Local businesses rely on ads for marketing as much as the big companies do. However, with the COVID-19 situation, most of these local businesses are struggling to stay afloat with some having to spend more for marketing and remain relevant in business. Unfortunately, the conventional marketing and advertising methods do not seem to be bearing any yield. The only way for local businesses to survive is to evolve with times and in this digital era, going digital is the best trajectory to take. Digital signage has the potential to help local businesses to survive during the COVID-19 threat.
What is Digital Signage?
It is a form of signage that utilizes technologies such as Projections, LED, and LCD screens to display the intended content e.g., video, images, and animations as a form of advertising with a special software which helps to manage your signs remotely. These digital signs are everywhere you go, any public space you name it from malls, banking halls, at the store, at the train station, airport, restaurant, stadia, even in museums. Corporates and brands use them from marketing, exhibitions, and indoor and outdoor advertising.
How digital signs can help local businesses survive
With COVID-19 closing down businesses and threatening to even close down more, local businesses have to survive by whatever means possible and digital signs are the best solution. There are a ton of benefits for local businesses from digital signs, especially during these trying times.
Cut Advertising Costs
Marketing is one of the expenses in a business that digs deep into the pockets and with very little revenue being generated, it’s only wise to cut down on expenses. Since marketing is an expense that cannot be cut off, the only solution is to work with digital signs. Digital signs significantly reduce the cost of advertising as you only need a video or a slide show of the services you offer or the products you sell.
Better Reach to the Target Audience
The best way to survive and grow as a local business is to have better reach to your customers and grow your sales. This is a digital era which means going digital with your marketing efforts is the perfect solution. With Digital Signage, you can easily reach your target audience even in the most remote areas. Your customers get to interact with adverts from your brand and business everywhere they go. This allows for better recall among customers and translates to better sales. Customers tend to buy from what they relate to.
Increase Impulse Buying
When it comes to marketing, it’s all about convincing the customers and also impressing them and Digital Signage is quite good at both. Whether you have a physical shop or you are selling online, there is something about digital signs and all the fanciness they hold that impresses clients leading to impulse buying. A good number of clients are swimming deep through the notion that any business that takes up digital marketing with a touch of uniqueness and creativity offers top tiers services or products and is worth checking out. During this COVID 19 threat, being able to impress clients and get them to spend on a product or service is hard but digital signs are the answer. Any local business struggling to survive during these trying times can rely on Digital Signs to increase sales by increasing impulse buying among customers.
Generate Income Through Adverts
Any business can generate extra revenue by venturing into marketing services through Digital Signages. Times like these require businessmen and women who think quickly and can adjust to cater to the needs in the market and make extra money. Any local business could invest in offering marketing services by mounting digital signs and screens in public places and whether there are high human traffic and display adverts for other businesses at a fee. These ads could be independent or play alongside other ads for the local business. It does not hurt making something extra while advertising yourself to the public.
Customer Feedback
With the advancements in technology come the advancements in the digital signs and screens available for ad placement. Local businesses trying to survive COVID-19 could invest in touch monitors that allow for interactive experiences among customers. As image slide shows and videos play on the screens, current and potential customers can give reviews and feedback on the touch monitors on what can be done differently or improved. This way, there is no need of running a separate survey or campaign to collect customers’ feedback while doing adverts somewhere else. You kill two birds with one stone which is a pivotal move to save on expenditure and also improve on product or service quality. With such moves, any local business is bound to survive the pandemic having put the interest and opinions of clients as a priority.
With a good understanding of Digital Signage and how they work, it is quite easy for any local business to put them to use and not only survive but also thrive through the pandemic.
