Offering more than the usual sign company, merchant account services representative, marketing consultant, internet service consultant or administrative assistant alone, SmartBizChoices is the business to business (B2B) equivalent of a wedding planner or general contractor. Our services are designed specifically for you, the entrepreneur, looking to open a new business or location with the strongest business foundation. We’re in a class all by itself because we don’t offer just one service, we offer many of the professional services that most small to mid-sized businesses need to start on a firm foundation. From commercial signage to merchant service solutions, QuickBooks setup and maintenance, basic template web sites and blogs, Internet marketing, outsourced administrative services, Pre-Paid Legal Plans, and even for items you never thought about like flooring and painting, you’ll find that if SmartBizChoices doesn’t do it, we know someone who does. We deliver pertinent information and sophisticated solutions to your business start up needs with just one call to 678-389-9687!

Earlier this week I spent the day with the design team of a global technology company. I can’t say much more but I can share a couple of photographs from different bathrooms.

The standard soap dispenser has been repurposed for hand lotion. The soap comes from the other kind of standard dispenser, a foot away, next to the sink..Washing your hands is a fairly unconscious behavior; you assess the space visually and quickly move through the various tasks…so who stops to read the sign that says Hand Lotion? That sign serves more of a “here’s how you messed up, buddy” explanation than as a preventative measure. I had a hard time stopping myself from getting hand lotion when I wanted soap.

We did have a group discussion about observing signs in the environment to identify workarounds and opportunities for improvement and so I was pleased to have an example from their environment to share back. This ended up in the always enjoyable men’s bathroom vs. women’s bathroom comparison…in this office the women’s bathroom includes a dispenser for hand sanitizer (in addition to soap and lotion). Unfortunately I didn’t get in there to take a picture.

I was struck by the presumed need for this sign in a different bathroom, explaining what locked and unlocked look like. I had this quick “well that’s dumb” reaction, took the picture, used the facility, and then upon exiting realized that I had failed to lock the door! I’m not sure exactly how I managed to not lock it, since that is another automatic behavior.

In both cases, the signs themselves caught my attention, but I still exhibited the behavior they were trying to prevent (taking lotion instead of soap, leaving the door unlocked).
Does the above message from Steve strike a cord? We have signs all around us. Indoors, outdoors… Everywhere just as the song says.

Just putting a “sign” or words on a board, building, or vehicle will not always get the attention of your customer enough to move them out of their every day routines to do what the signs direct them to do. When creating your signage for your business (or anywhere else for that matter), your message needs to “pop” as they say in the sign business.

Here are our suggestions for getting the most exposure for your business. Get:

1. A lighted sign – So your customers will see it bright against the night sky when there is little competition from other signs, etc.

2. With a vivid color background – To make it stand out during the day.

3. Limit the text so you can make the font larger for people to read.

One of the reasons we chose the colors we did for our web site (www.SmartBizChoices.com) was so that you could see how the site “pops” when you pull it up. The “OPEN” sign on our account is an example of a sign that we sell, so we wanted to promote it. But the color and clarity also “pops” on some monitors in a way that is extremely realistic, vivid, and memorable, which one of the reasons we chose that to highlight our site.

Following the basic suggestions above for creating your signs or web site will make your company more memorable in the eyes of your customer. And isn’t that the goal of all your advertising… to make your customer think of you when looking for your product?

Check out our sign web site at www.NorthGeorgiaSignsandLighting.com.

Then contact Choices today at 678-389-9687 for signs and more for your business.

In their words: The protest page was a trap for the unwary; clicking on certain elements of it initiated a script that hijacked users’ computers. Some of those who did venture a click had their computers taken over by a series of highly objectionable images while malware simultaneously attempted to install itself onto their computers.” Think about it… why would FaceBook start charging for their service? They are already receiving money for the banner ads that appear on the right side of some of the FaceBook pages. And with the number of members they have the advertisers on these banner ads are paying a premium price. Why would they ruin a good thing?

This rumor is something to consider for your business. Just think of something you want everyone to know about your company and spread it around. Isn’t that what networking is all about? It is the same with signs. People want to get the “dirt,” or as they used to say “the skinny” on other people. Your sign needs to be catchy but on target. That makes it all the more effective. People will actually look for your sign to see what you are trying to say. More on effective signs later. But more on effective signs in a later blog posting. In the meantime…

Go ahead and continue to use your current methods of networking personally and for your business. Add more networking sites if you have time… MerchantCircle is a good one for FREE advertising, coupons, networking, and more. (If you don’t have time, outsource it to the administrative professionals at SmartBizChoices.) And watch what emotion grabbing links you click on. You may lose your computer if you are not careful.

Whether you chose to create your own videos by purchasing an All Access yearly Professional pass orwhether you chose to get the pass and let Choices create your professional marketing videos for you, your business will reap the benefits.

Check out www.SmartChoiceVideos.com today or more information. Or call Choices at 678-389-9687 to get our rates to customize a video just for you.

Videos for your Internet advertising… SmartBizChoices for you and your business!