A recent CRN article discusses how many companies are reaping additional business and higher margins by providing full service digital signage solutions. It also recaps several interesting statistics:
- By 2009, digital signage solutions are expected to fuel $2 billion in revenue, with the amount of displays deployed more than doubling to 900,000 from 433,000 (DisplaySearch and Frost & Sullivan).
- Ingram Micro, a top technology distributor, recently conducted a survey that found about 3,000 of its solution provider customers were interested in adding digital signage to their offerings or were already doing it.
- Institutional/Hospitality TV ranks as the 6th largest target market with regard to the total number of potential deployments 568,287. (DisplaySearch).
Source: Screen Time (CRN)
The statistics above show the incredible potential in digital signage and in the hospitality industry, especially in hotels. Historically, however, the lodging industry has lagged behind most industries when it comes to technology spending. Yet that has changed recently as hotels have adapted to a more “connected”, technologically savvy guest.
Today’s hotel guest expects the same luxuries they have at home. What else is there to invest in when you have all of them plus a spa, large fitness center, 24 hour food bar, and more?
The answer: a new communications medium to reach out to your guest at the property level.
A network of flat panel displays can send extremely targeted and compelling messages to hotel guests at the property level. What local events are going on? Why should the guest use your spa? What exactly is your individual hotel, or brand as a whole, about? What are the hotel’s values? What’s new with the hotel or brand?
Firms like Coca-Cola understand the importance of marketing at all touch points. A message such as “Coke is great!” can be delivered to the consumer at home or on the web. When the consumer reaches the shelf edge, they may see “2 for 1″. Coordinated, complimentary, effective.
Obviously you wouldn’t do something like this at a hotel, but the idea is the same- have a closed-loop marketing process. In hotels, it is broken. All the effort is spent getting the consumer to stay at the property. Marketing efforts at the property level consist of a few small, corporate print displays that may or may not be put out for guests to see. Hotels have so many amenities and guest services that the guest may never find out about or utilize. Hotels need to do a better job of informing and educating their guests at the point of contact regarding the unique individual hotel and the chain itself as a whole.
Eventually that will change as hotel owners and operators realize the various benefits of digital signage as an effective and efficient new communications medium.
