In decades past, advertising’s primary directive was to simply attract customers to a retail location, rather than the immersive brand experiences we see all around us today.
Since retail is now just one of several channels of customer experience, your retail stores need to serve a unique purpose for your brand – more than simply selling products. It’s important to keep customers coming back to your retail location and constantly reinforce positive impressions they have of your brand.
One way to enhance customer engagement with your brand is to incorporate digital signage within your location. Having a digital sign embedded in the environment allows you to integrate video content as well as scrolling imagery to draw customer attention and interaction, which can be indispensable if deployed holistically. Here are five ways digital signage can vastly enhance customer experience.
#1. Digital Signage Should be Conspicuous
When a customer visits your retail space, they usually have a goal in mind, and want to fulfill that purpose as efficiently as possible. Digital signage can encourage them to linger a little longer by introducing new ideas, customized services and relevant retail information. By playing strategic video or targeted images, digital signage can reinforce what your brand stands for, make your customer rethink what your brand is capable of, and transform their perception of the retail store itself. Sparking a conversation, idea or a train of thought means your customer is more likely to stay in your store a little longer and recommend the experience to a friend
#2. Digital Signage Supports Your Ethos
Your retail space should always support your brand ethos, no matter what your brand is. Well-thought out digital signage supportive of your brand mission and culture can go a long way toward influencing the way a customer perceives your brand. For example, in Nike’s Nike Town retail environment, screens display images of famous Nike-affiliated athletes. These athletes tell stories of perseverance and hard work, so customers associate those values with Nike’s brand. These positive associations keep customers inspired to continue to connect with your brand.
#3. Signage Reinforces Your Credibility
Displaying useful insights and customer testimonials that make your brand more credible go a long way toward improving brand perception. Won awards? Show them. Always make sure that your customers know who is helping them. If they’re talking with a certified expert in financial planning, for example, try to underscore that expertise to make customers feel more confident in their choice of brand. A best practice is to feature employee profiles in your digital signage, showing employee’s qualifications and persona. Further, if your company representative is featured in the local news, include the interview on a rotating slide in your digital signage.
#4. Showcase Your Values
Customers, especially millennials, want their favorite brands to share their values. Showcasing what a brand stands for cohesively in digital signage can help them connect to your brand even more, whether through showing charitable efforts or just a few words about your brand’s core values. Plus, you can show your customers your commitment to the local community and design the retail space and signage to showcase local flavor. As part of their “The Bank of Here” campaign, Synovus has designed each of its branches to reflect the unique characteristics of the local community – whether through images of local landmarks or through homegrown music for its Nashville branch. A branch in Atlanta should not look exactly the same as one in Nashville. Emphasize what makes each community unique, and customers will feel at home.
#5. Your Customers Should Be Amazed and Delighted
Above all, digital signage adds color, texture, flavor, and energy to your retail location. Customers have myriad choices today, so it’s vital that you make your retail space purposeful, curated and cool. By making customers feel engaged in the retail setting and presenting a consistent, tailored brand experience aligned with other channels, you show them the unique abilities and experiences available in-store. When a customer’s emotions are sparked, they will want to return to your retail environment, so ensure your digital signage is dynamic and consistently ladders up seamlessly to an overarching brand experience for the customer.
Digital signage can transform your retail store in the eyes of your customer. Besides capturing attention and sparking conversation, digital signage demonstrates what your brand is all about. That means bringing to life a brand’s ethos, values and credibility for real people in real life. For information about unleashing the power of digital signage into the retail customer journey, contact info@adrenalinex.com.
