There are a large number of digital signage benefits that organisations are utilising to operate more efficiently, better engage their employees and create deeper relationships with customers.
Digital Signage is a tool that we experience and use each day. Whether it’s relaying important messages to employees, promoting the latest product release, or helping visitors navigate buildings, screens are used in a variety of ways to improve day-to-day life.
Thanks to its versatility digital signage can be used across a wide range of industries. Retail, airports, corporate offices, healthcare, and manufacturing industries are able to benefit from digital signage to communicate key messages to a wide, diverse range of stakeholders.
Over the years digital signage has seen huge developments across all areas. From hardware to software, improvements to ease of use, quality and longevity have contributed to a number of benefits we see organisations enjoying today. From software that saves users time, to screens that last longer and make content more eye-catching we’ll be discussing the many benefits digital signage is bringing to organisations and how you can benefit from them too!
So why is digital signage so commonly used? Well, it comes with many benefits such as time efficiency, improved communication and customer experience along with environmental and reduction in resources. In this blog, we will explore these benefits in more depth in order to understand the overall positive impacts of digital signage.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the benefits of digital signage and discuss how screens can help save time, craft better relationships with your audience, and increase overall organisational efficiency.
Let’s dive into the 27 benefits of digital signage!
1. Save time
In today’s fast-paced world, time is a valuable resource for all organisations. With so many tasks to complete, and more goals to hit and achieve, organisations are seeking more ways to automate what they can to be more productive. In fact, nearly a third of organisations have automated at least one function. By saving time through automation or productive processes, employees have more time to increase the quality of highly important tasks.
For a number of years, digital signage has been playing its part in helping organisations save time. From software that automates content deployment to real-time content that does the heavy lifting for you, digital signage save you time.
2. Reach your audience in an instant
Traditional methods of communication are slow. If posters are a main form of communication at your organisation, each time there’s an important announcement, a change, or an emergency, the poster needs to be designed, shipped to the correct location, installed and the old one disposed of. Alternatively, you need to communicate this information to a large number of stakeholders which isn’t scaleable and can lead to inconsistent communication.
Digital signage software features a number of tools that allow users to deploy key messages to their audience in seconds. In just a few clicks, thousands of screens can be updated across a number of locations. This ensures that the audience is seeing the latest, most important messages.
3. Never show irrelevant content
As humans, we love to stay up to date. Whether it’s the news, football results, or when our Amazon order will be delivered we have to know what’s happening. Information quickly finds itself becoming out of date and its audience bored. We have a demand to know what’s happening right now! This helps us plan, makes us feel good (especially when that package is 2 stops away), or keeps us informed. But where does digital signage fit into this?
In the past, manual digital signage content creation resulted in slow message delivery. Each time information is updated, users would need to design, create, and publish content on screens. For example, if users wanted to show a Twitter feed on their screens, content would need to be freshly created each time a new tweet was published. Or for a manufacturing facility showing live data, manual reports would need to be published. This was inefficient, wasted time and often resulted in the audience receiving irrelevant out-of-date communications.
Times have changed…
3rd party apps and integrations allow users to pull content and data from the apps they love in real-time. Not only does this save huge amounts of time in terms of content creation, but it also means the audience is always receiving the most up-to-date relevant information. From social media and news feeds, to live manufacturing data, users are able to automate great-looking content for their screens.
4. Remove wasted time in manual content updates
Before digital signage software, screen updates were mostly done via USB. Each time content needed to be updated, somebody would need to travel to each individual screen to change the content manually. As screen networks increased in size and became geographically dispersed, this solution quickly became a problem. The content wasn’t getting updated, broken screens were getting missed and time was being wasted.
Then, this problem went away…
Organisations started introducing digital signage software to their screens. This allowed a single user to control thousands of screens from a single device, remotely. Overnight, organisations could update their whole screen network in a few clicks, content could now be automated to play exactly where and when it needed to – not just when Ben the IT man could get there! Ben’s time was now freed up to work on more meaningful, fulfilling tasks.
5. Automate exactly when content plays
A few years ago when a user wanted to update their screens, they would need to do so manually. If there was a special event on, the screen manager would need to remember to log on and change the content or swap the USB out. This caused a plethora of problems including content forgetting to be updated and time wasted!
Digital signage scheduling quickly became a crowd favourite in the digital signage world. With its addition, users could schedule their content to play on specific days or times – down to the second! This allowed organisations to plan ahead of time and prepare campaigns well in advance.
