What small businesses should know about the digital signage industry

The digital signage industry is continuing its upward trend and continued to grow rapidly in 2013. Every year, digital signage capabilities continue to get better from multiple perspectives. They are becoming more efficient, perform better, and are including interactive features that are doing a better job of engaging people.

Digital signage is a consumer engagement technology, and it will make significant strides in 2014 in terms of what displays look like and how they will be used.

“While 2013 was about compatibility and interactivity, 2014 will be more of a focus on visual and aesthetic changes as display manufacturers and marketers explore more creative shapes and configurations for displays. Instead of one large, rectangular installation, we’ll see more multi-display installations and sizes to vary the message and enhance engagement with multiple audiences at one time,” says Nathan Remmes, Director of Business Development, NanoLumens

What Small Businesses Need to Know About the Digital Signage Industry

A study released by ABI Research in 2011 suggested that the global market for digital signage would grow from nearly $1.3 billion in 2010 to almost $4.5 billion in 2016. This is a significant increase in only a short period of time, and so far their prediction is holding true. This should give small business owners confidence in the digital signage industry and prove to them that it is a worthwhile marketing investment.

Digital signage is now more affordable and widely used than ever. However, even more important is the fact that users are coming to expect it. As Generation Y becomes a more influential player in the economy, their influence is having more of an impact on marketing. Since this generation is growing up with digital and interactive technology, they are coming to expect it as the norm—something that all businesses cannot overlook if they want to engage these customers.

Benefits for Small Businesses

Obviously, small business owners need to understand the benefits of getting involved in the digital signage industry before investing in the technology.

As stated by Todd Hemme, a Director at Rise Vision, in an article entitled How Small Business Owners Can Benefit from Digital Signage:

“Digital signage is relatively easy to set up in your business. Installation can be provided by the company selling the monitor, and with digital signage software you will have complete control over the content that displays. You can customize the display to serve your business purposes. That’s the great thing about using digital displays. Every business is unique, and you can make your display unique to sell your services and make your business even more appealing to your visitors.”

The benefits of using digital signage are clear. With easy set up and customization, not to mention the many options you have for implementation, a small business can use the signs to build trust, provide information, sell, highlight featured products and services, and engage customers in fun and entertaining ways.

With its ability to reach large volumes of people, the digital signage industry is a good investment for small businesses as a means to reach and engage their customers in increasingly new ways.

 

Photo Credit: Duke Energy via Compfight cc