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3 lessons on better utilizing digital signage

There are many moving parts with digital signage, and consistently managing and maintaining those parts can be a major hassle. Luckily, multiple stories on Digital Signage Today provide some key tips to both help you better handle your digital signage and to better utilize it to its full effectiveness.

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October 8, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

Digital signage is a well-known tool, but it is still highly complex and often difficult to manage. There are many moving parts with digital signage, and consistently managing and maintaining those parts can be a major hassle.

Luckily, multiple stories on Digital Signage Today provide some key tips to both help you better handle your digital signage and to better utilize it to its full effectiveness.

Pick a partner, not a supplier

One major problem with many suppliers is that they are only interested in making a sale. Once they sell you the display, media player or software, they leave you to handle the details. This is why end users should look for someone to partner with them, not just supply them with a product, according to a story recently posted on Digital Signage Today.

A vendor who acts as partner will help end users strategize on the best spots to deploy digital signage for maximum effectiveness. They will also help their customers develop strategies for how to manage and update content as well as provide training for employees who need to interact with the displays regularly.

A good way to tell the difference between a supplier and a partner is to talk with their previous customers. Did they work with the customers directly and help them with all their needs or did they sell and run?

Learn from the Burger King

Burger King is well known for innovative products such as its Impossible Whopper, a vegetarian alternative to the Whopper that is supposed to mimic the taste of beef. However, the QSR has also utilized digital signage in a simple, yet effective way that many end users can learn from.

Digital signage does not need to be horribly complicated to be effective, all it needs to do is to deliver content that catches the audience's attention. Burger King does this by using simple unintrusive displays which offer content on the newest products, job offerings, movie trailers, loyalty programs and dynamic temperature and weather updates.

These displays mostly keep the volume down pretty low, only raising the volume during movie trailers, which naturally draw in customer's attention. A display does not have to be loud and in a customer's face all the time to be effective, it just needs to be able to attract their attention at the right time.

Know the true cost of ownership

Before you purchase digital signage, you need to understand what the real cost of owning it is. Many only consider the initial investment when looking at the cost of digital signage, such as the price tag on the media player and displays.

However, end users need to consider all the factors of owning and managing digital signage before they can decide if it fits into their budge, according to a story on Digital Signage Today. These factors include:

• Installation: This can vary depending on whether the display is indoor or outdoor or whether it needs a reinforced chassis. This can also include factors such as paying for permits to deploy DOOH displays.
• Content: Who is going to be making the content? Will it be an out of house studio or in house? Will you need to hire a new employee to handle it? How often will you update the content?
• Service: Who will fix the display when it breaks?
• Long term costs: How will you determine when you need to replace the display? Will your vendor give you a discount on updated equipment or software?

Once you have a firm grasp on what the total cost of ownership is, you can begin determining whether the display will actually net you a profit, whether that be a simple monetary profit or a profit in customer engagement.

About Bradley Cooper

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Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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