Most restaurants run on a 3-5% profit margin. Because profitability is such a challenge to maintain, you have to find ways to cut costs. If you’re not making as much money as possible, you’re losing money.

Some new restauranteurs get fooled by early sales numbers, thinking that initial monthly profits are signs of a well-run business. It isn’t. To expect a long-term profit, owners must take a deep dive into their numbers and find ways to slash costs without compromising consistency.

Restaurant signage is one of the ways you can do this. Do you know how digital menus can make your restaurant more profitable? Read on to find out.

Branding

The best restaurant signage should be one of your best marketing tools. A bright digital menu visible through a street-facing window will attract walk-in guests.

Curious customers are the lifeblood of the industry. You have to find ways to get people through your door, and a menu sign can do just that.

Cost-Cutting

Are you a restaurant with a seasonal menu? Does your chef like to change ingredients and experiment?

Menu printing can be a drag on your bottom line. Professional printers cost a lot of money, and you will lose money if you have to print more than once a season.

Printing in-house also presents a profitability issue. Paper and ink all cost significant money.

Easy Updating

These digital menus allow you to remove 86’d menu items with a push of a button. You can also add new dishes without worrying about printing new menus.

Your staff and your establishment will never have to say, “Sorry, we’re out” to another customer again.

Your menu will never be outdated.

Cuts Waste

Did you know the average American uses over 700 pounds of paper each year?

Why are we using that paper, for what? Cutting our reliance on paper and paper products helps us cut down on space needed for landfills. It also helps slow and prevent deforestation.

Paper menus are some of the most wasteful items in America. Think about it. They get stained and dirty and thrown away.

Why not do your part to help the environment when you buy restaurant signage? Using your digital menu to show your values is one of the best marketing tips, too.

Unique Touch

The food might be delicious and the service impeccable, but diners are tired of the same restaurant experience.

For your restaurant to make and sustain profitability, you have to offer a unique experience to your guests. That’s why it’s crucial to create restaurant signage that highlights your strengths and provides your guests with something they won’t get from your competition.

Digital Menu Boards: The Future of Restaurant Signage

Like flaming coffee and Banana’s Foster, paper menus will soon be a thing of a restaurant’s past.

Don’t wait to get in on the cutting edge of the service industry. Invest in digital restaurant signage today.

Do you need more restaurant news? Check out the rest of our page.

Are you looking for some creating framing ideas that can put a fresh spin on how you display art or photographs in your home? The art in your home gives your space some character and getting creative with your framing can take this detail to the next level. 

For some creative cheap framing ideas that can light up your home, keep reading. These DIY framing ideas are great for any home. 

1. Enlarge the Frame

If you want to take a picture or piece of art pop, a great way to do so is by framing it with a large and decorative piece. If you can’t find a frame with a wide enough border, you can make one yourself by using two framed and attaching them together with glue. You can nest one smaller frame inside a larger one for a thicker, chunkier look. 

This can make the piece you are displaying pop and you get the look of a nicer, more expensive frame without having to spend tons of money. Find two frames that have the same finish and style for a classy and elevated look. You can find custom mats to fit your new and improved frames. 

2. Fake a Floating Frame 

If you need to give your wall art a boost or are hoping to put a piece on a large wall but it feels too small for the space, a great way to give the illusion of a bigger piece is to create a floating frame design. This is a great and affordable alternative to custom framing. Take your piece of framed art and find a frame that is much larger to put around it for a floating appearance. 

Find a second frame that is much bigger than the current one, leaving around four to five inches of space between the two frames. This allows for a border that is much larger, taking up more wall space while also attracting more attention.

You can choose the same finish for both frames if you’re looking for a cohesive look or you can mismatch frames for a more eccentric feel. For example, pairing a lacquer and a metallic frame together can be a great way to give your home a modern and artsy appearance. 

3. Add Hardware to Your Frame 

A great way to add some detail to an ordinary frame is to add some hardware. You can take an inexpensive frame and make it look more upscale by adding metallic pieces, such as metal brackets from your local hardware store. Adding these pieces to each corner of the frame can give an average wooden frame a more industrial appearance. 

