Business View Magazine - October 2018

272 273 SIGNARAMA their mix of business,”AJ says. “It’s not a require- ment to have certain pieces of updated equip- ment; it’s really up to them. But, we keep them up-to-date in terms of information and in show- ing them what we see on the horizon, and what we’ve tested. And the advancement is not always in a piece of equipment – it’s with POS software, moving our franchise owners over to our new point of sale system; it’s with design software; it could be just in market trends –what’s going on in the world.” AJ believes that Signarama continues to lead the competition because it’s truly a full-service operation. “We do everything from small interior graphics to vehicle wraps, to large outdoor elec- trical signs, and everything in between. Most of our competitors don’t do that –you have some- one who does vinyl; you have someone who does car wraps; you have someone who manufactures signs. But, if you’re a business, you don’t want to deal with five different people –you want to deal with one person. And you want to deal with someone who knows what they’re doing. And that’s what we strive to be. So, customer service is a big thing for us. And you’re going to come back to a franchise owner to get the service that you need.” Another part of the competitive sign environ- ment includes websites where an end user can order a sign online, but AJ says that Signarama doesn’t participate in that arena. “At the end of the day, someone who is branding their busi- ness doesn’t want to deal with someone on the computer to type in the right measurements, then hope and pray that they get the colors right,” he asserts. “Your sign is your business. The first impression of your business is what people see. So from the sign on the road, to the channel letters above your store, to the vinyl graphics, to your lobby display, it’s the first impression. On top of that, a lot of the business that went online wasn’t the business that our owners really wanted– the low cost, low profit, political signs, Happy Birthday Mom and Dad banner jobs. They can still do those and they can still produce them in house, but at the end of the day, those aren’t the big money makers.” Going forward, one of AJ’s goals is to have a hundred new franchise owners by the end of this year, because he believes the demand is there. “So, we’re looking at some big growth,” he notes. “The economy is doing well, and when the economy does well, people see buildings, and when people see buildings, people see signs.”Will the future of the sign business be all digital? “A big part of the industry is going that way, but you’re also seeing a big movement in vintage signs,” he avers. “So, you’re going to get the digital message centers – the menu boards