6. Improve communication
Communication is a vital component in both our professional and personal lives. It connects individuals, communities and organisations, building relationships and creating a steady stream of contact.
Strong communication fosters growth and development within an organisation, acting as a catalyst for innovative thinking and collaboration. External to a company, good communication keeps customers aware of the latest updates and changes leading to a happier customer experience.
But how are screens improving communication?
7. Keep employees informed and motivated
Digital signage has quickly become a popular tool within internal communication. With screens, organisations can make sure key messages are reaching all employees at each and every corner of their business. Business-critical messages can be displayed throughout the day to ensure they are absorbed.
Organisations with a high percentage of non-desk workers benefit particularly from digital signage. These employees don’t have regular access to intranets, email, or SMS, meaning important messages can slip through the cracks. Screens ensure these messages are still seen and absorbed throughout the day.
8. Visualise important messages
Digital signage enables companies to communicate in a more engaging and memorable way. Employees don’t have time to read paragraphs of text – no matter how important!
By displaying information through engaging visuals such as videos and dynamic content, messages are more likely to capture employees’ attention. This ensures your messages don’t suffer from burnout and employees continue to engage with important messages.
9. Increase message visibility
In many organisations, key information and messages are locked inside email chains or intranets. This means employees are not informed and are missing out on important information that would help them work more productively and stay up to date with organisational ongoings. For example, in some manufacturing facilities production floor employees don’t have access to performance metrics live. They will be briefed on them a week, month, or quarter later. This leads to a huge loss in potential revenue.
Digital signage unlocks key information from the shackles of hard-to-access channels and quickly briefs employees on need-to-know information. From announcements and news updates to information on upcoming staff events, employees can access a wide range of knowledge.
10. Reduce workplace incidents
Between 2021 and 2022 over 565,000 employees suffered a workplace injury and 123 died in work-place related industries. Employee safety should be a top priority for any organisation. Employees should be able to work in a safe environment and be armed with the information needed to protect them. From procedures to follow in the event of an emergency, to what equipment MUST be worn in certain areas, giving your employees this information reduces the chance of injury and death.
Thanks to digital signage’s ability to project clear and eye-catching information, it can be utilised to inform and remind employees of safety guidelines. Within large factories, posters may be overlooked and lost, preventing employees from reaching valuable information. Digital signage will increase the visibility of these messages making content more memorable. This may be reminding employees in factories of safety rules, such as wearing safety gear or reminding workers that they can’t have phones in certain areas. Overall this creates a safe work environment as employees can keep themselves safe in hazardous working conditions.
11. Engage employees
Ensuring a consistent level of employee engagement is crucial for all organisations. Non-engaged employees can cost organisations 18% of their salary, are more likely to be absent, and are 66% lower in well-being. Increasing employee engagement is crucial not only for organisational success but for employee development.
Keeping employees engaged involves creating a strategy where employees are consistently interacting with colleagues, management, or the organisation with the goal of keeping them happy, productive, and working towards common organisational goals. There are many ways organisations engage employees including meetings, feedback, work socials and now… screens!
Screens provide organisations with a channel for consistent communication. Throughout the day, screens engage employees with key information regarding organisational ongoings, promoting company events, live data and more. Information on screens helps arm employees with what they need to do their best work.
12. Make employees feel empowered
When employees feel more empowered they are more productive, are more satisfied, are more innovative, and are more engaged.
There are a number of ways organisations are empowering their employees. Methods such as increasing transparency and information sharing, facilitating better communication and recognition, and encouraging feedback are all being used to make employees feel empowered.
Supporting employees to feel empowered will not only boost confidence levels but also reminds them how valued they are in the workplace. Digital signage is helping empower employees by:
- Increasing transparency and information sharing: Screens are used to share key information with the entire workforce, not just top-level executives. By giving employees access to key information they are able to make higher quality decisions that move them towards organisational goals.
- Recognition: Sharing employee and team successes is a great way to recognise your workforce’s achievements. When your employees see themselves on the screens, they feel a huge boost of motivation. Make sure to follow up with rewards too!
- Encouraging feedback: Screens are a good way to let employees know where they can leave feedback. Or feedback can be left on the screen itself. Place a QR code within the content. When the employee scans it, it can take them to a feedback survey on their phone. Be sure to also share what feedback has been implemented too.
13. Reinforce company culture
Over 50% of executives believe that company culture impacts productivity, creativity, profits, and organisational growth. Therefore, reinforcing and building a strong, positive company culture should be a key part of your business strategy.
