The Performance of Digital Signage across Different Industries

The digital signage industry sits at an important crossroads. As hardware prices drop and connectivity becomes simpler, many industries are diving in and moving beyond, making digital signs much more than electronic chalkboards. The outstanding performance of digital signage has prompted retail shops, hotels, restaurants, manufacturing facilities, hospitals and many other businesses to leverage the technology to engage with their audience.

Is the technology worth the effort? The statistics say yes.

The Performance of Digital Signage

Improved Customer Experience

Customer experience refers to how consumers interact with a business throughout the whole customer cycle–from pre‐purchase, at‐purchase to post‐purchase–via multi‐channel touch‐points. This may include retail (in‐store), call, Internet, face‐to‐face, etc.

Success in customer experience is determined by how customers are engaged. Are they feeling emotionally engaged to the brand? Are they getting emotionally memorable experiences?

Statistics have shown that digital signage has a measurable impact on customer experience.  For one, it improves customer recall. An Arbitron study reported that 83% of those who have seen at least one ad on a digital signage screen in the past 30 days specifically recall seeing the content.

Digital signage also has great impact on customer satisfaction. Displaying visually arresting and relevant information reduces customer boredom and frustration. According to a study by Aberdeen, the technology has the potential to increase customer satisfaction and retention by 46% and 30% respectively.

Increased Revenue

Digital signage can, in fact, have a significant impact on sales. An InfoTrends study reported that digital signage:

• Bumps up the average purchase amount by 29.5%.
• Creates a 31.8% upswing in overall sales volumes.
• Generates a 32.8% growth in repeat buyers.
• Generates 32.8% more in-store traffic.
• Encourages customers to spend 30% more time in stores.

Boosting Brand Awareness

Companies who carefully present their key messages and logos on a consistent basis will see improvements in brand awareness.

What is the performance of digital signage on this cornerstone of successful marketing?

InfoTrends reported that it has a 47.7% effectiveness on brand awareness.

The technology allows the brand to be more nimble in the messaging. Content can be changed easily, and also rotated to reflect different brand positions. Brand-specific content such as logos, colors and mission statement can be incorporated in regular messaging such as announcements for subtle reinforcement of brand identity.

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Improved Safety

Want to know what a workplace injury will eventually cost a company?

The 2014 Workplace Safety Index by Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety noted that businesses spend more than $1 billion dollars a week on disabling injuries.

The costs of serious or fatal on-the-job injuries go far beyond those that appear in a company’s ledger. Many times, the victims find themselves unable to return to work for a significant period of time. This, however, presents additional costs due to the abrupt loss of skilled workers.

Any facility with a poor safety record will find it incredibly difficult to bring in good employees and will likely pay wages above the market just to do the same job as another company. Not to mention huge potential fines and big jumps in insurance premiums.

These are just a few of the “hidden” costs of a poor safety and health program.

As a safety communications solution, digital signage can aid in reducing or eliminating these costs.[/intense_column]

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Intel reports that digital displays capture 400% more views than static displays. Employees on the manufacturing floor will more likely respond to and engage with information on digital displays, making sure they’re always in-the-know.

Safety updates are simple to publish from multiple members of the staff and the reminders are sent automatically.

So how effective can digital signage for safety communications be?

OSHA’s Office of Regulatory Analysis has stated that companies that implement effective safety and health programs such as digital signage for safety communications can expect reductions of 20% or greater in their injury and illness rates and a return of $4 to $6 for every $1 invested.

Clear Communication boosts Production

When employees arrive at work they need to have a CLEAR idea of what needs to be done that day.

As shifts change, new processes may emerge. Undoubtedly, businesses can benefit tremendously from simple, up-to-date information becoming available to employees. Sharing information such as new events, safety information, machine breakdowns, training etc. to multilpe locations makes businesses more efficient.

Great business communication examples:

• A touch screen digital board encourages active participation in meetings vs a PowerPoint presentation or projector where everyone just watches while one person talks.
• Staff can communicate with guests coming to a lobby with an engaging display that offers navigational guidance. Visitors can quickly find who they want without feeling lost. If you can’t place a receptionist at all of your business locations, this can fix a serious guest problem.
• In a manufacturing environment, for example, you can keep production employees on top of progress by publishing Key Performance Indicators in real time, displaying real-time safety events etc.

These efforts build engaged employees who have the potential of improving productivity by 20% – 25%.

Communications that are slow to reach the right target can damage quality. However, this problem can be addressed with an effective digital signage solution. Production employees need to know the status of an important machine that’s under repair. Administrative staff at a hospital need to be able to track the availability of rooms. Patients in an ER need to be aware of wait times. Therefore, the performance of digital signage in these scenarios has proven that the technology is integral to smooth, timely, and efficient operations.

Saving Half a Billion

This is a true restatement to the performance of digital signage.

Consulting giant Ernst & Young makes money by providing on-site assistance to clients. Many of EY employees rarely sit at their own desk every day. They are in the field generating billable hours. An internal analysis by the company revealed that they were spending a ton of money on expensive, high-end office space that they didn’t really need.

Through data from digital staff directories and room reservation systems, the IT staff was able to find out what’s really necessary for office and meeting space across the company. In fact, access control systems told the story in more detail as to how often the staff actually enters the office space each day.

This data arrived at their fingertips from room-reservations systems, digital door signs and other areas, and helped them determine that as much as $500 million in office lease expenses could be saved, including $85 million from the Times Square offices alone.

Similar worthwhile investments are feeding an industry that experts at Grand View Research believe will swell to more than $20 billion by 2020.

This is just a snippet of the performance of digital signage. More and more businesses are continuing to find innovative ways to use digital signage to meet marketing and communication goals. Although not all results can be quantified in numbers, they read like a best seller.

Isn’t it time to update your communication system to a solution that is are compatible with 21st century living, and will make you money?