What commercial real estate signs say about your property
Unless you’ve been on Mars for the last decade you might have seen that there are more and more commercial real estate signs up in windows and on buildings through out San Francisco and around the country. There is no denying it, companies have gone out of business and there are vacant buildings. Some cities have been hit worse than others, but no matter where you go the commercial real estate sign is growing in popularity. Maybe you have to own a sign company or be a commercial real estate agent to notice this but properties are getting more and more creative with their commercial real estate signs.
Bigger signs
Commercial real estate signs are getting bigger. As a sign professional I like to sell big signs. If you are going to put up commercial real estate signs to lease or sell a building it’s probably not a good idea to go small. I’ll admit though you would not want to cover the whole outside of the building with a big honkin banner because you’ll piss off the City Planning Department and the neighbors. So there needs to be a happy medium. Bigger than a rental property sign (18″ x 24″) but smaller than sky writing.
Like all signs it comes down to where you want people to see the sign from. If they are going to see it from 50 feet away you might only have a 4′ x 4′ sign in the window. If your readers are driving at 60 miles an hour 500 feet away on a freeway then you might have a large 8′ x 30′ banner mounted to the top of your building in big bold letters. The farther people are from reading your sign the less information you need on the sign. Don’t put a bunch of information on the sign that people can’t memorize in a few seconds. If you are attracting side walk traffic you can get away with more information on your sign.
Location Location Location
Just like the example above said, you want to have the commercial real estate sign in the right location on the building to attract the most attention. If you are hanging a projecting banner out from the building using poles why would you put this sign in a alley? You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t even think of it. The same goes with putting the sign behind trees. If you have trees in front of your building you might need to find an alternative sign program or another form of advertising.
Use Windows
I think my favorite way to advertise a commercial property is to use the windows. The windows on a building are canvas that you can decorate. They make one way window films now that allow the people inside the building to see out, but the people outside to not be able to see in. Instead they see your message. These are really popular in shopping centers with vacant stores or commercial real estate with ground floor spaces. On the ground floor these window coverings can be cost effective, colorful, and with good designs they can get a space filled really quickly.
So what do commercial real estate signs say about your property? Well if they are small and hung on your building without care then it’ll tell the tenant moving in that the property owner might be cheap or lazy. But a well designed, well thought-out sign or series of signs that are installed properly can tell the tenant that the owner is serious about their building and keeping tenants in the building for the long term. I’ve always said that your signs can say a lot about you and it is no different than how you use your real estate signs.
If you have questions about your commercial real estate signs of if you want a free consultation on how your sign program can be improved please give us a call at Martin Sign Company or contact us through our contact page.
