Photos courtesy Lumificient
By Carey Burkett
Over the past 10 years, there has been a major shift in the sign industry, with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) becoming the preferred method for illuminating channel letters, lightboxes, pylon signs, cabinets and other sign products.
Previously, most signs were illuminated with neon and/or fluorescent tubes. LEDs eventually became more popular than those systems due to ease of shipping, low maintenance requirements, energy efficiency and ease of use, among other benefits for customers.
In addition to these advantages, the main goals of LED development for the sign industry have included even illumination, reliability and long operating life. Today, if installed properly and driven with an appropriate power supply, LEDs should be able to provide years of uninterrupted service with no additional maintenance costs.
Since 2005, particularly, signmakers have educated themselves about LED technology and how to ramp it up in such a way as to deliver the most value to their customers. They began to demand more detailed product information about light output, reliability and other qualities.
LEDs have become the preferred method for illuminating sign letters.
Defining value
Due to competitive forces, however, today’s mantra is also “price, price, price.” Unfortunately, as in other areas of the sign industry, this way of thinking is simply a race toward zero. When pricing goes down, so do product quality and profit margins. The more important goals of LED illumination are taking a back seat to price.
Customers need systems that will provide the best overall value throughout the life of their signs. While signmakers might offer the lowest-cost products in an effort to win their business, this strategy does not actually align with the aforementioned goals. Indeed, many signmakers and their customers are losing sight of these goals.
As a result, products with questionable performance are being implemented. They will require more maintenance and will not deliver on the promise customers have come to expect.
The sign industry faces a challenging and fiercely competitive market. Difficult choices must be made relating to each company’s position in the market, strategies and business model. There will be high-end, mid-tier and low-cost providers of various LED-based signs.
While going low-cost may be an easy and popular choice during challenging economic times, committing to such a strategy is the beginning of a downward spiral. A sign shop is left to respond to the price pressures from all other competitors that lower their prices, too, whether or not doing so actually has the customer’s best interests in mind.
Another strategic choice is to offer differentiation on other levels, while protecting pricing. This can help distinguish one sign shop as superior to its competition, without the loss of value. After all, it is far more important to be defined in the marketplace by reputation, service and product quality than simply by price.
A higher price point can be justified by the ability to provide greater value. Today, it is no longer sufficient simply to use LEDs in general, as there are major differences between various LED systems’ performance. A sign shop’s sales team needs to be well-versed in articulating those differences to customers.
