Digital signage is being used more often than ever before by businesses and organizations as the use of traditional static signage continues to wane. Why is it that companies are turning to digital solutions for communications needs? For one, technology in the digital signage space is improving at a rapid rate, making digital signage more accessible and available than ever before. But there are ever more reasons to consider digital signage and whether or not it is right for your business.
Here are three primary reasons digital signageis becoming a go-to solution for companies who once used traditional static signage:
- Flexibility – When it comes to traditional static signage, there are only a couple of ways to deal with content. You create the content (or perhaps pay someone to do so), then you print the content (almost always by paying someone), then you place the signage. But we know that all content has a certain shelf life; so, when the content on traditional signage becomes out of date, your options are limited. You can replace the sign, remove it, or repurpose it as an antique wall ornament at Cracker Barrel. With digital signage, this is no longer the case. Now, your content can be customized to suit a particular time frame. If it is interactive, the content can be tailored to individual users, giving your customers quick access to whatever information they are seeking. The flexibility of digital signage takes the cost of seasonal printing for displays out of your budget and gives you the ability to drive information directly to whomever you want to reach when and where you want to reach them.
- Big Data – This reason may surprise you a bit but bear with me. Whether it is a billboard on the interstate or a piece of paper taped to a window, there are no good ways to collect robust data from traditional static signs. Thus, there is no good way to accurately gauge how effective your signage is. With digital signage, this is no longer the case. A digital signage solution is more than just a vehicle to distribute and reach your audience with information; instead, digital signage can help you understand who that audience is and what that message needs to be. With interactive signage and the right software solution, you can gather data on usage, outcomes, and overall interaction with the device. Even more telling is the data that can be gathered with camera analytics; such software can measure the effectiveness of any digital signage solution by gathering data such as dwell times, anonymous demographics and overall traffic. The ability to measure the effectiveness of your message through robust data analytics is a powerful tool that makes traditional static signage seem, well, traditional and static.
- Return on Investment (ROI) – The primary reason companies are shifting away from traditional static signage and opting for digital signage is because of the long term ROI it provides. Remember the two reasons highlighted above: 1) Digital signage is more flexible; this means can make adjustments without incurring major printing costs, tailor your messaging to suit an audience, deploy new content quickly and easily, etc. There are inherent cost savings in this flexibility and then there are new potential gains in this flexibility, both of which have a net positive affect on ROI. 2) Digital signage solutions enable you to collect data you couldn’t collect with traditional static signage. Now, it’s important to note that there are certain costs associated with deploying data analytics software. But we should think of such software as a way in which we protect our investment, even more, as a way in which we guide how we utilize that investment. In turn, the benefits gained from the ability to gather such important data are innumerable and when utilized are certain to positively impact ROI. By and large, digital signage provides a better ROI because you are using a physical platform to leverage digital information. The physical platform rarely has to change; indeed, you might find that scaling to add more signage could have an even greater ROI.
So, there you have it – three reasons why companies, large and small, across all types of industries, are utilizing digital signage more than ever before. They are compelling reasons to make the leap. But what type of digital signage should you deploy? How will you manage your content? Will you use interactive signage or display-only signage? More on these questions next as we continue to explore the world of digital signage solutions.
About Meridian: Meridianis the Customer Experience Leader in self-service solutions and a fully integrated manufacturer of kiosks and interactive digital signage and developer of the Mzero software suite. Leveraging over 25 years of industry experience, Meridian specializes in the design, engineering, fabrication, assembly, integration, deployment and support of productized and custom solutions. Meridian delivers high quality self-service experiences at scale for industry leading companies, partners and their customers. Find out more at https://meridiankiosks.com.