4 Challenges Of Retail Digital Signage

The benefits of digital signage for retailers are clear. However, digital signage is not something to be used casually, especially if your budget is not unlimited. Mistakes make things more costly and less effective.

Here are four common problems to identify and avoid for you.

1. Planning

When your competitor installs a digital signage system on the street, you may get the fear that she now has a competitive advantage over you. Perhaps you've seen the situation where, according to statistics, 42% of shoppers would rather shop in a store that has a video showing it.

So you're in a hurry to install as many digital signage systems as quickly as possible. Still, it's best to take the time to plan. Otherwise, you run into an ambiguous vision problem that is a direct result of incomplete planning.

One of the first things you should ask yourself when considering a digital signage network is: why do we need it?

"To make money" is a start, but not enough. If the leader of a project is focused on improving your brand identity and pushing for more specific features (i.e., showing the satisfaction of the local track video running equipment store), or is focused solely on pushing the product (all the advertising content, all the time), you have conflict.

Start by clarifying your project vision. It will also help you determine how to measure your return on investment on digital signage.

2. Poor integration

Retailers want their digital signage to be more than just a slick PowerPoint presentation. They want to integrate with multiple systems currently set up in retail. They want to be able to use screens for training.

They also want content to coordinate with other marketing campaigns online and on mobile devices. Creating a full channel experience requires a lot of vision and planning.

3. Produce enough content

The biggest advantage of digital signage over traditional signage is that it is not static. Even in the previous loop, the image on the screen changed frequently. This means that even if customers have seen specific content, they are likely to give it a second look. Paper signage is better than wallpaper.

However, in order to maintain performance, it is important that it constantly adds new content. Many users of digital signage networks report only updating their content every other month or less.

If the content stays the same forever, eventually people will stop looking for it. And never changing it means you missed the opportunity to promote products and move inventory.

Another thing worth mentioning is the production of budget content. How much are you willing to spend? Be sure to plan ahead and decide who is responsible for producing the content. How much your content costs depends on your business and goals.

4. Localize messages

If you're still in the planning stage, make your content adaptable to local solutions. One popular option is to make each location responsible for some of its own content.

It is also important to have style and voice guidance in place to help maintain the brand. If you have the resources, you can use current data analysis capabilities and generate highly targeted messages.

Even if your system is in place, there are steps you can take, such as setting up your digital signage to display social media at your local branch or the local weather.