Is Matakana the only town in NZ that is awake?

Matakana is a small town on the north side of Auckland. It has always been regarded as a weekend destination where you can find art, music, crafts and lots of food (often cooked outside and international in flavour). You wouldn’t call it ‘sleepy’ but you would call it ‘small’ and ‘authentically Kiwi’.

As most of you know Digital Signs only sell LED displays (indoor/outdoor LEDs that play images and video but that are not televisions). In 2018 we received an inquiry from Wendy & John from the Tumbleweed Garden Centre in Matakana. Their bright idea was to put an LED sign at their gate to capture all the cars coming down the hill and into Matakana (good idea right?). This is the start of the difference – imagine being a small business owner and actually paying attention to your marketing! (Ha – how many of us sign writers are paying this much attention to our own marketing initiatives?).

Through a sign writer (we refer inquiries to partners) we sold them their sign and John & Wendy had their first “electric sign”. But it didn’t stop there! The next novel thing they did (sorry, but it’s true) was to actually use it! How many clients do you know that get all excited with their signage the first time they put it up, but 5 years later it is fading and still showing the same message? Wendy & John sat at their desk and started putting up everything they could think of, and it wasn’t long until other businesses in the area started asking if they could go up there too.

I don’t know whether it was the power of the product, or their energy, but Matakana came alive, and we’ve never sold many signs per head of capita than we have into that region! The local school, the RSA, the College and John & Wendy’s new site (they sold their old sign to the company that took over their previous lease).

Moral of the story – it does not matter how successful you are with repeat business you can always do more for yourself and your community if you actively market in either the physical or digital realm. My Grandma always said, “Little and often” and I think she’s right. Don’t be a ‘bull at a gate’, but also don’t be ‘asleep at the wheel’. Do it for yourself (regular little bits of marketing), and for your customers (there are multiple sign writers also offering social media and ‘sign updating’ programmes for clients to help them out) and we will all succeed together.