As the industry gathers for yet another ISA show, the latest problem to face the market is the Trump Tariffs. In the first edition of our new Sign Stories video series, I welcomed Scott Cutcher of Kōr Visual Group to discuss the Trump Tariffs and how sign shops can best navigate the challenges surrounding them.
One of the more poignant thoughts Cutcher shared with me was very succinct, but extremely true. If your shop made it through COVID, you can definitely make it through the introduction of these tariffs. That’s not to downplay the significance of the tariffs, or pretend that navigating them will be easy, of course. In the face of these new problems, communication within the industry will be more important than ever, as Cutcher explained.
“The silver lining is that it’s going to force the industry to communicate at a transparency level we haven’t gotten to in a while. I think it could create some unity if done properly. I’m already seeing it, I’m having distributors reach out to me that don’t normally talk to me saying, ‘Hey, let’s talk about this.’ And that’s cool because now we’re collaborating, because the end user, the sign companies themselves – they will be the ones that win when we collaborate,” says Cutcher. “Our job is to work together as best we can as suppliers to serve the sign shops. For sign shops, it’s the same. You can go to your clients and say, ‘look, you can have this sign, or you can have this sign. One will bring you more traction, and even with the tariffs and everything, this could be a boom for you.’”
Some of the more forward-thinking minds in this industry were able to forecast these problems and create some strategies to combat them. Your average sign shop owner has three choices to buy product these days: online, direct or through distribution. Whichever pathway you choose, just make sure it’s the one optimally suited to your shop. While texts and emails are easier to send, these types of problems call for nuanced discussion, critical thinking and problem solving. In-person discussions, phone calls or video meetings are going to be the best channels of communication for you and your sign shop to utilize when developing your plan to combat the tariffs.
Now, more than ever, it will be extremely important to properly vet your partners within the industry and make sure you’re on the same page. The products that will be affected most are likely electronics with multiple, intricate parts, as some manufacturers will have to adjust the materials they construct with. At this point, it doesn’t serve a business owner to fear the tariffs or get stuck in a complaining loop. The best way to combat these issues is to be proactive.
The market tends to absorb more than we think it can initially, and this will be quite the test. We here at SBI want to help our readers achieve success as much as possible in 2025, and we’ll keep our ears to the ground amidst the tariff developments.
