The future belongs to those who can seize the moment and make the most of it. This expression has found new meaning in the current digital age where digital technologies are taking us to places which we never fathomed. Technologies are evolving and morphing and bringing into the market things which we never thought of or even perceived possible and one of those things is the use of digital display boards.
To say that Digital Display Boards are on the verge of changing how we interact with information is the understatement of the millennium. The fact is that if well employed, these digital displays have great potential in transforming industries as diverse as healthcare to restaurants and all the way to educational institutions and already their impact has begun to be felt, on a large scale.
This disruptive technology, thanks to cloud based services, has now become worthwhile for SMBs and smaller enterprises to embed in their efforts to attract new clientele while at the same time increasing customer retention. This means that the costs have come down significantly and now you can run a full-fledged digital signage campaign in the ubiquitous cloud at a flat monthly fee, having all your templates stored up in the ether, meaning that all you need to have on premise are your digital displays.
In Technology the Early Adopters Always Win
There are many reasons why you as a retailer should seriously consider adopting digital signage and in this article we are going to look at some of the compelling reasons why you should be a maven and adopt this technology as soon as possible, thereby leaving the competition to play catch up with you. As a business, regardless of your size, you can easily find a cloud based digital signage solution that fits your pocket.
- The Wave – A short while back, say some 5 years ago it was very expensive for anyone to consider digital signage. This was largely due to the fact that the whole field was dotted by a few players, who had more or less created a monopoly and each was using a technology (proprietary) which they had no desire to share with the rest of the world.
This meant that to be able to play in this league or to even have one single digital display on your premises, you needed to have a wad of cash and be ready to have them installed and serviced by that particular service provider. Well, that was before the internet of things became a reality and it became possible for the software and hardware layer to be separated.
This separation led to the brains, software, being stored in the cloud, while the prices of the displays, hardware, plummeted. This has evened the playing ground, making it possible for a large number of businesses both small and big having the same opportunity in executing a digital signage strategy for their business. If you want to participate, now is the best time to commence.
- Myriad Benefits – There are a myriad benefits attached to having digital displays in your business, which is more so if your business has a waiting area or if it is an outlet where customers have to visit in order for them to get the service that they require.
If your business or service involves long queues like say a banking hall or a hospital, you need digital displays to stream content to your waiting customers in order to create the physiological illusion of making it seem as if time passed faster than it actually did.
Additionally, if you are a bank running digital displays, you can use that additional time when your customers are queuing and waiting to be served, to interest them with your new product offering, while deepening their feelings of loyalty with your bank. This is an added plus for customer retention.
- Flexible Banner – Another superb reason why using digital signage is the way to go is the fact that it not only benefits your customers as they are kept engaged while waiting to be served at hospitals or banking halls, or as the owner of a restaurant in displaying the menu, but it also has several benefits to you as the business owner.
You benefit due to the fact that the digital display is the most flexible banner ever invented, when compared to paper, which once written on, it must get disposed of. The digital display medium is a blank canvas and you can place any type of content that you need, when you need to for the benefit of your audience.
Enhanced Customer Experience- Digital signs connected to the internet and served and managed via the cloud present a large number of possibilities of presenting information to your customers.
Due to the way in which the content is served and the current entry of 4K and 8K Ultra HD displays, it is bound to produce tons of sentient pleasure to your clients. Not only that, but it also has the potential of transforming the storefront experience.
This will have the beneficial effect of making sure that the customer who enjoyed the ambience of the store will in all probability make a repeat visit and this time hopefully tag along with some friends. They will unwittingly act as referral agents for your business.
Parting Shot
After all is said and done, the digital signage era has arrived and with it the change in how we will interact with information going forward. This is a harbinger of good times for the businesses which will take the leap into this brave new world, sooner rather than later. If history is to be considered a good teacher, in this knowledge based economy, the first adopters always win over the late ones.
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Jackie O’Brien is a digital signage specialist of long standing who has serviced a huge portfolio of Fortune 50 companies and helped them pivot their advertising campaigns and face them towards using digital media to enhance their market presence.
