Fact: Neon Signs Provide Free Advertising For Businesses

Your customers will be happy to do your marketing for you - free of charge. I know this is hard to believe, but it's absolutely true. Hear me out.

We created a custom neon sign for an awesome restaurant in Ottawa, Banh Mi Girl. The sign they requested reads "FEED ME BANH MI AND TELL ME I'M PRETTY".

Since delivering the sign to Banh Mi Girl restaurant in Mid-September, 23 out of 38 posts which customers have tagged themselves in on Instagram include the bright and attractive neon sign.

One such Instagram user, @stephaniewhitetravels, owner of her very own travel blog, has close to 30,000 followers on Instagram. I repeat, 30,000 followers on Instagram. This means that Banh Mi Girl freely received 30,000 pairs of new eyes, thanks to the catchy neon sign they had made for their restaurant.

In total, the 23 Instagram users who shared a photo of Banh Mi Girl's neon sign accumulatively have approximately 57,000 Instagram followers.

Let's go with very conservative numbers. If even 1% of those followers visit Banh Mi Girl and spend an average of $15 on their meal, the restaurant generates $8,550 in sales.

• 1% of 57,000 = 570 followers
• 570 x $15 meal = $8,550

Let's use the same formula one more time, while looking at Montreal's very own Billy Bubbles, an ice-cream/waffle-house that'll make you keep begging for more of their sweet treats.

• Total number followers of the Instagrammer's who shared a picture of Billy Bubbles' neon sign = ~160,000
• $6 spent per customer at Billy Bubbles (guesstimate)
• 1% of 160,000 = 1,600 potential customers
• 1600 x $6 = $9600

As you can see, an attractive neon sign is an investment that easily pays itself off. Think of it as word-of-mouth advertising on steroids.

If you own a brick & mortar store and looking for a cost-effective way to attract more customers, this just might be it.