Digital Signage Coverage

We have been delighted to see such a positive response to our recent articles and announcements regarding Digital Signage projects for some of our clients.  If you haven't seen some of the recent coverage, then click on the links below:

RetailCustomerExperience.com - our White Paper on Unlocking the Potential of Digital Signage in Multi-Department Retail outlets.

DigitalSignageToday.com - our White Paper on Unlocking the Potential of Digital Signage in Multi-Department Retail outlets.

SignageInfo.com - Homebase Totem Trial for Hire Station
 
DailyDOOH.com - Homebase Totem Trial for Hire Station
 
DigitalSignageToday.com - Video of Homebase Totem Trial for Hire Station

Hire Station Digital Signage Trial in Homebase - Press Release

Tenterden-based Digital Marketing Agency, Argent Ram Media, is trialling new digital signage displays for one of their major clients - Hire Station.

Hire Station Virtual Hire provide tool hire facilities for a number of national DIY retailers across the UK. The new digital signage system is being trialled in the recently rebuilt branch of Homebase, in Aylesford near Maidstone.

A 32" LCD screen is set into a purpose-made, branded totem display stand that can be situated anywhere within the Homebase store. The aim behind the display is to increase enquiries for tool hire either by phone, in-store or through the Homebase website. The marketing message on the stand itself is clear - "Pick up a Tool Hire Leaflet". Bespoke video content has been created to be displayed on the screen showing the range of tools and equipment available to hire.

Digital Signage is one of the fastest growing forms of marketing in the UK, with statistics now demonstrating that dynamic and compelling content displayed on visually arresting screens increases customer engagement and, as a result, brand awareness and revenue.

“Digital signage presents a unique and effective way for us to communicate to potential customers. With the correct call to action we hope these trials present new opportunities and increased revenues for us. Working with Argent Ram has been good for our team as they are a modern thinking and flexible team led with a vision, for which this trial is testament to. We hope the trials are effective and look forward to working more closely with Argent Ram.” Mark Moody, Director Climate Hire, Virtual Hire, Lifting Point and Ecommerce at Hire Station.

If the Homebase trial is successful, Hire Station will be looking at adopting Argent Ram Media's digital signage totem displays as one of their main marketing tools for all their virtual hire partners through the UK. The ongoing business relationship would result in significant growth for Argent Ram Media, with commensurate employment opportunities for designers and sales consultants.

To view a very short video of the digital signage system in situ, visit:
http://youtu.be/tvWRIbw6lmg

Digital Signage as Architecture

I have been involved in the digital signage market for the past 5 years, and the last 18 months has seen some dramatic changes.


As with any new technology, the client will always want to see statistics that demonstrate that the technology is actually going to increase sales or improve marketing impact.  As more and more case studies prove that digital signage and screen marketing works, so more and more companies are embracing the technology.


One of the huge strengths of digital signage is the ability to engage with the consumer in a way that no other static signage has been able to do in the past.  This comes at a time when other technology is also expanding at an alarming rate - mobile communications, online shopping, the speed with which information is now disseminated via social media networks.  Standing still simply is not an option!


Engagement is a key word, and as a former student of architecture, I am beginning to see clearly a bond between consumer engagement and spatial relationships.  The advances in the applications of digital signage solutions is becoming architectural.  The design of a good building is about form, space and ambience governed by technical, environmental and aesthetic disciplines.


A building has to have a relationship with the people who use it.  Successful digital signage is also about creating and building a relationship with the people who see it.


If you need a physical example of what I mean, take a look at the new installation at the London Stock Exchange.  508 Christie Microtiles have been used in the atrium to replace The Source - a moving sculpture that previously occupied the space.


A sculpture.  


Digital signage solutions are no longer merely a 42" LCD screen.  Installations are sculptural, architectural; they become a part of the space, employed to engage with the people who occupy the building.


Digital Signage solutions in Westfield Shopping Centre, as another example, are statements - sculptural invitations to customers inviting them to interact.


This opens up a massively exciting avenue for everyone involved in digital signage, be they the manufacturer, the installer, the designer, the consumer and the business deploying the technology.  With already-present touchscreen and the advent of QR Codes and NFC, the conversation between digital signage and consumer is set to become even more animated.  In turn, this enhances the relationship between the customer and architecture generally.


For more information on digital signage and screen marketing solutions, please contact Argent Ram Media on 01580 761000

A Million Pound Marketing Look for Pin Money!

This week, the London Stock Exchange became host to the World's largest installation of Microtiles:

http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/46872

That may mean absolutely nothing to the small business owner, but with an impressive 503 individual screen modules, this installation comes with a heafty price tag.

That said, the client is so impressed with the finished result that it is believed that more Microtiles may be added in time.

Again, what relevance does this have to the small business owner?

Digital Signage and Marketing Screens make up one of the fastest-growing marketing sectors both here and in the US.

Marketing is changing. Although the basic principles remain the same, the way in which businesses market themselves has evolved dramatically over the past couple of years. Traditional forms of marketing - telephone, direct mail, email - are increasingly seen as interruptive and intrusive.

