With prime business real estate comes a need to get creative and attract as many visitors as possible. Did you know that out of all the leasable areas in the United States, shopping centers and malls make up about 17.9% of that? In other words, out of the nearly 111,000 shopping malls of all shapes and sizes in the nation, you have a tiny sliver of that—and a whole lot of competition against you.
Not only that, but many shopping centers need to combat eCommerce. This means your store also has to deal with the food court, the entertainment complex, and events that happen within malls and shopping centers.
How are you going to attract customers when you are 1 out of 100,000?
The answer is signage, both traditional and digital. Companies are using digital signage more than ever to interact with potential customers and get them interested. For example, you will see interactive boards in the food court and lavatory. The pylon signs out front of the property might have a digital message board displaying news and information.
In other words, you need signage that is eye-catching, informative, and most of all, trustworthy. Nothing is better than digital signboards. Let’s have a look at why.
Benefits of Digital Signage
There are a plethora of reasons why you should invest in custom digital signage. Here are just a few points to consider:
Increase Brand Awareness
Customers are going to be interested in a business that clearly promotes its products or services or mission. By showing off your specialization, you speak directly to those who are interested. Eye-catching and interactive digital signage will make your business stand out all the more because you have that immediate connection with the passerby.
If you want to increase brand exposure and awareness, you need top-quality signs.
Minimize Wait Time
One of the best benefits of digital signage for businesses is the ability to decrease the perceived wait time. By keeping customers entertained while they browse the store or wait in line, you keep them satisfied. This is why amusement parks have started putting monitors up in queues.
Double Up On Marketing
Another wonderful benefit of digital signage is being able to double up on your marketing efforts. You can use digital signs to run time-sensitive advertisements, social media posts, and other flash promotions without needing to do much work. Furthermore, this marketing campaign is yours to control, so you can run it for as long as you’d like.
You can also run relevant ads throughout the day. A restaurant, for instance, might advertise morning discounts from open to noon, or you might have a time sale that only goes on for an hour and need to alert everyone nearby.
Affordability
Business signage is highly cost-effective in terms of mixing marketing, promotions and increasing brand recognition. While the initial investment of digital signage might seem rather costly, it will do far more for you than normal signs that cannot be interacted with. Of course, having a balanced mix of navigational signs, LED message boards, digital signage, and more is how you create a visually appealing landscape that attracts customers.
Increase Sales
Digital signage can be used to upsell items, get more people interested in events and promotions, and introduce content to those milling about the store. Research done by DataTrend concluded that digital signage increases the amount of dwell time by nearly 30%.
In terms of effectiveness, that is rather high. The more people stay in your store, the more often they will buy more than what they came for.
Practices of Shopping Center Signs
Whether you are in a brand-new shopping center without a lot of regulars or within a bustling mall, you can boost the reach of your signage and get more customers if you know how to use digital signs effectively. Here are some tips for creating the best signs possible:
- Mix up the mediums. You can put all kinds of things on display, including social media feeds, HD image galleries, screenshots of your website, and directories around the store and the mall. Don’t forget to display essential information that you don’t want your customers to miss.
- Focus on content. You want your messages to be relevant and understandable. At the same time, it should be able to connect with the viewer and entertain them. Don’t only focus on advertising products or services. Give other useful information about the shopping center or your brand.
- Location counts. Always place digital signage in places that get the most foot traffic or can be seen from a distance. Remember that if you are in a mall, you can also advertise in places where people dwell for longer periods of time, such as the food court or in smoking areas.
- Navigation. Depending on where you are located and the size of the property, or even the size of your store, you can use digital signage to help people find their way.
- Demographics. Know your target audience and where they are going to go in the shopping center or mall. That way, you can pinpoint them more effectively.
- Interaction. Use signage to create a fun and memorable experience for potential customers and even your regulars.
- Mobile compatibility. Digital signs are becoming more and more intuitive. You can now sync social media updates to digital signage, run videos, and much more.
Because digital signage is fully customizable, from the size and shape of the sign itself to the content that is displayed, it is a form of marketing and promotion that is within your control. You can reach more people with less effort. Now that you know more about digital signage and understand the benefits, it is time to start planning how to incorporate more signs into your business and marketing strategy!
Do you have questions about the types of signs or digital signage? Want to request a quote or need to contact a representative for more information? Fill out the contact form to get in touch.