Business signs and custom signage play several vital roles in promoting your company, attracting customers, and creating a positive impact. The perfect sign can entice passing foot traffic to your business, strengthen your corporate identity, promote your products and services, and make a lasting impression on existing and potential customers.

However, there are also some critical steps you need to take when installing business signs. It is important to follow all the relevant regulations, ensure your signs are visible, and follow installation best practices. New Jersey businesses must follow unique zoning and regulatory requirements and be mindful of the Garden State's challenging weather conditions and how they can impact outdoor signs.

In this post, we will share five key mistakes New Jersey businesses often make when installing signage products and show you how to avoid or mitigate them.

Mistake 1: Ignoring Local Zoning and Signage Regulations

Businesses in NJ must follow various regulations, from complying with municipal building codes to obtaining the correct permits for their signs. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in an array of consequences, from fines to the removal of signage.

What to Do About It: Understand the Relevant Regulations Before You Begin

The best way to avoid this mistake is to work with a locally owned New Jersey sign company with excellent local knowledge. Here at DCI Signs, we pride ourselves on understanding NJ businesses' signage needs and the local regulations to which they must adhere. Compliance is built into our services.

Mistake 2: Poor Location and Visibility

Signs only work if the right people can see them at the right time. This means ensuring that your signs are suitably located and sufficiently visible is essential. Poorly thought-through sign placement can mean that even the perfect sign will not get the results you want.

What to Do About It: Placing Your Business Signs for the Best Visibility and Impact

You must consider both the types of signs you choose and where you position them to ensure that your target audience will see them. While large signs, such as monument signs, can be highly effective, smaller signs and banners can work just as well if properly placed.

In choosing the best placement for your signage, consider factors such as traffic flow in your location, lighting conditions, lines of sight, and the height of your signs. Signs placed at eye level are best for attracting passersby on foot, while signs placed in higher positions can be seen from further away.

It is also important to choose clear, legible fonts and high-contrast colors. Large-format printing, sans serif fonts, and tactile raised lettering can also help ensure your sign is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires that signs be accessible.

Mistake 3: Choosing the Wrong Materials for the Garden State's Weather

Thanks to its coastal position, New Jersey has a unique climate, with hot and humid summers and freezing, snowy winters. These weather conditions can impact sign durability and may ultimately damage your sign, shortening its lifespan.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that your custom signs are designed with your business needs and the realities of New Jersey's weather in mind.

What to Do About It: Consider Both Business Needs and Weather Conditions

It is smart for NJ business owners to choose weather-resistant materials for their signs to ensure long-term value and a good return on their investment.

Materials such as vinyl, aluminum, stainless steel, and acrylic are ideal for outdoor signs in challenging weather conditions. Wood can also be a good option as long as it is properly treated. It is popular for its timeless and sophisticated aesthetic, but it may not last as long as other signage materials.

Mistake 4: Overlooking Branding, Corporate Identity, and Design Consistency in Custom Signs

When you commission custom signs for your business, aligning your signage designs with your brand identity is vital. This means choosing the right style, colors, fonts, wording, and logo placements.

Signage that does not align with your brand identity can negatively impact your ability to attract the right clients, create a poor impression, and send the wrong message. It can also decrease customer satisfaction and retention.

What to Do About It: From Channel Letters to Carved Signs, Choose the Right Design for Your Brand

You may already have ideas for your signs. If not, look at what other businesses in your industry are doing and draw inspiration from them while putting your stamp on your sign designs.

Consider the overall message and tone you want to display before you make your signage choices. For example, brightly colored signs with channel letters are ideal for many retail stores, while hospitality businesses and those aiming to present a high-end, sophisticated ambiance may opt for carved signs.

Mistake 5: DIY Installation or Hiring Unqualified Installers

Even the highest quality signs can be undermined by poor installation. If your sign is not installed correctly, it will likely have structural issues and may sustain damage over time, ultimately shortening its life and costing you more.

Poorly installed signs can also be dangerous to customers, team members, and the public, opening the company to legal liability.

What to Do About It: Choose a Trusted New Jersey Sign Company

The right sign company can provide you with quality signs and handle project management, installation, and maintenance services, making the process easy and stress-free from beginning to end.

Licensed professionals can install your sign correctly, safely, and securely. If your sign contains electrical components, a qualified electrician must install them to ensure safety and building code compliance.

Never try to DIY your sign installation project if you do not have the appropriate skills. Instead, build installation services into your budget.

DCI Signs & Awnings: Your Trusted Provider of Custom Signage Services and Commercial Signs NJ

Great commercial signs can significantly impact your business, enticing customers and creating the right impression.

Businesses' common mistakes—failing to follow regulations, placing signs poorly, forgetting to consider the weather, overlooking brand cohesion, and failing to hire a team of skilled installers—can all reduce the effectiveness of their signs. Proper planning, compliance, and design, on the other hand, can ensure that your signs meet your needs and offer a great return on investment.

Here at DCI Signs and Awnings, we have been providing signs, banners, and other visual solutions to New Jersey clients for almost 30 years. Our services span the entire process, from design to installation and maintenance, taking the stress and guesswork out of the process. Our experienced NJ-based team has an unwavering commitment to great service, quality signs, and absolute customer satisfaction.

To learn more about our services or how we can work together, contact the DCI Signs team today to start the conversation.