The Benefits of Electronic Signage Across All Industries

Electronic Signage July 25, 2020

Michelle Jaco

Writer

Electric signage is a form of media advertisement, and when implemented effectively, it's the driving force that reels in customers and increases profits.

Common electronic signage includes fluorescent signs, LED signs, and neon signs. As technology advances traditional print signage is becoming obsolete, and businesses are looking toward the future of digital advertising.

Digital displays give brands the power to create impactful messaging through visualizations, attracting consumers and drawing the eye toward something that may have otherwise gone unlooked. Here is how electronic signage benefits businesses across all industries.

Key Factors to Keep in Mind

When it comes to electronic signage, factors to keep in mind that will also help businesses thrive include-

The goal of digital displays is to draw attention
The human eye is innately trained to respond to motion or vivid colors. For businesses to appeal to their demographic or to a broad variety of customers, their electronic signage must account for all five of the human senses and attempt to attract each, such as sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste (to the best of their ability it is a tricky one).

Customization is king
Digital signage is often simple to use, meaning that changes can be made in an instant with ease. Through a primary control source, like a laptop/desktop or even a mobile device, authorized users have the ability to quickly make updates or changes to the signage at any time and without the need for additional resources to do so.

Businesses that utilize standard flat signage, also referred to as static signage, must go through the production process for every update. This includes the design phase, submitting the order to a manufacturer, and awaiting the delivery. This not only adds up to be costly, but it's certainly time-consuming, as well. After fulfilling its purpose, it must then be decided how to thoughtfully discard of the hardcopy sign or take up room by putting it into storage.

Cost-effective resources allow funds to be invested in other areas to promote the business
Digital signage has a long shelf life. Meaning digital screens can last for years with minimal maintenance or repair. With traditional static signage, printing and delivery costs add up - especially for larger signs.

By keeping marketing production costs low, the budget can be applied through outside advertisements.

The customer should literally feel the experience
A digital interaction with the customer is made possible through touchscreen abilities. With video displays and playback where the machine is able to communicate with the customer, interactive kiosks work as another form of electronic signage.

It increases customer engagement, promoting the likelihood that customers will continue to come back. Features like surveys can also be implemented to guests can provide feedback on his/her experience, allowing the brand to identify where the trouble areas are, as well as indicate what is being done correctly.

Vital Across All Industries

As the incorporation of technology into our daily lives continues to grow, the concept that a tech-based marketing system will improve business across all industries would appear to seem very plausible. However, before deciding to invest in digital signage, it's important to understand what needs must be met, and if signage solutions can, in fact, help.

There are essential businesses that need electronic signage, such as-

Healthcare
As western medicine advances, providing efficient medical care to match these advances are becoming a major challenge. If touchscreen cloud-based solutions were easily accessible to medical care professionals every nurse and doctor could have all of a patient's information in a matter of seconds, without sifting through paperwork.

Family visits, planned surgeries, or other actives could also be displayed on digital screens and sustain data flow amongst multiple medical facilities.

Education
Almost every educational institution is struggling with a steady increase in population. To connect staff and students via smartphones ensures students attend lessons on time. With lessons being student-friendly on a mobile device this could increase student engagement and productivity.

Digital signage could also provide information about upcoming workshops, school trips, or any school-related events. This way busy parents can stay informed as well as the students and faculty.

Public Institutions
Buildings such as museums, airports, or subway systems all host thousands of people a day. To manage civilian traffic and provide them with useful information, interactive signage could be a useful tool for an organized and drawn out map display.

Retail
Most customers expect a personalized experience when shopping. To fulfill customer needs, retailers would benefit from introducing interactive content in their stores.

Online selling has become the most popular way for shoppers to quickly get what they need. If retail stores incorporated an online component into stores this could heighten customer satisfaction. For example, retailers could offer holds online to try in-store.

Benefits of Electronic Signage

Eliminates common problems typically experienced with print and static signage.
With print signage, ink-based advertisements prove to be temporary, as the content will likely need to be updated with new information or wear and age with time. Replacements and newly designed content are costly, and it does not have to be.

Because electronic signs are digital, it will not be affected the same way. If visualizations are a major component of your brand, upgrading from static signage would be worth your while.

Innovative technology promotes productivity and streamlines processes.
Electronic signage is wildly beneficial when it comes to placing orders. At a fast-food restaurant, for example, allowing customers to place orders via kiosks or digital touchscreens, scheduled employees' responsibilities can then shift away from taking orders and instead utilized with production by expediting orders and/our customer service, addressing any needs or concerns guests may have.

Marketing campaigns are enhanced.
To maximize revenue, companies must provide a potential customer with appropriate data through an appealing advertisement. By incorporating technology to send a message it attracts even greater interest to a customer.

Instead of looking at a customer as a target for purchase, they are now looked at as part of the experience. This allows for an interaction between the customer and the company.

With this being said, digital signage can boost marketing campaigns to the next level by entertaining consumers.

Digital signage has something to offer almost any customer.
Digital signage is versatile, and that's one of the many reasons for its popularity. There are a growing number of categories customers may fall into like retail, hospitality, food service, healthcare, finance, and more.

Digital signage can offer significant benefits to all of these customers.

The capability of video inclusion enhances the viewing experience.
Video is beginning to dominate over static images. On websites, many sites have switched to video content to engage the viewer, and millions of people enjoy video sites such as Youtube and Vimeo. Because digital signage can be interactive through the use of touchscreens, it has significant influence over people and their buying choices.

Bonus- Electronic Signage is Eco-Friendly

Digital signage eliminates a significant amount of waste. Unlike traditional signage that creates paper and printing waste, digital signage runs on electricity usage. One could argue that paper waste and electricity usage are both leaving an environmental footprint. Surprisingly, digital signage doesn't require much electricity to run, and if it's running more electricity than an employer would like, there are ways to reduce the amount of electricity digital signs use.

For example, if businesses never shut off their screens (which is common), employers could get approximately 10 years of use from them. With traditional signage, employers must constantly reprint due to new products, or new updates, which in turn uses many trees resulting in pollution and high business costs in the long run.

With daily technological innovations, many display screens are now energy-efficient devices. EnergyStar releases new product lists every year listing products that are the most energy and cost-effective. Employers can also do other things to limit power costs. For example, adjusting the brightness of screens depending on the time of day. Many screens already have brightness control that reacts to the lighting around it, but sometimes brightness can still be adjusted lower without losing impact.

Another way to reduce electricity is the placement of the screens. All screens have internal fans that kick on to avoid a device from overheating. By positioning screens in areas with good airflow, this limits fan usage, and lowers electricity costs.

Digital displays are also easily recycled and many parts can be broken down and reused in new signage. There are also incentive programs for employers to swap out old devices for new ones.

Digital signage can replace almost any print signage, which is not only economically friendly but also environmentally conscious because-

25% of landfills in the U.S. consists of paper
As paper degrades, so does the ink, creating methane and other gases that contaminate water systems, soil, and air
The process of paper communication creates 264 kilograms of air pollution per ton
The pulp and paper industry uses about 4% of the total energy used globally
U.S. businesses are responsible for 21 million tons of paper per year

Print signage is also costly for businesses-