Creative Framing Ideas to Try at Home 

If you want to take your wall art to the next level without breaking the bank, try some of these creative framing ideas in your home. These ideas can add some character to your walls while presenting some of your favorite pieces. 

For more advice, tips, and tricks, head to the blog section of our site. 

Logos are an important part of a business. They’re the visual part of a company’s brand. They’re the symbols that represent what your company is about that people can relate to instantly.

You’re already familiar with the billion-dollar logos of Nike, IBM, Apple, Google, and Facebook. Did you know that Nike only spent $35 back in the 1970s to have the iconic swoosh created?

Today, the swoosh is one of the most recognizable logos in the world. There are ways you can use logo imprinting and other tips to replicate that success.

If you’re a small business owner, you know that you don’t have the big budget to create a billion-dollar logo. You don’t need to.

You just need to keep reading to learn the top tips to make your logo stand out from the crowd.

1. Know Your Audience

How well do you know your target market? This is one question that you can ask yourself before you begin to think about logos.

That’s because your logo is the connection between perception and your business. If you don’t know what your customers want or need, they won’t have a way to relate to your business.

Your logo and your brand won’t be worth much.

You need to make sure that your business offers the right products or services that your customers need. You also have to know what your customers need as you provide those products or services.

Look at the car industry. They all sell the same thing – a vehicle that gets you from Point A to Point B. Yet, when you look under the surface, each brand offers something a little unique.

Volvo offers safety. Lexus offers luxury. Porsche offers high-performance. Toyota has reliable and sustainable vehicles.

To figure out what your market needs, do some research. Look to see what your competition offers and how you can make your company unique. Then survey your target market and see if there’s a fit.

2. Keep the Logo Design Simple

It’s very tempting to create a logo that has everything, including the kitchen sink. You need to exercise restraint and limit what you put in your logo.

A complex logo is hard to use, especially if you plan to put your logo on promotional products.

How can you keep your logo simple? Only have two typefaces in your logo at the most. Logos that have three or more fonts look sloppy and no one knows what you’re trying to communicate.

Another way to keep your logo simple is to use one or two colors. More colors can be hard to separate on printed products and they can bleed into one another.

3. Put Your Logo on Social Media

In an ideal world, you’ll have several versions of your logo. You’ll have a version with an icon and your company name and another version with just the icon. You should also have a full-color and white version of each.

Examples of companies that do this range from Facebook to McDonald’s. That’s because there are different applications for your logo.

You can use the icon as a watermark in social media posts to reinforce your brand as your content adds value to readers.

The full logo can be used in lower-thirds where you introduce the name of the person speaking and your business.

4. Choose the Right Promotional Products and Apparel

If you want your logo to be seen, you need to turn to logo imprinting and put your logo on promotional products and apparel.

You can’t just put your logo on any old product. You need to be strategic about the products that you choose.

Go back to your target market. Think about what products they would find to be useful. For example, if your business is a gym, logos on products such as water bottles and hand towels are useful.

The next step is to find a printer that offers those products and quality printing. There are a lot of quality companies like Team Concepts Printing, Vistaprint, and MOO.

5. Deliver On the Brand Promise

Logos and brands are so valuable because they’re based on perception. Remember that your brand is the promise that you give to your customers.

Your brand is the one thing that you want your business to be known for. It can be for excellent customer service, safety, happiness, or cool. The brand is often a feeling that customers have when they work with your company.

Amazon’s brand is that it offers everything you need, delivered conveniently, at a low price. The company started with books over 20 years ago and grew to become one of the most well-known and reliable brands in the world.

What is your brand known for? Is it what you want your business to be known for? What would you like your brand to be known for 10 years from now? How can you start to deliver on that promise today?

These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself in order to create a total brand experience for your customers. That will help you deliver on your promise to them.

Logo Imprinting and More Branding Tips for Small Businesses

Your logo is one of the best business assets you have. It’s how people relate to your business and how they perceive your business.

To make your logo stand out, you need to know your audience and understand their needs. You can create a logo that tells a story about your business and use logo imprinting to put it on promotional products.

Are you ready for more tips to market your business? Check out the other marketing articles on this site.

