The BSGA Column Feeling a little undervalued?


I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that sometimes clients don’t really appreciate the value of the service we’ve offered, but is it that straightforward? David Allen, president of The British Sign & Graphics Association, reports.


S


omething I’ve pondered a lot over the years is why we as signage companies,


do not really appreciate the value we bring to a project either. Even on big projects we’ll often be


called upon to advise or create solutions to elements as diverse as interpreting the brand vision to guiding users around a new space. On smaller jobs the scope is even greater to infl uence a customer's success, whether that's designing a new logo or simply creating a design for vehicle livery. Yet all too often it feels to me that


signage is seen as something as an afterthought. All but the biggest projects never seem to have considered the signage before it’s almost too late. And usually as the budget is about to run out.


Have we allowed it happen? Here’s the question though. I wonder if we’ve allowed that to happen? Sure, we work in a competitive environment and big brands undoubtedly buy signage almost as a commodity, but they even recognise the value of communicating with their clientele. So, isn't it about time our trade appreciated its true value?


It's an all too familiar story that we hear from companies approaching us at BSGA. Companies who are looking for strategies to increase profi tability, but not feeling able to increase prices because


maybe a local competitor is putting


pressure on


those prices, or there’s a general fear that


| 34 | July/August 2024


customers will just disappear out of the door if they do. I’m not suggesting doubling prices


overnight, but if we realised the value we add to a customer, we could start to feel more confi dent to charge for this value. There are countless examples if you look around of just this principle in action. So, let's look at the value-based model as a possibility.


A value-based model For a start you do need to know your base price, but you also need to know your customers, understand their needs, pain points, and willingness to pay. You may have to have different strategies for different types of clients but is that a terrible thing? Some examples that I think should be


priced not on cost but on value, are for example if you do design for a client. Should they go to an agency, they’d be charged a fee for this work. Some sign companies choose not to charge for this absorbing cost into the main job, but why not? If you provide this service, the customer no longer has the inconvenience of having to brief and manage the process between the designer and the sign company. It could be that you do signage for a retailer and handle everything from specifi cation to planning and the fi nal


installation, but it's all in a short


time frame. The added value you bring in


offering an almost turnkey solution means their requirements are handled effi ciently, which in turn means they are open and trading much quicker than might be the case if they used separate contractors. Even something as simple as vehicle


graphics. If you provide a quick service maybe to suit the operating times of the vehicle, that fl exibility is an added value. We should be charging for this value. Every customer has differing needs


and for some the cheapest price wins, but I’d argue that by not seeing the value we add ourselves, we’re both shortchanging our own businesses but also devaluing what we bring to a business. Pricing like this won’t work for every


type of customer, but just a few minor changes and the difference on the bottom line could be signifi cant.


More than the price It's about more than just the price though. To really get customers to see signage and the work a general sign company does as something more than a commodity, we’ve got to value it better ourselves. Very few trades can boast the


breadth of skills a sign company has at its disposal. Think about it. Daily we’ll provide graphic design, product specifi cation, manufacturing techniques across several disciplines, and installation skills ranging from vinyl graphic application to electrical, to work at height, all carried out with the minimum fuss usually at short notice. Add to that, the constant evolution of technology in our businesses needs constant investment, and I think we have a good case to argue that our value is signifi cant. We should be rightly proud of our trade and more importantly we should be confi dent enough to charge for all that added value we bring.


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