Devices like Android TV and especially Apple TV have seen massive sales in the commercial sector, while consumers are not as sold on the devices. Why are businesses buying up these devices? They are buying them up because they use them to run their digital signs. The digital sign industry has been steadily rising for years, which is why software companies like Kitcast have been growing year-on-year. Here are a few ways that commercial businesses are using digital signs to drum up more customers.
1 – We Live in an Attention Economy
Those who can gather attention are those who most easily make money. That is why celebrities are able to produce poor quality product after poor quality product and still make massive sales. Gathering attention using your digital signs isn’t going to drive millions of sales, but it will distract people from their phones and the other things in the vicinity that/who are trying to draw their attention. If a potential customer is thinking about you, they are not thinking about your competitors.
2 – Interactive Displays and Catalogs
Being able to see catalogs and get information live without having to look at a phone is a great innovation. Ideally, the store owner wants to keep the user off the phone. The biggest selling point of going to an online store is to be able to see and test out the goods. To get sizes and a feel for the quality. If you let people do that and then they order the same product online, what is the point in having an offline store? If they are going to order online, then use digital signs to drive them online.
3 – Demonstrate Things You Cannot Demonstrate in Store
You cannot demonstrate your new line of lawnmowers in the store, but you can show videos of the lawnmowers. You can show how they work and how to use them, and you can even demonstrate their additional features in order to snag an up-sell or cross-sell.
4 – Keeping The Kids Entertained
There is a reason why pubs put arcade machines and playground areas on their property. It keeps the kids busy so the kids are not nagging the parents to leave. The same applies to any sort of store. That is often why the new gaming consoles are set up to be played in big electronics stores. While dad is buying light fittings, the kiddies are happily playing Fallout Shelter. The kids cheer when the parents say they are going to the store/business. That is not the sort of marketing you can buy with online ads.
5 – Stock Levels and Relevant News
Back during the 2020 to 2022 pandemic lockdowns, things like the Playstation 5 were very hard to find. Stock drops were rare, and retailers were unwilling to post off their stock just to have it stolen or claimed that it didn’t arrive. Instead, retailers put their stock levels in the store window and people would run in to buy.
6 – Bridge the Gap Between The Online and Offline World
As mentioned in point number two, you can drive people to your online website through your digital signs. You can do this with QR codes or web addresses. You can also bridge the gap the other way, allowing people to have the online experience while they are still in the store (especially if you are using interactive digital signs).
7 – Drip Marketing Using Online Advertisements
There are ads on places like YouTube where you would recognize them on the streets without even having to turn around to look at the digital sign. People who are exposed to your ads online are likely to link and identify the same ads running in your store on your digital signs.
How does this help your business? When people see branded ads online for brands they “Don’t” know, then it acts almost as a shock when they find those companies in real life. It creates the sort of reaction in your customers that helps them remember who you are for the next time. Plus, thanks to geo-specific adverts online, you can make sure that the only people seeing your online adverts are the people in your local area. That way, the people in your area are the ones who recognize and link your online adverts to what they see in your store.
