Maximizing SaaS Digital Signage: Strategies for Engagement and Growth

Have you noticed how modern consumers get distracted a bit too quickly? Companies bombard them with messages across multiple touchpoints, and agile brands must do something similar – if not more – to keep their audiences engaged. SaaS digital signage can be a game-changer here, but it often gets overlooked because most marketers prefer more traditional promotion channels.

 Digital signage helps SaaS companies manage and display customized content on digital screens across multiple locations, from retail stores to corporate offices. This is extremely important: More than 40% of consumers say that digital displays influence what they buy because relevant information is served close to the purchase point.

Take the extra step to integrate this digital signage software with other marketing channels. You might be well on your way to maximizing the value of SaaS digital signage. In this article, we’ll explore how to do that.

Content Strategies for SaaS Digital Signage

Although very powerful, digital signage cannot deliver if you don’t choose the right format and tailor the content to the target audience. When it comes to content formats, we advise you to consider the following options:

–        Sales alerts with special offers or even flash sales
–        How-to videos as short yet educational content for approaching your target audience
–        Testimonials that showcase real-time user feedback 

For example, McDonald’s relies on digital signage for personalized promotions. It uses data from loyalty programs to display specific menu suggestions, letting customers know that their favorite brand is paying attention to their needs.

 At the same time, another true benefit of SaaS digital signage is the option of updating content in real-time. For instance, it lets marketers update menus or promotions during peak hours or rotate content to match the time of day. Clothing retailer H&M does exactly that to adjust in-store displays to seasonal trends.

Seamlessly Connecting with Social Media

Tip number two is another standout way to augment engagement through real-time audience interaction. From our perspective, displaying live social media feeds on your screens is best for presenting user-generated content or trending hashtags. 

For instance, Orangetheory, a fitness center, displays members’ Instagram posts tagged with #OrangetheoryNation on its digital signage. The goal is to prove that there’s a huge community behind the hashtag while inviting others to join the conversation.

Another idea we like is sharing QR codes for discounts on your digital displays. This has proven effective for many brands that want to drive extra traffic to their online channels. You might also design social media-based contests to bridge the gap between online and offline brand interactions.

Boosting Email Marketing with Digital Signage

Developing enterprise digital signage solutions to increase your email marketing list is also possible. Most companies do it by strategically placing signage in high-traffic areas to encourage email sign-ups. Of course, this call to action must be supported by quality content such as:

•   Exclusive discounts
•   Early access to sales
•   Free downloadable resources

Here’s a nice example: A retail digital signage store could display a QR code on its digital screens and direct customers to a sign-up form. The store could offer a 15% (or any other percentage) discount on the customer’s first purchase as an incentive.

Another option is to extend the reach of email campaigns by highlighting snippets of personalized content, such as recommendations based on customer preferences. For example, a hotel can conveniently display local experiences tied to guests’ booking preferences. As a result, potential customers will gladly check their inboxes for the full itinerary.

Amplifying Mobile Marketing Strategies

This is likely the one area where digital signage makes the most sense. Interacting frictionlessly between on-screen content and your customers’ mobile devices is fairly easy.

On-signage QR codes are the first thing that comes to mind here, as they bridge the gap between physical spaces and digital experiences. For example, Starbucks frequently displays QR codes on its in-store digital boards to help customers download its mobile app or participate in rewards programs.

At the same time, location-based services take the digital signage approach a step further through hyper-relevant content based on a given consumer’s proximity. For instance, big retailers like Target use geofencing to trigger mobile notifications for in-store promotions – this can be easily reinforced by digital signage showing similar offers. Another excellent idea is to pair all that with interactive features (think of polls or gamified content) on signage. All these tricks rely on one simple fact – most customers hold smartphones in their hands around the clock, even when shopping.

Enhancing the Customer Experience

Generally speaking, integrated SaaS digital signage transforms the overall customer experience. We have already described some ways to do this, but mentioning a few more details is important.

For one, the system relies on data from various resources—loyalty programs, CRM systems, and similar—to analyze user behavior and tailor on-screen messaging to individual affinities. For example, grocery stores like Kroger use personalized digital signage at self-checkout kiosks to suggest items based on a shopper’s purchase history or dietary preferences. This is such a high level of customization that other marketing channels can hardly even come close to it.

But that’s far from the end of the story. In airports, for instance, dynamic signage provides real-time flight status updates while suggesting nearby dining options tailored to passengers’ gate locations. This leads to an unparalleled personalization notion that leaves consumers much happier. After all, studies reveal that nearly 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from brands that personalize.

Measuring and Optimizing for Success

We probably aren’t the first ones to tell you that something has to be measured to be improved. Our final piece of advice is to use analytics tools built into SaaS digital signage platforms to track relevant metrics:

•   Engagement rates
•   Dwell time
•   Click-through percentages

Metrics like these help assess what resonates most with your specific audience. For instance, a restaurant chain might analyze which promotional content displayed during lunch drives the traffic most. The chain will quickly adjust its strategy to emphasize those offers. In addition to that, you ought to conduct regular A/B testing of every single content element, from visuals over headlines to CTA buttons on your signage.

Conclusion

That said, the only thing left for us to add is that companies should use SaaS digital signage strategically. It’s not a channel you’ll be able to use 365 days a year because it won’t deliver results as consistently as you’d like. But if you use it strategically in well-planned periods, we are certain that digital signage will be a worthy investment. Do you think you can pull it off like that?