Vantage LED: RGB

Showing posts with label RGB. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Digital Signage Need To Know: Full Color LED Signs vs Single Color Red or Amber

-Scott Hofheins

Full color LED sign,or single color (monochrome) sign? Decisions, decisions; what is the better investment? This is an important question presented to many potential LED sign buyers that will have long term consequences. Traditionally, single color signs are less expensive and you can get a larger physical size for the same amount. Unfortunately this is where the benefits end, and the reality of the current trends in LED signage begin.

Look just above the following pictures, not directly at them:

Which one draws your attention more? For most people, it will be the color graphic. Human instinct tends to focus on the most prominent object in a given area, perhaps an ancient survival tool used long ago. The public is going to make the decision to look at your sign, based heavily on their peripheral vision.

Which advertisement looks more appetizing? Its a proven fact that colors communicate specific messages to the human subconscious. Fast food companies like McDonald's and Wendy’s have been capitalizing on this for decades.

Which message communicates love and peace more effectively? Its not just corporations that can use colors to maximize the effect of their message. Supporting graphics, and colorful text add much more meaning to the LED sign content.

Separate Yourself

In a world of static signs and manual copy boards, single color LED signs create quite an impression. However, in a world of higher resolution full color LED signs, single color signs just don’t stand out like they used to. The public is much more picky about where to divert their attention.

This is not to say that single color signs are completely out of the game, far from it. They still have some very effective applications that focus on pure data delivery and where viewers are somewhat captive. Locations like factory floors, outdoor way-finding areas, stock tickers, loading bays and security checkpoints are all great examples. However, when it comes to demanding the attention of the public, full color signs are the way to go.

You want to separate yourself from the others. Drivers have plenty to look at, why choose you? By using a color sign, and rich content, you give them the push they need to see your messages. It’s not just text anymore, they are seeing close up shots of great food, great products, or important religious symbols. Simple text advertisements are replaced with a fully branded call to action, colorful and exciting.

Investment

The cost gap between full color and single color is continuing to close. New technologies, manufacturing techniques, and the proliferation of LED signs across the globe have been extremely helpful in making these signs affordable to churches, schools, small businesses and municipal organizations everywhere.

This means that the extra investment in a full color unit is much more valuable (in most cases) than the money you would save on a single color. If you intend to advertise anything on the sign including products, your organization, or offsite ads, you're going to want to lean toward a full color unit, especially if you are in a high visibility location.

An LED sign is a long term investment, and it’s worth a little more upfront cash to ensure a maximum return on the investment over the lifetime of the sign. I recommend you really look at the reasons you need an LED sign. Are you trying to draw attention to your location? Are you advertising products, people, events or righteous path? Is your sign have access to a large number of potential patrons or advertising partners? If the answer is yes to any of these, seriously consider a full color unit.

-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.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

A year (plus) of Digital Signage information!

-Deacon Wardlow

It's that time of year again. The days, weeks, and months have FLOWN by and we're all in the countdown scramble to finish, close, and clean things up before the year's end. We hope the blog articles have been informative and helpful for you all and we're thankful for your readership, feedback, support, and encouragement. This makes article #151 (not bad, 151 articles written since this blog was started in April 2012).

We hope you all have safe and wonderful (very likely hard-earned) time away from work coming up over the holidays. We'll be picking up the articles again from January 8th. So much has been written and said over the last year and a half, it's worth a breakdown. If you find yourself with a moment (or a client in need of some answers), check out the information below (broken up, as best I could, into categories for easier information sourcing). Click on any title to go to the article. You can also search (in the search bar above) by a specific topic, author, or subject you're looking for. If you're a Vantage LED partner (or want to be one) definitely go to our site www.vantageled.com and checkout Vantage University. We've got some great courses (videos, presentations, resources, and tools) coming out in the year ahead and plenty in there for immediate use.

Happy Holidays (whatever you're celebrating) and have a safe and happy new year. See you in 2014!

-The "geek speak specialists" at Vantage LED blogspot.

