Digital Signage, Need to Know: Your Digital Signage, an Extension of Your Brand

- T. Scott Hofheins

Branding in essence is just a symbol that everyone can immediately identify. While branding cattle is pretty much permanent, branding an organization or person is a much more fluid process, a process that needs to be updated and managed proactively over time. Extending your brand to digital signage is an important part of your approach that should not be forgotten. This is true for both indoor and outdoor signage.

While it’s easy to see successful branding efforts, it can be harder to see the others because they are...unsuccessful. Good branding will include as many outlets as possible including, print, radio, television, web, and digital signage. What tends to happen with digital signage, particularly outdoor, is operators forget to keep it updated and fresh. When it’s new, it’s exciting to use and program, but as time goes on it can turn into another thing “on the list” that get’s pushed aside.

When people see you, they want to feel comfortable that you are going to provide what they need:  food, car repair, A/C service, medical care, religion, and many more. Consistency in your message is key to this and why branding is so important. It shows your viewers that you are organized and care about your product, service and customers. Continuing your brand image onto your digital signage is important to maintain that consistency.  

Outdoor

This is your calling card to the general public, and may be the only way some of your potential customers are able to be reached. It makes sense to treat the sign as you would any print, radio, or TV commercial. This is sometimes hard to do because of the smaller format, but worth the effort.

• Don’t be scared to simplify the message. Take the root meaning of your larger format ads, and bottom line it for the viewers.
• Maintain the same colors and font types as your existing ads, but tweaked for the special nature of LED signs. Some fonts may look good on print, but too thin on an LED sign. Avoid white backgrounds to maintain the viewers focus on the message itself.
• Trust the pros. If you have a graphic design team use them for the sign too, or use a content creation service. It’s worth it.

Indoor

These displays are a bit easier to extend your brand too. They are typically higher resolution (HD) and much of your existing advertising media can be converted directly, but there are still some important items to consider.

• Keep them looking. In many cases, these viewers are already customers or have already made a decision to be one. Continue the branding and keep them happy, confirm that their choice was a good one.  

• Continue to simplify the message. While not as drastic as outdoors signage may be, indoor digital displays still need to be to the point and readable. Make sure they flow with your existing branding.
• More fonts and design approaches can be used. You've got a larger canvas, your media can be more content rich with videos and artistic flair to draw the viewers in.
• Identify the role. Digital menu boards, point of sale displays, waiting room displays, and information kiosks, are some of the many ways you can use indoor digital signage. They all have different roles to play, make sure your content is displayed accordingly.
• Trust the pros (again).   As I mentioned before, utilize your in house graphics team, or contract a service. Good content can mean the difference between a passive digital display and a powerful advertising tool.

Platforms

Make sure the platform you choose to create, manage, and schedule your content will allow you to fulfill your branding goals. To do this, the platform should provide an easy and logical way to manage your digital network, outdoor and indoor. My good friend Deacon Wardlow made a great point recently when we were discussing the subject. He compared it to a tool belt, where you have certain tools for certain jobs, some platforms work well for certain applications, while others work for different ones. The key (as we always promote on this blog) is to be educated.

Don’t Forget

If you pull nothing else away from this article, remember this: Don’t forget about your Digital Signage. It is truly an extension of your brand, and should reflect the image you have worked so hard to create. If you are new to digital signage, I recommend you take the plunge and look into the advantages of this technology. If you’re already in it, take a look at what you’ve got and see if you can make it more effective, consistent, and branded.

-TSH

I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.

Digital Signage, Need to Know: Solving Problems and Raising the Bar

- Scott Hofheins

One of my favorite things about the sign industry is the creative problem solving required across the board. Static signage, outdoor LED signage, indoor digital boards, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, design, artwork and many more all demand a certain level of creative problem solving. The way in which solutions are found and  implemented can make a big difference for the end user experience.

A Platform

Having a good platform to provide solutions is very important. Some platforms, software, hardware, or otherwise, can be more workable than others. For example, a printed encyclopedia is a great resource and can be very useful, but it’s limited to the ink on the page, it cannot change unless re-printed, or minor notations made in the margins. A smartphone or tablet on the other hand, is an open platform for terabytes of encyclopedic information via the internet, apps, and local programs. Users can use, hack, and manipulate these platforms to do what they need, providing fertile ground for innovation and creativity.

There are many types of platforms. How do you keep track of your leads, quotes, support tickets? How do you educate and provide resources to your staff so they can in turn help existing or potential customers? Manage logistics for your trucks and crews? When these platforms are open and efficient, they empower you to make faster decisions and execute solutions much more effectively.