Now, the marketing approach is about providing real customer service, engaging with potential clients, being visible when customers search for your products and services, and making the consumer feel valued.

If your business is customer-facing, then it is now statistically proven that screens can work for you:

"On the first day of playing our content in our waiting room we had four or five new enquiries into private treatments. It is a significant marketing tool for us."

"Our waiting room screen increased our private sales by 20% in just the first six months."

"9 of our branches have sold over £27,000 of the product in the past month, and because this tool needs to be demonstrated, the screens have been a perfect ‘tool’ for promoting and selling this product."

This is a small selection of genuine testimonials from small and medium sized businesses who use screens to sell products and market their companies.

With single-screen systems costing from as little as £18.95 + VAT per week, you don't need to go as overboard as the London Stock Exchange, but you can have the same impressive results, not least in terms of Return on Investment in these straitened times.

If you would be interested in knowing more about Digital Signage and Marketing Screens, please call Argent Ram Media on 01580 761000.

Digital Signage and Screen Marketing for All!

The advances in digital signage and digital screen marketing technology are proceeding at an alarming rate, with commensurate reductions in cost and shorter term Returns on Investment.

Touch Screen, mobile connectivity, consumer-relevant content, live interaction via video; all this starts to place screen technology at the very forefront of customer service. This, at a time when marketing is all about engagement, customer loyalty and customer choice.

Every business needs to think of their own experiences as a customer, and what entices them to spend, what encourages them to remain loyal to a brand and what makes them feel valued.

Take those experiences and then use them to examine your own approaches to customer care. Are you whiter-than-white? Do you lose customers because they do not feel valued? Are you sure that your customers are, and will remain, loyal to your brand? You think you know what makes you unique as a business, but are you communicating this effectively to your clients?

There is no doubting (the statistics are there to prove it) that the use of digital screens and signage is becoming de rigueur for any business wanting to get their message across to their customer base.

Think back 15 - 20 years when a company website was still considered a novelty. Now, you ignore the effectiveness of your website at your peril.

The use of screen technology as a way of engaging and bringing together all the various strands of your marketing maelstrom in a customer-focused way may be new to you now, but ignore it at your peril.

Screens work for so many business sectors:

Retail, trade counters, dental practices, showrooms, hotels, leisure venues, pubs and clubs, educational establishments, hospitals, restaurants, outdoor and many more such environments.

Argent Ram Media can supply bespoke and off-the-shelf solutions, from 10.4" point-of-sale screens up to huge scale interior and exterior video walls. We lease and hire equipment, design and create content and supply media-player software systems.

Our prices start at just £18.95 + VAT per month for a fully installed system.

Think Screens!

"Digital signage is an unbeatable way to reach an audience. Used by retailers around the world, it reaches customers at the exact moment purchase decisions are made, delivering an attention-grabbing, high-impact message.

Provide information in a format that entertains, informs and engages audiences – and that gets results. Deliver the right message, at exactly the right time, to the right people. And where the costs of updating printed signage can add up, going digital can earn a pleasingly quick return on investment."

So says Hewlett Packard, but it is a message that sums up the power of digital signage.

Screens are now affordable enough for even the smallest business, so if you are spending money on advertising (local press, magazines, posters and leaflets) think about the power of increasing customer spend-per-head at point of sale.

Our prices for a full system - 32" screen, media player, installation - start at just £17.95 + VAT per week.

Call Lorraine on 01580 761000 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com for further details.

Getting over the growth hurdle - Technology or Manpower?

Every small business will eventually reach a stage where they need to invest in order to grow.

They may become so busy that the existing staff are so stretched that errors are beginning to creep into their work. They no longer have the time they used to have to follow up every lead or enquiry, or ensure that their customers feel valued. Slowly but surely, clients are tempted away to the competition, complaints start to appear about poor customer service and a business starts to slip down the drain.

In order to generate more enquiries, the business knows that they need to either increase telesales activity, improve customer service, canvass more, get a better website or advertise, and these pose the difficult question: "what generates the best return without costing the earth"? In a poor economic climate, the small business will always reduce their advertising budget first as that is the easiest thing to cut and the most difficult to gauge in terms of Return on Investment.

The small business will also often fall into the trap of cutting spend on cost-effective solutions that will help them get over this next hurdle.

Technology or Manpower?

Employees represent a very large expense, and for a business that does not have enough hours in the day the first thought is often: "I must take someone on".

Some years ago, a travel business client had reached a hurdle. The bulk of the work was being handled by one member of staff. Their new website was suddenly producing a surge of new enquiries, and due to the increase in overall workload, the employee was beginning to make the occasional mistake. In order to get over this hurdle, the company had a decision to make - either employ another person, or look at ways of improving the efficiency of the systems used to help the existing employee. A member of staff with the skills and experience would have cost around £16,000 per annum in salaries - a sum that could not be sustained.

