Digital signs are one of the newest kids on the block. If you start looking into advertising, you will hear about these products everywhere. And for good reasons. These boards highlight many of the best features of signage.
Whenever you’re making any type of sign, you must weigh the pros and cons and decide what works for you. So before you start creating, read below for the most important benefits of using digital signage for your business.
1 – Plenty of content
Digital signs are fantastic tools for communication. You can use them to communicate with both your customers and staff effectively.
Standard printed signs hold a central position in promotional and other types of signage. However, they are generally limited to one static design that you choose to print on the surface. The same doesn’t hold for digital signs.
Their medium allows you to use content in a variety of formats. They include the following:
- Pictures
- Video
- Music
- Sounds
- Slideshow
- Pictures
- Text
- Social media feeds
- Animations
Sometimes you need more than just a static image to get your message across. You can say much more by combining the different formats.
All in all, digital signs are one of the most customizable products in the industry, although note that different ones have different capabilities.
2 – Grabbing attention
Overall, digital signs are brilliant tools to catch a potential customer’s eye. There is a sense of novelty that comes inherent in these products that people are drawn to.
Aside from this, the screens usually score very highly on visual appeal. The colors are often much more vibrant and bright than they would be on printed signs. So much so that you can’t help noticing.
Moreover, because you have so many choices when it comes to content and its format, you have plenty of ways to draw attention. Movement and animations can be particularly useful. Our eyes can quickly spot moving objects and changes in the environment.
These effects can help showcase the sign as a whole. On the other hand, you can also use it to highlight specific items. For example, you can use moving graphics to point to your star product.
3 – More environmentally friendly than ever
Do you want your business to be eco-friendly?
In this case, digital signs could be the way to go.
First, you can use these products to replace much of the paper communication in your business. Just one sheet of A4 paper requires 10 liters of water.
Second, thanks to continuous innovations, digital signs are becoming greener. LED’s are one of the biggest roleplayers. They are mostly more energy-efficient than compact fluorescent, or incandescent light sources, or LCD screens.
Third, many of the components in digital signs can be recycled if disposed of properly. Recyclable materials include glass, plastic, and electronics. Not only does this reduce waste, but it reduces the need to produce new materials.
Significantly, these aren’t the only ways digital signs can be environmentally friendly.
4 – Save on replacement costs
One downside of standard printed signs is that it can be very challenging and even impossible to make specific changes. Your hands will often be tied, particularly if you want it to look as good as before.
However, making changes is often unavoidable. There are some reasons why it’s critical to update your signs.
For example, here are a few factors that would necessitate alterations to your sign:
- Changes to your contact information
- Showcasing new products and services
- Faded graphics
- Rebranding
These are details that can make or break a sign. Therefore, if you can’t change them, you’ll need to replace the entire sign eventually.
But this change can be significantly lessened with digital signs. While digital signs will still need to be replaced, this is usually only the case when they’ve been damaged, or the technology is too outdated.
In all other cases, you can make the changes by simply changing the design of your digital sign. Thanks to the use of software, you can upload new content for the board whenever you want.
Doing this will not only save you some money but probably some time and effort too. Depending on the type, you can update your digital signs in a matter of hours where in other cases, it can take weeks.
Another pro of this is that you can quickly analyze the success of your advertising strategies and adapt your signs accordingly.
Although digital signs often need quite a steep initial investment, they are often more cost-effective in the end.
5 – Control remotely
All types of digital signs need to be operated using some kind of software. This will allow you to perform a variety of actions, including uploading content, scheduling, and monitoring.
Luckily, due to the growth in digital signage, there’s a massive range of programs to choose from to suit your needs.
Nowadays, most software has some kind of cloud-based content management system. This feature is a real game-changer. It gives you the ability to remotely control a single or even an entire network of screens.
If you have several signs, you can keep the design consistent on each of them at the same time. Or show different content on each of them.
Overall, this can be super convenient and will help you save time, money, and effort.
6 – Daily scheduling
One of the key benefits of digital signs is that, in general, they are very versatile and flexible. As we’ve said, this can help you make annual or irregular updates. Aside from this, many businesses use these products to make much more regular changes.
You can change the content several times a day if you want to or even several times a minute. Thanks to this, you can display more content than you could with a standard sign and make it more relevant.
For example, a school can use one of their electronic boards to greet students and their parents in the morning and display drop off rules. Then in the afternoon, they can put up reminders for extramural events or schedule changes for the next day.
Furthermore, you don’t have to do this manually each time. If you use rule-based software, you can program the signs to change the content automatically at pre-programmed times.
