Digital Signage: Marketing Plans and Efforts are Essential -Even for Small Businesses
49548
Business > Marketing
Oct 13, 2007
Davidicus
Digital Signage: Marketing Plans and Efforts are Essential -Even for Small Businesses
The results of a confidential, four-year study of small business owners and their marketing functions by Miser Advertising and Marketing in Carlsbad, CA, have revealed a somewhat disturbing, but entirely understandable, conclusion. Marketing is a "time waster" in the view of most small business owners studied. Too many small business owners see marketing as gobbling up too many limited company resources on a monthly basis and yielding too few results to make it worthwhile, the firm found. According to Miser Advertising and Marketing, having and executing a marketing plan, predictably, didn't seem too important to small business owners, either. The firm found small business owners created a marketing plan in the process of writing an initial business plan to launch their enterprise, but since opening their doors for business, that marketing plan is too often little more than a door stop. Add to that the fact that small business owners have a vague understanding -at best- of their customers' psychographic and demographic profile, and the picture that emerges is somewhat grim. When compared to the attitudes of large companies toward marketing, those held by small business owners couldn't be more different. At big companies, attention is given to marketing on a daily basis. Among small business owners, marketing gets short shrift, the firm found. I bring this up because it offers a clue about what I too often find in the digital signage market. Granted, advertising is only one of many components in an effective marketing effort, just as digital signage is only one of many advertising media options. But given my background in the digital signage market, the findings of Miser Advertising and Marketing seem spot on. Without question, large businesses approaching my company about digital signage have a plan with specific marketing goals and benchmarks for the roll out of their digital signage networks and the communication that will be played back. Smaller companies, when they do approach us, often seem unsure of their specific goals for digital signage as well as their message and what specifically they expect to accomplish. Who can blame them? Small business owner are often so busy with the business of their business that they lack the time and the resources for anything they see as being even the slightest bit extraneous to their core focus. However, regardless of their limited resources, these businesses still compete with larger ones that are knowledgeable about their customers, know what messages they wish to convey and how to convey them, and have the resources to execute their plans. That's not exactly a comforting thought for small business owners, but it is reality. The cold, hard truth is not every business succeeds. Many fail each year for a wide variety of reasons. Lack of a coherent marketing plan that's consistently implemented and tweaked along the way to ensure it's relevant and effective is an important one. While it may be a painful stretch for small business owners, hiring the internal marketing talent or outsourcing that function to a talented firm with a proven track record will improve their odds of survival. Only then can various marketing communications strategies be evaluated and implemented. Somewhere, beyond that point decisions about ad budgets, media and campaigns get made. In that process, some will find digital signage is the right approach. But those things need to be done and in place before digital signage even enters the equation. I know once they are, digital signage will prove to be the right medium for many seeking to execute their newly created -and now much appreciated- marketing plan.
David Little is a digital signage enthusiast with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to expand their marketing messages with alternative media. Visit http://www.keywesttechnology.com and find how you can expand your marketing horizons.
send email to Davidicus
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links owned by this user
Sony's announcement this week that it will offer consumers an organic light-emitting display-based TV in December will one day be seen as an important step in the advancement of digital signage.
Category:
The number of HDTV set in U.S. households is on the rise in the United States, so the time seems right for HD content on high-def digital signage networks outside the home.
Category:
Determining the return on investment of a digital signage network isn't always easy.
Category:
A recent survey of marketing professionals revealed a general acknowledgement that their organizations need to get a better grip on what it takes to succeed in this emerging digital communications era. Here are a few tips on getting your interactive digit
Category:
A California-based advertising and marketing firm has made a confidential study of small business owner attitudes toward marketing that paints a rather unattractive picture.
Category:
As communicators on digital signage networks or private TV channels, you have the power to make a difference when an emergency situation arises.
Category:
Adding Amber Alerts, severe weather warnings and emergency announcements from civil authorities to private TV and digital signage networks is straightforward.
Category:
A recent article in The Los Angeles Times says out-of-home advertising is offering an important alternative to traditional TV commercials.
Category:
Often seen as inventory control devices, RFID tags can offer clues about their shoppers to help tailor the ads and marketing messages played back on their digital signage systems.
Category:
The increasing use of HD display panels in digital signage networks means content creators must find sources for high-def material.
Category:
11. Digital Signage: Traditional Media Show More Signs of Weakness, But OOH Ad Networks May Offer Hope
Traditional media companies continue to grapple with tectonic changes in ad buys; maybe it's time to leverage their strengths in the out-of-home video ad network arena.
Category:
A white paper from Profitable Channels recommends marketers begin reallocating a portion of their budgets to advertising on digital advertising networks.
Category:
Other links at Business > Marketing
Multi-Level Marketing can be a challenge to many people. It is however another great opportunity to create whatever you dream of by the right approach. This article will guide you to the most common mistakes of the people in this field and how to not fall
Category:
So you just started your home based business... great! Are you really prepared to win? Working from home is a great way to be in charge of your own life and make the kind of money you've always dreamed of.
Category:
Rachael Ray from the Food Network can teach all of us a things or two about becoming successful in MLM.
Category:
Many stay at home moms have some sort of interest in generating an income from a home business, but they often have certain doubts. Learn the secrets to success that professional network marketers have known for years.
Category:
Many people realize that network marketing is a powerful business tool to use today. There are so many opportunities and so many different types of industries that just being a sole person in the business world that will have you quickly lost.
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68252
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
