The digital proclivities of customers today have left businesses little choice but to embrace technologies to engage customers in digitally-rich learning (and eventually the discovery of products and services). Digital signage software is one such technology that aids businesses in performing any activity—promotional or informational—at a physical customer touchpoint. It is an opportunity to grab customer attention and create a positive impression about a brand, product, or service.
Capital expenditure on standalone digital signage or reconfiguring mobile devices into digital signage in the short term is more than traditional digital signage such as billboards or print media. However, the flexible and versatile nature of digital signage offsets the costs in the long term. In this article, we discuss how digital signage software provides an opportunity to boost sales and ROI.
How Digital Signage Supports Business
Reliable technology is crucial for successful digital signage implementation. The advent of System-on-a-Chip (SoC) on screens has eliminated the need for custom programming and design to install digital signage. Compatible screens and readily available software that supports rich media streaming have proved to be a catalyst in rolling out a digital signage strategy.
Here’s how digital signage is helping drive a digital experience for customers.
- Cost-effective and Flexible Advertising
Traditional signage are manufactured before shipping to a store or any other customer touchpoint. This means there’s no going back and changing the marketing material. For digital signage, its content management system can accommodate last-minute changes to content and design and publish it to a single digital display or group of displays.
- Captures Attention
Customers have an attention span of 8 seconds, a decrease from 12 seconds nearly two decades ago. Shrinking attention span and the sheer competition to grab what’s left of it is where digital signage plays a crucial role. The dynamic nature of digital signage captures attention more easily than static displays, improving the chances of interacting with customers.
By interacting with the brand and getting to know more about the products and services, digital kiosks provide direct engagement that influences purchase decisions at the point of sale.
- Provide Entertainment
According to a survey conducted by HubSpot, 83% of companies that believe in making customers happy also experience growing revenue. Being entertained is one way of making customers happy. Customers today are looking for novel and entertaining shopping experiences. Digital signage provide a platform to convey entertaining messages alongside a retail store as a part of a marketing strategy designed to attract customers.
- Educates Customers
80% of customers are likelier to shop with brands that show they understand them. Sending customers relevant and consistent communication online and in-store shows that brands understand customer needs. An immersive kiosk can inform customers with rich media communications that show the benefit of a product and in-store offers without overwhelming buyers who appreciate a self-service experience.
- Improves Interaction
You have captured the customer’s attention. Great! Now what? The next logical step would be to turn that attention into interaction. Combining the right message and interactive capabilities of a digital kiosk, consumers are more likely to remember the brand. It helps increase brand awareness and the probability of upselling or cross-selling when faced with a vast array of similar products.
Measuring ROI on Digital Signage
The adage, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” holds here. Determine the KPIs that will measure the performance of digital signage. Determining the SMART KPIs is a great way to start. The acronym stands for:
- Specific – Be clear about the goals and objectives
- Measure – Quantify the investment to indicate the progress of the goal
- Achievable – Look at the end objectives and plan out realistic goals
- Realistic – Setting goals that are totally out of reach won’t motivate teams
- Time-bound – A time-bound goal needs to have a deadline for each milestone to stay on track
While KPIs can vary based on the objectives, there are two common but important digital signage KPIs—average dwell time and session count.
Average dwell time measures the time customers spend in front of a screen. There are different ways to measure dwell time, but digital signage hardware with camera and facial tracking technology provides accurate measurement. Businesses can determine a performance baseline or compare it with industry benchmarks. The average dwell time is 0.7 to 0.9 seconds.
Unlike a website session count, measuring a session count on digital signage isn’t straightforward. The best way to measure is by creating scenarios that indicate, with reasonable confidence, that a new consumer has approached the signage and a new session has begun. Businesses can determine session count using the following:
- Cameras and computer vision technology
- Adding a home or start button as an indication that a new person has started a new session
- A session time-out or auto reset after a predetermined interval during which no interaction has occurred
Wrapping Up
The advancement of digital signage technology and changing consumer preferences have prompted many industries, especially consumer-facing ones, to embrace digital signage and interactive kiosks as a part of their marketing strategy. Many benefits support brands in increasing sales, improving brand awareness, and providing a better customer experience. The exact metrics differ from company to company, as making the most of the digital signage investment means aligning its usage with the company’s overall marketing goals.
