DSE 2011 Review
updated 03/08/11
Digital Signage Expo in Review
We are excited to have been a part of the Digital Signage Expo & are truly thrilled about what's to come in the future of the digital signage. One issue, however, we'd like to address is that fact that the show itself appeared to be geared more towards the industry itself than its users & potential buyers. I've always considered a trade show event to be a place to showcase your products & hope that you leave with a couple of great leads for making sales. It appeared as if the type of people, ourselves included, who were attending the Digital Signage Expo were not there to purchase digital signage, but rather there to research new technologies/advancements & to compare yours developments to the competition.
My first thought is the terminology of "digital signage." When speaking with friends & family members, 9 out of 10 do not understand what I mean when I say "digital signage." I am then required to give examples of how digital signage is used, sporting terms like "LCD monitor," "online content management" or "touch-screen displays." While I have no problem explaining this to my friends & family, We do run a digital signage resource site for goodness sake, but we are realizing this issue is more & more apparent in the world of digital signage. If retailers of digital signage want to improve their business' success in the "real world", they will need to branch out of their comfort zone by using terminology & explanations the common person would understand.
The same is true for any industry. When I used to work in retail, we used terms like "end cap" to discuss a portion of retail display fixture. When interacting with a customer, I said she would find what she was looking for at that very location. The woman turned to me & said "I do not know where that is." If a digital signage retailer wants to make sales, they have to expose their products & services to the customer; the person who will ultimately be using these products, not the retail store or restaurant placing the monitors on tables or walls. If customers know & understand this world, then they will demand it from retailers & ultimately drive your business towards success.
Our advice to the digital signage retailers is to showcase their products more so to the "common man" & try to educate potential users. Let's make "digital signage" a more recognized term; something people will expect & demand.
|
