I am new to my home in Charleston, SC and am still getting familiar with  this town and getting my feet on the ground.  Not only am I adapting to my new job and new friends, but I am also exploring schools, daycares, churchs  and regular doctors for my family and I.

A few months ago I was running a few errands and on my way into the town plaza that housed my favorite grocery store, I had to pass by the backside of a business building that I had never seen from the front.  In what little bit of yard they had behind their building and before the parking lot I was driving through, I saw a plastic sign stuck in the yard stating simply: “Now Accepting New Dental Patients” above a phone number.

I remember laughing a bitto myself at this simple message. “Of course they’re accepting new patients,” I thought to myself.  “Aren’t ALL businesses ALWAYS accepting new patients and clients?  Who would turn anyone down!”  I personally did not find this sign to be very clever.

But a few months later it was time for my kid's yearly dental checkup, and guess where I was calling to line up appointments?  You guessed it…the dental office next to my favorite supermarket.

Though I still had never even seen the front of their building, nor had I heard or seen any advertisements for that particular office, I was still new in town, and I needed to start my dental research somewhere.  And the office with the custom plastic sign was at the front of my mind.

Of course I wouldn’t take my kids to just old dental office without doing any research on it first.  But that particular office was the first one I read up on, and lo and behold, they met all my criteria!  I had now found my family’s regular dentist, and all because of a custom plastic sign!

Even the simplest of custom signs can be effective!

With little creative effort and at a very low price, the dental office’s custom plastic sign was pulling in new patients daily!  By simply taking advantage of that busy supermarket parking lot that lies behind their establishment, they were putting themselves at the front of many people’s minds.  Now that’s an ideal return on investment, if I do say so myself!

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