Maximum Exposure with Effective Signage

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, you're listening to the Chester County Igniters podcast. I'm your host, Sean Dominsky and this is the show where our community's greatest minds help you accomplish your goals in the areas of business relationships and the life So join me as we welcome this week's Chester County Igniters

[00:00:17] Okay so Rob Sharer is a visibility specialist at Den Run Science, he helps businesses of all sizes and Chester County Maximize the results through expanding their visibility, outdoor reach and physical professional image

[00:00:33] He's worked in all aspects of the business including construction production and he combines science, banners, lettering and posters and vehicle wraps to help companies establish themselves in their marketplace Thanks for joining us again. Thank you for everybody. That's right

[00:00:49] Let's start with the why so I wanted to talk a little bit about why The company that you go with really matters and How why it's important that there's a top level of service and quality and worksmanship when it comes to science

[00:01:03] Now that we're you know it's easy to grab signs online and there's all sorts of things people think they can do it themselves or they can order at mail order

[00:01:11] What do you think what do you think are the biggest reasons for why someone needs to make sure they're at a Sign company they can trust I would say first of all it's the the personal touch you know every company out there

[00:01:24] Is really trying to present themselves in the right way and yes, there's a ton of online companies today But I don't feel that you can get that same

[00:01:34] Knowing what your customer wants and knowing what it is that they need without that personal touch without that one on one in front of them So that's part of what we do we sit down and

[00:01:45] Consult what the people find out exactly who they are where they are what the business is and Truly do an in-depth interview with them so that we can best suit what it is that they need give me some examples of

[00:01:58] What goes wrong there. Okay, let's start off with if you go back to which you were saying in regards to doing things online Okay, so from start to finish everything is based upon you and what you see on that screen You have no input no feel no nothing

[00:02:15] Retallution so just because of any sort if something goes wrong in that process So you're keeping your fingers crossed that this company is doing exactly what you want how you want it with us We basically start as I said we start with the interview

[00:02:27] The interview basically finding out what it is that they want then it goes into design and design concept We create rendering approvals that we send over You know color size is this correct where you have the opportunity to say no please change this update this move this

[00:02:45] Then they come in and they have the ability to check out and see samples of what it is that we're going to do

[00:02:49] Sometimes it's a test print sometimes it's a mock up of something and then we finally put it into the production and then hopefully get it right But if we don't we have the ability to go back and to fix it

[00:03:00] We have the ability to correct things if it's a shade off if something just didn't come out quite the way that they want If you're utilizing an online company you don't have that ability once you push go that's it you get whatever they produce

[00:03:13] There have been tons of tons of people out there that want to go quick and cheap And you know as much as I understand, you know when you're starting on a business You need to go as least expensive as possible

[00:03:25] Quick and cheap is not always the best way because if you're going to invest in it the best thing is invest in it Put a little bit of money into it so it lasts Quick and cheap usually fails In correct color

[00:03:37] I've seen wraps people for companies that you know have come to us We've pitched them this is what we'll do No, no, we we can't afford your way to expensive your way to expensive

[00:03:47] Ironically enough one of those vehicles came back to us through a collision company that we work with the vehicle been in an accident We managed to get the vehicle back to only to correct what was wrong and

[00:03:58] There were six spots on the vehicle that were already beginning to fail From the other company because they went quick and cheap right versus something with a little more quality

[00:04:08] Well, I imagine a lot of us to do is when they're going online when they're looking at the company They're not taking in every aspect of Production that it takes so

[00:04:18] First you have the initial consultation make sure they have what they want then has to be designed and that has to You know you have to have good designers and then it has that then it actually has to be formatted right

[00:04:28] Sense of Prade you know, I'm sure you guys there you guys might communicate different ways But there's the whole like the idea the creating the idea laying out the idea Making the sign and then installing it correct where if all your focusing on is just

[00:04:43] Making the sign and you're completely neglecting everything else that goes into it Then of course it might look cheaper but you don't have someone sitting there managing the entire process correct Even with like simple little corrugated signs

[00:04:56] I want I know someone who ordered a whole bunch of them and everything was good in the signs looked okay And then all the week the stance that came with it they completely collapse You couldn't even like use your foot to put into it. It's like wow

[00:05:08] I didn't even this person didn't even think that that would be even an issue Because you would think like oh, I've used these before and there was just no one on the other end of the phone that could really sit there and be like

[00:05:20] Okay, well this is what you're looking at for this. This is what you're looking at for that You know a sign company what is said? Is this a sign you want to use more than once or is this a one day event thing or is this

