Successful sales start with the right questions

In “Step-by-step: Carved urethane sign” [SignCraft, May/June 2002], I mentioned a four-page checklist that we use here at Danthonia Designs during customer interviews. I received a number of emails from SignCraft readers who were interested in what questions we ask and how our overall consultation process works.

I thought walking through a typical interview might stimulate some thought and discussion among readers. There is a lot of experience out there, so in describing our current process, I am also interested in your ideas on how to improve or streamline our approach. Arriving at successful designs quickly and consistently is obviously a goal shared by all sign makers.

The purpose of our customer interview is twofold. First, I want to understand the client’s on-site marketing needs so we can make a sign that specifically addresses those needs. Second, I want the design process to go as efficiently as possible, so a clearly defined target is essential. When designing for committees, I try to make sure all decision makers are present for the interview and that they all agree on the same target before we begin design work.

A typical project

The Top of the Town Restaurant is a recent project of ours. Here are some questions I asked and the answers the clients gave during the interview.

Danthonia Designs: What is this sign about?

When asking this question I usually give examples of what I am after. Is it about your product? Your service? Your home? Your name? Your location? Your history?

Client: The high quality of food and service at our restaurant

I zoom in on “high quality” and explain how a carved and gilded dimensional sign would be appropriate.

DD: What is the purpose of this sign? Is it to sell your product to locals?

Announce your service to tourists? Display your name/number to the deliveryman? Give directions/instructions? To give historical dates?

Client: We’d like to increase the number of locals and tourists coming in to use the restaurant.

I find out the number of each group currently coming in and the number he would like to increase that to. I ask the value of each new customer to his business. This helps us to arrive at what kind of investment he is willing to make and what kind of return he hopes to get on his investment. Return on investment is an important concept when you are planning an expensive sign.

DD: What is unique about your service/product/business?

Why should I come into your place and not the fast food outlets down the street?

Client: It’s cozy, comfortable and has a quality atmosphere. We serve fine steak and seafood platters.

It is important to find out the competitive aspects of this business and accent them on the sign. In this case an “out of towner” can either go to a chain restaurant and get something familiar, or take a risk on a local place. If our new sign can reassure the prospect that they can expect excellent food, we will draw those travelers who are tired of fast food and want to try out the local flavor.

DD: What image should this sign convey?

I ask the client to choose some adjectives that fit the image he or she wants to create from the list shown here, and rank them in order of priority.

Client: Caring / Friendly / Fun / Informal / Reliable / Warm

This gives a very good idea of how clients see themselves and how they want others to see them. This information is helpful in the choice of fonts and other design elements. It also helps to turn a subjective process into an objective assignment.

DD: Who do you want to notice this sign?

What qualifies them as a potential customer? What is their income? Age? Special interest? Culture?

Client: Oh, a middle-income, 25- to 75-year-old Australian with an appreciation for good food.

Communication is a two-way street. It is important to know who is on the receiving end of your message. If this restaurant were in downtown Sydney, the target audience might be very different in terms of age and culture—and even primary language.

DD: Where will the sign be viewed from?

Standing still at 2 feet? Walking by at 10 feet? Driving by at 40 mph? Driving by at 60 mph?

Client: It will be first seen at 100 yards, and then passed by at 5 yards—all at a speed of about 55 mph.

There is a whole science to making your sign readable and to have impact at various distances and traffic speeds. But for “drive-by” signs, I prefer to use few words and a strong pictorial with an instantly recognizable silhouette. Any carved letters need to be large and gilded, or you won’t notice that they are carved.

DD: What is the intended audience response?

Come in your door for an impulse purchase? Remember you for a future need? More easily find the entrance to your establishment?

Client: Passing tourists and people lodging at Top of the Town Hotel should come right in and try the restaurant. Locals should notice the sign and remember it for a future need.

It’s important that any advertising piece has a stated goal, an intended response. This goal will keep the design work focused.

DD: What text needs to be on this sign?

Business name? Personal name? Product or service? Slogan? Instructions? Directions? Address? Phone or fax number? Web site? Date established?

Client: Top of the Town Motel, and probably “Restaurant Entrance.”

It is important that we learn everything the client needs on the sign before design begins. It is painful to present a fully resolved design and only then hear, “Oops—we forgot the phone number.” On the other hand, after considering all options it is good to review the goal and hit the target with the fewest words possible—especially if it is a drive-by sign.

In this case the request for “Top of the Town Motel – Restaurant Entrance” is cut down to “Top of the Town Restaurant.” They already have a motel sign and the placement of this sign is clearly at the entrance. I want the message fully communicated in four seconds on this particular sign.

DD: What are your artistic preferences?

I always show a new client lots of samples of our previous work (via photo album or website) and ask them to pick out two or three favorites.

Client: I like Dalblair and Olives of Beaulieu the best…

At first the client may not know exactly why he likes these two signs the most. But after pointing out that both his choices have pictorial images and a single post system with wrought iron hangers, it becomes clear that he wants the same for his sign.

DD: What pictorial elements need to be on this sign?

What do we want to say in pictures rather than words?

Client: How about hand-sculpted and hand-painted food images: a steak platter on one side, and a fish platter on the other side of a two-sided sign.

In some districts there are so many signs that people simply turn off their reading mechanism. A tasteful pictorial can communicate value, quality and product ideas without the need to read any words.

In this case the fish and steak platters communicate our client’s high-end menu range. The fact that they are hand sculpted and hand painted with gilded cutlery establishes the quality of the establishment. This aspect of the sign sets Top of the Town in a totally different niche than the fast-food competition.

And there’s more. I also ask a number of questions about installation requirements, ordinances, etc., but the questions and answers above are the ones needed to draw a “bull’s-eye” around the marketing needs. This creates the target that my designers are expected to hit.

During the interview we agree on a budget. I collect a design fee ($400 per sign or $1000 per sign system) before beginning the design work. Once we have a design ready for presentation, I first restate the questions and answers in the form of an assignment. I have the client review them before even looking at the sketch. This is an attempt to keep the project an objective assignment—not a subjective nightmare.

Joe McKernan is business manager at Danthonia Designs, in Inverell, NSW, Australia. The company is a project of the Danthonia Bruderhof (www.bruderhof.com.au), a Christian intentional community.

 

 

This appeared in November/December 2002 issue of SignCraft. Dollar amounts have been adjusted for inflation as of 2024.