Your logo is one of the most important aspects of your business. It can set the tone for your style and be the one feature that customers remember. That’s why it’s so essential to get the logo right.

But what makes a good logo? There isn’t just one element that makes a logo a winner. All good logos have multiple amazing elements that come together to create something memorable.

Then if there are so many contributors to a good logo, how do you create one? Here are eight tips to consider when designing a logo.

1. Consider Your Audience

Before you start your business or brand, you have to know who your target audience is. This will help you make all of the future decisions that will help grow your business or brand. But you also need to take your target audience into account with your logo.

That’s because your logo helps to create your brand identity. Your logo can help establish the service or product you offer and who that service or product is for.

Your brand logo will look different if you’re target audience is children than if your target audience is young adults. Your audience can determine all the other factors within your logo.

2. Trendy vs. Unique

Your logo should keep up with the trends so that it feels current and refreshing. But there is a fine line between following the trends and being too trendy. You don’t want your logo design to stand out in the wrong way.

But you do want your design to stand out in a unique way. To get ahead of competitors, you should get creative with your logo design. No matter what style you choose, your logo should relate to your product or services.

Choose images and elements that relate to your brand. Hardware tools don’t make much sense on a logo for a retreat and spa.

3. Lean Into Typography

Typography can make or break your design. The font within your logo is just as important as any other design element. Your typography should complement the other elements, be easy to read, and make sense for your brand.

If you have a lot of delicate strokes and thin lines, then a font with bold, heavy strokes may look out of place. Consider your product or service when choosing the typography as well. A hardware store will need a different font than a tech company.

Above all, your typography should be easy for your customers to read. If no one knows what your logo says, then how are they supposed to find your business?

4. Conversion is Everything

On the technical side, your logo should be able to convert to different file formats. JPG, GIF, PNG, WMP, and TIFF are only a few options you should explore. They allow for your logo to render as a single element rather than separate elements.

This allows you to scale your logo up or down and be used on the web and printing a logo. Whether you design or your own logo or have it professionally designed, you want to have as many file formats as possible.

This will allow you to effectively use your logo on various mediums while maintaining the design’s clarity.

5. The Logo Has to Look Good

It comes as no surprise that a logo has to look good. If a consumer is faced with a decision, more often than not, they will choose a business or brand with a better design. But your logo also has to look good on everything.

You won’t use your logo in just one format because you’ll want to use it for various purposes. The logo has to look just as good small on a business card as it does large, on a banner, and everything in between.

Consider also the material of promotional items. From cotton t-shirts to ceramic mugs to paper business cards, you want your logo to look good on all mediums. Allow your logo to be flexible enough to work on any medium at any size.

6. Don’t Over Complicate

When it comes to a logo, simplicity is better than complicated. It may seem tempting to add in a lot of elements to get your point across. But with a logo, less is always more.

Think of some of the most well-recognized logos. They utilize a few colors, have a memorable, or may even be only one image. A simple design looks best when sticker printing, letterheads, or on social media.

Avoid overcrowding your design and pare down your logo to the essential elements. A simple image or striking font can be more memorable and pleasing to the eye.

7. Think About Color

Color can be one of the most useful tools in your logo design. There are so many brands, large and small, that can be recognized by color alone. Your logo color can determine the entire feeling of your brand.

Choose shades that complement each other by using a color wheel. You should also look into the meaning behind color to help you make your decision. As important as color is, you also consider how your logo looks in black and white.

8. Do Your Research

This is one of the most vital steps you can take when considering a logo design. Do some research on your target audience as well as competitor brands and businesses.

Find out what kind of logos customers best respond to and utilize those elements in your own branding. You can also see the logos that your competitors are using to stay ahead of the trend.

Designing A Logo That’s Memorable

Have you ever scrolled through social media or browsed the internet and stumbled upon a business that had a great memorable logo? Doesn’t it make the brand and business feel more cohesive and trustworthy?

If you had a choice between two businesses, with one having a stunning logo and the other only having plain text, which are you more likely to purchase from? That’s the power of designing a logo that returning and potential customers can’t forget.

But there’s much more to creating the perfect logo than meets the eye. These eight tips are great to consider before you start designing a logo for your business or brand.

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