Digital Signage: It’s Not an All-or-Nothing Trend

Interactive dressing rooms, holograms, haptic touch. Tech-driven retail spaces are undoubtedly the wave of the future, but smaller shops without IT departments and millions of dollars to bankroll a total digital overhaul of their stores may think they’re unable to join in. Not true. “Digital signage” is a big umbrella, and while it certainly includes some of these bleeding-edge innovations, its more basic definition can also be an effective strategy for retailers.

No matter how it’s deployed, digital signage in a retail environment is all about driving brand engagement — i.e., giving consumers a new or enhanced way of experiencing your store and your products. In such a competitive industry, can any company really afford not to invest in brand engagement? The good news is that as channels such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile evolve, so do the components for digital signage, making deployment at any scale both cost effective and realistic. Companies can consider small-scale digital signage deployments to test its impact, driving customer engagement and building the case for a larger or more advanced deployment down the road.

Here's how to set your organization up for a successful digital signage deployment:

• Know what you need. At its most basic, deploying digital signage doesn’t take much: you need a display, some software and hardware to run it. It’s important to think critically about the display. This is where consumers will be viewing and interacting with your content, and it could be a LED screen, a projection screen, a kiosk, an iPad, etc. The format you use will dictate the experience. The second component is the software that will manage the content on your display. Many digital signage deployments use a content management system (CMS) to create, manage, schedule and show your content. Many are web-based, so you can create and change your content remotely. Finally, the hardware that's responsible for distributing and displaying your content: many small and low-cost form factors exist so that content is managed seamlessly.
• Know what you want to offer. Digital signage can bring totally new experiences into your stores, but it can also simplify current processes. Consider, for example, the cost in time, resources and money that goes into printing and changing all paper signage related to pricing or an upcoming sale. Digital signage not only eliminates this step, but it allows a brand to be even more engaging and creative in its promotion. Other impactful but simple use cases for digital signage include offering dynamic pricing or deepening brand engagement through display ads or other company content.
• Know what’s next. An initial digital signage deployment can quickly evolve to more advanced solutions. Consider touchscreens to produce a dynamic and interactive experience with your products; an e-commerce hub so customers can purchase out-of-stock items; or even just a video wall so your brand’s content and identity becomes larger than life.

Digital signage doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective, and it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing investment. Companies shouldn’t let the fear of cost or scale of deployment prohibit them from joining the tech-driven side of retail. Instead, understand digital signage as a way to wade in, and expand as you see the impact.

Alex Rodriguez is the CEO and founder of Azulle, a U.S.-based technology company known for their fanless mini PCs and mini PC sticks.