Marketing has always been a bit challenged to arrive at an accurate return on investment for its efforts, but discovering the true ROI is now more achievable than ever, thanks to digital marketing. This innovative approach offers measurable, data-driven insights directly linked to revenue gains. With metrics like click-through rates, we can now gain a clear and impactful understanding of our marketing efforts.
Besides, running multiple marketing tactics simultaneously tends to bring about the sticky matter of attribution. To create more personalized shopping journeys for individual customers, retailers are now using everything from email and mobile marketing to print ads and endcap displays. It’s all about offering an omnichannel experience to capture consumers’ attention. With brick-and-mortar stores being an extension of that experience, retailers have been looking for ways to use in-store retail media to bridge the gap between the virtual and analog worlds — only to be left hamstrung on how to justify such an investment.
Digital signage represents a powerful tool in modern retail, offering unmatched flexibility and a dynamic in-store experience. While mindful of the initial investment, the long-term benefits of enhancing customer engagement and boosting sales are invaluable. This technology is not just an expense but an investment in creating a memorable, effective shopping journey. Its printed counterpart is far less expensive, after all — that is, of course, until you factor in its limitations. For one, very little information can be relayed on a single sign. Print also comes with a fairly short shelf life, with many promotions lasting not much more than a week. Plus, there’s the added expense of storage, delivery, and replacing damaged or misprinted items.
Enhancing the In-Store Retail Experience
The same can’t be said for digital signage. The technology offers the option to update messaging on an hourly basis if need be. Let’s say, for instance, that you own a chain of grocery stores. Come lunch, you can run a special on deli sandwiches and then run a second special later in the day on rotisserie chicken. All you need to do is program the offers into the system, and should one store run out of an item, you could easily change the special at that location. And that’s just the technology’s basic functionality.
Depending on your digital signage strategy, you could vary the messaging and imagery from one store to the next based on the segment of customers who frequent a given location. You can also tie the messaging and imagery to what is happening online. Maybe you’re running a social media campaign and want to bring that experience into the store. That can easily be done through the technology. You can even align the messaging more closely to the customer journey, first drawing people into the store and then providing just the right details to lead them further in until they reach the ultimate destination.
Obviously, each retailer must determine how to use the technology, but its flexibility can easily accommodate almost anything. Need more wayfinding in a store? Digital signage can provide it. Need to promote a new gadget that just came in? Digital signage has got you covered. Need to tell customers that an item is back in (or out of) stock? Just leave that responsibility to digital signage. If you’re working on a co-branding opportunity, perhaps a video wall will be the ticket to securing the deal. Whatever the digital signage strategy, the only limitation is your imagination.
Choosing the Right Digital Signage KPIs
Even with all the flexibility the technology provides, a case must be made for its impact on revenue. Fortunately, digital signage metrics run in line with many of the metrics that you might already be using. And because the technology offers full visibility — making it easy to track data around the sales — you can evaluate your digital signage strategy and pivot in real-time based on the findings.
Here are just a few of the digital signage metrics to start monitoring:
- Impressions
Impressions may require additional technology to monitor, but the number of times the digital signage is viewed can often be a good indicator of its influence on sales when coupled with other digital signage KPIs.
- Interaction Rate
Again, this might require additional monitoring technology, depending on the vendor, but the rate at which viewers interact with the digital signage can tell you a lot about the impact of a campaign.
- Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is just as it sounds: the percentage of customers who viewed or interacted with the digital signage and then made a purchase or took a desired action. This often requires the creation of a customer activity log detailing movement, patterns, dwell time, and so on, but the information can tell you a lot about the impact of a campaign.
- Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is one of the easiest digital signage metrics to measure, as all it really takes is asking for feedback or reviews from customers to provide insights into the effectiveness of the signage.
- Sales
You don’t need to look much further than your POS data to equate an uptick in sales with the implementation of a digital signage strategy — that or an update to a strategy.
Investing in new technology like digital signage is not just about enhancing the shopping experience; it’s a strategic move that promises tangible returns. These innovative solutions go beyond “nice-to-have” features, playing a pivotal role in elevating customer satisfaction and driving sales. Start with the basic digital signage KPIs and then add to them based on the campaign. As with anything, it can take some time to arrive at the right mix of performance metrics to truly understand the impact of the investment and the campaign.
Interested in elevating your customer experience with digital signage? Reach out to our team today, and let’s make your retail space more engaging.
