Groceries and other retail stores throughout the United States act as branches of almost 4000 banks and credit unions, providing customers with a unique mix of convenience and efficiency. These stores are convenient locations for people to access financial products and services, make transactions and seek other related services without having to visit a separate bank location. In a typical banking environment, customers are focused on banking activities. But banks and financial institutions are using retail stores to get to customers wherever they are.
Because these convenient in-store branches are used so widely, financial institutions must provide customers with additional value at these locations – which can be done with digital signage for the retail store. These are convenience-first branches, for which digital signage can be a strong engagement tool to attract potential customers and provide relevant, meaningful, and brand building information.
For your signage to be most effective in this information-overloaded atmosphere, there are some strategies you must keep in mind.
Understanding your audience
Understand the traffic patterns in a grocery store as they are completely different to a typical banking store. Also, keep in mind that digital signage at a grocery store will be viewed by shoppers most often when they are on their way out. And some of the audience at a grocery store may not be customers of your bank and may not respond the same way to content displayed at a banking store transaction zone. Therefore, banks must use different strategies to cater their digital signage content at a grocery store according to the audience.
Customized messaging
When creating content for convenience store customers, bank managers must take into consideration the characteristics of the grocery store as well as the shoppers. For example, advertising credit card promotions will appeal to a large audience who are shopping, regardless of whether the shopper uses that particular bank as its primary financial institution or not.
Strategic placement
The proximity and positioning of digital screens in relation to the in-store traffic and activity of shoppers should be a major consideration. Are the shoppers able to see the screen when they are waiting to checkout their items or will they be able to see the screen only upon entering and leaving the store? Your message depends on the position of the screen – the right message at the right location. Use scale to your advantage and make sure your message connects well with the audience.
Convenience
In a typical banking branch, customers are usually focused on banking activities. However, at a shopping mall for example, shoppers passing the in-store branch are usually engaged. Incorporate QR codes to provide customers with a quick and easy way of accessing more information onto their smart phones, even if they are unable to stop over at the store at that point in time. Digital technology tools such as these can be used to influence customers and overcome customer engagement obstacles.
Selecting an appropriate screen size, planning the placement strategically and developing customized content will help banks and financial institutions reap the benefits of a successful digital signage strategy and make your financial brand shine in the spotlight. It is essential to use these practical best practices that put the customer first and leverage the powerful medium of LED signage to deliver as promised to customers.
