About fourteen years ago, when impulseGUIDE was created, not a lot of people had considered using digital signage in their businesses.
Just the very concept we brought to businesses, itself, was an innovation – something maybe they’d heard about but either didn’t believe in or thought, like any new technology, was probably too expensive.
Of course, we didn’t come in with just the idea of taking your static menu boards and putting them on TV screens… No, we built a proprietary technology that still today is industry-best, hired the best design people, and established a program that is cost-effective for any user in any sector.
In other words, we anticipated how the competition would respond.
And, to this day, we believe we still have them beat.
Because today, you can walk into a lot of establishments and see digital signage of some sort – and it’s not all impulseGUIDE.
Believe me, we’re watching all of it, to see what companies are doing.
Which is everything from signing up with a national firm that they found online (and who offers very little customer service), to people creating their own Powerpoint presentations, slapping them onto a jump drive and running with it.
Are these viable, cost-efficient ways to show your menu, information boards or latest corporate video to visitors to your place? Sure.
But at impulseGUIDE… That’s not the goal.
A DIGITAL MENU IS A MENU, DIGITAL
I want you to think about this…
You take your menu, that for years has been printed on boards, hanging on the wall behind your counter.
You pull all the information off of it, place it into a graphic, and then digitally display it for your customers.
Maybe add a picture or two of your food to go along with it.
Of course, there is an advantage that comes simply by doing that:
You can make changes to your menu and prices much more easily than printing new boards; that’s nice, provided you use a service that allows you to do so manually (some don’t, which blows our minds).
But from your customer’s perspective… After you’ve made the transition from printed signs to digital… Are they really seeing anything different?
Your menu is in the same layout as it was when printed, for customers to siphon through and find what they’re looking for.
This is what we usually see from our competition: you tell them you want digital menus, and they give you digital menus.
We see things a little bit differently…
IT’S RIGHT IN OUR NAME
A lot of work went into choosing our company name at the very beginning, and knowing what we know now, we can’t ignore the strength of its meaning.
We could have put “digital signage” into the company name, because that’s the product we’re selling, but in truth, what we’re actually offering is what that product really provides – and “impulse” is the key component.
Let’s go back to something we said in the last section:
Your menu is in the same layout as it was when printed, for customers to siphon through and find what they’re looking for.
Let’s stop right there.
A customer in your shop is WAY too important an opportunity to let them “find what they’re looking for.”
How much have you spent to get that customer into your store? From advertising to social media to mortgage/rent/location to branding to your window signage… You’ve successfully gotten them in the door.
The last thing you want to do is let them search for what they want.
We’re being melodramatic, of course. But the point is that you have a buying customer in front of you – you’ve done your job. Success!
Now is your greatest opportunity to show them not what they want to buy from you…
But what you want them to buy from you.
So, how are those two things different?
Well, first and foremost, your customer has no idea which items are your highest margin items – and they don’t care. That’s not why they’re there. But when you show a tantalizing video of gooey mozzarella dripping off of your highest margin item, it’s hard to resist, no matter the economics.
A customer coming into your place might have no clue about your newest offerings, your current promotions, or the live band you have playing on Friday.
Your impulseGUIDE digital signage, delivered to a captive audience that you’ve already invested in, is the opportunity to tell the story that you want to tell… to drive “impulsive” action.
The action you want to drive is that which best grows your business.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STORYTELLING
From the beginning, we knew at impulseGUIDE that capturing the attention of that customer you’ve already engaged is heavily reliant on storytelling.
Storytelling, of course, comes in many forms, and for us, it’s in the design and imagery that our clients are able to put in front of their customers.
That’s why we’ve invested in our graphic design, photography and video capabilities, to make sure that our clients who might not have their own (and many choose to use us anyway) have the tools they need to tell their story in the best possible way.
As we visit companies and scope out the competition, these capabilities are a difference maker.
We’ll stand up to anyone on technology, we’ll compete on price, we crush anyone on customer service… But the real difference maker is our understanding of what’s called “point-of-decision marketing,” and our ability to capitalize on it for the best results for our customers.
In fact, we’ve been invited to speak at multiple conferences this year on that topic.
We’re excited to present, excited to always be learning, and excited to see how all of it can help you grow your company.
IS YOUR DIGITAL SIGNAGE GETTING THE JOB DONE?
You signed up for digital signage for a reason, which presumably was to have a better, stronger, more fruitful conversation with your customers.
Is it working?
Ask yourself honestly. Have you seen growth as a result of your digital signage investment?
If not, call us.
Let’s help your customers be a little more impulsive.