Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? I did! My resolution is to read more in 2025 and so far I’m off to a great start! I’m here to share some major nuggets from my two most recent reads: “Building A Story Brand” by Donald Miller and “The Go- Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
Let’s dive into “Building a Story Brand” first. As sign enthusiasts, we all share a passion for what we do: supporting our clients, manufacturing signs and completing installations. However, let’s be honest: do our clients really care about the same things we care and boast about? Ask yourself this question: what will be your brand’s story in 2025 and beyond? 
At any of the Make It Happen Signage Academy events, you’ll hear us emphasize the phrase “Stand Out” anywhere from five to 10 times during the event. We all sell signs, but does your story help differentiate you from the competition? Does your brand attract customers based on an emotional connection, or is it just a matter of meeting their current sign needs?
From my reading, I’ve realized that we’re all constantly scanning our environment to satisfy our instinctual need for survival. In his book, Miller explains that just because you have a strong brand, that doesn’t automatically help your customer’s needs get met. As he explained, while he had the largest manufacturing plant in his respective industry, his customers didn’t necessarily care. Why? “Because that information doesn’t help them meet their basic needs—like eating, drinking, finding love, building a community or seeking deeper meaning.” This observation from Miller highlights that as sign shops, we often showcase the wrong information in our marketing.
Storytelling is a powerful tool that business owners can utilize to cut through the noise. It organizes information in a way that compels people to listen. The noise surrounding a sign company often includes mundane details such as product showcases, a new warehouse or recently built projects.
While it’s important to our companies, to a consumer it’s just noise. Where’s the engagement? Where’s the storyline and the connection that meets a primitive need? Take a moment to reflect on your own story. What do you need to filter out from your messaging to make it simply understandable, yet relevant to your current and potential clients? What makes you truly stand out? Grab a piece of paper and just start brain dumping after considering the follow questions:
- What do you offer? (If it’s a lot of products, start with your strongest one.)
- How will it make your customer’s life better?
- What does your customer need to do to buy it?
By answering these questions from your client’s perspective, you can adjust your marketing strategies to create a stronger connection. Now, I can already hear the groans—change is never easy and figuring out a new marketing direction can be an overwhelming challenge. It won’t be an overnight completion of the to-do list, but it will change the feel and connection people have with your company if done properly.
If you use platforms like MailChimp or Constant Contact, consider sending out an email blast to your customer base with a few thoughtful questions. You could even narrow down the clients and call your top 10 asking for a moment of their time. Start with a couple simple questions like: “What one service does our brand offer you that matters most?” or “What problem does our company solve for you that no one else does?’
You may be surprised by the responses. Will their answers reflect your well-known tagline? Or maybe they’ll be influenced by the last product they purchased, or the problem you solved for them. The last thing you want to hear is just a list of products: “You made me an exterior sign, you create banners, you produced that interior sign for my lobby, etc.”
While those are all the products you sell, does the client connect emotions to your brand? Are they now invested in your brand or just this one-time experience?
The biggest brands in the world all tell a story. Consider your favorite fitness apparel or technology item. Take Apple for example. According to Google, “Apple’s marketing message is to sell experiences and feelings with a goal to enhance creativity and connection that fit into everyday lives.” We may or may not buy their products, but we can all agree that their marketing plan to meet our daily needs is successful.
Onto the next book, “The Go-Giver,” which also encourages you to consider your brand impact and how your company will stand. This book takes you along a path to better understand some main laws to operate by.
“All the great fortunes in the world have been created by men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving – their product, service or idea – than for what they were getting,” says Burg and Mann. “And many of those great fortunes have been squandered by others who had a greater passion for what they were getting than what they were giving.”
I hope you and your sign shop make 2025 a year that sets you apart. I started by reminding you that we all sell signs, and we love them. However, this life it is about connecting with people. Your business should be inspiring because you give your time and talents to help the community and build the other businesses in your community.
Even if reading isn’t on your resolution list this year, consider these two impactful quick reads. Knowledge like this is key to aligning yourself for better personal and professional growth. Just try to read a bit with that cup of morning joe or close out your night with some encouraging words, you won’t regret it.
In closing, remember this message from Miller: “No matter what your training, no matter what your skills, no matter what area you’re in: you are the most important commodity. The most valuable gift you have to offer is you. Reaching any goal you set takes 10 percent specific knowledge or technical skills and the other 90 percent is people skills.”