Screens can help promote and grow positive company culture. Screens can display organisational values, empowering quotes from employees, mission statements and images that reflect the company’s core principles. Providing employees with constant visual reminders of these values strengthens their alignment with the company’s vision and fosters a sense of belonging. Additionally, such reminders can contribute to a positive work environment and help reinforce a shared organisational identity.
14. Boost revenue
We’ve discussed how one of the benefits of digital signage is that it can help organisations communicate. But how can it help organisations increase revenues and become more profitable?
Digital signage can provide companies with a direct channel to communicate with their customers. Whether it’s in a window, behind the tills, inside the shop, or on the high street, organisations around the globe are taking advantage of screens to increase footfall and sales.
15. Turn customer’s heads
For years organisations have been using posters to promote products. They once looked great, but they have since become saturated, blending into the background, and becoming less effective as a result.
Shops and businesses have started turning to screens to cut through radio static and regain the attention of customers. Through dynamic images, video, and animations paired with bright screens, businesses are able to turn customers’ heads and tempt them to visit their stores.
The more customers your business can draw into your store, the more sales and revenue you’ll make.
16. Demo your products
Have you ever looked at a product and thought “This looks really cool! But I don’t know what it does”? You then put the product down because you don’t know what to do with it.
With screens, retailers are able to play live demos of products right on the shelf! For example, you may be selling a football pump that inflates a football in a completely new, non-traditional way. How does it inflate the ball? It’s so new and unique that I can’t even describe it to you. However, if we had a video that showed the pump working you would be able to easily visualise it and get what it does.
According to HubSpot, 73% of customers who watch product videos will make a purchase. Therefore, adding video to your screens can provide a great ROI.
17. Promote products and offers
Generating awareness for your products is a key stage in convincing customers to buy. If your customers don’t know about what you sell, they won’t buy. Therefore, organisations use a number of marketing channels and tactics to increase awareness of their products and services to then convince the customer to buy.
For retail especially, screens are becoming the go-to option to promote products and services. Screens are often placed in the window promoting the latest products and services to entice customers. Or screens are placed internally to promote upsells and loyalty schemes – popular with supermarkets.
18. Cross-selling and up-selling
Encouraging upsells is a great way to increase average basket amounts and revenue. From placing impulse products at the till to promoting 2-for-1 offers, businesses are doing what they can to trigger upsells.
Digital signage is being used to increase upsells. Organisations are displaying popular product pairings and promotions to increase sales.
Interactive screens can also be used to help customers find the right product paring to increase upsells. For example, if a customer is trying to find a wine paring for their cheese, they can use a screen to search for their cheese. The screen would then show a number of bottles of wine that pair with the cheese. If a customer didn’t have this information they may not buy the wine, or go with the cheapest bottle.
19. Increased dwell time
Dwell time is a metric used to measure customers’ time spent in a shop. Longer dwell times increase the chances of purchase and therefore, revenue. Retailers invest a large amount of resources into increasing the amount of time customers spend inside their stores. From pleasant music and smells to the friendly staff and engaging content, all of these factors contribute to an increase in dwell time.
But how is digital signage increasing dwell times?
Engaging content on screens, digital wayfinding or interactive content are all being used to boost dwell time. Whether it’s watching an engaging video, navigating deeper into the store thanks to digital wayfinding, or using an interactive screen to find the right product, screens are a great way to increase customer dwell time.
20. Improve customer experience
In any organisation, the customer is number one. All the decisions made across the organisation will ultimately impact the customer. Whether it’s changing the price, giving training to salespeople or hiring more effective cleaners for your shops all of these decisions will impact the customer’s experience.
There are a number of ways screens are being used to enhance customer experience. From improving navigation in large stores to entertaining customers in waiting rooms, screens are helping enhance the customer journey.
Imagine you’re in a shoe shop buying… shoes. It’s a busy day and all of the sales reps are busy helping customers. You’re short on time and are really looking to buy a specific pair of shoes in a size 8. You see the shoes on the shelf. Yes! You walk over to pick them up and scout out a free sales rep to check if they have a size 8 in stock. No luck… You wait for a few extra minutes but don’t have time to stick around. You frustratingly put the shoes back and leave the store… sale lost.
Let’s re-look at the same example with an interactive product catalogue. You pick the shoes up and scout out a free sales rep. No luck… but wait… this time you spot a screen with a banner above it “product catalogue and stock checker”. You walk over and touch the screen. The store’s stock checker and a product catalogue appear. You search for your shoes, and select the size… in stock! You click add to basket. You notice two options “Reserve and collect later” or “Order to my address”. You have time coming back from your day to nip in and pick up the shoes. You select “reserve and collect later”, pay, and go about your day… sale is saved… the customer experience is improved…
21. Empower customers
Customers want to be in control of their journey. They value being given enough information to make an informed decision.
