Things to Consider When Switching Digital Signage Providers | Part 1

As an enterprise organisation, you want to make sure that you’re making an educated decision on major aspects of your operations, like who you choose to be your digital signage provider. If you’re looking to switch providers or it’s your first time dipping your toes into this type of technology, we want to ensure you are equipped with all the right information and questions to ask. Choosing the right digital signage provider can have a major impact on many other aspects of your business, including financial, security, sustainability, adaptability, and your external appearance to customers. We’ve put together a detailed guide on what to consider when switching digital signage providers to ensure that your business is putting its best foot forward.

Experience Working With Similar Customers

One of the most important things you can do before switching digital signage providers is to research the company. Particularly, you want to check their credibility and any information on their past and current clients. Have they worked closely with other large-scale Australian companies? Are they still working with them now? This information can help you determine whether your new digital signage provider has the experience, capability and industry trust to help you achieve your goals. 

Hiring a digital signage partner that has experience working with similar top-tier customers is crucial to ensuring that you can confidently put your trust in them. You want to know going into it that your digital signage provider will be able to offer efficient, comprehensive assistance if any issues arise, and this type of skillset often comes from working a decent length of time in the industry. With this in mind, you’ll often find that companies who have been in the industry longer can provide a better service to your company due to their extensive experience overcoming challenges and their industry-specific knowledge.

Working with a partner that specialises in your specific industry can also be a huge help. Digital signage providers who have worked in a similar industry before will understand your needs and the needs of your customer on a deeper, more intuitive level, without you needing to explain every detail. This also means that if you run into any issues your digital signage provider will most likely have overcome similar challenges and will have the experience to handle them.

Some businesses choose to work with newer digital signage providers to minimise costs. While this may be effective in the short term, you’ll also need to consider whether the more cost-effective alternative will have the same ability to manage larger-scale projects in comparison to more experienced providers who are more likely to provide peace of mind in the long term.

Full-Service Offering

Many digital signage providers only offer one or a few specific elements of the digital signage process. This may be just the installation of hardware, screen procurement, software setup, content management, or any other individual component. A full-service digital signage provider is a company that takes care of everything, typically solution design, hardware procurement, installation, rapid technology migrations,  software or content management systems, ongoing support, and content repurposing and creation. Working with a provider that can cover all bases means that your business has continuity and you can build a stronger working relationship as you move through the different stages of digital signage setup. There will also generally be a higher level of service, as end-to-end providers are often incentivised to provide a high-quality solution from the start and across all elements of the offering, to minimise the number of ongoing support call-outs that are covered under their arrangement. 

From a financial perspective, providers who offer a comprehensive service with a good support team often charge fewer support costs over time, as hardware and software issues are fixed proactively and responsively and the solutions are often of higher quality, with a relationship focused on the long term. Internal costs are also reduced, as fewer internal resources are needed to manage other components of the digital signage service, as the provider can manage these themselves. 

With that being said, sometimes it makes more sense for your business to hire a single-element provider to achieve a specific outcome. You may only be looking for a new “single provider” that offers detailed and efficient installation or just the initial procurement of hardware. In these cases, a single provider may be just what you need, so it’s important to weigh up these different options and have clear goals before making a decision.

To read more about what to consider when switching digital signage providers, head to Part 2 of this article. So far, we’ve given a couple of examples of what to look out for in a well-rounded, enterprise-focused digital signage provider. You can contact us today or head to our website to read more about the services we offer and how we can ease the process of switching digital signage providers.