[00:05:31] Like you know, Ben House that you're going to be using these signs over and over again The internet's never going to even ask you that we we come across that situation just as the person you're speaking of has done

[00:05:41] Where you know and that is part of the interview process that is part of getting to know the customer Is it as you said is it something that's a one and done as it's just a quick community thing in it's a toss away

[00:05:51] Okay, that's fine. I've actually told people if it's something that simple go ahead and order online I'll help you to design go order online It's a quick throw away you'll save yourself some money

[00:06:00] But then there are the ones that come back to which year after here where they're saving the signs And they're just updating a date or something of that nature As for the case of what you're saying, you know, there's different stakes and this different stakes available or

[00:06:15] The inexpensive cheaper ones as you are saying and then there's one that's a heavy duty that you can be used over and over again And we're just is a little bit better quality that we offer like you said that you're not going to get that that

[00:06:26] You know, hey, do you want this or do you need this when you purchase something online? Right All right, so a little bit about yourself because you

[00:06:34] Originally now I should you know we talked about this you what kind of you've done construction and like we were saying like you've done pretty much every aspect as far as You've done the construction side of things in the production side of things

[00:06:45] How did you get to where you're at now in the sign business? Well, just as you're saying I grew up in a family of general contractors I went to school for architectural design and construction

[00:06:57] And I was actually doing a project for a gentleman who owned a sign company and he was also an investor and we were working on a house project together

[00:07:05] We completed the house project and he kind of asked me if I would be interested in helping him with some projects that he had Sign it basically it started off with electrical LED signs So I went to work with him for a while and

[00:07:18] Had a kind of natural natural talent so to speak in regards with Application of vinyl and things that it make in major things how to make things because of my construction background So I kind of morphed into

[00:07:31] The construction background gave me the ability to go out and to install signs build signs and then from there I went into the management and production of Making the signs designing them and an installation and then of course now into you know

[00:07:46] Helping with consulting and sales. Yeah, and do you think that Starting from there has aided you with the consulting in the sales absolutely there's a ton of people out there In a lot of businesses where they've never had to practical experience of

[00:08:01] Either installing building whatever whatever it is that they're selling especially in the sign industry I know a lot of people that they've been in sales all their life and they're like oh, I can sell anything But if you don't have that practical experience

[00:08:14] Every application is different every sign is custom knowing the basics and knowing what I do Definitely helps me better suit what the customer needs. Gotcha. Gotcha So let's get more into like the how to so walk me through we're talking before about the vehicle reps

[00:08:30] This is something that you guys kind of specialize in and more importantly. This is something you're proud of right? So that's what a that's what I find most interesting isn't just the fact that you're good at it

[00:08:40] Although you have been I want to hear about the award that you've won for your vehicle wrapping But let's talk a little bit about what's the different first world? What is what is a vehicle wrap? Okay, so a vehicle wrap is a fully digital printed

[00:08:55] Vinyl wrap that covers almost every inch of the exposed vehicle so it's like a big sticker So he huge sticker we joke around all the time saying that we're you know grown men to play with stickers all day

[00:09:06] Because that's exactly what it is and the image is printed on to the vinyl or not like different colors layered no it is literally digitally printed right on to it

[00:09:16] It actually goes into it a little bit and regards to it penetrates into the face of the vinyl because of the type of vinyl and Inqueous and then once it's done drying it actually gets a heat press laminate that goes on top of it for protection how

[00:09:31] How do you print A vinyl that's big enough to fit on a car just walk me through that real quick Because sounds like very Venucia and you probably do it every day. But I'm thinking like is this like a like my desktop printer just times 20

[00:09:45] Our printers basically can print up to 60 inches wide So generally what we tend to do is we generally tend to work with anywhere between 48 to 60 inches and it's the most manageable as well So you will have seams on a vehicle

[00:10:00] But they're if the vehicles laid out properly and the vinyl is laid properly the seams are very you know They're hardly noticeable at all So yes, you digitally print on art from a roll

[00:10:11] And we do it in panels and the panels will basically be from the top of the vehicle to the bottom of the vehicle no matter what size it is But like I said maximum width is usually 48 to 60 inches wide

[00:10:21] Gotcha, yeah because just the term vehicle wrap you're just thinking oh just a wrapper third on a Pro vehicle you know, but it's kind of really It's a whole detailing process. It certainly is so you're printing these out they're one vinyl and they come out in panels now

