Every business needs to reach its customers and clients. Different businesses can have different ways to do this, but the general idea is to “get found” by the people who want what you can provide. If your business has a storefront—a visible, physical location—you may be tapping channel letters to do the job of getting you found. But as a savvy business owner, you have your eye on the company bottom line at all times, so you’re wondering about channel letter sign cost.
Making sense of the process
There are plenty of factors that could influence the price you ultimately pay for your channel letters. Not only could the price vary depending on your location, but it could also vary among sign companies (which is why comparison shopping is a good idea). Additionally, you may find that there will be a price difference between channel letter signs that are illuminated and those that aren’t. And the style of the letters themselves is another potential factor. So is the size.
So here’s what we recommend. View calculating your channel letter sign cost as a three-step process. We’ll walk you through what we mean. Note: don’t make this process out to be more rigid than it is. Actually, you may be changing your previous conceptions and decisions at each step as you learn more.
Step 1 – Take stock of what you want
Here, the ball is in your court. It’s your job to identify roughly what you’re looking for. Will your channel letters be:
- Interior or exterior
- Metallic or plastic
- Directly on a building’s surface, on a raceway, or on a plate
- Illuminated or not illuminated
- 12 inch, 24 inch, or any other size
- Multicolored or one single color
- On a very tall building or one that’s easily accessible
Doubtless, there are other questions you could ask. But these are a starting point. And the main goal is to get you to identify whatever you can about the project. That gives you (and your sign specialist) a springboard for further research.
Step 2 – Learn what your options are
Now the ball will be in someone else’s court. If you’re purchasing to install yourself, that “someone else’s court” might just be the internet (which is sort of like your court after all because you’ll still be doing the work). And if that’s the case, in this stage you get to shop around online, looking for options that would fit with the parameters you set in the step above. Keep a list of websites you’ve found and the costs they charge.
If you’re going to work with a specialist, now’s the time to reach out to them with your project parameters. Explain what you’re looking for and see how their prices compare to other sign companies in the area.
Hopefully, you’ll start to get a feel for how much you’ll be spending. You may choose to refine your plans at this stage. For instance, you might downsize to smaller letters to fit in your budget better.
Step 3 – Select & start
Once you’ve gleaned pricing information from local sign companies and/or the internet, you’re ready to roll. Almost, that is. Armed with knowledge of your options, it’s up to you to decide which local company or online purchasing option to go with. Keep in mind that you may have more priorities than just the channel letter sign cost. For instance, you might care more about having a professional take the load off your shoulders than you do about getting your sign for the absolute rock bottom price.
Let’s take a look at channel letter sign cost
What better way to get a feel for how this process could go than to imagine a couple of situations? Let’s look at what some imaginary business owners might encounter when learning about channel letter sign cost and selecting a sign.
Pampered Pups Pet Hotel
Toby and Samantha own a dog boarding company. The two are fierce DIYers—they built their business with a lot of hard work, learning new skills as they went. Naturally, they decided to shop for signs on their own.
Since their generation grew up on the internet, they head there first. They’ve come up with a basic idea of what they want. Letters about two feet high, white faces, lit with LED lights. On one site, they input their information and get a price—$2,292.21. But they don’t want to jump in too fast so they try out a few other sources before they make a decision.
Oceanview Cosmetic Dentistry
This company’s owners are kept quite busy with dental work. So, they want someone to see their channel letter sign project through to completion—without too much input on their part.
They head to a local sign specialist to discuss their options. They have a multi-story building so they choose letters about 5 feet tall. Their sign company does some calculations and suggests they’ll pay close to $13,000 (plus installation costs)—partly since their company name has 26 letters and since each letter needs to be 60 inches tall.
However, the sign experts do offer the option to pay for the channel letter sign cost over the course of three years. But before they commit, the owners call a few other specialists in the area to compare.
Channel letter signs—one option in a sea of options
As we consider channel letter sign cost, remember you have plenty of other sign options to choose from to reach the people who need your products and services. Just check out A Comprehensive Guide To The Different Types Of Signage & Their Uses. And if you want to take a closer look at channel letters, head to How To Customize LED Channel Letters & Make Your Business Shine!