Balanced Approach

Finding a solution that a customer needs and what they want is sometimes hard to do. A customer may want a sign installed on an existing structure that may not be large enough to support it, but matches their branding or style. The professional knows the limitations, and will be able to suggest an alternate solution that still fits their design wants, but doesn't sacrifice on what’s needed.

Another good example is pricing. There is a certain level of “Sticker Shock” in the sign business that may be a bit more common than other industries. This can make it even more tempting to lower the pricing and component quality to compete. While some amount of flexibility is needed, educating the customer about getting what they pay for tends to work out better for all parties in the long run with a quality product at a fair price.

Education

Providing education in tandem with an effective solution generates powerful results. What is the fundamental purpose of your signage solution? How do you integrate it with existing branding, physical location, target market and demographics. Experienced sign providers can help guide their potential customers through these important variables.

Even a simple static sign on a pole will have site and size restrictions, budget considerations, fabrication options, and artwork needs. Helping a customer not only understand what solutions they should consider,  but why they should consider it is key. This speaks to not only your perceived authority on the subject, but your actual expertise and professionalism.    

The Team

Many start alone, but few finish alone. Having a solid team that can rely on each other is a significant factor in the success of any venture; personal or business. Growth is dependent on it, and problem solving is almost certain to be expedited with the combined knowledge and perspective of others.

While any team is bound to get on each others nerves, it helps when they are all in it for long term success. It helps to see the goal, the light at the end of the tunnel that everyone is striving for. A solid sales team means more business. A solid design/artwork team means more efficient sales, and better manufacturing/fabrication. Good manufacturing means a better product and experience for the install crew, project management and support team. A streamlined support team working with a quality product and platform, mean happy customers, more referrals, and more sales.

New technology, better materials and better communication are all making it easier for people to solve problems, and provide solutions in our industry and countless others. This doesn't necessarily mean problems will go away, but it does mean a continual increase in our expectations as end users, solution providers, manufacturers and business leaders. I have no doubt, the industry and the people and individuals who comprise it, will rise to the challenge.

-TSH

I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.

Digital Signage Sales 101: China, Stack 'em Deep, Sell 'em Cheap

- Mike Prongue

In a prior life, long ago and far away in 2011, when I dropped that envelope into the mail box I knew it was real. The address on the label was a Chinese Visa Processing Center in Houston, Texas and this Florida Boy was actually going to the 2012 LED China trade show in the city of Guangzhou. After the trade show the plan was to visit our LED sign manufacturer in Shenzhen.

 

Doing business directly with a Chinese LED sign supplier is an adventure of astounding proportions. Since this is the 21^st Century, by my calendar, it’s obviously impossible to visit the early days of the California Gold Rush. But, my imagination can take me there and it had to be like doing business with a Chinese LED sign supplier.

 

First you have to get there. “There” is only 9,500 miles away from Pensacola, Florida and would require flying to New York City, then on to Anchorage, Alaska, to Taipei, Taiwan, then to Hong Kong. You cross the border into China and find some way to get to your destination. We were doing the trip “on the cheap” so we rode a train. It was a great social experience but unless you want to drink warm Tsingtao beer on a crowded train for 3 hours.  I’d recommend taking a direct flight!

 The trade show, LED China, was amazing. Every aspect associated with an LED lamp was on display. You could talk to every Chinese manufacturer of LED signs, and see products on display from LED snowmen for your front yard to the most leading-edge LED applications you could only dream of! It was an awakening to the true scope and enormity of the LED industry that we are a subset of!

 

But alas, the glitz and glamor of the trip was behind us and we took the train back down to Shenzhen to meet our Chinese project manager contact who had always been our primary “face” of the company we purchased from. A nice enough fellow, with Americanized language and habits he was, and he picked us up from the lobby of the Marco Polo Hotel near the train station. 

 

Actually it was his “Girl Friday” who found us, sipping yet another Tsingtao (this time ice cold) in the lobby of the upscale hotel, and she ushered us to his waiting car. The city of Shenzhen was a welcome sight- modern, clean, with a great transportation infrastructure and the persistent air quality problems found in Guangzhou were not to be seen. The air was so bad in Guangzhou that there was actually a creosote-smelling film on the interior of the lobby windows. This was not the case in Shenzhen, a modern city, the first Special Economic Zone in China. It had exploded into a modern city of 10 million people, from the previous rice paddies, in less than 25 years.

 

We ate lunch at a local restaurant, tucked away on the second floor of a non-descript building overlooking a busy street, the first authentic Chinese meal we’d had since arriving. After lunch we were whisked off to the “factory”.

  

Clean, efficient, austere, coordinated, machine intensive, labor intensive and a developing force were my first impressions of the facility. If you wanted it, tell the man what you desired and for a price they would do it!

