Digital signage is a powerful weapon in your marketing artillery that provides an innovative and dynamic way to attract the attention of customers.
If you do everything right, it is an excellent approach to create more effective cross-promotional campaigns that appeal to your audience.
When properly designed, a digital sign provides the opportunity to show related products and services that direct your clients towards other purchases.
It is an excellent strategy to take advantage of your customers’ pre-existing interests. The strategy does not just grow your earnings but also enhances customer satisfaction.
However, in order for your cross-promotions to be successful, they also need to be carefully conceived so they don’t feel pushy and forceful. The central theme must always be to provide value to your customers.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can utilise this tool for cross-promotions to grow your business. Stay with us as we talk about strategies and cases of how to use the full potential of your digital advertising screens.
1. Choose your location wisely
Whether you are putting up a digital sign to inform, cross-sell, or anything in between, choosing the right location is paramount. Positioning a digital sign in areas with heavy traffic flow ensures the promotional messages reach the maximum target audience, increasing customer interest.
Areas of a retail environment with the most traffic include entrances, exit doors, checkout lines, and middle aisles. These are areas where customers are more likely to notice the information.
As they spend more time at these locations, there is an increased likelihood that they might consider purchasing what you are trying to cross-sell.
For example, as they walk into the store, digital signs located at entry points can perfectly capture their attention and present them with promotions or new products that will arouse their interest.
Likewise, the digital signs near the cashier aisles would be perfect for last-minute cross-selling recommendations. As your clients wait to make payments, a sign can create a sense of urgency, nudging them to make a purchase.
You should remember, however, that areas with high foot traffic are not the only areas you should target. Recognising the flow and behaviour of customers within your store is equally crucial.
Other potential hotspots for digital signage can be identified through the analysis of foot traffic patterns in your establishment. For example, placing digital signs in areas where customers tend to pause or gather, such as near popular products or rest areas, can be effective.
In addition, the content should be location-aware and dynamic. For example, digital signs in the electronics section might showcase accessories or extended warranties relevant to the products in that area, thereby providing a targeted cross-promotional message.
2. Create targeted digital signage campaigns
Showcasing selected product groups on digital signage is a sophisticated yet practical approach to promoting complementary products or services. This approach involves strategically placing digital signs near specific items where they can draw attention to related products that enhance or complement the primary purchase.
For instance, a clothing store's digital sign positioned close to winter coats can display scarves, gloves, and hats, suggesting a complete outfit. It will not only help you sell more but also offer convenience to the customers, thereby increasing their satisfaction.
On the other hand, digital signage in a tech store next to laptops may feature carrying cases for the holiday season, external hard drives for easy backup storage, or ergonomic mouse devices to complete the package according to the customer's preference.
The strength of a product showcase is in the visual and informative nature of the complementary items being presented. A properly designed digital signage system can utilise captivating images, animations, and interactive features to grab the customer's attention and highlight the advantages of the other products being sold.
Furthermore, including customer reviews or ratings on these displays can further incite confidence and interest in such bundled deals.
Through targeted product showcases made possible by digital signs, you can subtly nudge customers towards making additional purchases while enhancing their satisfaction.
The method capitalises on the customer's existing interest in a product category, making the cross-promotional message more relevant and effective.
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3. Leverage social media to improve customer engagement
Integrating social media feeds and user-generated content within digital signage can enhance customer engagement. The approach transforms traditional cross-promotion by creating a more interactive and relatable experience for the customer.
The significance of social media channels can’t be understated. They have a significant impact on consumer attitudes and behaviours. By embedding social media feeds directly onto digital signs, companies can share real-time updates, customer testimonials, and other user-generated content that concerns their products or services.
For instance, a digital sign in a stylish shop could feature Instagram screenshots of customers wearing their clothes, or a restaurant might post tweets complimenting their meals. Digital signage creates a sense of community around your brand.
User-generated content, such as customer reviews, photos, and stories created by other customers, can be very efficient when used to engage the masses.
Authenticity and reliability of the promotional message increase when prospects see genuine experiences by their fellow consumers. Moreover, it motivates customers to interact and contribute to the brand on social media platforms, which may result in more user-generated content and a self-sustaining circle of engagement.
