Retail Marketing: 4 ways to boost impact of digital signage using beacons
If not used properly, digital signage can be just as effective as a static, printed poster. But they do have the potential to improve customer engagement and boost in-store experience. Here’s how:
They are contextually relevant: One of the biggest advantages of digital signage is the ability to alter the display whenever needed, according to relevancy. This may seem trivial, but it can really make a difference. Update your signage based on a number of relevant external factors factors such as seasons of the year and internal factors such as new products.
They are visually appealing: Signages must be attractive to the eye. The point is not to load the display with blocks of text that no one is going to read. It is important to keep the text at a minimum: clear and crisp, while filling majority of the space with appealing images.
They are convincing: Use digital signage to convince the customer to purchase your product. This means you need to demonstrate why it is useful to them. For example, in a clothing store, instead of simply demonstrating a picture of a t-shirt, which the customer can already see, show outfits using the t-shirt.
These are stock traits that every effective digital signage must have. But there is an additional tactic that is increasing being used to further enhance in-store engagement.
Most recently, digital signage has been used along with proximity beacons in order to make the customer experience as contextual, personalized and interactive as possible.
Digital signage is a very enticing and attractive way to draw people in. However, it is important to convert that interest into action. This means giving the customers an opportunity to respond to it.
That’s where beacons come in.
Beacons are low powered transmitters with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) that transmit proximity based, context aware messages via bluetooth. In simpler terms, if a person with bluetooth on their smartphone enters the proximity of your beacon, they will receive any message you wish to send them.
Today, beacons can be used in combination with digital signages in creative ways, so that the customer can interact with the product and understand it better in-store. The synergic effect of beacons and digital signage has the potential to transform customer experience.
Here's how retailers are using beacons as an accessory to digital signage:
Personalized: Marketing is much more effective if it can make the customer feel a personal and familiar connection to the brand. When a user walks past the digital display, they can be welcomed through a beacon campaign on a first name basis. Purchase history can be used to give product suggestions for the customer. For example, if the customer bought a phone the previous time, an offer about phone cases may be relevant to them.
Informative: When a customer picks up a product, the display can show further information about it and guide the user on how they can test it out.
Customer-centric: Customers can choose what to display on these signages. They can control what they want to see by selecting it through beacon campaigns on their smartphones.
Navigation: Using proximity beacons, customers can find it easier to navigate through stores, and quickly find what they are looking for.
I found this really interesting article that covers this in detail. This combination is being used successfully in stores as well. If you’re looking to really enhance the effect of your digital signage, you might want to consider this!