Choosing the right digital signage tech may seem like a complicated task, but not with our list of the most common mistakes that you can avoid. Have a quick look and don’t spend a penny on low-quality hardware or software while choosing the new digital signage technology.
So your business decided to try the digital signage solutions, ha? We bet you’ve got dozens of questions on how to avoid the rookie mistakes. We know how you can skip that part and have a clean, fresh start with the digital signage tech.
We’ve analyzed the most popular requests and questions from our users and decided to highlight the traps that you may fall into. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are and how big is your business. It’s always better to be prepared before you go shopping.
1. Choosing the Most Expensive Instead of the Most Convenient
Let’s just say this right away — the most expensive doesn’t always mean the best. Sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it doesn’t. So when you go digital signage technology hunting, you shouldn’t only look at the price tag. You can get an overpriced system with numerous flaws and problems with scalability.
First of all, review the available plans and benefits of the digital signage tech you’re looking at. Make a sheet with all the options on the market and highlight the pros and cons for you, your business, and your stuff.
In some cases, you can not only find the digital signage technology that will fit your business perfectly but save some budget at the same time.
2. Not Considering the Scalability
But what is digital signage? Is it just the hardware or software you’re looking for? Basically, the complexity of this search lays beneath the fact that you have to hunt for both hardware and software parts of the signage.
Scalability is one of the key points when it comes to a steadily growing business that has a sustainable business plan. You’ve got to be sure that your digital signage display technologies and software can adapt to your further needs.
You’ve got to determine if your software can:
- Work with the required amount of digital signage displays you have or will have.
- Can work with the content flow that you have.
- Can work fast and won’t have a significant input lag while working with a vast signage network if you have one.
- etc.
Don’t ever think just about today, remember that your business will evolve tomorrow.
3. Not Taking Into Account the Features of Your Niche
One of the most popular mistakes is not considering the peculiarities of the niche you operate in.
For example, if we talk about the hospitality industry or hotel business, you’ve got to make sure that your digital signage has a touch screen and booking services available. This way, you’ll be able to offer your guests an interactive way of reserving a room and saving time.
When we talk about the hospital signage, we need to remember that you need a specific number of displays to install and software that will support the multi-displaying feature.
Oh, are you looking for an airport digital signage tech? Easy. But you’ve got to make sure that you can set up an interactive map and departure/arrival table. These details matter. Always.
We can go on and on, but we believe that now you see that every industry has its differences. You just have to make sure that your software and hardware can adapt to the industry standards and your niche needs.
4. Not Keeping in Mind the Installation Environment
Depending on your needs, you’ll have to choose the type of digital signage displays you’ll work with.
For example, you may either need a digital out of home advertising booth for outdoor advertising or a few indoor signage displays to improve the experience inside the store.
You’ll need different types of signage hardware for that. Thankfully, it’s more comfortable with the signage software these days. When we talk about the Apple TV digital signage, you can adapt it to various needs without the need for separate specialized software that can only display certain types of content.
Nevertheless, you need an environment where your hardware will be installed and maintained.
5. Short Term Budgeting
Speaking of maintenance. Have you taken into account the fact that you may need to invest more money in the long-distance?
We tend to forget that maintaining the services we buy and the hardware we install is another obligation that we have as a user. While choosing the digital signage tech, you may only count in the initial cost of the system and think that the budget is okay now.
This way, when the times of upgrade come, you won’t be ready for that and your budget as well. Don’t be short-sighted and apply long-term thinking to this problem.
You’ve got to remember two basic rules:
- The system you choose should be advanced to last as long as possible.
- You will still have to upgrade it eventually, cause it simply isn’t eternal.
If you understand these rules of thumb, you’ll definitely be okay. If you don’t take it into account, you’ll face inadequate expenses and additional charges later.
Do Your Homework
There is nothing you can do in business without proper research. It doesn’t matter whether you’re choosing the hardware or software, whether you prepare the content plan or marketing strategy. It all starts with the research that you’ve got to do.
This fundamental amount of work will pay off later, and you’ll be glad that you took your time and reviewed all the ins and outs of the issues that you may face.
It’s really convenient that nowadays most of the companies offer you an interactive calculator to determine the best pricing plan depending on the features of your business. You just put in the parameters and get yourself a perfect match.