How do you feel about advertising your business with a magnetic sign on the side of your car?

I think advertising your business is like walking a tightrope. There is a fine line between ethical professional marketing and just being crass. I really think this falls on the crass unethical side

Has nothing to do with 'professional'.

It's whether the signs get the phone ringing and new patients, right?

(Some people would rather be professional but broke.)

Unless you have done the marketing research to know who your ideal client is, what the message they need to hear is, and how to reach them, you cannot judge if car signs would work for you.

Once you have done the research, or hired an expert to help you do it, you then decide what the message would be on the car sign.

A simple "Stop Smoking in 60 days- NO DRUGS xxx-xxx-xxxx" might work. Something with a HUGE logo, tiny letters, and 8 bullet points? Probably not.

But you will never know until you do the research. If you want help, send a connect. Or you may want to try this option: https://www.alignable.com/port-orange-fl/take-control-marketing/85-off-but-only-for-the-month-of-october-oct-2017

Hope that helps.

Mark

One last thing... mainly because I'm reading other posts and it's rubbing up against a pet peeve of mine... Vehicle signage is primarily for BRANDING. The main objective here is to develop top of mind awareness... when someone thinks about seeking your services, you want your company name to pop in their mind first. Branding your company takes time and exposure. Branding does not (always) produce immediate results. Most people today will not pick up their phone and call immediately; however, when they hear about you, see your name/logo, etc., repeatedly...when they're ready for your service, that's when they'll look into you more and connect with you from there.

And about this "crass" thing... The most common mistake in marketing is basing our marketing decisions off of personal preferences. If you are perturbed by seeing vehicle magnets, that doesn't matter... what matters is how your potential clients feel about it. The best thing to do here is to figure out who your ideal client is, call him or her and ask if they get all bent out of shape over seeing vehicle magnets. Apart from some of the folks in this thread ;) I'm not convinced that people get all bothered and forsake doing business with companies who choose to use a vehicle magnet for awareness.

Any messaging medium needs to be consistent with the image you want to project. A car magnet messages a business which is transitory, and even cheap. It subtly says that you're not committed to your business, because you can just throw the magnet away tomorrow.

If you find vehicle signage to be valuable for communicating to your target customers or influencers, great. But I tend to not care for magnets because they undermine messages of commitment to what you're doing.

I would not go so far as to say it is crass and unethical - that is a bit extreme! However, I do think it is kind of cheap-looking. But it also depends on the type of business. I see car wraps that I think are pretty cool, though. Are those crass and unethical, too? I would say no.

Hey Maria, vehicle signage is simple, affordable and effective. It is good for branding and often leads to productive/unexpected conversations in parking lots that even lead to getting clients! I have my company logo/website on the back of my SUV and I run into people all the time who are familiar with my company name because of it. As a graphic designer and marketing consultant, this is something I recommend for my clients on a regular basis and I've never received negative feedback around it.

About the unprofessional part… Have you ever seen a vehicle magnet and became highly offended by it? Probably not. At most, you'll look at it, decide if you're interested or not, and then move on. A vehicle magnet itself is not "unprofessional." The element that might make a vehicle magnet "unprofessional" ("unethical" etc.) is the design and message that it sends… NOT the sign within itself. If your sign looks like crap, then it will leave that same impression on the viewer. If your sign looks attractive, professional and sends a clear message, then it will leave a favorable impression about your business.

Lastly, if you'd like to talk more about how to make your sign more effective, feel free to email me to continue this conversation: [email address]. I do design work for projects like this and can provide printing for less than what you'd pay on VistaPrint!

I used the magnets and than went to the permanent wrapped signage for my business. People notice it and I do get calls from it at times.

I think as a small business you do what you need to do within your budget to get your name out there and if that's with a magnetic car sign, then go for it.

But crass? Are you kidding me! It's about building brand recognition to help attract customers, earn their trust for the business and then develop brand loyalty to not only keep their business but gain them as ambassadors of your brand!

I feel that whatever you need to do to help grow your business then do it. We need to support small businesses and we can do that by building strategic partnerships with each other to accomplish that.

Some mentioned being ethical, I feel that goes without saying.

Just as the sign in our entrance reads...

What are you doing today (spiritually, personally, athletically) to BE BETTER THAN you were yesterday?

You can substitute professionally or whatever you'd like for athletically. We train youth athletes.

Just be sure you drive like a saint. :)

Pretty much most anything you do to get you, your company and your phone number out there is perfectly fine. I have done these auto/truck signage for companies before and what I try to accomplish is that they do not look like magnetic signs and that they look more of a permanent addition to your vehicle. If I can be of any further help, please let me know. Bill