Why is it that companies are automatically drawn to using large screens when it comes to providing an “interactive customer experience”? Where’s the novelty in that?
Customers want to be able to engage with the signs they see, and large screens don’t necessarily encourage that. Most of the time, the easiest way for customers to engage with companies is to start small, with the screen we know all too well: that of our cell phones. It can be as simple as that.
In 2016, digital signage was described as having “immediate appeal as a way to connect with customers,” and as “part of a growing infrastructure that will join forces with some of the most exciting (and hyped) technologies of the next decade; IoT, wearables, beacons and so on.” We agree. Our product brings this 2-year-old prediction to life. However, where major companies are taking the “giant screen” path, we see the value of applying digital signage techniques to the smaller screens we all carry around with us every day. A smaller screen only means a more intimate interaction.
Large screens also necessitate a constant audience. In other words, since they can’t easily be picked up and carried around, someone always needs to be physically in front of them for them to be useful. The mobile screen of your cell phone is exactly that: a way to interact from wherever you are. And chances are you’re looking at it a lot more than surrounding signs.
If large screens are only interacted with when people are standing in front of them, that means they cannot lucratively be used to advertise a future event. On the other hand, we see ads on our phones all the time.
While any form of digital signage is a step in the right direction, we know the technology has much more potential. In this case, the smaller the screen, the greater the impact. The grand, be-all and end-all of solutions is a lot closer than we think.