[00:10:39] You have different there's different sizes of wraps that's another thing you think wrap the whole cars for after but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case No, not necessarily so You know vinyl wrapping has taken the place of

[00:10:50] You know old-time pinstrapping and letter hand lettering on vehicles and then it went from that to Magnets and from magnets to cut vinyl which is still vinyl letters correct in the window and now it's basically morphed into

[00:11:07] You're getting a little bit more out of it and it's almost a complete You could be a color change so to speak in regards to because you could have a weight vehicle by the time you're done It's red white blue orange and you could be many colors

[00:11:18] But there different types of wraps as you're saying you could do what's called a partial wrap And a partial wrap maybe just you know a bottom portion of the vehicle that could be there's the back You know like the the trunk or the tailgate or a back door

[00:11:32] A half wrap which basically means they will truly you're wrapping about half of the vehicle and then of course a full wrap where you're covering Everything up to and sometime inclusive of the roof panel

[00:11:44] So it just depends on what you're looking for what is so why why would Why would some choose one size over the other is it to cost?

[00:11:53] Mostly and then design afterwards or is there people who would prefer only to have partial partially wrapped I think with some people And the vehicles I think if they're using them somewhat not just for commercial purposes

[00:12:05] But maybe also for a little bit of private tend to not necessarily want to go with the full wrap And yes, sometimes it does have to do with costs you know they're they're just starting out or they're kind of phasing into

[00:12:17] They need more exposure and this the way they want to do it, but they still have a limited budget So we designed something to kind of not only fit their needs in regards to the layout and design but also to the budget as well

[00:12:29] Yeah, now I've seen the three-force Wrap and usually instead it's not just like a straight line where the panel ends There's kind of it kind of blends into the rest of the car with the well designs style will look that way

[00:12:42] Do you how do you like is it like did the edges have to be straight or can you cut into that so we have the ability

[00:12:50] We have a platter and we have the ability that once we're printing out it actually puts a digitized line so to speak on it And then once everything once it's printed laminated we take it down and we put it in no powder and a blade

[00:13:02] Basically takes it and cuts it right on that digitized line so that all we have to do is put it up and that line as you're saying They you know the general ease in from the the wrap itself into the paint job becomes a little smoother transition

[00:13:15] I keep thinking of the photo that you showed me earlier with the plumber And so what happened there you guys one in a war so A local plumber called staldi plumbing he came in and basically said look we I want to design

[00:13:29] I want something that's going to pop and stand out. I don't want to be just like everyone else and just have my name So we started with a concept of a person a lot of created a you know a figure sort of speak

[00:13:40] So we kind of took a picture of him and And then actually made it more of like a black and white outline and then we put it on and we kind of bolded his name It basically came became a very powerful

[00:13:54] Bold presentation for his vehicle and once a year the sign industry puts on Basically a contest for every type of sign out there from LEDs custom made you know business signs and of course into the wraps so we submitted hours as one of

[00:14:12] That it was you know design and installation and we actually came in second place in the business class So to speak for you know for a business wrap or commercial wrap. Okay cool and then we asked also have one other wrap that we won

[00:14:26] And it was in another Another sign association so to speak and this one was for a Designed we help we helped design it We printed it and we installed it and it was for a local beauty salon and it was an old time cars in

[00:14:42] 1949 Plymouth but he had this really radical layout and design and it actually won first place in its class for what it was Yeah, you have photos of that on your website of course

[00:14:51] We have photos of it. We have a big plaque of the award within the lobby of the office. It's pretty nice and yet The deafening mobile Has not one anything yet, but but that was another that's another thing where like people see it in the incident

[00:15:06] No, and that's a a woman flowers by deafening. It's a it's a design by deafening She's a yes, she's an interior designer decorator And yes, she loved the mystery machine and she said I want that concept right and

[00:15:20] We created an own custom concept using the same colors and kind of design and it's an eye catcher Yeah, no really cool. Yeah, and that's another thing to the results now. It's kind of hard when you're talking about signage

[00:15:31] Outdoor advertising to measure results and since everything's digital nowadays everyone expects a highly Scientific ROI on everything signs are a little bit different and if you don't have it

[00:15:44] You're gonna feel it if you do have it. You're gonna feel it but it's gonna be hard to say like oh well You know we bought this sign and now we have this much more foot traffic and stuff How do you how

[00:15:59] Have you seen businesses measure the effectiveness of whether it's a permanently installed sign like just in like a Commercial building or without door advertising or banners is it mainly just positive feedback or