 Would you like?

• Your company’s name on each printed circuit board?

• Your company’s name and logo on each LED cabinet?

• Your choice of cabinet locking mechanisms?

• Your choice of controller or computer?

• White, gray or black cabinets? Any color you like for extra.

And if you wanted a better price, they never said “no”! How they arrived at a better (cheaper) price was the “trick”. For the price point we were offering to purchase their LED signs at, I wondered if they would provide cardboard cabinets in the future to meet that price point!

 

They would definitely “Stack ‘em Deep, Sell ‘em Cheap” for you once the wire transfer was complete. There was no doubt they could make them!

 

The conversations and negotiations with our Chinese host never touched on the subjects of “quality”, “failure rate” and “promises not kept”. I suppose for the dollar per square foot we were offering for their LED sign product, they thought we were not concerned! Perhaps we were not!

 

Any sign company back in the good old USA, who were actually purchasing these signs for their customer should have been waking up in a cold sweat right about then!

 

In the LED Sign Industry, the holy grail of reasonableness regarding LED sign selection is called "The 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage".  This list is embraced by the Digital Signage Federation and the list makes a lot of obvious sense:  Hardware, Software, Connectivity, Content, Operations, Design and Business (http://vantageled.blogspot.com/2013/12/digital-signage-need-to-know-boiling.html).

 

The Chinese supplier, granted evolving as they were, did not really meet the threshold of any of these 7 Key Elements. The hardware had high failure rates, the software was complex, the connectivity was simplistic, there was no provided content, operations were whatever they wished to do or say, the design was cookie-cutter, and the business plan was essentially “wire us the money”.

 

So, that is reality. Will China someday perform like the high-quality USA LED sign manufacturers? I don’t know what the future holds. But I do know what the present delivers.

 

While China was a tremendous learning experience for me, what I really learned was we have it pretty good here in the USA. Not only for our freedom and way of life but also for the products we manufacture.  Sure, it can be argued that all American-manufactured LED sign products include some globally acquired parts. So do our automobiles, the Boeing 777 Dreamliner and many other “USA Manufactured” products. That is the way of the world these days.

 

But what some USA LED sign manufactures add to the "7 Key Elements" is strong partnering. When these factors combine you can rest comfortably knowing you are delivering a 5 star product to your customer!

 

These comments are my personal perspective and do not reflect the opinion of Vantage LED, Inc. or SignVine, Inc. or any other person or organization. If you have constructive feedback please email me at michael@signvine.org.  - Mike Prongue

Digital Signage Need To Know: Your Customers Return The Investment You Make In Them

-Scott Hofheins

The outdoor LED sign industry has been plagued by a “sell it and forget it” reputation that many sign organizations must fight with on a daily basis. Some believe that doing “just enough” to close the sale, install the sign, and collect the check is the most profitable approach. But the good ones see the value in maintaining a supportive relationship with their customers before and after the sale. They invest in their customers, and their customers invest in them.

Why?

There are a variety of reasons why individuals or organizations practice either approach. Experience in the industry, general approach to business, organizational skills (or lack thereof), and quality of vision are all factors. But regardless of why, at the end of the day you have to ask yourself: Are you hurting, or helping the industry? Your customers? Your long term success?

Quality Success

By success, I mean real, honest, quality success. Not just big numbers, important as they are, but the the quality of your work. Do your customers stand by you; will they refer you to others, are you comfortable directing potential accounts their way without hesitation?

All organizations have their good days and bad days, smooth projects and rough projects. This is unavoidable, but the quality of your success, and the success of your customers relies heavily on how you learn from the bad days and improve on the rough projects. An important part of this is truly investing in your customer after the sale.

Knowledge and Support

Learn about and fully support the product you sell. That sounds like a no brainer, but unfortunately there are many in the industry who learn just enough to craft a sales strategy, then hit the road. I discussed this in my previous article about implementing a successful LED sign program. LED signs don’t go away after the sale. Your customers will see them everyday, for years and years. They should be thinking positive thoughts about your company every time they see that sign.

This will not happen if you cannot support your customer. A good partner/supplier is an essential part of your team; they can offer resources, sales support, and customer support your customers in addition to a quality product. However, you are the still the face the customer see’s when looking at the sign. You are the one they shook hands with and chose to do business with. The more you own that, the better your quality of success will be, long term.

This means investing some time and effort in training your personnel on the technology, customer service, and support for the LED sign. Auto mechanics had to learn about onboard computers to continue to compete in the market. Those who did not, ultimately failed. The same is true for LED signs. The technology is not going away, it is here to stay and will only get more sophisticated as time moves on. Adapt, Execute and Succeed.

