The real money in selling digital signage is in providing services to create and manage the content that is displayed. Unfortunately, few dealers have the people and resources to do that. Learning how to deliver content services and then building the necessary in-house staff and infrastructure can be a painful process. Dealers who have done so report good returns, but the risk and investment needed are significant. (For an example of a dealer who sells content services, see our article, “Beyond Traditional Print: Three Product Lines to Consider.”)
The good news is that you don’t have to deliver content services yourself to get a return on them. In fact, you have a couple of options. Below is a quick review of those options as well as an overview of what it would take to develop in-house content capabilities.
Resell OEM Content Services
Digital signage OEMs recognize that most of their channel partners are not equipped to provide content services on their own, so they have provided options for dealers to resell their own services or those of their partners. Toshiba’s Ellumina Digital Signage Services can handle both the physical setup of a digital signage system and content development and management. Sharp has enlisted a number of content specialists as corporate partners in its Strategic Technology Alliance Resource (STAR) program that dealers can work with.
Dealers would need to understand enough about the content services they are reselling to speak intelligently about them with customers and to assess their needs. The content partner would typically help with the sales process and service proposal. The dealer is responsible for installing and maintaining the hardware, leaving the content side to the partner.
The downside to this arrangement is less revenue. Content services margins can be high–as much as 50 percent or more–for dealers who provide them themselves. Revenue from reselling content services will be much lower, but you don’t have the cost and risk of the in-house overhead.
Partner with Local Content Services Providers
It’s likely that there are several firms in your area that offer the kinds of content services required for digital signage. Website developers, content marketing consultants, graphic designers, and marketing agencies all typically have the skills needed to manage the the kinds of digital content your customers would need. Many of them would be eager to take on digital signage contracts.
The main difference between partnering locally or through an OEM is that you need to carefully vet your potential partners. They may know how to create digital content, but how well do they understand the kinds of applications that digital signage is used for? There’s a big difference, for example, between building an interactive web page and revolving content to be displayed in a doctor’s waiting room.
You also want to find a local partner who shares your attitudes toward customer service–someone who cares about his or her local reputation. Shared values are important, and it paves the way for that partner to pass leads on to you from its customers. That is less likely to happen when reselling OEM or OEM partner services.
Do It Yourself
This is definitely the high risk, high reward path. Dealers who offer their own content services for digital signage often already had some in-house capabilities such as website development. Starting completely from scratch means you need at least a designer and a developer. Depending on the applications for which you are likely to sell digital signage, you might also need marketing expertise.
Some of you might be thinking, “I already have those skills in-house to support my website and sales, so I can just hand projects to them when they come in.” This approach is risky. You don’t want to be in the position of choosing between what your business needs and your customer demands. You may be able to leverage existing in-house talent from other areas, but have a plan to deal with scenarios that create resource conflicts.