A Customer Relationship Management system, though, would cost a fraction of that extra salary, and allow the employee to handle the increased number of enquiries, schedule reminders, email in bulk, track bookings and much more.

By investing £5,000 in a GoldMine CRM system, the company improved office efficiency, reduced the actual workload of the employee and resulted in a significant increase in turnover. This, then, did enable the business to invest in another employee shortly thereafter, and the hurdle was crossed successfully, allowing the business to grow.

Another client wanted to increase sales within their retail trade counter. Staff levels were always kept to a minimum as the footfall did not warrant the overhead of superfluous sales staff.

On average, the customer dwell-time within the outlet was 10 - 15 minutes. This can seem an inordinately long time for the customer in a queue, so it made sense to try to encourage that customer to buy more or learn about the products and servcies that were available.

How much would it cost to employ a body to hand out leaflets to every waiting customer, and try to promote products as customers browse (think "perfume-sprayers" in department stores, or "flyer-pushers" on the high street)? Do you honestly think this is the best use of your resources, and would you really generate enough additional sales revenue to cover that person's salary, and more?

The above client installed a marketing screen - an LCD screen that played bespoke content: product demonstrations, special offers, company news, promotions, all aimed at the customer on a soft-sell basis. The £2,000 investment was a fraction of the cost of an additional member of staff. Customers found the in-branch experience to be much better, as they lost perspective of time. Sales increased, spend-per-customer-head increased, and the screens were particulalrly useful for shifting end of line stock items.

Technology as a way of increasing sales for your business does work.

It doesn't need to be at the expense of human resources, but small businesses, particularly, often need to bridge the gap between their existing set-up and the next stage of their growth. Getting over that hurdle in the most cost-effective way, with an eye on Return on Investment, can make all the difference between a company's success or failure.

Argent Ram Media - 01580 761000. ian@argentrammedia.com

Dental Practices are not Recession-proof

Contrary to popular belief, Dental Practices are not recession-proof.

With a new Budget out today, and April looming, there is no doubt that individuals are going to start to notice the tightening of the economic grip on a very personal level. This is the time when businesses, including dental practices, notice that the phone starts to ring a little less.

Instead of a 6 monthly check-up, patients will think they can stretch this out to 12 or 24 months. I know myself, as I have now delayed an optician's appointment for nigh on 18 months, as the cost of new contact lens and spectacles is something that I would rather not consider!

However, we all know that these delays are often a false economy. Lawrence Spindel, in his Dental Blog (http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2008/09/are-dentists-recession-proof.html), identifies that a 6-month check up would identify problems before they escalate. Waiting until you get a chronic toothache, and then consequently need root canal work or an extraction, ends up costing the patient more in the end.

This is where marketing comes in.

Marketing does not need to cost the earth, but informing your patients of the pitfalls of treatment delays in straitened times will be of benefit to both the patient and your practice.

How do you do that?

• Emphasise, via your website, the importance and cost-effectiveness of regular check-ups;
• Use email to remind patients of the risks involved in delaying check-ups;
• If you have screens in your waiting room, show the effects of delaying treatment and prompt the patient to make their next appointment there and then.

Use this opportunity to strengthen the relationship that exists between you and your patients. Other dental practices will be only too keen to welcome patients whose loyalty may be wavering, or who may be tempted to defect by discounted prices and incentives.

Argent Ram Media offers specialist products and services to help dental practices strengthen patient loyalty, inform and educate patients and maximise patient spend-per-head.

• Website Design and Development for Dental Practices;
• Waiting Room screens;
• Dental Treatment Video Animations;
• Screen Content;
• Design for Print;
• Logos and Branding;
• Video Production

For further information, please call Lorraine Baker on 01580 761000 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com

Estate "Agent" or Quick-Sell wide-boy?

So, the Property Ombudsman has today announced that complaints against Estate Agents were unacceptably high after dealing with a record number of disputes throughout 2010:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/property-complaints-hit-a-record-high-2243311.html

I was an estate agent during the heady days of the mid-80s, and to this day I can't understand why the profession leaves itself so open to criticism and vilification.

It might help if we started being a bit literal and looked at the very title "Estate Agent". An agent is someone who is authorised to act on the behalf of someone else - in the case of an estate agent, they act on behalf of the vendor of the property. They are NOT property sales reps, or retailers, or "stack-em-high, sell-em-cheap" traders. As agents, they owe a significant duty of care to the vendor, whose valuable asset they are entrusted to market effectively and for which they are expected to achieve the best possible market price.

I wouldn't dream of teaching professional estate agents to suck eggs, but I do have my own theories regarding successful estate agency:

1. You needed to get the best instructions on a sole agency basis and at the right price in order to achieve a successful level of sales, and fulfil your duty to the vendor.

How do you get the best instructions? On the whole, a vendor needs to be able to trust you and have confidence in your ability to sell their property. This very often comes down to personality. A property is a very personal asset, and a vendor wants to feel that their agent knows that property, its advantages, the unique aspects and the features that make it a valuable proposition to a prospective purchaser. No-one wants to feel that their property is just another item of stock that, if not sold within 4 weeks, will be reduced in price just to get rid of it.

