Author: AJ Ritchie

Professionally made magnetic car signs can be used to market nearly any type of small business, from florists and caterers to restaurants, delivery services and food trucks.

Many new businesses use car magnets because these ads:

• Create top of the funnel brand awareness
• Generate 30,000+ daily impressions
• Cost significantly less than the $1,500-$4,000 monthly cost of many billboard signs
• Have a memory recall rate of 97%
• Help meet the budgetary needs of new businesses trying to spend less than 7-7% of gross revenue on marketing
• Reinforce recognition of brand logos and colors
• Are easy to design with contact info and discounts

Car Ads Function as Brand Touch Points

Car advertisements create brand awareness that can be further reinforced with future customer touch points, such as visiting your store, seeing your website online or other types of advertising. A beautifully designed sign allows you to introduce your small business to the local market, get exposure for a new logo and share up-to-date contact information with potential customers.

Did you know that individual vehicle advertising generates around 30,000 to 70,000 daily impressions? ARD Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to market research, completed an outdoor marketing trends study in 2003. The study notes how advertising influences drivers who are searching for a service as well as those who may be searching for a service in the future.

Making your logo, services and business name recognizable builds trust with customers by making them familiar with your company. A car magnet sign that clearly shows what type of product or service you sell both informs potential shoppers of your existence and gives a way for them to contact you.  When you then use a similar design on your building, it creates a consistent and professional brand impression. 

Comparing Magnetic Signs and Billboards

The average cost for a monthly billboard rental in a small to midsize city can range from $1,500 to $4,000, according to FitSmallBusiness.com. That doesn’t include the cost of designing and purchasing the billboard sign itself. For a new business still struggling to get the capital for operating costs, adding a monthly fee for a billboard often isn’t a feasible option.

Billboards not only cost more than car magnets, but are also stagnate, reaching the same set of commuters day after day. A mobile sign can have a greater reach, especially for business owners that spend a large amount of time on the road. Outdoor Advertising Magazine TACA’s market research suggests that mobile advertising has a recall rate of 97%.

For business owners with long commutes in heavily trafficked locations, each moment on the road can be put to use by displaying a magnetic sign.

Cost Effective Marketing Using Car Magnets

For new small businesses with less than $5 million a year in sales, a recommended budget for marketing and advertising should be around 7 to 8 percent of gross revenue, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. More competitive businesses may want to spend as much as 20 percent to get established. Oftentimes, most of this budget will be put into creating a website and starting digital campaigns. However, businesses can stretch their reach even more by utilizing magnetic car signs.

A car sign is a low-cost investment that does not require signing up for a subscription, committing to a long-term contract, or hiring a full-time marketing professional to join your staff.  Signs also provide longer exposure than online advertising that can be deleted or scrolled past in a moment. With so much noise online, it’s easy for one advertisement to get lost in the noise. With a magnetic sign there is no need to open an email or click on a link. Instead, the information is clearly displayed without disrupting your shoppers’ day.

Magnetic Car Sign Perks

Custom Signs makes easy to design car signs that come in a variety of sizes to help meet the budgetary needs of new business. With do it yourself signs, you can make an eye-catching design in the size and style of your choice.

Set of 2 Custom Car Magnetic Signs
Size	Cost
6″ x 12″	$20.95
12″ x 18″	$43.95
12″ x 24″	$57.95
18″ x 24″	$86.95

Using our easy design wizard, you can make a unique magnet that will fit your car and company brand. Each magnetic sign is sold in a set of 2. You will choose the background colors, text, fonts and lettering sizes. You can also upload your logo, a photo or other type of graphic image.

We also have preset templates, where all you need to do is choose the text. For all of our car signs, there is no minimum so you can choose as one set of signs or more.

Designing Your Car Magnet

As you decide what to include on your sign, here are some marketing tips to make sure you get the most from your magnet:

• Plan where you will be adding your sign to your vehicle and measure to fit
• Include contact details such as an address, phone number or email
• Clarify what type of business you are
• Use your logo and brand colors
• Focus on a top product or service
• Use quality images
• Advertise a sale, discount code or competitive price

Magnetic car signs provide an affordable way to target local shoppers and create top of the funnel brand awareness. Without paying monthly fees or investing in the cost of developing and filming a TV commercial or web advertisement, businesses can get their name and contact information out there.

