An effective Digital Signage strategy is more than simply putting a screen up. Digital signage provides an opportunity to enhance the customer experience and drive return on investment by increasing customer loyalty, sales, levels of customer understanding and much more.
We believe to deliver high grade digital content on-time and within business SLA’s you need a collaborative approach to your solution. Here we share 6 key components we believe are necessary to consider when adopting a digital signage strategy.
1 – OBJECTIVES AND LOCATIONS
Your journey to digital signage must have very clearly agreed objectives. There are many misconceptions around the potential ROI for the investment, however if you ensure that all parts of your business are engaged then the outcomes will be clear and demonstrable. In some cases there is a very easy way to forecast a return such as a menu and pricing display which is fundamental to the operation of a food and beverage outlet. However, simply moving from printed media to digital requires a lot more thought and planning. A fundamental component to success is not just about the representation of the old to the new, but and crucially how you exploit the opportunity to build your brand image. The display of product and pricing is invariably the driver for the consideration to invest however we believe your brand has more value and is more important than a tin of beans or a pair of socks. Now more than ever you need to be able to reinforce your company values and react immediately to opportunities and challenges within a very short timescale. The power of a hosted digital platform is the ability to have a window to your business that can be managed from a single portal. By utilising the digital platforms capabilities you will be able to get creative, use animation, video and guarantee valid content on time and in real-time.
The deployment of digital assets does not mean anywhere and everywhere. Thoughtful planning to the positioning of digital displays is essential in the journey to a great customer experience and the achievement of your business goals.
2 – BEST OF BREED SCREEN
There is a lot of choice on the market and picking the right display is important. So what are the core elements to consider in a consumer environment:
3 – HOUSING
Part of the journey to implement digital content displays require consideration for enclosures and housings. In some user cases the housing provides the necessary health and safety and security required. However the housing also forms an essential part of reinforcing your brand image. Thoughtful consideration to the way in which displays are either installed in a new build or, more often the case, a retro fit, is fundamental to ensuring success. The end point should always look like it was part of the original design concept. Getting this right will also ensure that your valuable assets are also easy to access and maintain.
To get the right outcome you need to feed the right information into the design and deployment stage of your digital display solution. A store survey is crucial to ascertain the variants and dimensions. Even if two locations look the same they invariably are not. Housing design considerations are:
4 – CONTENT MANAGEMENT
How will the content be managed on the display? We recommend when selecting a digital solution provider that they understand the importance of a powerful and intuitive content management solution. The content management solution equips administrators with the ability to create, monitor, manage and schedule fabulous media content.
The objective is to choose a digital signage solution which enables businesses to conveniently create, schedule and play content across a signage network. Any content management solution needs to consider:
Working with digital signage we are advocates of an integrated device and content management solution. This is where users can manage both the content and device on a single platform.
5 – COLLABORATION
The content will be being produced by an in-house or external design/advertising agency. Therefore any service provider of a digital signage solution needs to work in partnership with this team. Here are a few recommendations:
6 – MANAGED SERVICE
Working with a service provider who can design, deploy and manage a digital signage solution enables you to maximise the advantages of digital technology quickly and effectively. Any managed service should include:
Digital signage is undoubtedly more than a screen and having the right strategy will deliver multiple benefits. In a time where there is a need to seamlessly blend the physical and digital environment digital signage provides an enormous opportunity to improve customer experience and engagement. This coupled with harnessing data to improve the store experience can impact the bottom line by offering targeted communications and promotions to influence customers and ensuring they keep coming back.