In one of her recent Secret Shopper programs (Channel 4), Mary Portas demonstrated with great success the difference it makes when an estate agent is fully briefed on a property when they show that property to a potential purchaser (http://www.channel4.com/programmes/mary-portas-secret-shopper/episode-guide/series-1/episode-4)

2. Build relationships. If you consider yourself to be a property professional, you need to immerse yourself in the area in which you operate, and engage with the residents. Someone you sell a house to tomorrow will probably want to sell that house at some stage in the future. If they know you, and remember the great service you offered, the likelihood that they will instruct you to sell that house again is high. If you were perceived as being a fly-by-night wide boy, what are the chances of picking up that house at a later date? It is a short-sighted estate agent who goes for the quick sell without any consideration for the future.

3. Know your clients. That sounds a little glib, but when I was an agent, I had a very good understanding of the requirements of all my "hot" applicants. When I then went to value a property, I was able to mention that I had genuine purchasers who would be interested in that property, and applicants trusted me enough to arrange to view a property on my recommendation alone. That word "trust" counts for so much in this business.

So, although the above is a very brief overview, to my mind there is a common theme running throughout - trust and confidence. Complaints against estate agents can all be channelled down to the prevailing lack of trust and confidence. Agents don't communicate properly, they are inaccurate when it comes to property descriptions, marketing and advertising. All elements that do little to instil trust and confidence.

Not all estate agents are rogues, but there are still too many estate agents who really don't appreciate the term "agent" and all that entails.

Argent Ram Media provide a full range of marketing solutions for estate agents based on a thorough understanding of the profession and the importance of getting core messages across to target markets.  We also understand the importance of relationship-building and client engagement.  We can help estate agents with the principles of the successful marketing required to instill trust and confidence.

Websites for Estate Agents on subscription;
Marketing screens;
Design for Print and Branding

For further details, please contact Lorraine Baker, Sales Manager, on 01580 761000 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com

Dental Practice Digital Marketing Solutions

We, at Argent Ram Media, are delighted to announce that we have become an authorised reseller for one of the UK's largest suppliers of dental animation software.

Designed for dental practice websites, waiting room screens and surgery client-side demonstrations, these sophisticated animations provide detailed information on treatments, patient information and oral health. In addition to the main dental modules, there are separate modules for orthodontics and facial aesthetics.

We are a one-stop shop for dental practice digital marketing, and can offer a solution to meet the requirements of any practice:

• Website design and development;
• Waiting room screens;
• Surgery screens;
• Leaflet design and print;
• Screen content and software;
• Animations for existing websites and screens

Key benefits to any dental practice practice:

• An opportunity to engage with your patients;
• Inform and educate your patients;
• Market and sell treatments, services and products;
• Increase patient loyalty;
• Enhance the reputation of your practice

If you would like information on treatment animation, waiting room screens or websites for your dental practice, please contact Lorraine Baker on 01580 761000 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com

FoneHouse Postscript

Further to my last post about Mary Portas and FoneHouse, the following passage can be found on the FoneHouse website:

"At Fonehouse we are always looking to improve ourselves as a business, as a result we recently have been looking into redeveloping our in store customer experience and brand as a whole. That's why when leading consultant and television personality Mary Portas asked if she could work with us on this, we jumped at the opportunity.

Thanks to our combined efforts we have created a superior customer experience that culminates in our newly refurbished store in Angel, London (IsIington). The design incorporates the new brand, the Fonehouse values of a relaxed 'homely' atmosphere with impeccable customer service and even includes TV screens with live interactive content. With the concept due to be rolled out across the Fonehouse retail estate of 50 stores there has never been a better time to join the Partner Programme. If you want to become a Fonehouse Franchise Partner then complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible."

http://www.fonehouse.co.uk/MaryPortasSecretShopper/

It is now becoming increasingly acknowledged that digital signage can and does enhance the retail shopping experience.

Approximately 60% of buying decisions are made in-store.  Carefully placed, compelling and engaging sales and marketing messages, delivered in a dynamic way, can have a very strong influence on what shoppers place in their baskets.

An accepted rule of thumb indicates that a minimum 15% boost can be achieved by placing promoted items on a marketing screen.

These statistics show convincingly that the use of strategically positioned screens should be ignored at the retailers' peril.  The returns generated by a well-conceived network of sales and marketing screens cancel out the costs and increases revenue.

For further details on the screen systems available through Argent Ram Media, please contact Lorraine Baker on 01580 761000 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com.

The Proof is in the Pudding...

Did any of you watch Mary Portas: Secret Shopper (Channel 4) on Wednesday 2nd February?

In this episode, Mary took on the High Street mobile phone outlets, those typically male bastions that revolve around the hard-sell and the up-sell.

"Secret cameras reveal them to be one of the least user-friendly retail environments on the high street. Staff bombard you with technical information that has little to do with finding the right phone for you - and you can't even try before you buy."

Mary's sights were set on FoneHouse, a largely-franchised business that has some fairly ambitious growth plans, but follows the pack when it comes to the trading style of its stores and the service offered by its staff.

By changing the interiors of stores to make them far more welcoming, encouraging dwell time and a far greater level of helpful customer service, Mary aimed to prove that FoneHouse could lead the way in which mobile phone stores treat their customers. Taking the Angel, Islington branch as the test site, the turnaround in perceived customer satisfaction levels were so great that the CEO of FoneHouse had no hesitation in deciding to roll out the new store designs to all new branches, and then re-design existing branches.

If you saw the program, you will have noticed that one feature that was very evident in the new design was the use of digital signage.

On the walls of the store, instead of racks of accessories in bubble packs, there were screens that displayed product information, deals and special offers. The use of these screens provides subliminal direct response sales opportunities without being perceived as the hard-sell. Staff are on hand to answer queries whilst customers are free to test real products, not replicas attached to the walls by a piece of string.

Old Layout

Redesign, showing the use of digital screens



The whole premise behind the redesign is to make customers feel valued, provide them with information that is relevant to them and allow staff the time to listen to what the customers want and then advise them accordingly - the essence of great customer service.

Digital marketing screens are playing an increasingly important role in this approach, as it allows companies to get their core marketing messages across in a non-techy, user-friendly and informative way, furniching customers with the right information for them to make the right choice.

At FoneHouse, Mary carried out a quick customer survey and when asked if FoneHouse would be their brand of choice prior to the redesign, 80% of customers said "No". After the refit, 97% said "Yes".

As a result of the refit, the Islington branch reported that new contracts and upgrades increased by a third.

The overall response was that the new style was welcoming, relaxed and provided a great environment.

What effect could a digital marketing screen have on your business?

To view this episode of Mary Portas: Secret Shopper, click here:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/mary-portas-secret-shopper/4od#3158376

For information on digital marketing screens, please contact Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396, or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com

Print Ad and Screen Ad - a Marriage made in Heaven

In these days of tight budgetary control, I am always urging clients to think creatively, and try new ways of marketing their business without increasing spend.

I would like to look, therefore, at the relationship between your print advertising and what happens when your customers visit your premises.

In Kent, we have a very popular weekly free publication called the Wealden Advertiser. Many local businesses advertise regularly in this, and other reagional publications, as they perceive it to represent good value for money. Certainly, over a period of time, there is no doubt that consistent visibility will generate enquires.

A 6cms single column advertisement will typically cost £40.50 + VAT per week. Over a 52 week period, this will total £2,106 + VAT, so not a small sum for the small business.

How many advertisers are able to track the return on that investment? To make it worthwhile, this advertising cost really needs to result in at least £4,000 worth of new business. If you do advertise in local publications, do you really know what business is generated as a DIRECT result of that advertisement?

I know that is being simplistic, as consistent advertising has other benefits: maintaining a profile, reminding existing customers that you are there etc., and this has great value.

But let's look at a low-cost addition to complement your print advertising.

Local, and indeed national advertising is about generating the enquiry. If you are a business with premises that are visited by your customers, what can you do to maximise end per head from those customers. At the end of the day that is what you want:

Profile - Enquiry - Sale - Customer Retention/Loyalty

From as little as £18.95 + VAT per week (so less than half the cost of your small weekly local advertisement) you could have a dynamic, direct-response digital screen in your showroom, at your trade counter or in your waiting room; indeed, anywhere where you need to engage with your customers and clients.

The printed advertisement has brought the customers in and the screen will maximise the spend-per-head opportunity.

Additional Sales:

“Just to let you know, Sheffield Central have just received the stock of the Fein MultiMasters. They have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens.“ Electrical Wholesaler

Customer Care:

“Our customers appreciate that we are far removed from the 'production line' world of the multiple optician chains; we provide them with a caring, professional service - personal attention that's combined with value for money.” Opticians

Increased Spend-per-Head:

"On the first day of playing our content in our waiting room we had four or five new enquiries into private treatments. It is a significant marketing tool for us.“ Dental Practice

Taking the Electrical Wholesaler above as an example, what would £700 of increased sales versus £18.95 weekly costs mean to your business?

For further information on digital sales and marketing screens, please call Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com.

How can you make your existing customers spend more money?

If you have customers coming to your premises, how can you encourage them to part with a little bit more of their hard-earned cash in these straitened times. As one of our leading supermarkets never fails to tell us, "Every Little Helps"!

As I am sure you know, marketing is about creating desire. The message you send to your customers, be it through product display, posters or any other type of merchandising, needs to make the customer think "I MUST have that". If they think "I'd quite like that" or "that looks nice, but..." then in this climate you aren't going to get a sale.

So, think desire. Consider your actual point of sale and the moment the customer comes to part with their money. I am sure that if you had the inclination, or it didn't look too desperate, you'd whip out your best-selling product and shove it under the customers nose, yelling "Buy this now".