[00:16:13] Is there anything that like what are you here from the business owners when they're very happy or even when they're Right, it honestly begins with the feedback and usually it is it's the the progress of the signage that tends to lead to that feedback and people realizing okay

[00:16:28] What my investment was now I am starting to see in ROI on it even if it's just by people noticing So it can start off with you know

[00:16:35] I had a banner out there saying coming soon then I had a temporary sign showing what I was going to do and Then as I got closer right as I opened up I put up a permanent sign and people were like wow that little great

[00:16:46] You know we were waiting to see what was gonna happen because you had to coming soon And now you have this and then you know for the customers that are able to take it even a step further And let's say they do the vehicle rapids, you know

[00:16:59] We noticed when you're sign when you first started going up and all of a sudden now I start just see your vehicles around And for the vehicle advertising that's kind of taken the place of the old yellow pages, you know prior to the internet and prior to raps

[00:17:12] Yellow page ads are huge now this is kind of like your mobile billboard This is your yellow page ad and Priming's able just talking about you know Return of interest. I had a Company call me the other day and was joking around when he said yeah, he said

[00:17:27] I put numbers on the side of my trucks, but they have no relevancy He said but I had a guy call me and he said my God your fleet must be huge

[00:17:34] I saw truck 35 the other day the guy has five vehicles for truck 35 passed them the other day And it was the stigma and what he saw

[00:17:42] But he made a presence and you know, so that's it establishes them in the market race and even then and in that example It makes them look bigger in the marketplace than they are. Yeah, so absolutely

[00:17:53] Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense now for the companies that have the most success that you hear the best feedback Are they coming to you telling you what they want to do and you're

[00:18:05] Helping them develop the concept like with the with the custodies plumbing or are they coming already coming with a concept?

[00:18:13] Are they saying we need this this and this and you're only going to give you that that in that or is it more of us sit down and figure out

[00:18:20] What you want to do here? It's it's about a 70 30 split. Okay 30% of the people come in and they have a concept and idea They already have a logo. They know what they want

[00:18:30] And whether they've met with an outside business coach or designer or something to kind of get themselves going and now They're saying okay, I'm coming to you with what I want now make it for me the other 70% are coming in saying

[00:18:43] I'm starting a business and this is what I'm doing and this is what I like these are the colors that I like help me What can you do for me? And we basically start from the ground up. Gotcha Gotcha and both ways you've seen success Absolutely

[00:18:57] So we were talking before you had a there was a franchise. There was a shop opening and then while I was under construction So just putting up boards and and stuff to actually put full window

[00:19:07] Vinyls up something like that was that their idea was that something that you guys came up It was actually something we came up with and and basically pitched it as instead of putting the you know

[00:19:16] Typical paper up on the windows that people can't see in and everybody walks behind There's oh, it's going in there, but nobody knows what this was basically Complete advertising form so we printed full digitally printed the windows covered them completely

[00:19:29] But advertised the name of the company and it got a buzz going around them So when they opened up they had lines of people waiting to come in because there do you know what was gonna be there? Right

[00:19:40] What's what's one story if someone who someone who wasn't quite sure Maybe they just thought they wanted a refresh or Meet this on something and then once you guys got in there really did it up

[00:19:53] They could you know, they saw a drastic difference is there anything that comes to mind There's a couple of local companies that I can say that started with something real simple One company is a local company. It's actually horn plumbing and horn came to us

[00:20:09] And they had a kind of a real basic layout and we kind of a We intensified it and we made it a little bit more, you know in depth and depth to the point where today They have a uniformly fully digitally printed box trucks

[00:20:25] They have a design of flow and it is their unique to their brand now So we kind of took them from having just a basic, you know plumbing company family owned Into now they're a branded unit where you know you come down the road you recognize their truck

[00:20:42] Right, they basically have now 15 they have 15 vehicles in their fleet and In that period of time that they went from two to three to 15 and the growth that they've seen a lot of it was due to creating that brand for them and creating you know

[00:20:59] Their presence and they said that every penny that they put into those vehicles They're getting back to old. Nice. Yeah, awesome. All right, so if someone is curious

[00:21:11] To see if there's any way you can help them. What's the best way that they can get a hold of you or should get it? Should get a hold of you they kid honestly email is best way to get a hold of me

[00:21:20] They can email it, you know Rob R.O. B at denron signs plural.com and Introduce themselves Give me you know just some key information of what you want I'll contact you will sit down

[00:21:36] We'll go through what it is that they're looking for and start creating things from their cool So rob it denron signs.com that's R.O. B at denron signs.com Awesome. Thank you. Thank you again