Like many other print businesses, sign shops benefit from expanding their e-commerce presence and services, whether it’s building a mobile-friendly, easy-to-navigate website that offers secure checkout and simple ways for customers to submit design requests or customer stores that a shop can offer their clients, that digital presence can help signmakers stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace.
In a recent Inktavo webinar, SignTracker co-founder Joe Arenella and Inktavo Director of Product Education Craig Mertens discussed how sign shop owners can use tools like InkSoft Stores to tap into e-commerce and grow signage sales.
Joe and Craig were joined by Tami Napolitano, owner of Awesome Graphics and SignTracker user. She also shared her real-life experience of how the right tools for the digital sphere can make all the difference.
Watch a free recording of the webinar here.
Sample of an InkSoft Signage Store.
Here are some key takeaways from our chat during this webinar:
Adding E-Commerce Based on Customer Demand
For Tami, adding stores to her offerings came because of customer demand.
“I had quite a few clients ask if I could do stores for them,” says Tami. “They saw the value in having all of their different departments and their different employees be able to go into one central place and find items specific to their company.”
That same request kept coming up, so she started offering InkSoft Stores as an option for customer storefronts.
In addition to e-commerce sites for customers, she uses the platform to educate existing customers about the products she offers.
Tami’s scenario is shared among all types of shops, whether screen printers, signmakers, or embroiderers: even if you’re not heavily immersed in e-commerce, there’s a significant chance you’ll encounter customers who want more options for easier ways to buy and customize products online.
Signage Products for Online Stores
Because signage covers a wide range, not all products will work well in e-commerce.
However, a few key categories make excellent additions to online stores, especially if you want to share virtual mockups with customers.
These include:
Banners
Banners are versatile since they’re made from sturdy materials like vinyl and can be used for indoor and outdoor applications, making them ideal for everything from commercial and industrial applications to other settings like schools and universities. Plus, they’re portable since they can easily be rolled up, which makes them perfect for pop-up events like street fairs and festivals. Banners can also be used for standard applications like announcing a grand opening, providing directional information, or serving as temporary signage when a building or office is under construction.
Yard Signs
Like banners, yard signs are a compact, versatile sign category popular for all types of markets and events, such as graduations, fundraisers, political campaigns, parking signs, and sporting events. They can also serve as directional signage for outdoor events where organizers must direct people to designated parking.
Site Signs
These signs will often be most popular with industrial and construction clients who need signage for their work sites. They usually serve specific purposes for safety and regulation around a work site, both for local compliance and general consideration for the surrounding neighborhood or community. A few common versions of site signs would be:
- Danger signs: Typically brightly colored, these signs warn people of any significant safety risk in the immediate area.
- Prohibition signs: High-visibility signs, often with a red border and a stop sign graphic. They usually instruct people not to do things like “Do Not Enter,” “No Smoking,” etc.
- General Safety: These are typically instructional signs about first aid, workplace safety protocol, and medical equipment.
Sample of a sign design mockup in InkSoft.
Reducing Confusion with E-Commerce for Signage Sales
Not only can online stores help you tap into various parts of the signage market and stay competitive, but giving your customers the ability to purchase and sell products online can also help reduce some of the confusion that often comes with in-person transactions.
Reorders, for example, are simplified with online stores since a shop can easily recall the customer’s last purchase and set it up again without having to draw up an entire new round of paperwork or order forms.
Similarly, setting up an e-commerce site for your customers helps reduce the confusion that might come with walking into a shop showroom and needing to know what kinds of products they need. You can quickly build a storefront with a select set of signage products so that your customers can self-service and run their store themselves.
Using InkSoft for Signage Sales
Whether you’re using InkSoft Stores as a platform for your business’s website or to run online stores for your customers, you’ll have several tools you can use to create a seamless experience for online shoppers:
- Components for simple design: Use premade components to customize each site with header images, contact information, and company logo and branding.
- AI Capabilities: InkSoft is AI-enabled, allowing you and your customers to employ features like chatbots that simplify how you run your store.
- Cloneable Stores: Easily duplicate stores and featured products are connected to supplier feeds, and templates are built for different customer categories and events related to your signage sales.
- Responsive Design: Thanks to a mobile-responsive design, shoppers can use your stores from devices like phones and tablets.
Want to learn more about transforming your sign and banner sales with InkSoft? Sign up for a free copy of the recorded webinar here!
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