A small screen, strategically positioned by your till, can subtly do this for you. Direct response advertising does work when it comes to persuading the customer to make the impulse purchase. A static display will not necessarily tempt, but an evocative, tempting visual marketing message, on a digital screen will achieve so much more:

“We have had excellent success basically because the product is promoted via our screens.“

“9 of our branches have sold over £27,000 of the product YTD, and because this tool needs to be demonstrated, the screens have been a perfect ‘tool’ for promoting and selling this product."

“A customer wanted some cable to be cut, and whilst waiting he saw the advertisement and bought the product. £26.10 for the cut cable plus an additional £179.00 for the Fein MultiMaster.“

“Just to let you know, our branch has just received the stock of the Fein MultiMasters. They have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens.“

Many of you may have noticed that Camelot have little 10" screens positioned above the Lotto tills in store. Why? They act as an eye-catching aide-memoire to remind queuing customers to buy their lottery tickets. If it works for them, it will work for you.

For details of Point of Sale digital screens, please contact Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396 or email lorraine@argentrammedia.com

Happy Optimistic New Year!

I don't know about you, but for some months I have been getting increasingly fed up with the media's negative slant on the ongoing state of the economy. Whenever I saw or heard the News yesterday, the increase in VAT was being forcibly rammed down our throats as this was the end of the world. I think we all knew that VAT was rising to 20% on 4th January, but this relentless bombardment by the press is so draining.

Today came the start of the Christmas trading results, with Next and HMV highlighting the effect that poor December weather and general austerity had on pre-Christmas sales. This is no surprise, so why did the BBC sound so down-in-the-mouth about it this morning?

2011 is not going to be easy.

That said, I have always been a great believer in the addage that we have to make our own luck. From experience, I know only too well that it is up to us as indivduals and small businesses to create our own opportunities.

So; start of a New Year, what can we do to create out own opportunities? This is my little list of "resolutions" that you can try in order to give your business that valuable competitive edge.

Digressing slightly, I remember hearing a story told by an estate agent. There were 5 estate agents on his High Street, and all of them had approximately 20% share of the market. They all did much the same in terms of advertising and marketing, but one day, one of these agents decided to make a few very subtle changes to the way they promoted themselves. These changes were so slight that they were imperceptible to the competition. However, by increasing their marketing activities, the agent gradually started to take a percentage of the competitors' business. A year later, 4 of the 5 estate agents noticed that their turnover was down on the year before, and their profits were less. The 5th estate agent's turnover was up, as were the profits, and the company's image had been boosted as the leading agent in the area.

There - a little parable for 2011! Think of a few little changes you can make to the ways in which you market your business, and see what a difference it can make. You don't need to increase your marketing spend; just think creatively!

1. Your website. Please make sure it does what you want it to do! Is it generating enough enquiries? If not, ask yourself why. This is an easy fix and one that you can't afford to ignore. Your website is one of the most cost-effective sales and marketing tools you have, so make sure it performs.

2. If you have customers visiting your premises, either to buy something or to wait to see someone, then promote yourselves to those customers while they wait. Why miss this valuable opportunity? A marketing screen can increase your sales, simply by highlighting your products and services to existing customers.

3. Engage with your customers and prospective customers. Engagement is a major key to success in these tricky times, and making people feel valued can make all the difference in terms of customer loyalty and spend-per-head. A simple email reminder to customers can prompt a positive response, and keep your name at the top of the pile.

So, three suggestions, none of which will break the bank, but all of which will help you to strengthen the relationships you have with your existing clients.

Try choosing one of the above as a New Year Resolution and get it working for your business; don't accept a "that'll do" solution. Be creative and innovative and don't follow the pack just because it feels "safe". To make our own luck, we occasionally have to stick our heads above the parapet!

Here's to a very successful and optimistic 2011.

Time for Positive Thinking

It would be the easiest thing in the world for the small business owner to believe everything they read or hear in the press, and be convinced that we are heading for some horrific double-dip recession. 

This way of thinking has got to stop.

If you look behind the stories, or take the time to discover the positive approaches being taken by organisations across the UK, in spite of the doom-laden perspective taken by the media, then you will see that we are in a position to launch this decade of the entrepreneur!

In the past fortnight, I have seen the positive results of thinking outside the box, and looking for the opportunities out there:

Vince Moran, Chief Operating Officer views the abolition of his quango, British Waterways as "great news" and he views the long-term future of the organisation, with new charitable status as "fantastic".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11541497

Staff at a hospital in Hampshire have been actively involved in looking for ways to save money within their departments, and the creative thinking has already cut overheads by not inconsiderable amounts:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11540473

So, how can the small business make the most of the opportunities that do exist?

1. Think about where you are spending money, and if you cannot see a return on your investment, think again;

2. Don't stop marketing. It has always been said that you need to market your way out of a recession, and never a truer word has been said. This does not mean that you have to increase your marketing spend. On the contrary, as I said above, be creative. Just because you have always advertised in the Yellow Pages, ask yourself if you are really getting business as a result. Try something new: is your website really working for you? Does it collect data, or really sell your products and services? Could you generate additional income by selling products online? Are you in touch with your existing customers often enough, and are they remaining loyal to you in a financial climate where it pays to shop around?

