When is it okay to label people? When classifying them into the type of digital sign viewer they may be. What else did you think I would say?

The quantity of digital signs used in both public and private environments, including retail stores,hotels, sports complexes, restaurants, and corporate buildings, is on the rise.These forms of electronic displays help improve revenue and productivity, reduce costs, build awareness, and most importantly, improve customer engagement. However, it’s important to understand where the sign will be located and who will be seeing it to ensure maximum ROI.

I like to categorize the people seeing a Digital sign into three groups: Glimpser, Pauser, and Lounger.

Glimpser
These are the people who will see a sign for no more than 30 seconds. Usually located in a hallway, near an entrance door, or by an elevator, signs targeting the Glimpser audience should have a simple layout with short graphic messages only. A Glimpser isn’t going to take the time to read and absorb product or service offerings on a digital sign, but it could show an image that definitely sends a subliminal message. Example – showing a cup of coffee with the steam coming out of it on acold wintry day will get a Glimpser thinking about stopping at the café before leaving to grab a cup of Joe to go. Extras like the date, time, and current weather conditions are good for this type of viewer out refrain from using video and ticker messages.

Pauser
A Pauser’s viewing time ranges from 30 – 120 seconds. Place digital signs where people wait for a brief period of time, like in a short line for a cashier or receptionist. Forthe Pauser audience, more information can be shown on this sign, including important messages you hope your staff will tell a consumer, but they may forget. Example – having a message about your company donating to a cause/charity and instructing the Pauser that they can participate too by giving a $1 at the end of their transaction. Short ticker messages can also be used on these types of signs, but refrain from long videos and short Flash video. It’s still important to keep your content and graphics concise in nature.

Lounger
My favorite group is the Lounger because they will see a digital sign between 2 – 30 minutes. This provides companies the opportunity to do many exciting things with the digital sign. Often located in break rooms, reception areas with seating, lobbies,cafeterias, and terminals, businesses can add things like video, live TV, market research, purchasing opportunities, etc. Example – An ice cream shop comes out with three new flavors. They can inform the Lounger about the new flavors and encourage them to weigh-in on their favorite by texting their response to a phone number. This not only increases the awareness of the new flavors, it gets people buying them and providing on-the-spot market research.

I know this is a hectic time of year, but I believe so much in the power of digital signs that I want to offer an incentive for you to invest some time to think about the needsof your business and how digital signs may fit in. Schedule a conversation with me by clicking here by December 20, 2013, and if we do business together in 2014, you will receive a free Microsoft Surface tablet with Livewire’s eConcierge® client pre-installed.