Too many ads: How to focus digital signage on the customer experience

By Brian Ardinger

Today’s customers expect more from their shopping, dining and travel experiences. Interrupting customers with unwanted or uninspired messaging can wreck a brand and the experience in the process. Yet, too many companies view digital signage as a standalone solution to simply deliver advertising. While study after study has shown that digital signage drives sales and increases awareness, to stand out and deliver more, companies need to move beyond the simple advertising model to a model that is focused on amplifying the overall customer experience.

When was the last time you heard a customer walk into a venue and say, "Wow, I wish I could see MORE advertising." Chances are most customers are not salivating at the chance to see a bevy of promotions continuously paraded in front of them. Why? Because when customers enter a venue, the first question they implicitly ask themselves is "What’s in it for me?" Advertising alone rarely answers that question positively. Because of this, companies need to look to satisfy both customer and business objectives. Luckily, today’s technologies can help companies achieve both results by creating cost effective experiences that empower, engage and excite customers.

From digital signage to kiosks to smart shelves and audio solutions, many technologies can be used to create compelling and immersive customer experiences. Digital signage should not be looked at as a silo solution, but as one of many technologies that can be integrated and leveraged to deliver value to the customer and the business with each interaction. These interactions have the power to enhance the brand, differentiate offerings and drive loyalty. The key is amplifying customer experience to keep customers coming back for more.

The Four Experience Amplifiers

The more companies can make an experience personal and targeted, the more likely a customer will perceive value in the interaction. Satisfied customers spread the word and share the experience with others. The more a customer experience creates a "wow", the more likely the experience will be talked about or shared. In today’s social networked, mobile con-nected marketplace, nothing is more effective than having satisfied customers market for you. By creating experiences that are "talk-worthy" you can amplify the results.

To deliver results that meet both customer and business objectives, there are four key experience amplifiers that companies should look to implement:

• The Experience must be Engaging
  First and foremost, the experience needs to grab customer attention and resonate with the expectations for the environment and brand. It has to immerse customers with relevant information and provide a reason for them to interact with the technology. Engaging experiences excite customers. Excited customers come back again and again.
  
  
• The Experience must be Empowering
  Another way to amplify the customer experience is to empower the customer to take action. Whether it's an interactive screen or a smart shelf that triggers media based on what product a customer picks up, giving the customer the power to drive the transaction makes the experience more dynamic and personal.
  
  
• The Experience must be Intelligent
  To amplify the experience more, companies can leverage intelligent technology to deliver intelligent experiences for the customer. The great thing about today’s technologies is that virtually everything can be measured, monitored and modified as needed to match the desires and goals of customers, while delivering quantifiable business results. Customers benefit by having relevant data and information presented as part of their interaction with the company, products and brand. Companies benefit by being able to take proactive action based on changing customer demand or the competitive environment.
  
  
• The Experience must be Integrated
  The ultimate in customer experience amplification is when multiple technology touchpoints become part of a seamless, integrated experience. Regardless of where or when a customer interacts with the company, he or she is presented with experiences that match each desire and goal, while the systems driving these interactions share common data, media and intelligence. The result is unique touchpoints throughout an environment that anticipate and build upon each other to deliver value to all.

Innovative companies are learning that experience-based technologies are vital to creating the next generation of long-term profitable customer relationships. Moving from standalone, ad-based models to integrated, experience-based models will hold the key to the future of digital signage and the companies deploying these solutions.

Brian Ardinger is the senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Nanonation, a software company creating customer experience technologies from kiosks to digital signage.