Common Business Signage Mistakes That Hurt Growth

Most sign mistakes are not design mistakes. They happen earlier: a lease signed before anyone checked the sign rules, a sign ordered three weeks before opening, a quote chosen on price alone. Each one costs time or money, and some cost both.

Gogi Signs plans, builds and installs signs for businesses across New Jersey and New York City, and we see the same ten mistakes over and over. This guide shows you what each one costs and how to avoid it. First, a quick look at why your sign matters so much.

In this guide

Why Sign Mistakes Cost More Than the Sign

Your sign is often the first thing a new customer sees. A 2012 FedEx Office survey of 1,000 adults found that 76 percent had entered a store they had never visited because of its sign, 68 percent believed a sign reflects the quality of the business, and 52 percent were less willing to enter a store with misspelled or poorly made signs. Nearly 60 percent said a missing sign kept them from going in.

What the research says about signs and sales

Businesses report the same thing from the other side. In a University of Cincinnati study of 225 companies, about 60 percent said a new or improved sign increased business, by an average of 12 percent. Those figures are self reported, but they line up with consumer research. A study by James Kellaris, reported by Signs of the Times, found that 49.7 percent of consumers had driven past a business they could not find because the sign was too small or unclear.

The Ten Mistakes at a Glance

Every cabinet gets checked on our floor before it ships

1. Signing the Lease Before Checking Sign Rights

Your landlord’s sign criteria and your town’s ordinance decide how big your sign can be, where it can go and whether it can be lit. Sign the lease first and you may find you can only have a small panel nobody sees from the road. The fix: ask for the landlord’s sign criteria and check the town’s rules before you sign, then get your sign rights written into the lease. Our guide to sign permits in New Jersey shows what to check.

2. Ordering Too Late

A permanent sign needs design, landlord approval, zoning approval, a construction permit and fabrication. Under the state permit review rule, the construction office has 20 business days to decide on a complete application, and zoning comes before that. Order a few weeks before opening and you will open under a banner. The fix: start the sign when you sign the lease. Our guide on how long a custom sign project takes shows each stage.

3. Treating Landlord Approval as the Permit

Landlord approval is part of your lease. It is not a permit. Most wall signs and lit signs in New Jersey also need zoning approval and a construction permit from the town. Installing without them risks fines and an order to take the sign down. The fix: get both, in order. Our guide to avoiding permit delays explains the sequence.

Planning access and power early avoids a second visit

4. Skipping the Site Survey

A sign priced from a photo is a guess. The photo does not show the real wall size, what the wall is made of, where the power is, or how a crew and lift will reach it. That is how a quote turns into change orders. The fix: get a site survey before the final price. Our guide on what to prepare before requesting a sign quote helps you get a closer first number.

5. Comparing Quotes on Price Alone

Two quotes for the same sign can cover very different work. The lowest total often leaves out permits, the electrical connection, removal of the old sign or the bucket truck. The fix: compare the scope line by line before you compare totals. Our guide to comparing business sign quotes shows how.

6. Forgetting the Power

A lit sign needs a circuit at the sign location. Running one after the ceilings and walls are finished means opening them up again. In New Jersey, wiring a sign to building power is licensed electrical work under the state electrical contractor law. The fix: have your electrician run power to the sign location during the fit out. Our guide to electrical sign inspections explains what the inspector checks.

A sign built to the right size the first time is the cheapest sign

7. Making One Sign Do Everything

Owners often want the name, services, phone number, website and a slogan on the main sign. Drivers read a few words at most. The FedEx Office survey found that consumers expect a small business to have two or three signs around its storefront, not one sign carrying everything. The fix: keep the main sign to your name and what you do, and move the details to your windows, door and a blade sign. Pixel Wraps, our sister graphics shop, covers window graphics that carry the details well. Our signage ideas for small businesses in NJ show where else the details can go.

