Why vehicle graphics Manchester generate sales

Instead of a bitesize blog, an Advent calendar snippet of information, we’ve decided to go the whole hog this month with a mammoth post. Think of it as a huge tin of Quality Street, without the orange and strawberry creams, a smorgasbord of ideas and strategies for vehicle graphics Manchester.

We will break it down into neat sections though for easy digestion, with subtitles and images so the read through is not like wading through treacle (toffee?)

Population density of Manchester and Greater Manchester

You know, we know that this region is densely populated. Unlike London too, it is not seeing a shift from city centre living but the reverse. Admittedly, if you head out past Stockport to the High Peaks, or out of Oldham to Saddleworth, you’ll see fewer people and less traffic, but in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire, large towns are so close together that green belt hardly exists between them. The city itself is the fifth largest in the UK and the region is the third most populous.

In terms of business numbers, statistics are harder to provide, but these 3 million people are not drawn to Greater Manchester for the climate, we presume, but for work and leisure!

Look at Stockport too, a town built on an industrial heritage of hemp, rope and silk which has grown to become home to 250,000 people with an ambitious project called “Future Stockport” looking to bring 3000 new residents into the town centre to live. It’s perhaps inspired by the bourgeois chicness of the Northern Quarter in Manchester, which has become a desirable place to live, eat and drink.

This huge population density coupled with an impressive road, rail and tram system means that places like Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester are no longer reliant on cotton, hats and mills for employment, but big businesses and micro-businesses have sprung up across the region, creating fantastic commercial opportunities.

Branding matters

You and I know that companies, big and small, invest thousands and even millions in branding, from websites, to social media campaigns to wrapped fleets of vehicles. When you’re starting a business with a new brand, a new name, a new service offering, you need to be seen – and what better way than having your business car, your fleet of vans or lorries adorned with vehicle graphics that tell some of those 3 million people what you do?

We’ve all sat at home of an evening, we’re sure, and seen small lorries pull up outside and if you’re curious or even not that observant, you’ll probably spot whether your neighbour’s are having a delivery from Tesco, Asda, Ocado or Sainsbury’s as their branding is distinct. Tesco, with its £1.4 billion of profits, clearly knows how to run business and deliveries with its “Every Little Helps” and “Freshly Clicked” phrases on vans. Their drivers could roll up in unmarked vehicles and you’d be none the wiser about who’s delivering – but that company and others have decided that vehicle branding is an integral part of their business plan and have invested accordingly.

“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” – Warren Buffett

SME vehicle graphics

Now you don’t have to be Next or Tesco, in terms of dividend and employee numbers to realise that branding matters for Small and Medium Enterprises. Going back to that neighbourhood analogy, if a mobile valeter, a building company, a window firm, a carpet fitter parks at a neighbour’s, you and others will notice and if it’s a service you need now or in the future, you may make a mental note or even approach the people from the company.

We hear this a lot at Seymour Sign and Print.

Clients who’ve trusted us to design and fit vehicle graphics for their small or medium sized business, tell us they get asked repeatedly for sales and services when they’re working in any given street.

We think it’s human nature to be curious. if you look out of a bedroom or office window now, count how many branded vans and cars you see in any 5 minute period. If your office overlooks the M60, don’t bother as there will be too many!

A small business can quickly make an impact with attractive, well-designed, eye-catching vehicle graphics Manchester for an insubstantial investment.

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” – Seth Godin

Manchester vehicle graphics are affordable

We will begin though with a warning – affordability is relative. Affordable shouldn’t mean cheap and we don’t do cheap at our base in Salford Quays. Our office signage, vehicle graphics, window films and printed materials are not cheap, as they’re designed to last as an investment and generate business for you. You can easily do a Google search for car or van stickers, have them designed easily and wait for the postman so you can apply them. That’s a cheap option yes. Ours are more bespoke. If you want a car, van or lorry wrapping, we don’t post the graphics to you. We expect you to book a mutually convenient time at our workshop, so we can make sure the graphics are pitch perfect or pixel perfect.

They are a business investment that will protect the paintwork of your vehicles and promote your services, when out and about, parked at customers or even on your own drive or street!

“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs

Freelance ranks are swelling weekly in Manchester and elsewhere

Covid 19 gave new meaning to remote working and working from home. Once seen as the preserve of freelancers, big companies were forced to rethink ways of working when the pandemic struck – not just in the UK, obviously, but globally. Now we don’t know your work circumstances. We do know though that the country seemed to be split between those who wanted a return to commutes and a workplace to those who revelled in working from home.

It’s not for everyone, we know that.