One of the benefits of digital signage is that it can help empower your customers. Deploy important need-to-know information on your screens about products and services so your customers can make an informed decision. Alternatively, tools such as digital wayfinding empower customers to navigate across your organisation themselves.
22. Help customers find their destination
In organisations with large buildings, or multiple sites people get lost easily. Whether it’s a delivery driver locating the right office, or a potential new employee looking for the right interview location, your organisation will have a number of stakeholders trying to navigate quickly.
One of the benefits of digital signage that is often overlooked is how it can act as a navigational assistant. Digital wayfinding is becoming a common tool amongst organisations to aid customer and visitor navigation. By displaying interactive maps on screens, the user can search for their destination and are then given a direct route to it. Alternatively, screens are also being used purely to show “this way to X” content. Although not as advanced as its interactive counterpart it can still provide highly useful navigation information to users – especially if they are in a rush!
23. Keep customers engaged
The human attention span is now just 8.25 seconds – wow… we hope you’re still reading this blog!
When we’re bored we lose interest and are more likely to perceive experiences as more negative. Therefore, organisations need to do what they can to alleviate boredom from waiting customers and keep them engaged. A more engaged, less bored customer leads to a happier customer willing to give you their business!
There are a number of ways organisations are utilising to increase customer engagement. Themepark queues will often have actors and music to create an exciting atmosphere to build tension and excitement and sports games will have halftime shows. All of these techniques move towards creating a better, more exciting, and more engaged customer experience.
Screens are beginning to play a role in engaging customers and alleviating boredom. For attractions, screens in waiting areas or rooms can show videos about the experience getting everyone excited about what they’re going to do. Alternatively, screens are used in doctor’s waiting rooms to engage patients with meet the team content; designed to calm patients and help them learn more about the practice.
Having your customer’s full attention leaves a long-lasting impression that is memorable and enhances the reputation of your brand.
24. Less impact on the environment
We’ve discussed the benefits digital signage has for employees and customers, but what about the environment? As technology improves, so does the technology’s ability to be better for our planet. In addition to a complete reduction in paper waste, digital signage has become more energy efficient than ever (more on this later) reducing costs for organisations, and negative impacts on the environment.
25. Reduced paper waste
In most cases, traditional signage methods lead to excessive paper waste. With digital signage, the use of paper is eliminated completely. This minimises the environmental impacts that are commonly associated with paper-based signage. Digital signage benefits the environment as its methods have a lesser impact on large environmental issues. These include deforestation, energy waste and waste disposal.
One of the most commonly-quoted benefits of digital signage is how it helps organisations cut down their paper usage, in turn reducing the need for deforestation.
Organisations relying on posters for consistent communication with their audience have the most impact here. Each time they need to update messages, communications, and promotions across their network, the process is highly manual and resource intensive. A person (or team) need to travel to each individual poster site, remove the old one, install the new one, and dispose of the old one. When you scale up this process for multiple sites and multiple messages the time and cost quickly add up.
Screens (or digital posters) are removing the need for posters and once installed, a user can make changes as often as they like in seconds. This removes the need for paper waste (printing), and people travelling to each site (petrol + money), and speed up the time organisations can get key messages to their audience (time).
26. Energy efficient
As technology improves so does digital signage’s ability to become more energy efficient.
A great example here is media players. Media players are devices that hide behind your screens and play content from your digital signage platform. In some projects, organisations choose to power their screens with full PCs rather than a built-for-purpose media player. You might be thinking “A media player surely can’t make that much of a difference”.
In 2022 we undertook a study to find out exactly how much energy media players consume vs other devices. The results were staggering. Digital signage media players use 90% less energy than Windows PCs, using 90% less CO2 and costing 90% less to run as a result.
27. A longer-lasting channel
We’ve all seen posters and paper billboards that are all torn up. You can barely see what’s on there and it makes the area around it look horrible. Over time posters can become weathered and as a result more saturated; blending into the background.
Commercial-grade digital signage displays are built to last. Screens are installed once and keep your content turning heads for years to come. Outdoor digital signage screens come equipped with a number of features bringing the long-lasting effects of indoor screens to the outdoors.
And there we have it! 27 benefits of digital signage for you to get stuck into. If you’re interested in how digital signage can supercharge your organisation, speak to the superchargers below:
