Blog #199 - the year+ in review, start 2015 off with some solid education resources!

-Deacon Wardlow

All said, I lived in Japan for about 12 years. The time, people, and culture definitely affected the way I look at the world. Every December, Japanese get ready to send out their "O-sho-gatsu" (New Year's) cards. A card is sent out to the people in their life, both personal and professional contacts. The card is a way of keeping in touch with the people who've touched their lives in some positive way. Gifts are also given to people who've helped them in some way in the year - a kind of year-end accounting and "thank you" to everyone who helped them get to where they are. I love the tradition and, while I no longer send out a stack of cards each New Year's - I appreciate taking stock of the year past and acknowledging the many people who've helped, challenged, assisted, and gotten me to where I am.

This article makes #199 in the series started about two and a half years back. My thanks to my fellow "Special Ops" Director of Spectacular Media (Scott Hofheins) and our associate/friend/all-around pontificate Mike Prongue of Signvine. Our thanks go to Vantage LED for giving us a place to rant, rave, educate, elucidate, and help bring a little order to the chaos that is Digital Signage (without having to write advertorials or "sponsored" pieces, but rather sticking to the truth and helping people get educated on what matters most for LED and other Digital Signage). It's been a long road with a longer one ahead and we're glad to have you, our reader, out on the journey with us. If you read our articles and have a question - drop us an email or line (email deacon@spectacularmedia.com - scott@spectacularmedia.com - or michael@signvine.org). We all like to hear from you and appreciate feedback.

This will be the last posting for the year (we'll start up a little after the new year). I've done my best to sort the articles we've released into categories so you can find helpful info a bit faster. If there's some way we can help out, a topic we've missed or something to delve into deeper - let us know (we're happy to have more to write about and the year ahead promises to be a full one). If you have a moment, checkout the SignVine site (these are guys who know a lot about giving and lending a hand) - https://www.signvine.org/

We wish you a safe, happy, and most excellent year-end. I hope your holidays are full of friends, family, and happiness. Problems are simply challenges helping you along the path to success and hopefully we've written something here which can help you overcome the obstacles you're facing (or will encounter down the road).

Digital Signage Sign Tech & Spec:

1. What to Expect when you're expecting your LED Sign...
2. Providing Correct Power Voltage to LED Signs and Why 120 VAC and 240 VAC are Both Important
3. Power Supplies
4. Don't get screwed, modern module securing systems
5. Front Access Design Considerations for Digital Signage and Hinged Faces
6. Factors Affecting Image Quality on Outdoor Digital Signage
7. How Color Values are calculated
8. Viewing Size vs Cabinet size (big differences can add up to false $$ savings)
9. Controller options for LED Signage
10. Virtual Resolution (aka pixel sharing)
11. LED Sign Components
12. Service Access options for LED Signs
13. The truth behind "ultra bright" LEDs
14. Communication Methods for LED Signs
15. Myths and Misunderstanding about LED Signs
16. The good and bad of LED Signs and how to tell the difference
17. Powder Coating
18. New Coating materials (Dragon Skin)

19. Make sure you have the right tools for DS!

20. Standards for Outdoor LED Digital Signage

21. Help! My sign isn't communicating! Steps to a solving communication problems.

22. The evolution of communication with DS.

Digital Signage Content:

1. The New Expectations for LED Sign Content
2. Professional Content is a Must!
3. Real World Effects of LEDs per Pixel on Outdoor Digital Signage
4. Time and Temperature on LED Signs...to Be or Not to Be
5. Quality LED Signs Managed Responsibly Improve the Community
6. Professional Quality Content on LED Signs Benefit Resellers Directly
7. How 'LinkedIn' is Digital Signage for you/your clients?
8. Why DS Fails
9. Keeping Content Current/interesting
10. Ensuring text comes through LOUD AND CLEAR
11. LED Signs & Free Speech
12. Create a call to action with Digital Signage
13. The benefits of PSAs (Public Service Announcement)
14. Get the most from your website (Digital Signage is online as well)
15. Being a good neighbor with LED Signage
16. Content scheduling/creation (planning ahead)

17. Use Content and Scheduling to Target Your Message On Outdoor and Indoor Digital

18. DisplaysCustom Content -vs- "Stock" or In-House Content

19. CMYK vs RGB and Other Design Factors for Digital Content on LED Signs.

20. Too Much, Not Enough? How To Create an Efficient and Effective Impression With Your LED Sign.
21. Brand enhancement with DS.
22. Tips for maximizing an LED Sign's effectiveness.

Digital Signage Sales 101:

1. Without a defined desire, there is no sale.
2. ADAPT the sales technique
3. Be a "go-to" person; know your LED Sign and DS information!
4. What does Digital Signage Cost?
5. Sell your company first, product second...
6. Why Cheap LED Signs Sell Well But Fail
7. Door to Door is Dead
8. Sticker Shock Syndrome; dealing with cost objections
9. LED Sign Sales- Closing Technique Suggestions- 1 of 3
10. Closing Technique Suggestions- Installment 2 of 3
11. Closing Technique Suggestions- 3 of 3
12. Objection Handling Part 1 of 2
13. Objection Handling Part 2 of 2
14. Stop selling and start solving - Customer Centered Selling
15. Better is Better, Always!
16. Value Based Selling Is a Win for Local Sign Companies
17. The cost of a system - Good/Quick/Cheap... Speed, Quality, and Price with LED Signs/DS Solutions.
18. Wow Your Customer
19. Build bridges, don't burn them
20. Business Relationship Suggestions
21. What Is True Customer Service?
22. Digital Signage doesn't work! Here's why...

23. The Tech Train is Leaving the Station

24. The importance of being "in" the know with Digital Signage

25. Your Customers Return The Investment You Make In Them

26. Keep it simple

27. No Free Lunch, Only Buy and Sell Quality LED Displays

28. Cheap Is as Cheap Does
29. Building the brand with DS.
30. Show, don't tell, with DS content.
31. Don't leave your sales to chance, know the product you're promoting!

Why LED Signage?:

1. Use Outdoor Digital Signage to Give Thanks, Spread the Holiday Cheer, and Grow Your Organization.
2. Outdoor Digital Signage Helps Focus and Sustain Advertising to Potential Patrons
3. A Road-Map to Success is Important With Digital Signage
4. Common Misconceptions About LED Signs
5. How an LED Sign can help business
6. LED Signage earning potential

7. Be different, Be Branded, Be Seen with Outdoor Digital Signage

8. Power of Communication for Non-Profit Organizations

9. Why Digital Signage is Important

10. Innovation with LED Signage.
11. How plazas, malls, and multi-tenant locations benefit from LED Signage.

Costs for Digital Signage:

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

Digital Signage 'How To':

1. Networking Basics
2. Securing Wireless ( WiFi ) Communications for LED Signs
3. System monitoring obstacles and options
4. Check The Power! Electrical Supply and Outdoor Digital Signage
5. Basic LED Sign Troubleshooting and Logic
6. LED Sign Permitting Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
7. Finding a reputable installer for LED Signage
8. Sourcing the best LED Sign manufacturer for your business
9. Calculating Power Costs
10. Information on the National Electrical Code as applied to LED Signage
11. Electrical Safety Certification Marks explained
12. Different LED Sign Sales approaches
13. Project Management with LED Signage
14. Embracing new technology for business
15. CRM/ERP Options for your business
16. Simple LED Sign troubleshooting
17. Importing from China (buyer be very wary).