Digital Signage Sign Tech & Spec:

Digital Signage Content:

Digital Signage Sales 101:

Why LED Signage?:

Costs for Digital Signage:

How much can an LED Sign Cost?
Short term gain, long term costs (cost of a "cheap" LED Sign)
"Value Line" vs. Single Level of quality (i.e. why there aren't iPhone or Droid "lite" versions)
Is an LED Sign (or any Digital Signage) an investment or a purchase?
Selling the value of a Digital Signage Solution (LED Sign, LCD, or other)

Digital Signage 'How To':

Digital Signage 'Need To Know':

Please comment here or send questions or requests for information to deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note 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 noted.attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Digital Signs Need to Know- Business Relationship Suggestions

- Mike Prongue

Running your LED sign company is similar to participating in any relationship- a marriage, a team or being part of a church. The habits and the rules for success are very similar.

To make a business “great” instead of just “good” try to maximize each relationship- employees, customers, and supporting services that you utilize. I’m not suggesting that you become a smiling “Johnny Appleseed” tossing jokes and good cheer around the way Johnny used to throw his apple seeds. But slight changes in behavior in the work place can translate into better morale and better customer relationships.

Many of these business relationship suggestions you probably do anyway. Just review these time-tested ideals for communication and consistency and see if you can enhance your LED sign business as a result. Worst case is that you’ll probably improve your customer service potential.

The Top 10 business relationship suggestions:

Clear and transparent communication- Employees and customers do not want to be subject to surprises or inconsistencies. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Words are like bullets and once they leave your mouth they have been “fired” and can’t be stuffed back in. Ask others to repeat back to you, the message you are attempting to communicate. Written communication can be even more insidious. Emails are cut and pasted and sent to others and what you thought was “privileged” communication winds up on Facebook. Don’t write or say anything you are not prepared to see in the newspaper.

Promote others success- Andrew Carnegie was just one of the great industrialists that shaped American industry. He recognized that making others successful, making them rich, bonded them in many ways to his own cause. Pulling people up and making them proud to be part of the team with a vested interest in the success of the cause goes a long way. You can’t grow a business without people being as involved and committed as yourself.

Behave consistently- Remember Dr. Jekyll and the evil Edward Hyde? Which one are you today? Do you think an employee will confide in you and then when the “going gets tough” you throw his confidential comment back in his face? What do you expect from people? Okay then, present that behavior to them.

Communicate respectfully- Always find a way to say “yes”. Use words of courtesy- thank you, please, kindly, “if I may”, “if you don’t mind”, and “when you get time”. Some people think assertive communication means being a true jerk. Soft power is the more effective power.

Apologize quickly- Some say apologizing is a sign of weakness. I think that was Ziva on the popular NCIS hit TV show. But a life lesson is that “it’s not the weak who apologize” it’s the strong who can admit mistakes and correct them promptly.

Under promise and over deliver- My father started every Summer when my brother and I were growing up with “let’s get a boat” but at the end of the Summer we never saw a boat. Many years later I use this annual “sucker punch” as an example of Over Promise and Under Deliver. All he had to say was “I wish we had enough money to get a boat, and we’ll try to find a good used one, but no promises.”

Be truthful- See the previous paragraph. Know your own truth and stick to it. It’s easy to lie accidentally and you have to manage the collective message coming from your company. Don’t twist the truth, lying by omission is still a lie- “You did not ask about installation and I did not tell you….” Just does not work in 2013 when there are other business choices for customer.

Ask for participation and feedback- You may be a genius but you are not the only genius. Get your people involved, give them some responsibility and grow them into the next you. I like to surround myself with people smarter than myself. It makes life much easier.

Publicly praise and privately coach- How many times have you had someone “call you out” in a group? Nothing destroys morale and encourages a homicide more than being embarrassed in public. Coach behind closed doors but present awards and great accomplishments in the group.

Take Responsibility- Where does the buck stop in your organization. Notice how Presidents of the USA take ownership and responsibility for…. Everything. It’s your company, and the buck stops with you. Don’t pinch a nickel to create 6 pennies and destroy a customer relationship. If you mess up, just confess and get past it.

Many of these suggestions are self-evident. Most of them circle back to the subject of Ethics.

No one ever faulted a company for being too ethical and treating customers too well! Remember the Golden Rule- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is sage advice that we sometimes forget in the heat of business battle.