Furthermore, this strategy turns shopping into a dynamic and personal process. User interactions displayed on digital signs offer a new and continually changing assortment of content for maintaining the in-store experience to be refreshing and current.
This level of involvement can increase the customer's attachment to a brand, making them feel included in something bigger, which could be one heck of a catalyst for sales and generate a sense of loyalty towards the brand.
4. Employ time-sensitive promotions
Promotional messages displayed through digital signage software are an attractive way to encourage shoppers to take immediate action and make cross-purchases. By introducing limited-time offers, you can evoke a sense of urgency that prompts customers to make their decisions faster, often resulting in higher sales turnover and customer involvement.
Due to their dynamic characteristics, these time-sensitive deals are ideally shown on the digital signage. Unlike static signage, digital screens can be updated in real-time to show new offers, have a countdown timer running, or even reflect stock levels as they change.
For instance, a retail store will use digital screens to promote a two-hour flash sale on certain product sets to create an immediate call to action.
It is a strategy that relies on the psychological principle known as “scarcity,” whereby customers are more likely to buy if they believe there is a limited supply or offer for that particular product or service.
It is possible to do targeted time-sensitive promotions based on the time of day or the customer traffic patterns utilising digital signage.
For instance, a coffee shop could offer morning-centric promotions on breakfast combos at busier hours and then shift to promoting lunch items as the day advances. This flexibility ensures that the content is always relevant and attractive to customers at any time.
In addition, incorporating these promotions into cross-selling opportunities can substantially increase sales. For instance, a digital sign in an electronics store could show an offer that is only available for a short time on a laptop and recommend getting a discount on the price of laptop bags if bought together.
The approach promotes the main sale and entices customers to purchase more things than they would have otherwise done.
5. Leverage digital signage to promote loyalty programs
Combining the loyalty programs into the digital signage is an incredible strategy promoting memberships and unique offers to encourage cross-buying. The digital displays do a great job at conveying these benefits to your customers, thanks to their attention-grabbing nature.
Loyalty programs usually reward repeat business and increase the probability of ensuring a loyal customer base. When your customers look at these loyalty programs on the digital signage, it creates a sense of trust and establishes the fact that you care for them.
A discount only to members or even a day when reward points could be doubled can also be advertised on digital screens in a store. It actively encourages members to make more purchases to avoid missing the deals.
When customers witness the unique offers and perks available to program subscribers, it can motivate them to sign up for it.
This aspect of retail digital signage serves a dual purpose: it promotes the loyalty program and functions as an effective tool for advertising special offers that encourage cross-selling.
6. Guide your customers through their shopping journey
In-store digital signage guided pathways are a great way to enrich your customers' shopping experience. You can guide their shopping journey through various product zones and open up numerous opportunities for discovery and cross-purchase.
It's all about guiding customers by creating an immersive, interactive shopping environment.
Digital signage, if strategically placed in the store, can tell a story or create a pathway to lead customers to different areas of the store and expose them to more products.
For example, a digital sign at the entrance may start the customer's experience by displaying a new range of products before routing the customer to this area.
Further down the path, more signs could lead to complementary products to help customers think of something they haven't thought about before.
These digital sign-guided paths are especially important in larger stores where customers may pass over sections or products. Engage customers to find new avenues through attractive content/product demos/reviews or interactive elements on these signs.
Such an approach ensures an enhanced experience for customers and enables you to increase exposure to the broader product offering and cross-selling strategically.
Furthermore, such pathways can be dynamically shifted to feature other products or promotions in such a way that the shoppers encounter fresh and relevant info.
7. Use special events and promotional campaigns
Event-based promotions represent a dynamic and powerful means of boosting customer engagement for big-ticket sales. Integrating in-store events or relevant external events with the store's digital sign content will allow you to provide a far greater sense of immediacy and relevance for cross-promotional offers.
Event-based digital signage promotions will be very well capable of enabling real-time marketing corresponding to the current customer interests. To make this more clear, let’s take an example of a sporting event.
During the playoffs of a major sports event, you could run special deals on team merchandise by placing it on sale. It capitalises on heightened interest around the event and encourages your customers to make an impulse purchase attracted by the promotion's timeliness and relevance.
Furthermore, you can also utilise digital signage to provide customers with a distinctive in-store experience during holidays, product launches, and other events.