7 – Time-sensitive content
Everyone loves signs with a seasonal message. However, most businesses simply can’t afford or go through the hassle needed to do this. Once again, digital signs stand out in this regard. They are the ideal products if you want to display time-sensitive content.
Besides seasonal greetings, there are many more reasons to take advantage of digital signs’ flexibility. Some of the crucial ones are:
- Limited sales or promotions
- Temporary changes to your operating hours
- New products or services
- Upcoming events
- Contextual content like congratulating your local sports team on a win
Typically, if you use this feature well, you can improve your business by keeping your message fresh, and clients and staff informed.
8 – Boost in sales
Digital signage has been shown to boost sales by up to 30 to 32%. Of course, an increase in sales results in a rise in profits, which is excellent for any business.
The impact can be further enhanced if you use them in-store or onsite. Marketers have found that these signs can be brilliant for encouraging impulse buys.
One way to do this is to draw customers’ attention to important messages, like promotions, while they are trying to make purchasing decisions. Significantly, 8 out of 10 impulse purchases are made in brick and mortar stores and most of these are at, or close to, checkout points.
Don’t forget that many of the other benefits of digital signs play into this aspect as well.
9 – Increased recall and retention rate
In some cases, you want signs to encourage clients to take immediate action. However, many times this won’t be your goal. Besides grabbing attention, you also want people to remember the sign and its content.
Digital signage can be extremely handy here. One study on electronic billboards showed that 83% of people recalled at least one ad they were shown after 30 days. On top of this, 65% of them could recall two ads, and 47% were able to recall three.
Therefore, it’s a good way to encourage new customers to visit your store later, to talk about your ad with their friends, or come back again. And much, much more.
10 – Interactive solutions
Technology can open up whole new worlds of possibilities. This applies to digital signs as well. With them, you can get your creative juices flowing and build new experiences for your clients.
No doubt, one of the critical benefits of digital signage is that you could design them with interaction in mind.
People often enjoy using technology in-store, making for an interesting experience. Plus, you can delegate tasks to these boards and therefore help the flow of your business and relieve some of your staff’s workload.
For instance, you can use signage for:
- Self-service checkout
- Product information
- Gift card sales or refills
- Wayfinding systems
- Self-service applications
- Product locators
- Gift registries
- Checking prices
- Product requests and orders
- For queuing tickets
- Self-service check-in
- Customer service surveys
Ultimately you can use them to bring some of the convenience of online shopping to your office or storefront.
11 – Improved visibility
One potential drawback of standard printed signs is the extent of their visibility. Unfortunately, if you don’t illuminate them, they will only be readable during the day. Clearly, this means that you can lose out on a lot of exposure.
The amount of time you lose increases even more during winter, when the days are shorter.
Digital signs literally shine in this respect. Typically, manufacturers produce the screens with LCDs, LEDs, or plasma cells, which light up the display.
Therefore, you will be able to see the content more clearly throughout the night and day. Undoubtedly, this will improve the exposure of the sign and increase the chance of reaching potential clients.
Best of all, with high-quality software, you can control and regulate the brightness of the sign. You could even use sensors to adjust it based on current light conditions automatically.
For example, the lighter it is outside, the brighter you need to set the screen for optimal visibility and vice versa.
12 – Long lines, no problem
Did you know that one of the key ways businesses are using digital signs is lower perceived wait times?
We’re sure you’ve come across one of these screens at your local doctor’s office showing news headlines or the weather. This is no accident.
Long wait times are a big-no-no for many customers and can certainly cause you to lose business. Potential clients might simply walk out the door and take their business elsewhere.
In one survey, 69% of consumers said that long checkout lines were the most irritating part of shopping.
Unfortunately, queues are often unavoidable. That’s why it’s a great idea to provide a distraction while customers wait. By using digital signs, you can keep your customers occupied and happy while they stand in line. And in the end, the perceived wait time would have felt much shorter and have been a pleasant experience.
13 – Additional opportunities
There seems to be no end to the possibilities with digital signs. Generally, you have much more options to experiment with. One of these is that you can potentially use them to generate a bit of income from third-party advertisers.
In short, the third-party company pays you a fee to display their ads on your signs. The money can help cover the initial investment and running costs.
This arrangement usually works best in the following situations:
- Shopping center
- Office park
- Health center
- Schools
- Banks
You could even work with other small business owners to commission a shared sign dividing the costs. In this case, everybody usually wins.
Make signs work for you
Digital signs, and signs in general, can revolutionize the way you promote your business. These premium products, in particular, allow you much more freedom and possibilities and can be an incredibly powerful communication tool.
But even the best signs need great designs to be effective. That’s why it can be useful to check out how to create LED message signs that convey the right message as well as electronic signs for schools: a list of dos & don’ts.
