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In this changing marketing environment, where consumers do not want to be bombarded with interruptive messages, preferring instead to find their own relevant information when they need it, it is no surprise that digital screens are becoming omni-present.
If you are a customer-facing business, how much do you spend every year on printed marketing material? Think about leaflets that you might have on your premises, catalogue and brochure updates, price change information, special offers, posters, banners, advertisements. Using those traditional methods, how can you measure the effectiveness of each method in terms of Return on Investment? What percentage of sales can you accurately attribute to a leaflet, for example?
The cost of screen systems has fallen dramatically in recent years, and the technology behind them has increased in an equally dramatic way.
Consider the money you could save on traditional print by using a screen to:
- Show special offers and promotions to customers when they are physically on your premises.
"The average recall of a brand advertised on in-store television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television.“
"Digital [screens] are twice as likely to be viewed as static [advertisements] and are looked at for up to 60% longer, according to research by Kinetic on Outdoor screens at London Bridge."
Media Week.
- Update content as and when you like, in real-time, without incurring additional print costs and commensurate turn-around times.
- Allow customers to interact, using touch-screen technology to find information that is relevant to them.
- Track and monitor consumer reaction and response.
- Use High Definition Video and streamed content to maximise every sales and marketing opportunity.
The amount of customer-relevant information that you can hold on a screen would cost a small fortune if it were to be printed with a view to achieving the same end results.
"Compared with static signage that needs to be reprinted every time the store’s layout or inventory changes, retailers may actually end up spending less by investing in a digital signage system."
At the end of the day, most small and medium businesses want tools that will help them increase sales revenue without a massive increase in costs. Digital marketing and signage screens no longer fall just within the realm of the larger retailers. These are affordable for the smallest of outlets, and the benefits speak for themselves:
"We’ve seen sales lift from 10 percent to as much as 50 percent on items and services featured on a digital signage network."
"We have had excellent success basically because the product is promoted via our screens."
"Just to let you know, our store has just received the stock of the new product. We have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens."
Argent Ram Media specialise in the design and installation of digital signage and marketing screen systems, from the smallest of Point-of-Sale screens up to video walls. Please contact us on 01580 761000 for further details.
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.
I went to see an estate agent this morning to go through their requirements for a new website.
This company has been specialising in the sale of residential property for 30 years, has an untarnished reputation in the locality and is unlikely ever to have been the subject of one of the increasing number of complaints received by the Property Ombudsman.
I came in to the office this morning to be greeted by a plethora of gloomy news:
"Fall in take-home pay "worst since the '70s" http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/
"A third of Britons to retire in poverty" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Not the kind of thing one wants to read......but the press, collectively, does tend to like to wallow in the swamps of pessimism.
The agent I went to see this morning mentioned that he had not known the level of new enquiries to have been so low for as long as he can remember. This is not surprising. Whenever individuals start to feel the effects of a country-wide tightening-of-belts, then businesses really start to feel the effects.
However...what is this estate agent doing?
He is investing in a new website.
He knows he cannot afford to fall behind in his marketing efforts. A client can be a fickle beast, and when faced with incentives and discounts forced by a becalmed economy, jumping ship is too easy.
Our estate agent needs to keep his competitive edge; he needs to be seen to be instilling a degree of confidence, and keeping his vendors and applicants abreast of the prevailing market fluctuations. His years of experience and his knowledge of the local market count for a great deal when home owners and prospective buyers are facing ongoing uncertainty.
There is an old saying: "Market your way out of a Recession". Never before has this been so relevant - sitting back and hoping that you will weather the storm is not the answer. Your astute competitors are ensuring that they are tightening up the effectiveness of their marketing activities. This does not necessarily mean spending more money; it does mean thinking outside the box and being creative in your approach.
Above all, be positive and ensure that your clients and customers absorb your optimism.
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
We are in the process of running marketing campaigns aimed specifically at dental practitioners, promoting website design, waiting room screens, dental animation software and video production.
During the course of research, I have been astounded by the number of dental surgeries that seems intent on wasting money on Google Adword campaigns. That is not to say that the campaign itself is a great way of getting their website in front of prospective patients, but what happens when that prospective client clicks on the link (and costs the dental practice some money!).
In the course of the past couple of days, I have seen single-page websites for dental practices that are as compelling as a blank wall. I have attempted to contact the practice using the email address on the website to find that the email address link has been mis-spelt. Websites have no clear call-to-action, nor do they give a concise overview of the services and treatments that are available.
This is a salient lesson to any business advertising using Adwords or other sponsored scheme. If your website is not at the top of its game in terms of message, design and construction, and call-to-action, then you might as well take the advertising budget and flush it down the drain.
If only we all had money to waste...
Postscript: If your website is not getting the enquiries you expect from your sponsored links, take a break and consider a contribution to:
http://www.redcross.org.uk/japantsunami
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
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