The addition of digital signage to your facility means that your customers can make an imprint. Whether you’re selling cheesecake or running shoes, today’s online and social media world means that clients (and potential clients) are accustomed to sharing their feelings and experiences. With easily accessible digital signage in your place of business, you make the customer a part of the creation process.
What Is Digital Signage?
Digital signage is the in-house or on-table display of your products and services. On it, you can share images of the products you’re selling or a schedule of upcoming events. You can also accept customer orders, allow the customer to swipe right or left, and promote your business social media pages and posts.
Once your digital signage CMS (content management software) is up and running, you can also share pertinent news in your industry and offer real time updates to your in-house clients.
What Are the Components of Digital Signage?
While choosing your digital signage CMS, you can also make hardware decisions. You’ll need to find a spot for your screen(s), a media player to load common content, a network to connect to your software, and a space to run the core service, either in the cloud or on site.
The location of the screen is critical. For example, if you have a single store that sells kitchen gear and cooking supplies, you’ll want a screen that your standard demographic (adults) can easily
- see, so make it prominent
- touch, so don’t go too low or too high
- review and study, so create a spot where people can stand and watch content flow
The screen needs to be accessible, but make sure your media player can be secured in a spot where it can’t be tampered with. Of course, it will need consistent power, but try to locate it in an area where only authorized employees can access it.
Your network is you network; you’ll need internet service at your location. Finally, you’ll need to determine which service you will use. If you don’t have a server onsite, a cloud based service will serve.
How Can Digital Signage Help my business?
As defined by experts with Contentful, digital signage CMS will allow you to turn a shopping experience into a buying experience by giving the customer the chance to feel engaged, confident and secure in their buying process.
Today’s digital consumers have the option to limit what they see. By providing your customers the option to scroll through a menu and hone in on choices, they are creating a psychological bias about your store. The things they see on the screen are what they want, and their interest is captured.
The old adage is that “the customer is always right”, but by adding digital signage, you can increase the chance that the customer is both entertained and engaged. A touch-screen hooks the customer from just an observer making a single choice to a creative consumer putting together a one-time schedule or shopping experience.
There’s a reason we get a rush when online shoppers click “add to cart” and it’s not just purchasing. It’s power, and a digital sign in your store will empower your customers into returning to enjoy this same sense of connection.
Why Do I Need to Install Digital Signage?
Once this bias is established, you have the option to expand your offerings. In referring back to the kitchen gear store, maybe you’re planning to offer cooking classes. Your digital signage CMS updates could include
- a calendar
- a website link to allow clients to sign up for classes or get on your email blast
- information on targeted sale promotions
If you offer a class on French cooking and get a lot of social media likes, it’s time to offer a sale on ramekins and braising pans. You could even post a survey to see what classes would bring in the most customers, then tailor your facility schedule to that need.
Current world conditions have left many people feeling extremely isolated. Leaning on social media means that many folks capitalize on filtering down to a visible bias; they see only what they’re interested in and what they agree with.
Community is constructed by sharing with the like-minded on social media platforms, so your digital signage can draw potential clients to a screen they can act on, increasing their connection to that physical space.
