Our Approach to Selling Signs

Part 2: Budgeting for Digital Signage

RESEARCH NEEDED
   Dave Elmore, the owner of Bookkeeping and Management Systems in central Virginia, says he has over 300 business clients and not a single client has a line item for signage. We often put quotation marks around “budget” when discussing the word since, more times than not, our customers have only vague ideas of what an effective custom electric sign costs. And especially one equipped with a high-tech electronic message center! The most important question sign buyers need to answer before they come up with a budget is: “What is needed to get the job done?” From this starting point one can determine the specifications for the most effective budgeting for digital signs.

 

    Once the customer has an idea of what would get the job done, cost can be determined. Then you can budget for it, and if appropriate, let any groups or departments who have to help pay for it know how much and why.

    Also, since most applications of digital signs produce revenue, you should consider the positive impact on operating budgets. Daniel Dern representing TechDecisions, addressing the business needs of management in corporate, education and worship markets, was correct when he said, “Depending on the nature of the project, the deployment of new digital signage may end up replacing, reducing, or avoiding other expenses, perhaps even costing less than previous activities, or even be a revenue generator. Or the signage may have less tangible but still valuable benefits in ways that can’t be measured in ROI.”

CREATIVE ACCOUNTING
   We have seen companies divide sign purchases across multiple budgets. A hospital client for instance considered splitting the cost of a new digital message sign between its facilities and marketing budgets to make it work. Many retail customers who advertise across multiple media channels sometimes place digital sign purchases in their operating versus capital budgets, making a purchase possible by reallocating funds from other lackluster advertising categories for better results. A good example is how clients have reallocated Yellow Pages and other non-productive advertising dollars into new digital signage for much greater ROI.

SOLUTION DRIVEN
     If an actual budget number is discussed as a max spend, our project managers usually tailor the best solution based on someone’s budget restrictions, but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best solution for the site. Don’t just look at equipment cost alone when shopping for digital signage. It’s more about what type of equipment and supporting signage and structural design fit best, based on image, visibility, usage, and many other factors. We think the best approach to purchasing a sign is making a comprehensive assessment of all the factors, designing the signage based on that assessment, and coming up with price parameters to provide the best solution possible. Don’t miss Part 3-The Sign’s Environment.

 

Miss Part 1 of this series? CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

 

*Read other articles about ELECTRONIC DIGITAL MESSAGING:

6 BENEFITS OF DIGITAL SIGNS-

• Part 1- They Connect With The Community
• Part 2- They Can Be Paid For By Your Vendors
• Part 3- They Grab Attention of the Masses
• Part 4- They Allow You to Own the Media Channel
• Part 5- They Have a Long Track Record of Getting Attention
• Part 6- Use Them for Promoting Loss Leaders

 

Author:

Mark Hackley, Account Executive

Holiday Signs

mhackley@holidaysigns.com

540-416-3154