4 Surprising Results Made Possible by Using Digital Signage
The world is moving toward an all-digital era, and that includes a transformation in advertising. While print ads one reigned supreme, today’s businesses are employing digital marketing strategies with massive success.
One of the most effective digital marketing strategies is utilizing digital signage. Unlike printed signs, digital signs can be programmed to rotate through different ads, display eye-catching images, and engage people through interactive touchscreens.
If you haven’t looked into using digital signage to grow your business, now is the time. Here are 4 results businesses are getting with digital signage that may surprise you:
1. Bigger profits
A 2013 study from MIT revealed companies that embrace technological advances are 26% more profitable than their competitors. This should be obvious just by looking at the tech giants like Google, Amazon, Box, and YouTube. Digital is the future of profitability.
The MIT study took three years to study nearly 400 senior executives and discovered that firms that excel in digital intensity and also transformation management “generate 9% more revenue from their physical assets, and achieve 12% higher market valuations than other large firms in their industries.”
Digital signage plays a large role in profitability. You can reach your customers anywhere in the world with real-time updates and dynamic, interactive content. Imagine being able to display several rotating ads on the same screen rather than having to physically rotate paper posters every week? Each customer will potentially be exposed to multiple messages in a short period of time.
Some industries are just getting started with embracing all things digital, but we’re all going there eventually. If your industry has been slow to adopt digital advertising and signage, start now and get a competitive advantage.
2. Happier customers
In some industries, a customer’s ability to read clear signage will make or break their experience. For example, if a restaurant patron can’t read the menu easily because the print is too small, they may just order something familiar. By ordering what they always get, they’ll miss out on the chef’s special dish that could have been an extraordinary dining experience.
With a digital menu present at the table, restaurant patrons can scroll through one page at a time to see what’s available. The menu can be crafted in a readable font, but it can also be enlarged by the customer – that can’t be done with a paper menu.
3. Customer loyalty
Loyal customers are created in a variety of ways. One of the most effective ways to gain customer loyalty is through creating a consistent experience on and offline. Consistency is a form of quality and plays a major role in corporate success.
When a customer is only familiar with your online store, visiting a physical location that delivers a similar experience tells the customer they’re in the right place. Your competitor might have a better product, but they won’t easily gain loyalty with disjointed customer experience.
Consumers want a seamless experience on and offline
According to data published by Forbes, 69% of U.S. consumers spend more money with brands that provide a consistent experience in their stores and online. Consumers want a seamless experience across all points of interaction with the brands they shop.
With digital signage, brands can create a sense of familiarity between their website and brick-and-mortar store. For instance, a digital sign can be used to display a high-resolution version of your logo, and you can quickly and easily change the colors on your signage to match your website after a major overhaul.
4. Customer engagement
If you can get customers to physically engage with your ad, you’re one step closer to getting a sale. This has always been true in marketing with direct mail. That’s why the top direct mail marketers use methods like bulky envelopes with something chunky inside, scratch-off games, and stamps. These interactive methods are designed to get people to invest their time into the ad so by the end of the game they’ll purchase something.
You can generate this type of engagement with digital signage using a touchscreen. Imagine renting a booth at a trade show and having an interactive, digital display that speaks to people as they walk by. When someone is interested, your ad asks them to “tap the screen” to learn something interesting. The customer taps the screen and with their attention captivated, you can approach them to move them toward a sale.
The digital advertising age has arrived
Digital marketing has been around for years, but large form print ads are being rapidly replaced with digital signage. If you haven’t started already, using digital signage will give you an edge over your competition.
I’m a single mother of 2 living in Utah writing about startups, business, marketing, entrepreneurship, and health. I also write for Inc, Score, Manta, and Newsblaze