8. Leaving Temporary Signs Up Too Long

A grand opening banner that stays up for a year fades and frays and tells customers you never finished opening. New Jersey towns also limit how long banners stay up. Middlesex Borough allows a grand opening banner for up to 30 days, Glen Rock for up to three weeks, Flemington for up to 14 days and Plainsboro for up to 10 days a year. The fix: set the take down date when the banner goes up. Our guide to temporary sign rules covers more towns.

9. Ignoring Maintenance

A sign with dark letters or peeling vinyl undoes what you paid for. It is the poorly made sign that 52 percent of shoppers in the FedEx Office survey said made them less willing to go in. The fix: decide who checks the sign, who repairs it and how fast, and keep the warranty and installer details on file. Our guide to sign warranties and maintenance plans explains the options, and our sister shop in New York covers channel letter repair and maintenance in detail.

Fixing a dark sign quickly keeps it working for you after hours

10. Letting Every Location Improvise

Businesses with more than one location often end up with a different logo, color and sign type at each one. That costs you recognition, and it makes every new location slower to sign. The fix: write a simple sign standard with your files, colors, sign types and mounting details, and use it for every site. Our guide to multi location signage shows what to include.

Mistakes When You Replace an Existing Sign

Replacing a sign brings its own traps. The old sign has to come down, the power has to be capped, and the holes and the shadow it leaves on the wall have to be patched and painted. If nobody plans for that, your new sign goes up over a stained outline of the old one. The old permit also does not carry over to a new sign, so the new one usually needs its own approval. Our guide on who removes old business signs explains who is responsible, and our sign removal page covers the service.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Have I seen the landlord's sign criteria and the town's sign rules?
Does my timeline leave room for zoning, the construction permit and fabrication?
Has someone measured the wall and found the power?
Does my quote include permits, electrical, installation and removal?
Who will check and repair the sign after it goes up?

If you can answer yes to all five, you have avoided most of the mistakes on this list.

How to Avoid All Ten

Five habits that prevent most sign mistakes

Most of these mistakes come from doing things in the wrong order. Our guide on why every new business needs a signage plan puts the steps in order from lease to opening day, and our guide to common sign design mistakes covers the design side.

One more survey worth knowing: a 2026 Harris Poll for Signarama, a sign franchise, found that 84 percent of adults say signs affect their decision to buy. The company paid for the survey, but the result matches the older independent research above.

Common Questions About Business Signage Mistakes

What is the most common sign mistake for new businesses?

Starting too late. Design, landlord approval, zoning, the construction permit and fabrication all take time, so businesses that order a few weeks before opening usually open under a banner.

Do I need a permit if my landlord approved my sign?

In most New Jersey towns, yes. Landlord approval is part of your lease. Zoning approval and the construction permit come from the town and are separate.

Why did my sign quote go up after the site visit?

Usually because the photo did not show the real wall size, the wall material, the power or the access. A site survey before the final price prevents this.

How long can a grand opening banner stay up?

It depends on your town. In New Jersey, examples range from 10 days a year in Plainsboro to 30 days in Middlesex Borough, often with a permit. Check your town before you hang it.

Do signs really affect sales?

Research says yes. In a 2012 FedEx Office survey, 76 percent of consumers had entered a new store because of its sign. In a University of Cincinnati study, about 60 percent of businesses reported more business after a new sign.

How do I keep signs consistent across locations?

Write a short sign standard with your logo files, colors with Pantone numbers, approved sign types and mounting details, and use the same sign company or the same standard at every site.

Avoid the Mistakes, Start With a Plan

Tell us your address, your lease date and your opening date, and we will check your sign rights, plan the permits and give you one price for survey, design, fabrication and installation. Request a free quote or book a site survey.

Sources and further reading

Tony Kamal

Tony Kamal has been making signs for two decades and works at the Gogi Signs of New Jersey shop in Linden. Since 2025 he has also been researching permit rules, materials and lighting, and he writes these guides with input from our designers, fabricators and install crews.