This is the fourth part in a series about getting started in digital signage for ProAV dealers. Read the first part on our website here, the second part here and the third part here.
Jay Martin, Director of US Sales for X20 Media points out that poised between the technical and the business side there is a paradigm that is often overlooked -- the customer’s content plan. According to Martin, “the integrator has to be the consulting entity that helps them decide that.” He further asserts that before choosing the technology, integrators need to help the client figure who what information they want to put in front of their viewers. “What form is it going to take?” asks Martin. “Will it be PowerPoint? Video? Text? Stills? Is it a retail menu? Is it all of the above, intermixed? Until they determine what this content plan is, you’re taking a stab in the dark!”
For that reason, Martin puts that first and foremost when meeting with integrators and their clients. He explains that once you determine your content and your target audience, that’s how you’ll determine which advertising model will work. Says Martin, “Advertising is a key component and if you’re an ad network, you don’t really want a huge capital expenditure at day one.” He suggests that if you do go down the advertising route, consider leasing to reduce the client’s cost to a monthly revenue model, and if you’re not advertising, talk about setting up and installing as fixed costs. In all cases he advises integrators to talk about technological scalability. “Does the client want ten displays or ten thousand? That will determine the platform you select.”
As we’ve progressed along this series about getting started in digital signage, we’ve covered aspects of the technical and business sides of the category. In this installment, we’ll examine the need to find the right vendor partners.
In our initial installment, we began by discussing some of the technical considerations, and the need to partner with the right technology vendors. While that’s a large subject that we’ll revisit again, even more important is learning how to effectively sell the end product.