Signboards could highlight countdowns to event start times, showcase exclusive previews of upcoming products, and even offer special discounts valid only through the event period. It draws attention to the event and encourages additional purchases.
Moreover, retail digital signage can be updated quickly to respond to changes in the situation or capitalise on current trends.
By maintaining current and engaging content, you can ensure that the event-based promotions remain effective and appealing to customers, driving traffic and sales.
8. Keep the content of your digital signs fresh and relevant
Customer behaviour and trends are constantly changing. Digital signage must reflect these changes to maintain the relevancy of cross-promotions. The regular updating of the content on digital signs also means that promotional material remains honest, interesting, and relevant to the customers’ interests.
You must realise that what is popular today might not be tomorrow with your customers. Shoppers may look for the latest products, promotions, and trends, and with a digital sign, you can adapt to their interests.
For instance, a fashion retailer can update digital signs with the latest seasonal styles, i.e., highlighting new fall fashions or winterwear. Moreover, with dynamic updating of content, it is constantly refreshed, and customers are kept abreast of the latest offerings.
By analysing the sales data and customer feedback, you can adapt your digital signage content to better direct focus on the products that are trending.
For instance, if data shows an increase in demand for eco-friendly products, a store can immediately update its digital signage to highlight its range of sustainable products.
Further, updating content from time to time will keep customer interest and engagement consistent. If the displays are changing constantly, customers are more likely to take notice of the signage each time they come into the store, and ad fatigue is less probable.
The approach also allows testing different marketing messages and visuals to determine what would appeal the most or provoke some reaction.
Also read: Top Graphic Design Tools for Creating Stunning Digital Signage Content.
9. Utilise strategically placed QR codes and mobile integration in your signs
Using QR codes and integrating them with mobile is a forward-thinking method of bridging the convenience of doing things digitally while having retail in the physical space itself.
Adding QR codes on digital signs offers customers a lot of extra information and immediate opportunities to make purchases right then and there online, thus allowing the business to engage in its cross-sales without any kind of interruption.
The customers can scan QR codes on your signs at their leisure, giving them time to interact with the signage.
You can take them to different sources of information using codes like an in-depth description of the products, customer reviews, videos illustrating the demonstration, and much more.
Take, for instance, the digital sign of a newly released smartphone model that houses a QR code to provide the phone's full specifications, a comparison with the previous models, and exclusive online deals—a perfect fusion of advertising and educating the customer!
10. Highlight partner collaborations to cross-sell effectively
You can also promote cross-selling by highlighting partnerships with complementary partner brands to expand their collective reach.
When you emphasise the collaboration across the screens of digital signage, it reaches many customers who may never have noticed that one of the companies involved in the partnership existed or operated in that area.
The strategy improves the visibility of all acting partners in the promotion and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.
For example, a coffee shop in partnership with a local bakery can use digital signage screens in their shops to display each other’s products. It introduces the clients to new relevant offers and connects the enterprises and the potential customer base.
11. Leverage interactive signage to pique customers’ interest
Interactive displays, especially those involving touch-screen technology, are another significant leap forward in implementing digital signage that increases accessibility and personalisation.
Embedding these will enable you to make personalised suggestions to customers according to their tastes or previous shopping habits, substantially increasing cross-selling chances.
Customers can enter information such as the size, colour, or style they want while using a touch-screen display.
The displays can even be programmed to let customers input their loyalty card details to get information about their previous purchases. The system can then use this information to provide individual product recommendations.
For example, you can recommend matching accessories with a dress and let your shopper see how they complement each other.
Customised shopping at this level not only results in higher customer satisfaction but also enhances cross-selling greatly since the recommendations made employing such a method are highly tailored to each person's personal preferences and requirements.
Takeaway: Create an effective cross-selling strategy with digital signage
Each strategy we discussed above can help you turn your digital signage into an effective cross-selling machine. The key, however, is to ensure that the signs don't come off too pushy or salesy.
Remember, the better your customer experience, the more likely they will buy from you; it is as simple as that!
Digital signage to assist customers in improving their shopping journey is the most effective. You might need to experiment with different strategies to find one that works for your circumstances.
However, with trial and error and observing your customers' shopping habits, you can land a strategy that works wonders.
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