 

Resources:

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/percentage-gross-revenue-should-used-marketing-advertising-55928.html

https://www.advertiseyourdrive.com/ARD_WhitePaper.pdf

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began requiring chemical manufacturers to label dangerous materials with hazard pictograms in June of 2015. The standard helps decrease the risk of injuries, illnesses and accidents caused by exposure to certain chemicals.

OSHA’s standard follows guidelines set by the United Nations. The United Nations established the international system of pictograms to identify chemical hazards, known as the “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals” (GHS) standards. This system includes distinct visual symbols assigned to each type of risk.

Upholding GHS Standards

Chemical manufacturers are required to make sure any container holding hazardous substances is properly labeled. They must also prepare safety data sheets and provide training. By using the GHS standards, employers and workers can see and understand the same set of hazard labels in different businesses and industries.

According to OSHA, requiring this standard should help “prevent over 500 workplaces injuries and illnesses and 43 fatalities annually.” With a white background, red border and chemical hazard classification, the labels are easy to recognize. Now workers employed at chemical manufacturing companies and employers utilizing certain chemicals can quickly identify risks associated with specific substances.

9 Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) Pictograms

Health Hazard – The health hazard pictogram features a silhouette of a person with respiratory obstructions. It is used for chemicals that can cause cancer, genetic defects, respiratory irritation, reproductive toxicity, organ toxicity and aspiration toxicity. While some hazards relate more to the environment, this pictogram relates to danger to human health. For example, people working in metal production and metal fabrication industries often deal with toxic materials that must include this label.

Flame Sign – The flame sign hazard pictogram features a silhouette of a fire flame. It is used to label chemicals that are flammable, self-heating, self-reacting, pyrophoric, contain organic peroxides and emit flammable gas. Work environments ranging from power plants to pharmaceutical companies may house chemical products with this label.

Exclamation Mark – This warning symbol is a simple exclamation mark. It is used for skin and eye irritants, narcotic effects, respiratory tract irritation and acute toxicity. Items with this hazard label require proper storage and handling processes. Workers in electronics, engineering, and construction industries are often at risk for occupational skin diseases from materials with this label.

Corrosion – The corrosion symbol shows chemical vials pouring substances on metal and a hand. The corrosion pictogram distinguishes substances that make cause eye damage and burns. It is also used for substances that destroy metals. People may encounter corrosive substances in oil and gas refineries.

Exploding Bomb – This label features a fragmented circle representing a bomb explosion. It can be used on solids and liquids which are capable of causing damage to the surroundings. These explosive materials may be self-reactive (causing fires without reacting to air), organic peroxides (reacting to heat). Jobs in mining, quarrying, demolition, construction and firefighting may expose workers to these hazards.

Gas Cylinder – This symbol looks like a sideways bottle. It is used for substances that are compressed, liquefied or dissolved gas under pressure. The hazard pressure is set as 29 pounds per square inch or more. Cylinders can become uncontrolled rockets and may contain reactive substances. These types of chemicals are often found in the oil, marine and space industries.

Flame Over Circle – This hazard pictogram features an “O”, which stands for “oxygen” with a flame above it. It is used to label oxidizers, which can cause fires by increasing the concentration of oxygen in the air. Workers in the automotive industry and textile plants may encounter these types of substances. Proper storage and handling helps reduce this risk.

Environmental Hazard – The environmental hazard pictogram shows a tree next to a dead fish. It designates aquatic toxicity, which is passed through exposure to water. It can refer to harmful chemicals that may damage human health as well as fish, invertebrates and plants. These risks may be seen in places such as the wastewater management industry and disposal of farming and agriculture chemicals, among other places.

Skull and Crossbones – This symbol, commonly associated with poisonous substances, is used to designate substances with the potential for acute toxicity. With these chemicals, even exposure to a single dose can be toxic or fatal. Exposure can occur through inhalation, swallowing or skin contact. Manufacturers of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as farming industries, may be in places where this label would be placed on substances.

Preventing Exposure

Workers should always check labels which will alert them of specific risks. If less hazardous materials are available, those should be used first. Storage, safe handling, contamination prevention, and external conditions can be major factors in preventing chemical reactions and physical exposure.

Understanding the health hazards, special instructions and emergency procedures can help prevent severe injuries, illnesses, and fatal accidents. Workplace safety signs also include helpful information such as a Signal Word, Substance Name, Hazard Statement and Precautionary Statement. GHS chemical signs can include multiple pictograms, depending on the substance hazards.