Digital Signage 'Need To Know':

Quality vs Cost

1. What makes a good LED Sign?
2. How an LED Sign Manufacturer's Approach to Support Can Affect Your Reputation
3. What's the best solution for a Digital Signage system?
4. How an LED Sign Manufacturer's Approach to Design and Engineering Can Affect Installations
5. China Manufacturing Stumbles
6. When comparing LED Sign solutions (EMC/EDS/CMS/Etc), make sure you're getting what you expect
7. Is Anything Really ‘Made’ in the USA?
8. Domestic LED Sign manufacturers vs. off-shore
9. Importing from China
10. Low quality systems' affect on business
11. Supply Chain Logistics on components
12. Beware of a "bait-and-switch"
13. The cost of going cheap on component choices from a manufacturer

14. How an LED Sign Manufacturers Approach to Growth Can Affect Your Own

15. Digital Signage Learning Curve, how to tell a good manufacturer from a questionable one

16. China, Stack 'em Deep, Sell 'em Cheap

Warranty and After Service

1. Insurance and Warranty
2. Parts and Labor doesn't always equal warranted repairs...
3. US Based Support for LED Signs is More Than Phones and Technicians
4. Is after service an after-thought?
5. The Value of a warranty
6. On Site Service Warranties (underwritten vs. carried by the manufacturer)
7. Future proofed DS.
8. Support and service on systems.

System Build and Design Elements to be aware of

1. Boiling Down the 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage
2. Test drive an LED Sign (aka EMC) BEFORE buying...
3. Scrap Temperature Probes!
4. Border Versus Borderless LED Displays
5. Things To Consider During a Live LED Sign Demonstration
6. What is Pixel Pitch and How Does it Relate to LED Signs?
7. Educate yourself and your clients, before the competition does it for you!
8. Don't Be the Beta for a Manufacturer
9. Power Supplies
10. Proper Conformal Coating

11. Full Color LED Signs vs Single Color Red or Amber

12. Silicone Coating on the back of LED Modules

13. LED Display Evolution

14. Product Consistency and Long Term Success with LED Sign Manufacturers

15. What makes a good LED sign system?

Potential Issues to be aware of

1. Heat
2. How to protect against heat
3. Power (undervoltage)

4. Physical Factors for Effective LED Sign Use and Installation.

5. Are LED Billboards safe?

LED Sign System Controls & LED Sign Sales Success

1. Isn't "The Cloud" the Same as Wireless Connectivity?
2. Make your LED Sign Stand Out From the Pack
3. Why cloud control for your LED sign is better than using localized software
4. Notes on Successfully Implementing an LED Sign Program
5. Why simple software is better with DS.
6. FAQ about LED Signs for IT Professionals, End Users and the Industry
7. New technology making things simpler with LED Signage
8. Explaining LED Sign Technology Simply and Effectively to Your Audience Directly
9. The Cloud, Cloudware, and LED Signs
10. Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between On-Premise Digital Signage and Traffic Safety
11. Exponential Growth for the LED Sign Industry?
12. You Deserve to Make a Profit on LED Signs
13. What does Web App/Cloudware mean for Digital Signage/LED Signs?
14. Own It! Be The Trusted Authority on LED Signs and Educate Truth
15. The Ghost of LED Signs past (the cost of going with the cheapest option)

16. Digital Signage is more than a dynamic commercial - it's about communication.

17. The Gold Rush Continues

18. Financing & Leasing Options for DS

19. Creating Lifetime Fans

20. Demand Attention and Target Your Audience With Outdoor LED Signs

21. 10 great LED Sign manufacturer behaviors & what to watch for.

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.

Digital Signage Sales 101: Keep it simple

-Deacon Wardlow

No technobabble nor geekspeak in today's blog. no discussion of technical components nor a breakdown of how to troubleshoot breakdowns (of the hardware/digital signage variety).  Just a short and pointed article on keeping it simple.

Simple is excellent. Think Macintosh computers (which were friendly by comparison to other computers of the day), Macintosh kept the "keep it simple" mentality. When they strayed, they payed in lost sales. When they stayed with "simplicity" they succeeded immensely.

Simple is difficult. If you take a peek behind the electrical components on an iPhone or even a "simple" MP3 player, you'll see it's loaded (jenga-style) with tons of circuitry and systems in an incredibly tight space. The planning and execution of simple takes a lot of smart people coming together to make simple work well.