These comments belong to me, Mike Prongue, and do not reflect the views, opinions, hopes or dreams of anyone else, anywhere else and this includes Vantage LED. I appreciate your constructive opinion which may be sent to me at michael@vantageled.com.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

LED Sign Sales- Closing Technique Suggestions- 1 of 3

- Mike Prongue

The reality of working in America today is that you have to be a multi-talented, creative, communications-oriented person or be left behind.

As my career evolved, there were many times when there was a “break in the action” and I looked up to ask the proverbial question “who are these people and how in the heck did I get here?” If you have never asked yourself a question like this, then I would suggest that perhaps you have a few more miles to travel on the old career odometer.

Job “A” leads to job “B”. You learn, you get some education- either in a school or on the street in the “school of life”. You get promoted, you take a chance and you take a leap of faith to open your own business. You risk money and time and start to generate some revenue to pay the bills. A year passes and you have a business that not only survived but is starting to actually succeed!

Good job.

You know a lot of stuff, but can you be an "expert" in everything- probably not so much.

You are probably very hands-on, perhaps more technically oriented, perhaps familiar with how to state the facts and “nothing but the facts” but how much time have you spent learning the fine art of closing the sale? So you don’t need that “slick talk stuff”?

I’m going to give you 9 techniques to close a sale. No, not all here today because I know you’d be out on your boom truck by item 4, so I going to give you 3 techniques for 3 consecutive blog postings.

Some of these will not work for you. Some are not your style. Some are cumbersome. But if you read all 3 blogs and consider all 9 techniques, you may find 2 techniques that you feel comfortable doing.

It’s a buffet! Take what you like, leave the rest in the pot, on the table for someone else!

Here we go- remember to find 2 techniques of the 9 that you like:

#1 Sets of 3

Approach:

Use “3” as the magic number for bullet points and summary. Think of what has worked on you- “good, better, best” for example?

The “3” points may be feature, function or benefit. Or perhaps price, delivery time or warranty.

The points may be related to drive home a common point, or disparate to “shotgun” a wide sales presentation area.

Three (3) is the perfect business measurement to make your point.

Examples:

This LED sign is made in America, has a 5 year warranty, and can be delivered in 6 weeks.

Our installers are certified, experienced and friendly.

Purchase today and you will get a end of year tax deduction, a 5% discount, and a great deal on an in-stock P-16 full-color LED sign.

#2 Sleep on It!

Approach:

Smart soldiers live to fight another day. Defer today’s sale to a future sale. If you have a good product and a secure relationship with the customer then what's the harm in giving them time to think? LED signs are a large investment and they may need time to consider your words and review the quote.

How and When to try this:

• You know they are not going to decide today anyway!

• The offer is on-the-table and you are pretty sure they will give your offer very serious thought.

• Tomorrow may be better from a money standpoint for them- budget constraint, revenue pending, etc.

• Don’t let them make a bad spontaneous decision and damage the relationship!

• Making the sale today is not life and death for you. Don’t get married on the 1^st date!

The sun will come up tomorrow and there is always another meeting!

Example:

I know this is a big decision for you’ll and an immediate answer is not a great idea- think it over for a few days. Can I call next week to see when I can come by?

The “Sleep on it” close is particularly easy to manage when the sales person visits the customer, and a break in the tension may be required. A quick exit is not always a bad idea.

#3 Financing Makes it Affordable!

Approach:

Overcome price objections by demonstrating that they can afford it!

Determine what they can afford. Show them that with financing that they can afford it. Break it down on a dollar per month or a dollar per week basis. Make an assumption that the display will improve their sales by 15 percent and do the "profit math".

Also discuss the reallocation of existing advertising expenses from newspaper or radio to an on-premise LED sign.

The “too expensive” objection may be more of an excuse than a real objection. Remember that you can overcome objections but not excuses and if they don’t really want to buy, you at the beginning of a long list of excuses.

Don’t try to use approaches that you are not “cool” with or that feel awkward. You are a unique person and you have to find your own way.

Stay tuned for the next blog and suggestions 4, 5 and 6.

**

These comments belong to me, Mike Prongue, and do not reflect the views, opinions, hopes or dreams of anyone else, anywhere else and this includes Vantage LED. I appreciate your constructive opinion which may be sent to me at michael@vantageled.com.