If space is tight at home, you’re unlikely to find a place to replicate your workplace. Dining tables, sofas and breakfast bars are not necessarily perfect replacements for a desk, chair, computer and dedicated work space.

But for those who’ve already experienced self-employment and for the ones who experienced working remotely from the company, it came to so many as a welcome revelation.

That commute on the Metrolink wasn’t missed by all; office politics became a distant memory though many did find it an isolating experience and missed the travel, friendships and workplace colleagues.

But some didn’t and liked it so much they decided to invest in a freelance venture

20 years ago, there were 2 million people officially registered as self-employed, but now it’s 5 million. That’s some growth. As fibre-optic broadband has become the norm at homes, with laptops and tablets that can perform as well as company desktop machines, many people have realised that they can forge their own futures. Freelancers and self-employed people, we talk to, know it’s a risk after the safety and security of a salary in paid employment, but many choose to create that path. Many succeed too. You look at the growth of Uber, Deliveroo etc and you can see how the economy has changed.

If you’ve got a particular skill set, a wide network to call upon and passion and motivation in buckets, you can go self-employed too.

Depending on your business proposition, you’ll need varying degrees of investment, but we would say given the 3 million growth in 20 years, this is not a fading trend. People want to be their own bosses, want to have unlimited earning potential and make their own decisions about business growth.

“A product can be quickly outdated, but a successful brand is timeless.” – Stephen King

A branded vehicle is a part of that in Manchester

Now don’t get us wrong, a branded van or car will not make you an overnight success. It’s simply one part, an important component, of your business plan. If you’re starting a new business, there are certain stages of growth you need to cover:

1. Awareness
2. Recognition
3. Trust
4. Sales

A branded vehicle, beautifully designed and wrapped by us in Salford Quays, will give you a head start in both awareness and recognition. You’re starting a property development or property sourcing company, for example, looking to find and sell properties for commercial or residential investment in Bolton or Bury, for example. You’ve got to make people aware of your business in two places – the digital space and physical world.

A website is a must, along with social media feeds that are a way of getting traffic on to your website to generate enquiries and sales.

A branded car or van, expertly showcasing your service offerings, branding and contact details will get seen much more in a week than a Facebook page that your 500 friends have liked online. That office signage, retail frontage, liveried car can’t be camouflaged by a Mark Zuckerberg algorithm. If it’s visible in the physical world, smart, informative and attractive, it will get seen. Seen and noted too.

You’re parked in Farnworth or Heywood and people clap eyes on your new property company. They see it on the M61, at traffic lights and junctions and when you’re visiting others.

You get the idea?

Business grants can cover vehicle branding

We know, regionally, that many business grants are up for contention. Manchester is no different, along with its satellite towns. If you’re creating a proposal or formal business plan for start-up funding, extending a business, growing it, the cost of wrapping your car, van or fleet, may be covered by the funding. Seymour Sign and Print can, of course, provide costed estimates for you to make as part of your formal submission.

We’ve known others who’ve run commercial window cleaning businesses, car valeting businesses, who’ve seen start up costs covered by local funding and that’s something we’d advise you to explore.

Look at this link and its links to see the business and financial support available in Manchester alone.

Click here.

Many of these are national schemes too and are not geographically restricted to Manchester – your own council will be able to advise further too.

If you’re aged between 18 and 30, the Prince’s Trust has helped this age band create 86,000 new businesses – check it out here

Big companies are based in Greater Manchester

There are over 100 global companies, many who are household names, that are based in Greater Manchester. The transport network, density of population and entrepreneurial spirit may account for this?

If you didn’t know already and have big plans for your business, here’s some of the 100 to aspire to:

1. Adidas – HQ in Stockport and Trafford
2. AstraZeneca – Sweden and Macclesfield
3. BBC – Media City in Salford
4. Barclays – Manchester
5. Google – London and Manchester
6. Henri Lloyd – Manchester
7. Kellogg’s – Trafford
8. Patak’s – Wigan
9. Deliveroo – Manchester
10. Umbro – Northern Quarter, Manchester

Impressive list isn’t it?

Summing up

1. We hope you’ve had it firstly established by us that vehicle graphics generate leads and sales.
2. They should be an integral part of your marketing and branding.
3. There is support with starting or growing a business, both financially and in advisory terms, not just in Greater Manchester, but nationally.
4. We serve an area with an expanding population.
5. The ranks of freelancers have more than doubled in 20 years.
6. Manchester is a natural home to innovation.
7. You can get cheap vehicle graphics but if you want to make a success, invest in bespoke Manchester vehicle graphics from Seymour Sign and Print, Salford Quays

“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.” Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine

Want to know more? Contact us today.