Bad Ideas for Saving Money on a Vehicle Wrap

A vehicle wrap can be a significant expense for a small business,  averaging $2000 -$4000+ across the country.  I get it, who wants to spend more than they have to right?  The following are all real examples I’ve come across, and they’re really bad ideas.

If you try to save money on your logo by having your friend’s nephew’s cousin who is a “designer” come up with something for $20, chances are it will be reflected in the professionalism of the finished product.

One of the worst ways to save money on a vehicle wrap (and for your overall business for that matter) is to skimp on your logo.  So many businesses give so little thought and attention to their logo it’s really amazing.  Your logo is the face of your business, the first impression.  It’s SUPER important!  I can’t express that enough.  If you try to save money on your logo by having your friend’s nephew’s cousin who is a “designer” come up with something for $20, chances are it will be reflected in the professionalism of the finished product.  You can save money by using a standard font with no flare or no graphic to go with it: bad idea.  Now, you also don’t need to spend $500,000 on a logo and take a year to create it either, but you really should hire a professional to do this.   Putting an unprofessional logo on a vehicle wrap is not only a waste of money in terms of the cost of the wrap, it’s a massive cost when you factor in the cost of potential clients calling you.  In some cases this could be costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in potential sales.  That’s not saving you money at all, it’s costing you.

 Tiny graphics and plain black and white lettering do not give the same positive impression that a graphic wrap does.

You could also save money by putting graphics on a very small area of the vehicle, and just doing “cut out” lettering. Bad idea!  Here’s some of SmartWrap’s own research:  85% of people can remember the name of a company in a 75% wrap. 58% remember the company name in a cut out lettering design.  Tiny graphics and plain black and white lettering do not give the same positive impression that a graphic wrap does.  It looks like you couldn’t afford to invest in your business.  If it looks like you can’t afford to invest in your business, or don’t care enough to, what does that imply about how you’re likely to perform for the POTENTIAL client??  Big distinction here:  We’re talking people who don’t know you.  Not the people that already know you.  You many not be able to afford to invest in a 100% wrap, I’m not suggesting that you do.  A 75% wrap can be quite effective too.

Another bad idea for cost savings that I’ve seen:  Split the cost of the wrap between 2 companies, having 2 different brands on the same wrap.  People are going to be confused, the design will be cluttered.  It’s going to be a total waste of your money, and again the loss in terms of potential clients and their $ revenue is staggering.

A broken down vehicle looks like a broken down business.

I’ve seen the next bad idea more than you’d think.  Business owners buy a clunker with the hopes of putting a vehicle wrap on it and promote their business on the cheap.  Think about this:  What would you think about a company that appears to have clunkers for their fleet.  I recommend sticking to at the very least, model years released within the last 10 years.  Unless the vehicle is a considered a classic and is in good condition, a broken down vehicle looks like a broken down business.  Avoid making that connection in the potential clients mind.

Cheap places are often just pushing vinyl by the square foot.

Another common mistake people make is going to a wrap shop that will give you the most coverage for the same or lower price. Invariably what you get is the worst in terms of quality and effectiveness for the cheapest price.  These cheap places are often just pushing vinyl by the square foot and have little understanding or interest in the outcome for you.  The vehicle wrap industry is not like Costco, where you can get the most for the least.  Their deal is to sell as much vinyl as possible.  Our deal is to design the most effective wrap possible, have you come back in 6 months with 6 more vehicles – because you’re absolutely crushing it – because everyone knows your brand!  Simply put, we want you to be successful!