Few people like complex systems and products. Our lives are complex enough, why make them harder (ok, there are the geeks like me out there who love to breakdown complex systems, but at the end of the day - I prefer simple and straightforward). Digital Signage needs to be simplified, not just in execution but in the way we discuss it with clients and especially in the way the end-user accesses, updates, and utilizes the system.

Think about this - if you were a manager of a few franchise restaurants you've got a lot on your plate (payroll, purchasing, payouts, personnel and a bunch of other things). If you were the manager of said franchise restaurant, what's on the LED Sign outside and the menu board inside is the last of your worries (spend a few hours at lunch or dinner with a restaurant manager and you'll see what I mean). If the Digital Signage solution isn't simple, it won't work. DS needs to be something anyone can update, create quick content, schedule, and setup "triggers" for the system to run content automatically depending on weather or other conditions.

A lot of people ask me what the best companies out there are. I'm somewhat biased as the director of a software company for Digital Signage and working with partners in the business, so I give them a simple solution. Ask the company you're looking to work with a few questions - the answers (or sometimes lack of answers) will tell you a lot about that company:

1. Who is their competition and what does the competition do well and what do they (the company) do better than the others?
2. Who are the people in the company and how do they stay ahead of things in the market? (A lot of companies just maintain status quo - if you're sitting still in a technical field like DS, you're not leading... you're falling behind...)
3. What is their USP (unique selling point)? A lot of companies surprisingly do not have a USP. If you can't immediately think of your own companies USP (special services, product, attention to detail and the client, etc.) you seriously need to figure how you stand out in the market. You definitely want to make sure your partners and vendors have USPs as their USP will add to your own when you promote their products and/or services.

Above all, work to keep things as simple as possible. Simple doesn't mean "dumbed down" but rather a direct approach to things with all the BS removed. This is what we have, this is how it works, and this is how it will help your organization. Keep it simple. In today's complex and fast-moving world where we check email while on a phone call and update our social status (multi-tasking is almost mandatory these days) it's easy to forget the simplest things are the most powerful.

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.

Digital Signage Need to Know: Digital Signage is more than a dynamic commercial - it's about communication.

-Deacon Wardlow

A lot of communities are often against LED Signs (and even interior Digital Signage (DS) LCD/OLED/Projection systems). They cite "Vegas-style" flash and a disruption to the community. When focusing so hard on the negative changes and what a DS system "takes away" from a place, many communities overlook what Digital Signage adds to the mix.

An LED Sign is very visible (hence the common "Vegas-flash" fears of a community). This is a good thing. Imagine if that LED Sign were linked to the iPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) so communities were alerted through the sign (in addition to their phones, radio, and TV) about upcoming dangers and what to do. Communities could also use time on displays to promote events to bring the community together (i.e. festivals, fairs, BBQs, field-days, etc.). By giving up a little time on the sign (even 1 out of every 10 messages makes a difference), the community can see the LED Sign and/or interior DS solutions as a great addition to their lives.

Sharing time on an LED sign seems to be a hard decision at first. The business owner sees a massive investment in DS (anywhere from a "low" of $8,000 to upwards of $500,000+ for an LED display). The business owner (rightly) wants to see a return on that investment. Content should be about the organization and what it brings to the community. The sign should promote goods and services and help grow income. Just as communities get stuck in a rut of what DS "takes" from the community, many business owners are so focused on ROI (Return On Investment) that they forget to deliver the ROO (Return On Objective). Business owners (not all, but many) forget there are BIG returns to be gained by reaching out to the community and that new (or existing) LED sign can help bring the community together in new and fun ways.

DS isn't perceived as a form of communication to the broader public. They see it as another, newer (and intrusive) form of commercial advertising. By a simple addition of community-based content, DS can turn from being viewed as only a commercial form to being more; it becomes a communication form for businesses and organizations to reach out to the community and for the community to reach out to itself.

Share the road. It means giving up a little space (sometimes that space crosses over into your comfort zone), but the returns will be well worth the time! There's room on the DS road for all to be happy and win.

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.