3. Network. Go back to basic principles of providing excellent customer service. Social Media is the perfect way to do this online, without the need for you to leave your office! Listen to what potential clients and customers want from businesses like yours, react and then let them know what you do. Share your successes, talk about your business and offer help where it is requested. If you have not started to embrace Social Media and the many routes to market it offers, then you are missing out!

Little things can make all the difference.  Above all, please BE POSITIVE. Ignore the negative news. We all know that the country has no money, there are uncertainties and we will all have to be watch the pennies, but let us for once believe in our collective futures. As small business owners, we all started up with a belief in our products and services. We just need to share those beliefs, have the strength of our own convictions and get our message out there in front of our clients and customers.

Argent Ram Media provide a range of multi-media marketing solutions for small, medium and large businesses and companies. Please contact us for further information - 0845 009 5396.

http://www.argentrammedia.com/

ian@argentrammedia.com

Affordable Digital Screen Marketing for every Business

In your business, do customers and clients ever have to wait to see someone, or do you need to grab their attention to get your marketing message across?

When customers or clients are waiting, how do you:

• Entertain them and reduce the perceived length of waiting time?
• Inform them of your full range of products and services?
• Maximise the potential to increase spend-per-head?
• Keep them up to date with any special offers or promotions?
• Make them feel valued?

Digital screen marketing is now affordable, and should be considered as an answer to any of the questions posed above. Many businesses will have seen digital signage and marketing screens in shopping malls, underground stations and as part of eye-catching window displays by top-end retailers to lure customers inside their stores.

Just consider for a moment that all your marketing activity is probably geared towards enticing potential customers and clients to contact you, either by phone, email, enquiry form or a visit to your premises. Your website, email marketing and advertising campaigns do a great job to promote your services, and highlight the ways in which you are better than your competitors. As the old marketing adage goes, your efforts meet the AIDA criteria:

• Grabbing ATTENTION
• Creating INTEREST and DESIRE
• Having a clear Call to ACTION

You've spent money to achieve the above results, so don't fall at the last hurdle.

"The average recall of a brand advertised on in-store television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television."

Content is the vital ingredient in the digital screen marketing mix, but rather than being held hostage by a system that opnly allows you to show Sky News or CNN, solutions are sophisticated enough to allow you to create content that you want your clients and customers to see, and nothing else.

By all means, entertain them if they need to wait for a while, but ensure that you allow them to see information tha might tempt them to buy, to enquire and generally to engage with you as a business.

Don't take my word for it. Below are testimonials from a chain of trade counters who use screens to increase sales of products.

“We have had excellent success basically because the product is promoted via our screens.“

“York Group 9 branches have sold over £27,000 of [this product] YTD, and because this tool needs to be demonstrated, the screens have been a perfect ‘tool’ for promoting and selling this product."

“A customer wanted some cable to be cut, and whilst waiting he saw the advertisement and bought the product. £26.10 for the cut cable plus an additional £179.00 for the Fein MultiMaster.“

“Just to let you know, Sheffield Central have just received the stock of the Fein MultiMasters. They have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens.“

Digital screen marketing works for the following businesses:

• Retail outlets;
• Hotels and leisure;
• Trade Counters;
• Showrooms;
• Dental Surgeries;
• GP Surgeries;
• Pharmacies;
• Gyms and Health Clubs;
• Estate Agents;
• Hair and Beauty Salons;
• Solicitors

and many more.....

Make your clients and customers feel valued and generate additional revenue.

Argent Ram Media provide a range of Digital Screen Marketing solutions for small, medium and large businesses and companies. Please contact us for further information - 0845 009 5396
http://www.argentrammedia.com/
ian@argentrammedia.com

Digital Screen Marketing need not be beyond the Small Business

Digital Signage and Digital Out of Home advertising (DOOH) are two of the most rapidly growing areas in the world of marketing today.

It seems that everywhere you turn, you will see a digital marketing screen: at point of sale on Camelot's Lotto terminals; beside the escalators on the London Tube network; in railway stations and shopping malls. The use and application of these screens is varied and increasing by the day.

Why is screen marketing so important?

In previous blogs, I have talked a lot about engagement, and for any business in today's economic climate, it is becoming vital that you engage with your customers and potential customers. This is nothing new, when you analyse it. It harks back to the days of the corner shop, when the shop owner used to know every customer and was able to get together their staple purchases for them before they even entered the shop - real customer service.

Direct response marketing has always been considered to be a vital part of any marketing strategy, and that direct exchange between you and your customer is the ideal opportunity for you to increase sales.

Looking back at the principles of successful market, we are always reminded of AIDA:

Attention
Interest
Desire
Call to Action

The AIDA principle is as strong today as ever, and should be ignored by any business at its peril.

Screen marketing is important because it can combine all the above in a dynamic and evocative format. It allows you, as a business, to disseminate some of your customer service principles, your key marketing messages and your direct-response advertising in an engaging way.

This is way above the budget of the small business, I hear you cry!

No; it's not. Screen marketing solutions are becoming ever-more affordable and, more importantly, more cost-effective.

I would urge any small business to examine their marketing and advertising strategies and analyse what really works for them.

Just because your competitors advertise in the local paper does not mean that you have to follow suit. What response do you get from this traditional form of advertising? What about the Yellow Pages? Always the favourite of the small business, but can you categorically state the percentage of your enquiries that come from this medium? Have you analysed the price-per-lead from these sources?

The following came through from Chris Cardell (Cardell Media) the other day:

"Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an Entrepreneur worth £200 Million and a struggling business owner who can't pay their bills?

It's not talent, genius or hard work. It's not luck. And it's not the economy.

The difference between them is actually very small. Undetectable to the human eye. We've had Duncan Bannatyne (from BBC's Dragons' Den) as a guest at a couple of our events. With the greatest respect to Duncan, I'm sure he'd agree that the difference between him (he's worth £200 Million) and the struggling business owner is not brains (he's smart but so are many of the struggling ones) and it's certainly not education (Duncan left school with no qualifications.)

I'll tell you the difference. It's their ability to use their minds effectively and think RADICALLY differently to everyone else."

Digital Screen Marketing gives you the opportunity, as a small business, to do something different that will set you apart from your competitors. Don't spend more money; just divert some of the money you currently spend on your routine marketing activities and try something new. Something that will speak directly to prospective new customers. Something that will promote your business with dynamism and in a format that will engage with the viewers. Something that will generate a response from those people who could be about to spend money, and something that will encourage them to spend that money with you.

Argent Ram Media offer a wide range of digital screen marketing solutions aimed at both the small and large business. Local advertising opportunities exist in major UK garden and leisure retail outlets and prices compare with those of local newspaper advertising. For more information, please contact Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396 or email design@argentrammedia.com.

Digital Screen Marketing - a cost-effective route to efficient customer service

One of the buzziest words in marketing these days is engagement; the need to engage with your customers or clients. This imperative, to build a relationship with potential clients, has never been more important in days when marketing messages can be out there in front of millions of people within minutes, circulating around the globe.

Twitter and Facebook and other forms of Social Media, are all about engagement. Your website should ensure that potential clients are invited to engage with you as soon as they hit the homepage. Emails, personalised with clients' names, should entice each recipient to maintain their relationship with you, encourage them into your world. If you like, the days of good old customer service have returned with a vengeance; the days of the grocer who dealt with every customer personally, collecting products for them off the shelves and knowing every customer by name.

But we are not returning to the yester-year of retail; we can't, simply because our customers expect to be served with ever increasing speed and efficiency.

However, the technology is available now for every business, no matter how small, to bring back the best aspects of the golden age of customer service, and those businesses that ignore this technology do so at their peril.

In previous articles, I have talked a lot about web and social media, and today I want to throw digital signage and digital screen marketing into the pot. Mention the word "digital" and many businesses will recoil in horror at the thought of yet another expense. However, let's look at a few examples:
Some years ago, one of my clients was a major private health insurance company. Whenever I visited them, I had to sit in their reception area to wait to be greeted. There were magazines on a coffee table, beautiful photographs on the wall, and Sky News playing on a screen. I could have been in any corporate headquarters anywhere in the world, as there was absolutely nothing that told me where I was, or what type of company I was dealing with. Was this complacency or arrogance? An assumption that the mere company name was enough to tell me all I needed to know.

Another national company had their foyer lined with press clippings of their Chairman greeting the Great and the Good; great for the Chairman's ego, but is this good for the company as a whole?

I thought then that what these companies needed was a television-quality presentation product that did a number of things:

• Entertain waiting clients (in the same way that a magazine on a coffee table might);
• Inform clients, but without the heavy and relentless news content of Sky News or CNN;
• Tell clients about company products and services, without expecting them to read through books of press clippings or corporate brochures; 

In so many instances, businesses leave clients and potential clients hanging around without considering the effect that this might have on the ongoing relationship. Good customer service is all about making every customer feel valued.

If you have an area where customers wait for any length of time, think about a screen. I know that many of you have already got televisions in waiting areas or reception areas, and have a Freeview box so that customers can enjoy "Good Morning" or "Under the Hammer".

What a waste of an opportunity!

By all means, entertain waiting customers; it helps to pass the time. But use that time to tell people about your business; present your new products; show how successful you are as a company; tell that client how valuable they are to you. Above all, engage with that customer as they sit there waiting for you; it is a golden opportunity and one that is too valuable to miss.

If you would like more information on a range of cost-effective screen marketing solutions, please contact us at Argent Ram Media - www.argentrammedia.com. Email design@argentrammedia.com


"The average recall of a brand advertised on Wal-Mart television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television."