Whitepaper: 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Bank's Digital Signage
Digital signage is now commonplace in bank and credit union branches across North America. But how many of those networks are getting the most out of the marketing opportunity?
When you look at the screens in your branches are you satisfied that they’re having a tangible impact on your business? Are they improving customer communication, enhancing the branch or opening more accounts?
If not, a digital signage reset may be in order. Don’t worry. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to rip everything out and start over. There are varying degrees of a reset. The technology in your branches is probably fine for the tasks at hand. But you’re might not be getting the most out of it.
Instead of pulling it all down and starting over, there are some less expensive options that can have just as much impact.
Media Strategy
One of the first things you can do is reevaluate your media strategy. Why do you have digital signage? Do you have hard objectives or are they soft and squishy like “improving the branch experience” or “improving communications with customers?”
Identify business objectives and gain consensus. Everything you do from here on out should support those business objectives. Sure, it sounds simple, but so many times digital signage is installed to be cutting edge with no real plan or purpose.
Content
The content on your screens should go hand and hand with your media strategy. Are you objectives to keep people informed about news, weather and sports scores…probably not? Take advantage of the opportunity when someone visits your branch.
The banking-centric blog, The Financial Brand, did a survey in 2013 to find out that 60% of banks already had digital signage. Great news! Unfortunately, two-thirds were refreshing content every other month.
Let that sink in – every other month. That means the same messages were staying on screens for eight weeks, and probably a lot longer in most cases. We see many banks with what you call evergreen content – material that never gets refreshed.
Screen Placement
Where your screens are placed inside the branch is just as important as the content that’s displayed. Consider where people stand and wait vs. where they walk by. Too many times screens are placed where there’s an open wall. Sounds practical, but is that open wall a place where people are going to look. Go back to your media strategy. Everything must have a purpose.
Implement New Technologies
Digital signage platforms are more robust than ever and the one you implemented in the last two years probably supports a lot of new technologies that you’re not using. Consider adding small form kiosks, video walls or tablets to your branches. Or improve content with beacon-triggered content, live data or hyper-localized social media feeds (moderated of course!).
Customer expectations are high. Consider how often someone walks into your branch. Are you making the right impression?
Start Over
Yes, we said it. Unfortunately, it might be time to start over. If you’ve been using the same digital signage hardware and software for the past four or five years, now may be a good time to start over. Technology changes fast and there may be more effective ways to carry out your strategy and business objectives.
Conclusion
Done well, in-branch digital signage can be powerful. Dynamic content adds motion and attracts attention. It can say different things in different locations around a branch. The right tools allow each branch to localize content to their audience, creating a genuine feel that is hard to replicate from national or regional offices.
It takes experience and hard-won lessons. Some banks learn their mistakes the hard way, exhausting a lot of time and resources to develop a plan and then executing the plan to serve the business objectives. The faster track is a reset. Take a step back, and look at what you are doing. If you’re not happy, revisit why the network was started.
Take advantage of the experience available. Work with someone who can help identify objectives, design the right system, develop the right content, and handle all the implementing, monitoring and servicing.
Doing so can lead you you to that moment when you know, exactly, how those screens on the walls are helping drive the bank experience and business.