When consumers look for products, research alternatives, decide what to buy, and finally make a purchase, that process is called the buyer's journey. The marketing world has been abuzz with excitement about the buyer's journey for the last few years, but the journey itself existed long before the phrase became popular, and if you want to convert browsers into buyers, you need to understand this journey.
Digital signage can play a big role in the buyer's journey. Here's an overview of the journey and a look at how digital signage impacts the process.
Stage One: Developing an Interest or Awareness
In the first stage of the buyer's journey, the buyer develops an awareness that they need or want something. Early in this stage, the buyer may not even know exactly what they want. Instead, they encounter a problem that requires a solution, or they develop a craving, and your digital signage has the potential to influence what they do next.
To explain, imagine a consumer starts to feel frustrated with the pile of coats and shoes at their home's front door. As they start to brainstorm solutions for their issue, they think about looking into hooks and shelves for their front entryway. However, one day, when they are driving to work, they see your digital signage, and they learn that they can have a closet put in their front entryway. At this point, they see a new solution to their problem, and they keep your business in mind as they progress through the rest of the journey.
Similarly, when a consumer is struck with a craving, digital signage may also show them a solution to their issue. For instance, if they're hungry, craving adventure, or wanting to lose weight, their interest may be piqued by your digital sign advertising your restaurant, your package vacations, or memberships to your gym. All day and into the night, people are driving around harboring needs or wants, and digital signage can help to get your message in front of them.
Digital signage can also kickstart this part of the journey. Sometimes, people are so used to living with a problem that they don't even realize they need help. With dynamic digital messaging, you can use messages and graphics to show people common problems from their life and how your product or service can fix those issues.
Stage Two: Gathering Information
Also called the consideration phase, this part of the buyer's journey is when the buyer gathers information on their problem or desire. They start by looking for solutions, and as they narrow in on a solution, they begin to compare the costs, features, and options offered different products or from different professionals. Digital signage can play a role in all of these stages.
As explained above, you can use your signage to show prospective customers how your product or service solves their problem. On top of that, when you're trying to reach customers who've already decided that they need your product or service, you can show them why your offerings beat the competition.
With static signage, you can only showcase a few of the positive traits about your product. Perhaps, you can share about your convenient location, your low prices, your high-quality manufacturing process, your award-winning services, your great customer service, or another detail. But with digital signage, you don't have to narrow in on just one selling point. Instead, you can rotate through multiple messages that work together to do a more effective job at reaching consumers.
Remember, when someone passes by your storefront, drives by your billboard, or walks past a digital sign inside your brick-and-mortar location, you just have a few moments to reach them. Digital signage helps you optimize those seconds.
Stage Three: Making Purchase Decisions
For business owners, the last stage of the buyer's journey is arguably the most important. During this stage, the buyer makes the final decision and buys the product or service. If you've gotten this far on the buyer's journey, you need to usher the buyer through this final stage and convert them to a paying customer.
Up to this point, digital signage has helped to inform potential customers about your product or service, and hopefully, the signage has also explained to prospective customers why your products and services are better than other options. Sometimes, that alone is enough to get customers to buy. Often, the signs attract the customers while your sales team closes the deal.
However, your signs can also play a role in this stage of the journey. For instance, if you have digital signage that can broadcast interactive video, prospective customers can see themselves using your product. Some companies connect their digital sign displays to their social media feeds, and they show posts from other shoppers who have used your products or services. When consumers see satisfied customers, they trust your company more, and they become more likely to buy.
Beyond that, digital signage also plays a role in connecting the customer with your sales team. Sharing basic information related to your website, location, and phone number can also make the difference when you're trying to convert a browser into a buyer.
Enhancing the Buyer's Journey with Digital Signs
Ultimately, your digital signage needs to enhance the buyer's journey, and ideally, your signage should integrate a lot of brand cues. Regardless of the exact messages you decide to share, your creatives should reflect the tone of your brand in terms of colors, characters, sounds, logos, and any other elements you integrate. Then, your sign complements the rest of your marketing efforts and helps to make consumers more devoted advocates of your brand. When you use your signage to further your branding efforts, you help to ensure that one-time buyers are more likely to become lifelong devotees of your brand.
Studies show that digital signage helps to create positive responses from consumers. In particular, researchers have found that shoppers have a more positive response to shopping malls due to digital signage - in this role, the signage plays an atmospheric role. But at the same time, the signage also plays a functional role for business owners because it also engenders positive attitudes toward the advertiser.
If possible, you may also want to collect data on how your digital signage is affecting buyers, and you may want to make decisions based on that data. You can do that in all kinds of ways. Some consumers ask buyers where they heard of their products or services. Then, you can track which customers were influenced by your digital signs and use that information to decide where to place your digital signs, which messages to run, and similar details. In other cases, business owners use digital signage embedded with technology that tracks viewers' eye movements. Then, that data is used to identify which features are the most compelling and eye-catching.
Marketing is essential, and if you want to reach customers in innovative, effective ways, you need to consider a digital business sign. For more news , please pay attention to sign expo.
Source: Stewart Signs
