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Use Visible Signage to Make a Good First Impression It happens to a lot of us. You use a particular road in the community for years – perhaps your entire life. You know every traffic light, every building…every bend in the road. In fact, that mind of yours goes on autopilot every time you come upon a certain stretch of asphalt. You’re thinking about the homework your daughter brought home last week, the dry cleaning you forgot to drop off yesterday, or that cluttered garage waiting quite patiently for you back at home. Then, unexplainably, the landscape feels different. Could this be? A church where a church had never been before? The building certainly isn’t new. You’ve just never noticed it. With fingers on chin, your logical side assures you that buildings do not spring up overnight. You do a double take. Like a beacon, a new sign in front of the building makes it abundantly clear—it’s a church alright, and you’ve been zooming past it for decades. A half mile farther along, your brain begins cross examining itself. “But I’ve been driving past that structure for years. You mean there’s a church there?” Our happy motorist shouldn’t feel embarrassed. He’s off the hook. How could that church possibly expect him to take notice of their grounds? Even when a church building exudes, “Yes, we are a place of worship,” it doesn’t necessarily convey the much-needed follow up, “and we want you to know what we are all about!” Without a sign, that church building has to fend for itself in order to make first impressions. Like time-lapse photography, an entire generation of motorists goes by ignorant to all the excitement and fellowship going on within the church’s four walls. But, with a sign, properly placed and tailored to the needs of the community, this church not only makes a first impression, it shouts out to the complacent driving by, “There’s a lot of good happening here, and we’d love for you to be a part of our future!” Community Expectations First impressions occur between two people as part of human nature. The human condition is a wonderful thing, though. Assuming the first impression is a positive one a seed is sown for a potential blossoming relationship. Any new faces you saw last Sunday morning probably came to worship because someone they trusted invited them. Before they’d even set one foot in your church, the newcomer’s first impression of your churchwas the result of positive word of mouth. Now consider the amount of traffic in front of your church. Imagine a church member actually stopping each and every car and politely inviting them to worship with you next Sunday. That, of course, would be impractical and unsafe. But other than that, how can newcomers in your community become informed about the warm fellowship inside your church when they are stuck behind a steering wheel? Use What Is Already Yours Stand about 30 feet away from the front of the sign and visually take in your entire front yard. Try your best to pretend you’ve never before seen this part of the property next to the road. With all of the objectivity you can muster, ask yourself if you and your family would feel welcome at your own church. Look at every detail. How long has it been since the green thumb in your congregation tended to the flowers and shrubbery around the sign? Your church has nothing but good intentions, although we’re all human. We all procrastinate to a degree. Closely examine the message area. Has it cracked or yellowed over time? Is the tracking that the letters rest in intact and fully functional? If the sign has a transparent vandal cover protecting the changeable letters, does it still lock firmly into place or do you have to jiggle – or even worse – whack it with the bottom of your palm in order for it to close? And does it remain closed? Get up close and personal to the sign faces and any logo panels. Have the once-white areas turned yellow with age? When that sign was new, its faces were vibrant with color. How are they doing today? Have the colors faded along with your own interest in maintaining the sign? Is Your Sign Doing Its Job? It’s a wide-open universe out there when a church goes shopping for a new church sign. Since any new sign will potentially be in your family for decades to come, it is wise to understand the features and benefits offered by the countless sign manufacturers. For starters, does your denomination recommend one church sign company over the others? If your denomination has a long history with a particular brand, there has to be a reason for such. Earned trust speaks volumes. It can take years to get a new customer, but it only takes seconds to lose one. Consider not buying “just a sign;” rather, an integral part of your landscape working in tandem with the speed of traffic. It would be quite a long shot indeed if your local sign guy understood the wherefores and whys of effective church sign communication. There is also workmanship to think about – not to mention materials. You can expect many years of rust-free service from a sign where the powder-coated paint is applied before assembly. In addition, sign faces should not be made of acrylic but rather 3M Lexan. Only Lexan can withstand the day in and day out exposure to the sun and brutal weather elements. After whittling down the various sign brand choices to two or three companies, carefully read the warranties of the remaining candidates. With the myriad of improved raw materials and gained skill the church sign industry has experienced over the decades, there is no reason whatsoever your chosen sign company should not offer a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. Even more important is the companybehind that warranty. Pick up the telephone and actually call the manufacturer. Ask them how long they’ve been building church signs. Only a warranty from a company with a long history of serving churches is worthy of your resources. But enough of this grownup stuff! Do you remember our happy motorist? Yes, he noticed our church. It took a while, though. A few decades to be exact. Guess what? He’s not alone out there on that highway. Folks are driving back and forth in front of your church even as you read this article. Stephen Cook is convention coordinator for Stewart Church Signs, www.stewartsigns.com. Sidebar Take with me, if you will, a walk through your church using the eyes of a first-time visitor. Let’s make him (Steve, for example) a first-time visitor that was especially courageous and made his way to church one Sunday morning completely by himself. He makes his way into the parking lot by his best-guessed method then stares for just a second at the myriad of entry points that face him. Steve, of course, does not stare long, as he does not wish anyone to recognize him as “an outsider.” Of course, at “our” church, he does not need to worry about that, but unfortunately Steve does not know that. Signage sets the foundation. As institutions that have been given a mandate for providing direction to a lost world, our churches lag dramatically behind when it comes to providing direction within our four walls. Visitors are not supposed to feel like an imposition. They are our guests. They deserve our forethought, our care, and our direction. Greeters are important, but they can never replace a sign that gives direction to the restroom from someone exiting the service. Signage is a part of your fundamental infrastructure for acclimating people—helping them feel comfortable and at home. Ask yourself this, “Is my church built to make visitors, like Steve, feel as if you thought of everything for them, or does it make them feel as if they are an afterthought—uninvited to the party?” Signage can be so much more. Steve also notices something we forgot about: style. The style and quality of your signage also gives him a window into the mind of your church. The decade it was designed in tells him a quick anecdote—the timeframe the church was at its high-water mark. Subconsciously, to the visitor it says, “This style reflects the year the church was most outwardly focused and financially sound.” To harness this reality for our benefit, we need smart signage solutions that are able to adapt to changes in style. Furthermore, smart churches will use their signage to reinforce the growing spirit of their brands—the essence of who they are as a church. It ultimately becomes part of your intangible asset list that makes visitors respect you all the more and regulars inherently more proud to belong to your church. Ask yourself this, “Does our signage attract and tell the story that we are a church for “today”—or does it indicate that we are the church from a time gone by?” Signage welcomes, it enhances a sense of belonging, and it indicates the standards of your vision. It is an intangible with great effect. It is the starting point to providing Steve with the direction he needs. If done well, it might even lead him and your whole church towards your vision. Richard Reising is the author of ChurchMarketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth (Baker Books). Reising is president of the Dallas-based Artistry Marketing, www.ArtistryMarketing.com. Special thanks to Irving Bible Church, Irving, Texas for location photos. Product Roundup 3Vue Totem CaptiVue from Trans-Lux EZSignsOnline.com INNERFACE Accent Series Aavelin SignMate FASTSIGNS National Signs HTS Sign Systems Great Lakes Specialty |
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| © 2008 Religious Product News |