Related Posts:

• Caution, Warning and Danger Signs Explained
• Understanding OSHA and Displaying Proper Signage for Workplace Safety

References:

1. OSHA HCS Fact Sheet
2. OSHA Pictograms
3. Pictogram Training Sheet

Take responsibility for your environmental footprint by managing your own water consumption. If you are not paying attention, daily water usage can easily accumulate. Without maintaining good habits and paying attention to home plumbing, you can waste this precious resource and end up with a hefty water bill.

How to Check Your Water Usage

To manage water consumption well, you need to know how much water you are using. You can figure this out using your home’s water meter.

1. Finding Your Water Meter

For most houses, you can find your meter in a labeled concrete or plastic box outside. You may need a long screwdriver to lift the lid. Often these are found by the driveway, in front of the house by the curb, or in the basement. For some houses these water meters and pipes are on the side of the house.

If you cannot find your water meter, you can call your landlord, property manager, or local utilities company for information about where the meter is located on your specific property.

2. Start with a 20 Minute Leak Check

Check for a leak by getting readings 20 minutes apart. First, make sure there is no water running anywhere in the house. This means toilets, household faucets, showers, washing machines, dishwashers, sprinklers, and pool systems should not be in use. Next, write down the reading from the numeric band.

After 20 minutes (where you haven’t used any water), write down the new reading. If during that interval more than a gallon is used, you may have a leak. Note: this may be caused by automatic water refills on your property from the pool to the ice maker. When you check for areas that may be damp or leaking, you can also check for any water sources you may have left running.

3. Evaluate General Consumption with a 24 Hour Check

Similar to the above meter check, you can evaluate your consumption by recording the water meter readings at interval times. However, this time you will use your water sources as normal and take down the new total 24 hours later. Subtract the old total from the new one to get your household usage. Divide that by the number of inhabitants and you will have the approximate individual usage per day.

4 Types of Conservation Signs to Curb Water Waste

Water conservation often begins with raising awareness by placing signs by frequently used water sources such as kitchen sinks, bathrooms, and hoses. Signs provide helpful reminders, warnings, alerts, guidelines, requests, and restrictions. All of these signs are designed to change wasteful water habits.

Four types of water usage signs you may encounter include:

Outdoor Drought Signs – These are often related to the usage of sprinklers, hoses and other types of irrigation during severe droughts.

Sink Signs – These remind people using facets to turn off tightly. These can be found in the home, restaurants and other businesses.

Bathroom Signs – These provide guidelines such as a recommendation to turn off water when brushing teeth, take shorter showers, or limiting the amount of water used for baths.

Custom Conservation Signs – Businesses and homeowners may customize signs for use of everything from pool cleaning to dishwashing and laundry areas. Other custom water signs feature How-To’s for checking water meters, directions for what to do in case of leak detection, and warnings related to reclaimed or recycled water.

How You Can Start Saving Water

Begin by searching for possible leaks that are currently occurring in your home. The EPA estimates that Leaky faucets can result in nearly 50 gallons of wasted water in a week. To get a broader perspective, consider that an undetected leak of 0.1 gallon per minute wastes 4,320 gallons per month.

You can troubleshoot to find out whether or not a leak is occurring inside or outside your home by turning off the inside and outside valves and seeing if the leak indicator continues to change. You may discover hard to find leaks in the walls, under your home, or by the water meter or valves. Other signs of leakage include excess water condensation and unusual amounts of mold in areas outside of the bathroom.

Being aware of your water consumption goes beyond your home. Try and limit your water usage in the workplace as well. Take a moment to learn about water conservation for business here.

What is an Appropriate Water Use by Family Size?

 The average person uses around 80-100 gallons of water per day, according to water.usgs.gov. In certain states, legislators have pushed for future laws that will restrict individuals to 55 gallons per day. In some areas, there are outdoor water usage restrictions put into place during droughts.

For now, you can help prevent water waste by setting a household water usage budget goal or simply reducing the amount you currently use. You can evaluate your own usage patterns by using a water usage calculator. The simple act of looking at how you use water and where you overuse it most can help you quickly identify areas for improvement.

If you want to know more about water usage rules and guidelines for your property, visit the website of your utilities provider and local water management agency. State governments and city governments create regulations which may be related to droughts and environmental initiatives, so laws often vary from city to city.

Resources:

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/styles/medium/public/2017-02/ws-ourwater-water-pie-chart-version-two_0.png

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html

https://www.jea.com/About/Water_Supply/Conservation

https://www.dailywire.com/news/31462/californias-water-law-55-gallons-person-day-paul-bois