Safeguard Premier Branding Solutions Large Format Printing and the Buying Cycle

Large format printing might seem pretty self-explanatory, after all, it’s printing in large formats. But what you may not realize is how variable this form of printing is and the many ways it can be used to promote your business, products, or event.

In this article we’ll be taking a look at how large format printing can be used throughout the different stages of the buying cycle. The buying cycle is the process potential customers go through when considering a purchase. There are three main stages to this cycle — awareness, consideration, and purchase — and each stage can benefit from different kinds of large format printing.

Create Awareness with Large Format Printing

The first stage of the buying cycle is awareness. In this stage your potential customer is becoming aware of the fact that they have a need, or want, of some sort. You also want the customer to be aware of your business, product, or event during this stage. The best way to go about achieving that is through large format printing which reaches a high volume of potential customers without getting too deep into the details.

Billboards are a prime example of large format printing for the awareness stage of the buying cycle in action. They’re seen by hundreds of thousands or millions of people every day, and they give just enough information to be memorable. Restaurant billboards are a classic. Often they simply showcase a food item, the restaurant’s logo, and the location. According to a survey in 2017, 55% of consumers thought of billboard ads favorably. That’s more favorable than TV, radio, and web ads!

Other large format printing options for high volume awareness include banners (both horizontal and vertical), adhesive murals, and magnetic signs. Horizontal banners can be strung across major roads to advertise events, while vertical banners are better suited for attaching to light posts or the fronts of buildings. Adhesive murals are a similar option to billboards, but can be attached to the sides of buildings. Finally, magnetic signs are great for sticking onto company vehicles — think of them like miniature, mobile billboards.

Take the Customer’s need for Information into Consideration

The second stage of the buying cycle is consideration. This is the point at which the potential customer is deciding between different options to satisfy their need or want from the awareness stage. If your high volume awareness campaign was a success, these potential customers will include your business, product, or event in their consideration.

However, now isn’t the time to slack off. Simply because a potential customer is considering your business or product doesn’t mean you’ve sealed the deal just yet. For this stage your large format printing should serve to inform potential customers about whatever it is you’re offering. They already know of your business, but now they need to know about your business. Posters, trade show booth signage, and retail graphics are all examples of large format printing for this stage.These forms of large format printing are typically found in places tied to the consideration stage of the buying cycle. For example, if someone sees your trade show signage, it’s probably because they’re at the trade show you’re exhibiting at. And if they’re at the trade show you’re exhibiting at, they’re probably interested in businesses like yours. Retail graphics, on the other hand, are found within your place of business. These can be hanging, wall, window, or floor graphics which give potential customers more information about specific products or deals. In fact, 64% of in-store shoppers say exclusive discounts drive them to make purchases.

Turn a Single Purchase into a Repeat Customer

The final stage of the buying cycle is purchase. As the name implies, this is when the potential customer becomes a customer by purchasing your service or product, or attending your event. This stage is all about turning that one-time customer into a repeat customer. Point of sale displays and graphics are the go-to for this stage of the buying cycle. These are displays or graphics which are located at the point of sale (i.e. the checkout line in a store). But displays and graphics serve two different purposes.

Displays showcase other, often cheaper, products which the customer can purchase along with whatever they came to your place of business for in the first place — think of how supermarkets sell magazines and candy in the checkout aisle. The Statista Research Department reported in 2016 that the use of permanent point of sale displays increased sales by 19%.

Graphics promote other products, offers, or deals which may entice the customer to come back again. When leaving a concert venue, you may notice merchandise displays or graphics which advertise upcoming shows — this is one way in which events can use point of sale large format printing.

Conclusion

Awareness, consideration, and purchase are the three stages of the buying cycle you need to keep in mind when choosing large format printing. Depending on which stage of the cycle you plan to target customers in, different types of large format printing may see better results. Though, for a truly effective marketing strategy it’s suggested that you target customers in all three stages of the buying cycle, which means mixing and matching multiple kinds of large format printing.

For the awareness stage, billboards or other high volume, low information printing styles often work best. As for the consideration stage, retail graphics work great for giving potential customers the details they need to make an informed decision. Finally, the purchase stage dominated by point of sale displays and graphics which turn one-time customers into repeat customers.