Secretary Note | May

Future Trends Revealed and Competitive Challenges Ahead

During 2020, and post Covid-19 the realisation of the world as we know it suddenly dawned on us all, and like it or not we all came to a realisation that the way we had lived and worked prior 2020 would now reach an unknown chapter in our lives, one that we all had not yet experienced.  However, it did give us the time to reflect, regroup and revise what we had been doing, to take the best of what works now and move forward with new skills and attitude for a better, more simplified and directive pathway for the future of our livelihoods and industry.

The Great Kiwi Sign Survey also allowed us to take a more in-depth look into our industry to track what our current sign shops look like now, what is planned for the future and the importance of detecting future trends that may have occurred on the cusp of COVID or because of it.  Finding out the nitty-gritty helps us understand reasons for change and drivers that make the industry success of sign shops, now and beyond.
The survey covered many topics, with varying outcomes, some obvious, and a few surprises, but overall mostly inspiring with a lot of focus on the future of developing and investing into the industry.  This showed us that we have a bunch of good sorts out there, inspiring each other, investing in their trade and business, being resilient and embracing change when needed  – looking forward and not back, making the best of a changing economy.  One really nice surprise was how important the supplier relationships are to you all, with the top two values being, availability of stock and then working relationships.  Price came in at number three, but my point here is there is no dollar value can be placed on a good connection and a trusting relationship.

Those that participated in the Sign Survey will be receiving the report in the next few weeks.  This has also been made available to our members on the private members website.  Our goals were achieved with this survey, the industry engaged and connected with us, we were able to reveal some future trends and understand better the reasons for change.  We now know the importance of a good supplier relationship and what matters the most, but I guess the biggest issue that many face and was our most obvious was the lack of trained and skilled sign makers and the overworked current employees.  How do we fix this – its simply – train your own.  Enrol in Signee Industry, get them qualified with an apprenticeship or industry training.  Inspire success and achievement, imagine what could happen to the industry if we all gave our time and support.  Let’s do this together so we can lead developmental changes, support each other and provide what is needed to make a stronger, more connected future for sign making.