Getting the signage right on your van

2nd December 2013

A web address on the back of your van is better for business than a phone number, but spelling mistakes can halve your potential customers.

That’s according to Axa Insurance and a survey of van owners which found that nearly two thirds had some sort of signage on their vehicle – at least the company name.  However, only six in ten provided a contact phone number for potential customers and fewer than half provided details of a website.  Just over a quarter displayed a trade endorsement as part of their signage, while one in five highlighted their Facebook/Twitter details.

The main things that appeal to consumers are a witty name or ‘jokey’ signage.  Pictures and colours are popular and, in contrast to what van owners actually put on their vans, consumers said they would rather see a website than a phone number.

Over half said they would be put off using a company with a spelling mistake in its signage, and a similar number would avoid a company if the van was driven badly or was dirty.  Blacked out windows and drivers smoking were the other two top turn-offs.

• Use as few colours as possible in your signage and stick to those that contrast with the colour of the van – eg, dark blue signage on a white van.
• Use a suitable material – a vehicle wrap vinyl is ideal for vans.
• Keep it simple and obvious.  Unless you’re stuck in a traffic jam, potential customers won’t have time to take in much detail.
• Put the key information at eye level for other drivers.  There’s no point having the company name or contact details somewhere that will be obscured by other traffic.
• Try to put signage within the panels of the van and avoid going over door joins or round corners of the bodywork.
• A sans serif font works well, particularly in bigger sizes.
• If the colour of the font is important, get some swatches to reference as vinyl colours don’t match regular pantone reference colours.
• Get several people to proof read your sign as mistakes can be disastrous for business.
• Talk to your insurer – some will offer a discount for ‘branded’ vans.

“Getting the signage right on your van is a cheap and effective way to market yourself, and done properly it has to be one of the best forms of advertising there is,” Darrell Sansom, the MD of AXA Business Insurance, said. “But getting it wrong can be at best, a waste of money, and at worst, damaging to your business.  So a little time and effort is worth the investment.”