One warm weekend this spring, we went to the beach.
My four-year-old daughter and I walked down the boardwalk.

We passed a new shop glowing with fresh white paint.
Vibrant red geraniums sat on windowsills framed in blue gingham curtains.
Through the doorway I could see sparking glass display cases and shiny clean tile.
A charming, hand-lettered sign read, “Candy of All Kinds–Come In.”
“What a happy place,” I thought as we passed by.

My daughter didn’t give it a second glance.
She skipped along, swinging my hand.
A block later, she stopped and pointed. “Please, Mom. Please?”

In the middle of the next block, standing in the sidewalk, there was a
four-foot ice cream cone–two pink scoops topped with a bright red cherry.
It was a sign that any child could read.

She tugged my hand. “Please, Mom. Please?”

So we went in, and shared a cone. The table was smeared, the floor was unswept, and the display cases did not sparkle. But they knew what kind of sign to use.

Are you using the right signs to speak to your customers?