How Small Business Owners Can Benefit from Digital Signage
Have you heard about or seen digital signage?
There is a good chance you've seen examples of digital signage. Perhaps you've even considered adding digital signage to your business.
Digital signage, or digital display, is a digital sign displayed on a monitor in a location-based business. Common places for digital signs include banks, offices, waiting rooms and restaurants. The digital sign is becoming something these small businesses can use to improve the customer experience while also adding revenue.
Digital signage can serve a variety of purposes for small businesses that are location-based. Each business is different and digital signage can be customized to fit specific needs.
The great thing about digital signage, and the reason why many businesses are starting to adopt it, is the versatility it offers. Once the monitors are installed (a relatively easy process) it is easy to change the content on the screen. One day a restaurant could have the specials listed on the monitor in their welcome area and the next day they could have a birthday wish for the guest of honor for a birthday event.
But for many businesses, digital signage has been about adding revenue. Here are five ways companies have used digital signage to add revenue to their location-based business.
Hopefully these inspire you to add digital signage to your marketing mix.
1. Building Trust Through Content
Image Credit: Dental Digital Signage courtesy of Rise Display
Dentists and Doctors are the perfect candidate for digital signage. The waiting room is a place where patients have nothing but time. While dentists and doctors do their best to get patients in and out quickly there is always a little time spent in the waiting room and it's a great opportunity for the dentist or doctor to build trust with some helpful content.
Picture a monitor or monitors in the waiting room. Like the monitor featured above, the content on the screen could offer some helpful tips on how to take care of your teeth or body. Some additional content could offer related news articles from the web and maybe even weather updates.
Since digital signage can be connected to the Internet this content is really easy to setup.
Giving patients interesting and helpful content to read and watch as they wait is a great way to build a relationship and to build trust. This is important for dentists and doctors because the long-term loyalty of patients is important not only because those paying patients will return, but because those same patients will often refer the person they trust most when asked by friends to name a trustworthy dentist or doctor.
2. Using Content to Sell to Visitors
Image Credit: Arnold Palmer Invitational courtesy of Rise Display
Even if a location-based business there is a need for digital salespeople. When you're unable for whatever reason to sell your services to visitors digital signage can make a great substitute.
The example above is a digital display used in the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. The display shows content that gives visitors to the hospital information about the annual golf event that benefits the hospital. It's a great event and one of the longest running events on the PGA Tour.
What this content does is give visitors a background about the event and the hospital. From there the person can easily use the QR code or visit the Facebook page to make a donation to do their part.
Selling is a process and when you can't answer questions you can easily create digital signage to do the selling with content for you at your location.
3. Highlighting Specials and Featured Items
Image Credit: Executive Express Signage courtesy of Rise Display
Perhaps the biggest way to add revenue with digital signage is with specials and featured items. Here is an example of a restaurant menu. Local restaurants that change their menu from time to time appreciate the flexibility a digital display offers because they can easily change menu items, but the other benefit is the ability to market the specials.
As visitors walk into your business you can have your display setup to show them the featured service or the featured special of the day. This brings attention to the item and gets the visitor thinking about the decision they should make. By selling the special you can highlight items that are more profitable or maybe get a visitor to react if an item is offered for a limited time only.
There are a number of different ways to use digital displays to sell special items and the flexibility offered allows you to experiment and find the best specials for your unique business.
4. Sell with Social Proof and Examples
Image Credit: Wedding Planner Signage courtesy of Rise Display
For a business like a wedding planner it's important to showcase the work you do. When visitors come to your office to meet with you and discuss what you can provide you can have a digital display showing off your work.
This provides social proof by showing how others have benefiting from your work. The situation is great because you are showcasing your work without really showing off. You're focusing on the people in the photographs and through that people become sold on you and the work you can provide. In the case of the wedding planner the person looking at the display will want to be like the person in the images.
For your business you can use photos, testimonials and other examples that provide social proof and work to sell you and your business to visitors.
5. Brand the Business to New Visitors
Image Credit: Spectra Credit Union Signage courtesy of Rise Display
For new visitors to your location you'll want to offer some basic branding. A digital display can accomplish this in a few different ways. In this example you'll see the graphic on the left showcasing a smiling woman and a tagline for the company. This allows the business to show off its personality, which is important for any business that is trying to build a relationship with a new visitor.
When you're looking to brand yourself to new visitors a digital sign can help in a variety of ways.
Some Final Thoughts on Digital Signage for Small Businesses
Digital signage is relatively easy to set up in your business. Installation can be provided by the company selling the monitor and with a digital signage software you will have complete control over the content that displays.
You can customize the display to serve your business purposes. That's the great thing about using digital displays. Every business is unique and you can make your display unique to sell your services and make your business even more appealing to your visitors.
Do you have questions about digital signage? Feel free to ask anything in the comments.
About the Author
Todd Hemme is a Director at Rise Vision, a free digital signage Web platform. He has years of experience in the digital display industry including experience working with top designers and business leaders on their digital signage campaigns. To learn more about the free digital signage platform that can help your design business you can check out their website at Rise Vision, or contact Todd on Twitter @RiseVision
Gary
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