Every day, people from all across the United States and around the world head out to shop for items that they need. Getting to familiar stores may not be much of a problem, but businesses that are unfamiliar to potential customers rely on good signage to bring people through their doors. Without a compelling sign, businesses might just be missing out on more customers and more sales.

Store signs that display the business name at the store’s location let the customer know when they have reached their destination, but businesses rely on more than just a sign on the door. Many businesses choose off-site signs to supplement their store front location signs. These off-site ads attract customers who might not otherwise have known the stores existed. More than a third of consumers polled said that they look at an outdoor ad every time or most of the time they pass one by. This kind of exposure for a business could be crucial to its growth and development.

There are many different types of signs out there. Billboards on highways, signs for outside businesses, lighted business signs, and even custom printed banners. Real estate signs are a familiar type of signage in most communities around the United States. Any time a home goes up for sale, the real estate agent who has the listing is wise to place a real estate sign in front of the house in order to help attract potential buyers for that property. The real estate advertising signs also drive potential new clients the agent’s way. If they don’t want to buy that particular home, maybe they will want to look at others. Real estate advertising signs do the same thing for real estate agents that regular business signs do for other companies: they direct customers where to go to do business.

Business signs have come a long way over the years. What started as wood or something solid with writing on it has evolved and developed into technology-driven signs that can be quite spectacular. Digital signs attract customers far more often than there non-digital counterparts. Compared to businesses with traditional signs, those with digital signage average about 30% more sales. Consumers who were polled revealed that they were 40% more likely to purchase from merchants who use digital signs.

Whatever your company might sell, if you have a brick and mortar business, taking the time to make sure your signage stands out could prove to be one of your most effective actions to take. If you’re a real estate agent in need of real estate advertising signs or a big box store needing a highway billboard, signs drive your business. If you make the move to digital signage, the numbers show you will increase your revenue, and who doesn’t want that? OTX, a global consumer research and consulting firm, found that 63% of adults have their attention grabbed by a digital sign, and grabbing a potential customer’s attention is what gets them in the door. After that, it’s up to you.