Using Dayparting on Digital Signage Displays to lift sales.

Dayparting needs to be part of the marketer’s toolbox regardless of the mix of distribution channels that your company employs.  Leveraging and optimizing channels to get your customers into the store is only part of the puzzle.  Once a customer is in the store then the full last inch marketing with Digital Display signage press is on.  Your customers already decided to pick your store, so now it’s time to influence their decision making.  If you don’t have a copy of “Why We Buy”, by Paco Underhill, on your desk or reading list, then make sure it’s your next read.  Make it a part of your desk reference reading material.  Refer to it regularly, and apply your store’s shopper engagement dynamics that are successful, revise, and improve.     

To set the foundation of understanding regardless of communication channel, Dayparting is scheduling of messages into time slots, allowing you to present the right message at the right time to the right people.  Its very easy to say, but to maximize basket size, good analytics of your shopper habits are necessary.   When radio and then TV started the practice of dayparting, there were no other communication channels to contend with.  Advertisers simply bought basic time slots like morning drive time, evening prime time, or late night.  For example, advertisements for breakfast cereals don’t appear at prime time, and the ad dollars spent on impressions are not wasted.  People are simply looking for different things during the day and have a preference to be more impressionable about certain advertising when associated with their buying activity.   All customers must be considered.  Men, women, children, seniors, are all part of your store’s shopping environment.  Know and learn their habits.  

Translating that strategy with in-store Digital Display channel is the final opportunity to influence the customer with visual product messaging.   Store design has been evolving from the stark big box to store-within-a-store, or pop-up stores within the store.  This revolution in store design tied with the latest display technology creates new atmospherics for shoppers to spend their time and enjoy shopping at your store.   

For the in-store communications channel, Digital Display technology prices and features have come down to the lowest they have ever been and are easily setup and manage at the enterprise or store level.  Understanding technology options available for in-store advertising does not require dedicated technologists, just a good digital signage vendor-partner.  Shop for a digital signage company that provides turnkey solutions and has the wherewithal to leverage your existing systems and practices so you don’t have to chase around and learn what parts work best.  Your job is to increase the number of evangelists that recommend your store and increase the basket size by positively influencing customer buying habits.  Therefore, before we daypart anything, we need the right mix of digital displays in the stores.  We should assume that we can create variable system rules, or directly change marketing campaign messages on any display at any time, including external factors such as weather or social trends that bring customers with unexpected product demand.  Every store layout and product mix are different, as well as customer demographic.  This requires a good digital display partner to compliment your efforts.     

Basic categories of Digital Display types are the Electronic Shelf Label, Video wall, Aisle Barker, Menu Board, End Cap Displays, and Social Media Kiosks.  The availability of technology being more affordable and scalable has moved this channel into the must-have category.  Each digital display technology has specific use-cases, and as the Marketer you can influence decision making aisle-by-the aisle in the store.  Your digital signage vendor will be key to providing the integration and support.  This will allow you to focus on increasing revenue and dwell time instore, by delivering content that drives their buying habits.  As the store planogram changes with the seasons and campaigns, so should the digital display technology strategies.   

Commercial Digital Displays from tiny shelf edge labels to expansive videowalls, and everything in-between are now built with powerful system-on-chip (SOC) media players, so they no longer need any extra parts except a mounting bracket.  The SOC displays can be configured to be interactive with touch, or Bluetooth, or proximity sensors.  The abstract of basic dayparting using instore displays is getting better.   

There is not an absolute formula for dayparting.  If this is new to you then take the basic steps defined by Six Sigma core methodology to frame your daypart strategy.    

Six Sigma DMAIC 

• Define 
• Measure 
• Analyze 
• Improve 
• Control
  

Your organization has oodles or raw data that can become analytics from shopper tracking whether you realize it or not.  You can leverage data to improve and optimize your business.  Start with a basic experiment of understanding register receipts and restocking demand requirements by date as a simple start.  Theorize, set goals, experiment, test again, measure…  continuously improving the process.  Your in-store digital displays are your tool to influence the last decision before the product goes into the shopping cart.  They are your tool for continuous improvement of customer satisfaction and revenue.     

Questions to get daypart thinking started.  These should always be asked 

• Is there a particular marketing campaign that can be associated lift of product sale?     
• What was unique about it?  
• What was the weather like?  
• Is there a currently trending social discussion that can be attributable?   
• What products are not in demand, slow selling?   
• Do you really need to carry slow moving goods? 
• Are the slow movers high margin, or shelf fillers?  
• What is the frequency of the slow movers being negatively associated, or passed over, in favor of adjacent high margin items?  AKA upsell 
• If low margin, slow movers, why are they still being stocked?  
• Does your loyalty reward program encourage or reward shopper experimentation of new products?  
• What quantity of freshly made products are tossed out because of expiration or lack of appearing fresh? 
• Does your store have a markdown policy for stale goods? 
• What is the measure of time/price that creates highest demand and lowest residual stock?    
• How long is your customer in the store?   
• Does extending dwell time increase basket size?  
• Are price or other reward incentives tiered by time of day?  
• Divide the day into 4 6-hour segments.  What products move more frequently within certain time segments?   
• Are demands for specials or variations in quantities or sizes associated with certain times of day? 
• Is there sufficient elasticity in pricing to allow in-store specials at certain times of day? 

Creating a good mix of digital displays that can trigger call-to-action, entertain, and inform your customers is part art and science.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.