Sophie's World
| Thursday, 05 February 2009 11:25 |
Hiding behind tall hedgesAt this time of year, when the nights don't seem to be getting any shorter and television and radio provide little in the way of entertainment, I can often be found trawling the Internet in pursuit of something interesting to look at. On one of my recent nocturnal voyages around the World Wide Web it occurred to me how companies choose to promote themselves. This thought also brought to mind the many fruitless hours spent scouring sites for deeply buried information, not to mention days spent on the road visiting businesses whose main intention seems to be to keep themselves as hard to track down as possible. The art of self-promotion often appears to fall way short of the mark in wide-format digital print; yet as providers of displays and signs surely these should be the first to put their own houses in order and make sure that they're easily visible and clearly identifiable. During the course of every year I visit many print service providers as well as suppliers and, whilst this second category mostly has got its directions down to the last door handle, many of the former seem to be reluctant to advertise their whereabouts and do little to shout about the services they offer or, even, that they exist. Were it not for my faithful GPS system, I'd probably still be trailing around trying to locate such companies or sobbing with tears of frustration in gloomy lay-bys. Many display producers have signs which are partially or totally obscured, noticeable by their absence, or cracked and sagging with age. Increasingly businesses are located in stark, regimented industrial estates with bland, anonymous units only identifiable by the contents of warehousing inside open doorways. Others, situated in remote rural locations, have to be tracked down by blundering up and down pot-holed country lanes and through farm-yards. Were I a potential customer of some of these people, I'd certainly think twice before handing across chunks of my valuable display business to a company which seems to remain blissfully unaware of the relevance and importance of creating a good prior impression and taking care of its own appearance and identity. Anyone in today's display industry who uses wide-format digital print has a head and shoulders advantage when it comes to looking after its own front door. In an impatient world no-one has the time to crawl aimlessly down unidentified streets trying to work out which building is occupied by a production company. The irritation of having to resort to a mobile phone to get precise instructions is exacerbated by the fact that, with many businesses, there is no such thing as the luxury of a receptionist and this means a frantic call for directions is often an intrusion on someone else's working time. Finding obscure locations is frustrating, leading to tardy arrivals, hurried meetings and can end up leaving nasty tastes in everyone's mouths. The number of companies which don't promote or even identify themselves is frighteningly high. An obvious example is the business specialising in vehicle wraps whose orders are delivered in a plain white van. Another is the production outlet which concentrates on exterior displays yet which fails even to have a simple fascia panel on its own premises. Then there are maintenance and installation firms whose own signs are buried behind tall hedges or that boast sad displays with blown out panels, missing letters and broken lighting. The list goes on . . . Often the Internet is just as confusing. With the emphasis on design rather than practicality, there are too many sites whose meanings aren't clear unless you happen to be buried deep in industry knowledge and know, at a glance, all the terminology. Often finding the desired area on a company's jumble of pages can be a tortuous excursion through bunches of flash-ridden graphics, accompanied by totally unwanted sound elements, before you can get to the section you want. There can be few companies not looking for new business right now. Many help themselves by being easy to find with clear directions complemented by sensible web-sites which provide information that can be understood by everyone, including those without any working knowledge of digital processes. However, there's a staggering number whose lack of self-awareness is lamentable. If these folk can't promote what they do to the general public, it doesn't inspire confidence in end users looking for display print. For those in hiding, now's the time to come out from behind those tall hedges. 
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