”
Advantages of Vinyl Graphics for Interior Wall Brand Messaging
Today’s durable and economical vinyl wall graphics offer many advantages over fixed signage or painting:
- More Creative – Virtually any shape, color or text that can be composed on a computer display can be rendered in vibrant, eye-catching vinyl artwork and lettering.
- More Flexible – a vinyl graphic design can be installed for permanence, or it can be removable to highlight seasonal or promotional messaging.
- More Affordable – Custom vinyl wall graphics can last as long as paint, with comparable costs. When compared to fixed signs or hand-painted art, vinyl can offer tremendous savings.
- More Effective – Vinyl graphics give you the freedom to nail a brand message the way you want it delivered, while staying within your budget for marketing communications.
- More ROI – You’re paying for every square foot of your location – including a blank canvas on every wall. Why not put these unused spaces to work, to reinforce your brand messaging?
How To Get Started
Cowtown Graphics & Signs can help you envision the best graphic messaging for your design budget and marketing objectives. Estimates are FREE, so visit us online at www.cowtownsigns.com , or to speak with one of our expert advisors, call 817-446-6000.
