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Last month, Harold and I discussed the importance of interacting with customers. According to our Shopper Traffic Study data, one simple interaction with your customer (beyond that with the cashier) is associated with a 23 percent greater ring at the cashier. This month, I will focus on the importance of signage in your store.

Signage is the quickest way to promote a product to a customer at the point of purchase. However, in many cases, I do not see signage (or enough appropriate signage) to convey what is being merchandised. Too often, there are simply no signs to attract the customer's attention. The customer arrives at a store and often searches for a specific type of Valentine's Day chocolate, wine, cheese or cracker with very little assistance from either a person or a simple sign. Recently, while walking through several stores, I noted a severe lack of signage. In addition, when I did see signs, the letters and prices were written so small that anyone without 20/20 vision would have a very difficult time reading them. So, if you have a sign, be proud of it. You cannot promote as effectively with a sign that is not legible.

I also suggest you consider typing wines or cheeses in alphabetical order with the aisle or location in which the product can be found written to the right of each product. If you move products around often in your store, type the list on your computer and print copies weekly as items move. An alphabetized list that makes things easy to find can be as helpful as a sign that describes to customers what they need to know to quickly determine whether the product will serve their needs.

Not only is a lack of signs (or ones that can be easily read) an issue for retailers, but we also need to be more descriptive in the way in which we create signs. Artwork in the margins is nice, but we need to be creative in the words that we use to describe what we are promoting. There is a difference between "Milk Chocolate" and "Romantic and Scintillating Valentine's Milk Chocolate," or "California Zins" versus "California Palate-Satisfying and Beef Taste-Enhancing California Zins." Retailers often claim that adding adjectives and fun to signs makes the product seem too artificial or unprofessional, but consumers have expressed that these signs create a more positive vision about the product in their minds and lead to an item that is easier to purchase because the main benefit of the product is in the creative name.

Lastly, when you create a sign, I suggest going with the handwritten type. To be fair to the customer, make sure that a handmade sign equates to a real price promotion because customers perceive that handwritten signs are those made on the spot because the special and price are too last-minute to have the time required for a mechanically designed sign. This is especially true when the sign and the product it describes are practically in the middle of one of the store aisles. So, handmade signs will capture attention. To initiate trial and adoption, make sure that the handwritten signs actually describe a price deal that cannot be missed! Mix a cup of creativity into your wording of the product and watch sales of these items add to your top line.

Consumers live in a world in which time is becoming more and more precious. I suggest that we become sensitive to their pressing needs and help them by quickly providing a sign that tells them "what, where and how much" all at one glance. The sea of shopping for chocolates, wines and cheeses can be quite tumultuous as all of these products require fairly extensive product knowledge on behalf of the customer to make a well-informed purchase decision. Having information that describes product features and costs makes the shopping experience more pleasant and it is a "sign" of a store in which customer focus is a major priority.

Our traffic research will unveil some quick and manageable tactics that will have a profound impact on your customer's satisfaction and loyalty, and on your top line.

For more information on how to purchase our traffic research or on how Harold and I can cater our traffic research to meet your specific needs, please e-mail me at Kenneth.Herbst@mason.wm.edu. Alternatively, feel free to visit my Web page at www.mason.wm.edu/Kenneth.Herbst or Harold's at www.hlloydpresents.com. I can also be reached via the phone at 757-221-2819. We look forward to an opportunity to interact with you about the research in order to prepare a traffic study designed for your specific interests.

Dr. Kenneth C. Herbst is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Dr. Herbst spent three years in the Haub School of Business' Department of Food Marketing at Saint Joseph's University. He has a Masters and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, Dr. Herbst earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University. He has also been interviewed about his food research and industry expertise by, among others, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, the Ottawa Citizen, the Montreal Gazette, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Woman's Day.

Harold Lloyd was the President and CEO of a 14-unit retail organization for 10 years. His practical, exciting ideas and dynamic presentation style have combined to earn him a highly regarded reputation reflected in his top ratings at numerous appearances at such prestigious events as the Food Marketing Institute convention and the IDDBA convention.

For almost two decades, Harold has worked very closely with small and large businesses to provide a "powerful push in the right direction!" His mission is to provide qualified, executive-level assistance to companies on a "temporary basis," eliminating the need to add permanent top management overhead. To further assist his clients, Harold authored the book It's About Time, focusing on time management.