Small or big, business is business. New ways are always needed to be adopted to grow and offer better services!
SMEs take 90% of the business population and are responsible for 70% of global employment. We can fairly say that the success of these businesses is crucial for the overall growth of the economy.
Marketing your services is equally important! US SBA advises one to spend around 7-8% of their gross revenue on marketing. If you are a small business or a start-up, you can start with 2-3%.
There are certain established ways like putting up an advertisement in the newspaper, hoardings, brochures or pamphlets, but we all know they are an old story now.
Digital era has taken its roots and hence it is crucial you flow with the tide.
One medium for marketing that we are going to talk about more today is digital signage.
You might feel that those screens that are so appealing would weigh quite heavy on your pocket! They actually don’t consider the ROI of signage they offer apart from helping you save on time and cost.
Who all can use digital signage?
Any small business that is planning to take its marketing activities a step further, can go on to use digital display. Different industries be it retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, corporate, art galleries or anything for that matter.
Why digital signage are so important for small business?
They save time
The very reason signage are considered a more worthwhile option is because they help you save time in almost everything. Save time on the printing and getting the material circulated across the masses.
They are versatile
Well, they can be used to market your services, display an emergency message, add a visual appeal to your business, help automate marketing operations, save on paper prints, can be used to offer better customer service and also improve the customer experience.
They are adaptable
Unlike the traditional media, content on the signage is not set on stone. It can be updated, improvised and flexible enough to have a variety of content displayed on digital menu boards from time to time.
They are cost effective
With signage, you will incur a monthly cost of $12 at the max on the software using which you will be managing the content across screens. Comparatively the old ways cost more and take a lot of your time as well.
How to get around getting signage for your business?
First and foremost, decide the software provider for your signage? (The recurrent monthly or annual cost)
More or less, anything that you will decide will come to the kind of software that you are going to use. So you need to get started with them.
There are many choices available here but you need to make sure you are clear on your needs for the digital signage software. On an average the software could cost you $10-$16 per month.
With DotSignage, you will pay $12 per month per screen and it will go to $120 per screen annually
If you are using the software for the first time, we advise to start with the monthly plan and then shift to the yearly one once you are completely sure and settled with the idea.
We also have a 7 day free trial that will give you enough time to check out the entire solution and play with it. Our support team is also prompt so all your queries will be answered on time.
Now comes the question of the hardware you will need (One time cost)
This depends on the kind of media player and the screen that you are looking to procure. The best thing would be to consult your software provider on the kind of hardware that will be the best for you.
We from our side have ensured that the hardware we work with is globally available. Since we are an Android based solution, you can go for any Android TV or Android Box. You can also go for Amazon Firestick which can be procured online easily.
The average spending on the hardware one time would start with $550 and can go on to be as high as $3000.
Since you are simply starting out with it, go with the simplest hardware. The mounting and installation charges could go on from $250 to $450 assuming that you are going for normal sized screens and not large ones.
How will you measure the return on investment?
A defined statistic would take time to be established but in a matter of say two weeks or a month, you will start noticing results.
More footfalls and engagement if you are a retail store, better customer service if you are a restaurant, a great first impression if you are a corporate, better art display in case of galleries… All of this is eventually going to help you gain more sales.
The other hidden benefits would be that you would be saving on the other marketing efforts you would have otherwise made like getting a brochure designed or a marketing pamphlet done in case of any new offers or promotions.
With our template editor. All you need to do is give your creative muscle a bit of flex and well, you might surely amaze yourself. This way, you won’t be relying on the designer for everything.
What are the maintenance costs?
Unless you have had some major issues with your hardware, we do not foresee any major maintenance issues coming up with signages.
The only thing that you need to take care of is that the hardware should have enough standing in the market.
Make sure you have enough warranty and support time for the hardware procured so an easy replacement can be done in case of defective hardware.
What is the knowledge base you need to work with signage?
Since we are talking about software here, make sure you are not confusing it with a technical person’s job.
With a bit of training, anyone can use the signage softwares easily.
Like we have said before, you need to be sure of the way you are going to put the signage to a good use at your end. With the right software that will match your needs, you need not put much of an effort in managing them.
If you are going to assign the work of managing the software to a different person, make sure they are well versed with the entire manual of the software so no goof ups happen.
Do you need any additional resources to manage them?
- You will need internet connection when you are pushing the content
- You will need a laptop or a PC to manage the connect
- And then there is the obvious, the hardware and the software
Since it’s a cloud-based software, you can be present anywhere and make instant updates to the content.
With DotSignage, the internet connection will be required only when any new content or update is pushed. We download the content on the hardware side so it keeps playing offline if you lose internet connectivity.
How will you manage the content?
We totally get it that you would not want to hire another resource to manage the content. Considering that, we advise you to start exploring some standard design tools if you want to directly upload images to the software.
You always have the option of using our easy to use template editor with which you can use your own images on a template along with the supported text, symbols and backgrounds.
We also have several other digital signage apps like Google slides. If you have already created a presentation, simply link it using the app to the device.
You can also use Website scroll to simply display your website on the screen.
If you are a small cafe or a restaurant, you can use our in-built templates. We have 200+ of them and you can choose one, input your menu as well as logo and get started.
With the many news apps integrated, you can create a small section on the TV for it and start using the
feeds.
We are sure now that you are convinced enough to have signages. But, if you still have doubts about
how to go about them, you can always schedule a quick demo with us.
Or go on to try our 7 day free trial