Your Program

Develop a program for your customer after the sale. What happens after an installation? Are you taking care of them directly, are you connecting them with your partner? Who do they call for support, and do they have the number? Are you providing them documentation and support materials? Are you training the customer directly, or leveraging your partner? These are important things the you must not overlook. Have a plan of action and give your customer the tools, and people they need to succeed.

Raise the Bar

When you set the bar high, and let everyone know you’re doing it, you force the competition to do the same. They may not be as prepared as you are to make that investment. They may not have have a supplier that can back them up, and support their needs like you do. Go above and beyond for your customers, and don’t be humble about it. Share your experiences and let everyone know you are the go to guy for good service, and a quality experience. Build your business, improve the industry, and support your customers.

-SH

I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.

Digital Signage Sales 101: The Gold Rush Continues

As a guy, I have to admit that I’m addicted to reality TV shows on the Discovery Channel such as Gold Rush and Bearing Sea Gold.  What red-blooded American male does not want to see if Parker Schnabel , the 18-year old gold mining prodigy will make his season quota? His 93-year old Grandfather has taught him all the secret stuff the “old timers” knew, so I’m sure he’ll win!

The introduction of LED signs to the outdoor advertising industry has been called a modern day gold rush by some due to large amounts of new revenue being driven to independent sign companies. Just look around your town to see those shining golden nuggets going up on walls and poles all across your town!

Gold Rush, the TV show, focuses on several groups of small gold-mining operations, all with their own unique quirks and curiosities but despite the show’s cheesiness it reveals that Murphy’s Law is alive and well. Mr. Murphy said that “whatever can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time.”  I restate Murphy Law common knowledge just in case you’re coming back from a “flat earth society” meeting and may be the last person on earth who never heard of Murphy and his "law". 

For the gold miners, bulldozers get stuck in the swamp, large gold sorting machines get knocked over by errant excavators, personalities make it even worse and then you have the “know it all” experts leaning on the mining operation.  For sign companies- LED modules burn out, controllers fail, signs burn down and computers fail. The similarities between the two businesses are real.

Sign Companies remind me of the separate teams of gold miners on Gold Rush. Most sign companies are relatively small business operations, have invested in expensive equipment and have trained personnel familiar with a hands-on job. And, like the Gold Miner in Alaska, many cold climate sign companies have a “season”. Cold weather in the northern parts of the USA makes it nearly impossible to dig a hole in frozen soil. If the ground’s not frozen, then the snow might be blowing so hard that it makes life on the street miserable. So some sign companies have to make 12 months of revenue in 9 months just like the miners in the frozen north or the ones in the jungle facing a rainy season.

The winners on Gold Rush seem to share one common characteristic- they focus on digging and capturing the gold and avoiding mechanical and operational disasters.  The winners win because they’re “in the game” more and they stay as focused as a reality TV show allows!

What are the winning characteristics of LED sign companies “out in them thar hills”? How do the best LED Sign companies make it every day? The top 10 common tactics and strategies:

1.   A solid relationship with a LED sign manufacturer who delivers custom built, reliable product quickly.
2. Product that is differentiated from other brands and models. 
3. State-of-the-art control software that is powerful but easy to use so your customer can take complete ownership for the operation of their LED sign. 
4. Professionally made, exciting LED sign content that can be easily ordered by the end user. 
5. Long-term on-site service with every LED display sold. This reduces out-of-pocket service expenses and makes for happy customers. 
6. Select an LED manufacturer who does not take your sale and then pay you some token amount to install the LED sign sale they grabbed from you. 
7. Customer education- say it, explain it, teach it, help them, say it again and again until they understand. 
8. Keep promises, keep all promises all of the time. Do not make statements that can’t be verified. Write it down, provide written quotes and have any work order additions or subtractions signed by the customer. 
9. Charge fairly. It’s not necessary to retire on one sale. Charge the customer fairly and they’ll use you again. Over-charge them and they’ll be a “one-shot wonder”. 
10. An intelligent, creative, and sustained advertising effort is essential. You are in the advertising industry but that does not mean you don’t have to also advertise!

Whether your company needs to mine 1000 ounces of gold or sell 100 LED signs for a successful season you need a good team, a solid strategy, and a way to differentiate yourself from the other miners. For an LED sign company that differentiation is working with a manufacturer who is a partner, not just a seller of LED signs. Do your homework, ask the manufacturer some tough questions and call others who buy from them.

The LED sign ‘Gold Rush’ is still very young. There are some great claims to stake and millions of LED signs to sell. Go for it!

These comments are my personal perspective and do not reflect the opinion of Vantage LED, Inc. or SignVine, Inc. or any other person or organization. If you have constructive feedback please email me at michael@signvine.org.