I get more people calling me from out of state. Wanting me to install signs already made and shipped. I get the feeling people are just buying signs online rather than local having them outsourced right in my backyard. Online shopping seems to be changing the game or has been. Should I just get rid of everyone in the shop except for a couple key positions and outsource my stuff? Geez! Smh.
-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
The Game Changer
- Thread starter cwb143
- Start date
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Glad I'm primarily a receive and install company. I don't install signs that customers have bought directly though... only ones that the originating sign manufacture is my customer.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Same old Same ol' ... windy as hell and still hear jets flying over every 10 mins.
kcollinsdesign
Old member
Online shopping and improved logistics have changed the game. All sectors of the economy have been effected.
If you are selling a product that can be bought cheaper from an online source, that stream of revenue will eventually dry up. Also, if you are not taking advantage of outsourcing opportunities to be able to bring a product to your customer at a more competitive price, you will lose business to your competitor that does.
The sign business has an advantage over many other businesses in that, in most cases, somebody has to install the sign. Usually it takes a contractor's license, specialized training, and equipment. So if somebody buys a sign online, they will likely need an installer. Many forward thinking businesses are gearing up to accept that role, making the process painless, easy and competitively priced. I encourage my clients to look online to try to find the best deal. I'll even send them links to the websites. If I can't furnish the product for them at a competitive price, I really don't want to do it. But I let them know that I appreciate having an opportunity to do the installation.
If you are selling a product that can be bought cheaper from an online source, that stream of revenue will eventually dry up. Also, if you are not taking advantage of outsourcing opportunities to be able to bring a product to your customer at a more competitive price, you will lose business to your competitor that does.
The sign business has an advantage over many other businesses in that, in most cases, somebody has to install the sign. Usually it takes a contractor's license, specialized training, and equipment. So if somebody buys a sign online, they will likely need an installer. Many forward thinking businesses are gearing up to accept that role, making the process painless, easy and competitively priced. I encourage my clients to look online to try to find the best deal. I'll even send them links to the websites. If I can't furnish the product for them at a competitive price, I really don't want to do it. But I let them know that I appreciate having an opportunity to do the installation.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
I'm about 75% installation. When I customer calls and wants me to install a sign they purchased (which is actually rare) I almost always decline. Usually the cost to install could be way more then what they paid for the sign. You never know what your getting into with it, and who is responsible if something doesn't work with it or breaks?
My rule is only install when the originating sign company is requesting it. That way I can communicate effectively with the people who made it and how to install it, and if something is wrong they can fix it and assume liability because it's their customer.
It's not necessarily online purchasing that drives these calls. For us, it's national franchise stores that get their signs from a franchise-approved vendor. Since the vendor is not local, they hire local shops to do the installation. Some of these work out OK, but others not so much. We were stiffed by a major California sunglass company for installation of a window wrap at an optical store franchise location. But other window wraps at the same store (for other sunglass companies) have been fine. We passed on a request to make rubbings of all the channel letters on a freestanding Starbucks as part of a complete site survey that required a bucket truck because they only were paying $100. Just saw one of our competitors out doing it on Thursday morning in 25 degree weather with high winds. To me, that smacks of a first time customer wanting you to discount their first truck lettering job because they have "a whole fleet of trucks."