I love when I see some innovative things all of you are doing to promote your businesses. In the past couple weeks, two incredible examples of marketing came to my attention that many of you may want to try – and it’s been right in front of you this whole time. Are you using your shop door to promote your business?

This week I spoke to two individuals that are doing just that and it’s having a positive impact on their business. It must be stated up front that this may not work for everyone because of city codes, zoning or landlord restrictions, but if you have nothing standing in your way, this might be one of the best investments you can make.

Elite Window Tinting in Portland, Ore.

First, take a look at the garage door at Elite Window Tinting in Portland, Ore. Elite’s owner, Zac Hanks said that he initially created this door design out of necessity. He had very little room to place a sign, so he decided to use the largest chunk of building real estate he had available to advertise—his garage door. He had to get the approval of the property owner to install the door graphic, but now his plain door has transformed into one of his best advertisements. Zac mentioned that he has only had the door graphic installed for three to four months, but has already had many of his customers notice and comment on the door. They also mention how easy his shop is to find now. I bet so, since his signage is 12’x10’, which makes it hard to miss!

All Shade Window Tinting in Ontario, Calif.

Next up is Tracy Lepre from All Shade Window Tinting in Ontario, Calif. I really like the creative direction Tracy took by having an image installed that looked like he was open even when the shop was closed. What appears to be a clear shop door is actually a graphic of the inside of the shop. Pretty cool! Like Zac, Tracy wanted to turn his eyesore of the garage door into a marketing platform that would be working even when his shop was closed. All Shade is in a high-traffic area, so having the large signage complete with his phone number allows Tracy to capture interested customers 24 hours a day. Although this door graphic is fairly new, Tracy already is having customers comment on the door when they schedule their appointment.

I hope these two examples give you some ideas on how you might integrate something like this at your location. Graphics like this can be printed and installed by most sign shops on UV-resistant, exterior weather-able vinyl to stand up to the elements. You should expect to pay between $1200.00 and $1500.00 for a fully designed and installed door graphic like the two pictured—but as they’ll tell you, it’s worth it.

I would love to hear your feedback on this idea and see some other examples if you have them. I hope all of you are off to a fast start in 2015!