Reassure your customers with signage
It’s important to remember as you plan your retail shop re-opening, that it won’t be enough to take the right measures to make sure that your customers won’t be exposed to COVID-19. Your customers will they need to know that we’ve taken these measures. They need to see it and believe that you have created a safe shopping environment.
Your customers won’t come in to your store if they don’t feel safe, And they won’t buy if they don’t feel secure in your store.
You need to over communicate what you have done to make your shop safe. Good, clear, professional signage will go a long way to reassure your customers that you have taken all the necessary measures to protect them while in your store.
To be effective your signage needs to:
Be Professional
A hand written sign is hardly reassuring. The professionalism you bring to you signage will speak to the professionalism you bring to your cleaning of the store.
Be Clear
Your sign should communicate the information at a glance. If you post a government style memo it won’t get read. And if it doesn’t get read it won’t get your safety message across.
Outline the measures you’re taking
You need to show that you are taking their safety seriously. Show them the main steps you’ve taken. They will check that against what they’ve heard in the news and feel that you’re on top of things.
Be succinct
You’ll want to tell your customers everything you’re doing. Don’t. Not on your signage at least. If you try to tell them everything, they’ll remember nothing. If you really want your customers to know all the measures, write a bulletin you can leave by the cash. Keep your signage clear and to the point.
Give clear directions
Let your customers know what is expected of them. If they need to line up here, let them know it. Any confusion will create tension that could lead to conflict. Remember, your customers will be on edge. Help them keep calm by giving them clear directions.
Be everywhere
Remember that signs are easily overlooked by customers who have other things on their minds. You need to over-communicate. Put up what you think are too many. Then put up a few more.
To help you with this aspect of re-opening, I have created a set of 26 posters in PDF format that are free for you to print and use in your store.
I’ve tried to cover all the important points. You likely won’t need all the posters. I thought it would be better to have too many than not enough. Be sure to check with any local regulations to make sure that you are not missing anything.
Remember that you don’t need to list everything you are doing. The posters are there to reassure your customers. There’s a blank bar at the bottom of every poster where you can put extra details if you feel it’s necessary. There’s also a second series of posters with space for your logo.
You can access the zip file of the posters in my COVID-19 Toolkit here:
