Evaluating Digital Signage Providers: 8 Things to Consider to Make the Right Choice

This article will empower businesses to make informed decisions when selecting a digital signage provider by outlining the key considerations that ensure a match between the provider's capabilities and the business's specific needs.

Introduction

Choosing the right digital signage provider for your business plays a strong role in the tangible success of your marketing efforts and the quality of your relationship with them. Good communication and marketing go hand in hand. You don't want to work with a company just because they are the cheapest, as this could mean they have the poorest communication and the least effective marketing methods.

In the growing field of digital signage solutions, there are several things that you need to consider when choosing a digital signage provider.

Eight things to consider when selecting a digital signage provider

Below are the top eight things your company should consider when evaluating top digital signage providers. 

Factor 1: Solution Flexibility and Scalability

The first factor is whether the applications you are choosing are flexible enough to meet your needs. Can you create custom content? Can you scale your digital displays over the next several months or years as your company grows? 

Factor 2: Content Management Capabilities

What are their content management capabilities? The right content management system should allow you to display the things you want. But you might also want features such as the following:

1. Consider the ability to browse or create custom packages for your display, adding things like business graphics to your video display or incorporating things like area code data so that the auto-generated traffic feed and weather feed are appropriate for your region.
2. Consider advanced features that broadcast live content, including weather or traffic, sports, virtual meeting updates, and social media feeds.
3. Consider remote management capabilities with things like email notifications and monitoring.
4. Consider screen utilization so that you can play different media on the same screen, subdividing that screen into different sections.

For some businesses, the ability to utilize the same screen for several different content areas may not be as important because they have a larger space with several video screens, each of which can display different content. But for others, that might be the most important thing because they are making the most of limited space.

Factor 3: Hardware Quality and Compatibility

When evaluating digital signage solution providers, you'll need to investigate the hardware quality and compatibility. Not all hardware is compatible with all devices, so you need to be aware of which devices you have. Apple products, for example, might not work with the hardware a company provides specifically for Windows.

Factor 4: Software and Integration Options

When you are looking at top digital signage providers, take a look at their software and integration options. The software should be easy to use and allow you to manage and update the content remotely. You might be out of town on business or out of the office sick, but you still need to manage a change in your advertisements.

The software they provide should offer features that you prioritize, including:

• The ability to schedule content so that you can change the display based on your audience analysis
• The ability to offer real-time updates so that changes can be made instantly

Also consider the level of customer support offered for the software. You don't want a company that gives you access to software without subsequent customer support when things go wrong. 

Check the type of customer support as well. When you look at digital signage providers, they might all say that customer support is available, but some of them might only offer customer support through a chat window if you would prefer to call someone.

Factor 5: Support and Service

The level of support and service offered is important. Consider what type of customer support they give and through which medium. Is there someone you can talk to at all times if there's an emergency, or can you only reach out to someone during specific business hours? Do they have help pages that might be useful for basic needs?

Also, look at the services they offer. Your business should have a general idea of your marketing goals and how you want to use digital marketing displays. With that information in mind, you can decide whether the services offered by different digital signage providers fit that need. 

Factor 6: Reliability and Uptime Guarantees

Don't be afraid to look into their reliability. Reliability doesn't mean how reliably the company answers its phone when you call with a customer service complaint. Reliability in the context of digital displays means how reliable the digital signage is. You don't want to experience a lot of downtime. Downtime is when your digital display doesn't serve its purpose.

Reputable companies will work with you to limit any downtime, especially during your key business hours. Consider working with digital signage providers who talk you through their expected reliability, their previous history of reliability, and how they will work with your company to avoid any disruptions.

Factor 7: Provider Reputation and Experience

Consider the provider's reputation and experience. You should be able to clearly see a history of previous portfolios or reach out to them and request one. Take a look at their experience and whether they work with businesses like yours or generate content like the kind you want.

Factor 8: Cost Effectiveness

Then, you have to consider the cost-effectiveness. Top digital signage providers should be upfront about the costs for things such as:

• Hardware
• Software
• Ongoing maintenance
• Content generation

What you choose to utilize should also be flexible. Good companies will let you know the upfront costs for the hardware, but they should also be willing to provide quotes for ongoing maintenance or software if you are already providing hardware. This can help you reduce the cost.

For example:

You might be looking at two different digital signage providers. One of them has slightly lower ongoing expenses, but they require you to purchase hardware and software from them, which increases your upfront cost significantly. However, you already have several flat-screen televisions that you want to use. 

A second company makes it clear that you can absolutely use your flat-screen televisions, and even though the ongoing expenses are slightly higher, you don't have to invest in the upfront cost of hardware and software.

Consider whether one company is more cost-effective than the other based on the things you are going to bring to the table, the services they render, and the potential return on your investment.

Conclusion

Overall, choosing among digital signage solution providers involves a lot of background work. You need to consider the services they offer, the costs, reliability, hardware, software, and more.

Before you finalize a provider, take some time to use demos, start a trial with them, and undergo consultations. Each of the factors above plays into your final decision, and it's up to you and your business to decide which is most important to your overall marketing needs. Carefully evaluate all options to find the best fit for your business.

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