How Effective Is Digital Signage?

Smart business people know they should weigh the return on investment (ROI) of any major investment of company funds. (Well, they should weigh them in their personal finances, too, but that's for a different blog). When considering digital signage software, decision makers want to know that the purchase will solve the pain points they are trying to address. If not, the purchase will end up being wasted dollars that could have been allocated in another part of the budget.

Digital signage is proven to be effective in a variety of scenarios, which we will discuss in this post. For organizations to feel comfortable investing in a project involving such signage, they have to ask themselves this question to decide how effective it's going to be:

Decision makers who have researched solutions and have arrived at digital signage hopefully already have a working knowledge of the types of issues the installation would address. There are several ways that digital signage software is highly effective in the workplace, such as:

One of the biggest benefits of digital signage is its ability to attract and interact with employees. Printed signs and emails aren’t nearly as effective in “getting points across” to your workforce as digital signage. Sharing important company information, HR deadlines, sales goals, product rollout information, meeting reminders, and more are easy with digital signage. If this is one of the ways you plan to use the display screens, you can reasonably expect a high ROI and a sound investment.

If you’re looking for an additional revenue stream, digital signage may be your ticket. Displays can share advertising and promote sales in a variety of ways. If your facility has a store or gift shop, share sales and discounts on the display. If your organization works with partners, ask them if they’d like to buy advertising to promote their business to your customers. If you’re in the restaurant industry, showcase new menu items or add-on orders like desserts to increase the average customer’s bill. Digital signage is highly effective in promoting sales and increasing purchasing for many types of industries.

Schools, hospitals, tourist attractions, conference centers, large corporations, and other types of businesses agree that digital signage is proven effective in helping create a positive personal experience. Wayfinding is a key way to use digital signage in this regard, as is dynamic information shared via video, storytelling such as the history of the place being visited, and mundane information like business hours. An informed visitor who isn’t wasting their time searching for where they need to be, or trying to find out information they want to know, is a happy visitor. Businesses can use digital signage this way to create repeat visitors and referrals.

Saving money on payroll is a always going to be a big benefit to companies. Digital signage never takes vacation or gets sick! Certain tasks that were normally handled by a human, giving directions for example, can be taken over by digital signage. This makes the investment in signage displays easy to offset and effective, especially when you’re also using them in other effective ways like the ones on this list.

If your company needs to share information that changes quickly or is critical for your audience to know, digital signage can be an effective tool for that use. Content creators can easily change the messages on the displays so everyone is looking at the freshest, most recent insight available. This works great for emergencies like fires, tornadoes, or snowstorms. Being able to share urgent messages quickly through digital signage is especially helpful in manufacturing facilities where employees working on the floor may not have constant access to email.

In addition to sharing information to many different audiences in a variety of ways, digital signage can be used to motivate team members and make everyone feel included. Large, multi-location companies can benefit from broadcasting uniform messages so that everyone, no matter how remote, has access to the same company news. Videos congratulating employees of the month, announcing birthdays and work anniversaries, new babies, and plans to retire builds a community feel that strengthens the company’s culture.

Today’s world, with our smart device access and endless apps, makes it difficult for us to be content to sit around and wait. Digital signage can fill the gaps in our days. Whether it’s with a screen by the elevator, in a doctor’s waiting area, or in a company’s reception room, digital signage can be used to entertain people so they don’t get frustrated and view their visit negatively. Plus, they are exposed to the messages your company chooses for them while they wait. Advertisements about the company, fun games, a video on core values, or new product rollouts are all content that maximizes the effectiveness of this down time.

Safety measures are critically important for companies, and lax attention to them are one of the biggest avoidable costs for companies in the U.S. By using digital signage to remind employees of proper safety protocols, leaders can proactively avoid the costs of accidents. Some ideas for this initiative are to highlight a protocol every day or week, frequent reminders to don required safety gear and be aware of your environment, and showcase consecutive days the location has gone without an accident. Even if digital signage is responsible for stopping a single serious accident, it has been effective.

To sum it all up, the answer to the question “How effective is digital signage” is “very”. To maximize the ROI from investing in digital signage software, organizations should decide what they want it to accomplish and the pain points they want it to address before the purchase. That way the goals can be laid out, tackled, and easily measured so you know exactly the level of effectiveness you've accomplished.