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Why should you always try your digital signage software before buying?

“Try before you buy” is advice you are probably following for many different types of purchases – and that should also include your digital signage software. Would you purchase a car before seeing it and taking it for a test drive? Better still: if you could try the car you are considering buying for a couple of weeks to get to really know it, you would probably jump on the opportunity. Although this option is not possible for cars, it’s easy for digital signage software, and your provider will almost certainly offer a free trial version, which you should always accept. Other providers give their software free of charge. Which one should you choose? The free digital signage software, or the one you need to pay for?

Seeing the interface of your future content management software

During the purchasing process for a digital signage software, you will hear the following words whenever you will be talking with a provider: “simple and efficient software”, “easy-to-use solution”, “user-friendly interface”, “quick access”, and so on. Unfortunately, these words will mean nothing if they are coming from the person who is selling the solution; you are the only judge of the software interface. In short, seeing the platform will let you make your own opinion and confirm which interface is best suited to you.

Looking is good, but trying is better

A personalized demonstration has many advantages. However, when it is performed by an expert, it is very difficult to experience the usability of the interface and the ease of getting started. These types of presentations can sometimes create a false sense of mastery that could disappear as soon as you are left alone with the solution.

A provider may not offer a free trial version of its software for numerous reasons, for instance, in cases where the platform provides many advanced features that could confuse the user (e. g. if the provider offers solutions for smart cities, public transit organizations, real estate agencies, or factories that wish to provide real-time data). On the other hand, if you are looking for a simpler solution, such as non-automated internal communications or displaying your menu or your promotions, your provider should propose a free trial. If it does not, the platform might be obsolete or hard to use.

Beware of “free” trials

When you are beginning to start a free trial of a display software, you are probably looking to confirm that the proposed tool meets your needs. Here are two cases where a free trial is used as an excuse to hide the real intentions.

Having access to your credit card information

If it’s a free trial, why do you need to enter your credit card number? This practice relies on the possibility that you could forget to unsubscribe and end up paying at the end of the trial period.

Planning a call with a representative

You click on the “Free trial” button, fill out a form, then a pop-up message tells you that a representative will call you to better understand your needs. If you had wanted to talk to someone in the first place, you probably would have called or written directly.

In conclusion, by seeing and trying the interface, the goal is to ensure that you will buy your software with complete peace of mind, without any surprises. The trust providers have in their product when they offer a free trial goes beyond words; it’s a way of agreeing with the optimistic affirmation: “Try this product: we are confident that it will meet your needs”.

Everything on digital signage free e-book

Taking advantage of your customers’ waiting time

“This is taking forever.” How many times have you heard this? A great way to avoid client frustration from waiting times is to communicate with them. Whether installed at the entrance, at the checkout counters or elsewhere in your business, digital signage will draw their attention quickly, and is much more engaging than paper displays. Realize the potential of these locations and these moments, and turn long waiting times into profit opportunities.

Leveraging digital signage for your customers as soon as they come in

Because of COVID-19, many rules have been put in place which, at first glance, might hamper the client experience. You can benefit from these waiting times as soon as your customers enter your business, for example during the first moments when they are sanitizing their hands. The limited number of people allowed in businesses and mandatory hand sanitizing protocols can be turned into opportunities to improve customer experience. You can also share relevant information such as promotions for certain products, contests or sanitation guidelines. Use these moments to share interesting content with your customers.

Taking advantage of lineups at the checkout counter

Most of the aisles leading to the checkout counters have selections of products that draw the consumers’ attention. You can take advantage of lineups to the checkout counters to display promotional content. For example, in grocery stores, we usually find bubble gum, tabloids and chocolate bars. They are placed in these areas to encourage impulse buying. Setting up displays at these locations would increase sales for these products. For example, displaying a video of a simple recipe from a cookbook sold near the cash registers could drive sales for the book, as well as for some items required for the recipe, such as the chocolate sold next to the checkout counters. Entertaining your customers with promotional content can increase your sales.

Review waiting moments in your customers’ path

Your customers might be waiting in front of the deli counter, or in line while their shopping cart is being wiped clean. No matter where they wait, reviewing the path your customers are following in your business will help you find other places where it would be interesting to entertain and inform them through displays. Keep in mind that the goal is to improve their experience in your business.

In short, digital signage is a great way to drive sales and keep your customers informed while making waiting times seem shorter for them. Digital signage software will allow you to manage, create and display content on all your screens, and you will even be able to do so remotely.

System Interoperability and Smart Cities: A Match Made in Heaven!

Interoperability is defined as the ability of a system or a product to interface and operate with a variety of existing systems without any access-related restrictions.

Although the concept has been around for many years, it remains largely unknown outside of technical circles. And yet, interoperability is an issue of major logistical importance for today’s municipal administrations, from both an operational and a financial point of view.

Open data is essential to interoperable communications systems

Smart cities have been working for many years to implement scalable, open data–based models to ensure multiple systems can work together seamlessly and share information in real time. A few examples of these functionalities are:

Real-time updates on the number of available parking spaces
Status of snow clearing operations on major arterial streets
Traffic and congestion reports
Public transit schedules and delays
Operating hours for sports arenas and community facilities.

System interoperability is vital for smart cities in 2020, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has profoundly changed how municipal teams interact with residents. As a result, a number of transactions have been moved online, among them:

Permit applications
Municipal tax payments
Registration for recreational activities and day camps
Communications with residents.

Once the city has access to the necessary data, it can be uploaded to a website, a digital signage network or interactive kiosks located within municipal buildings or set up at other high-traffic areas.

In 2020, city administrations have nothing to lose and everything to gain from building a close relationship with providers of digital solutions that can leverage the data at their disposal through high-performance APIs.

Montreal city case study Watch full video now

How Industrielle Alliance improves the visitor experience

Project description

We rolled out an interactive signage solution in one of Montreal’s busiest office buildings, namely the Industrial Alliance tower in the heart of the downtown core. The sophisticated, intuitive interface enhances the overall user experience for both visitors and occupants. The screens provide access to an interactive tenant directory and wayfinding system. One of the features that set it apart is that it shows the location of nearby restaurants, hotels, taxi stands, Bixi bike-share stations and bicycle paths. Its particular value is rooted in the integration of the General Transit Feed Specification used by Google. This makes it possible to provide up-to-the-minute metro, train and bus schedules so commuters can instantly see the times of upcoming departures. Also displayed are real-time headlines powered by the La Presse news feed, a map of Montreal’s underground city, the current date and time, and local weather.

How can you leverage digital signage in waiting rooms?

Sitting in a waiting room, have you ever felt like minutes had much more than sixty seconds? Did you know you could help your customers have a better time in your waiting room by getting their attention?

Dynamic digital signage is a winning solution for both businesses and their customers; not only can the displays entertain customers waiting for an appointment, but they can also be used as an outstanding communication channel to keep patients informed.

An entertaining waiting room is a fun way to promote patience and provide information to your customers!

Whether at a private medical clinic, a hospital, a dental office or the vet, people waiting for an appointment with a healthcare professional are often nervous and insecure, and most of them wish that time would go by faster. Dynamic displays offer a solution that meet many different needs and can target different audiences.

First and foremost, the customer experience is improved: displays immediately attract the attention of people arriving in a waiting room. The content provided by the dynamic displays is tailored to the customers’ needs, and information can be shown in various forms:

Entertain through quizzes such as “Guess who?”, “Spot the mistake” or multiple-choice riddles based on themed content;
Provide an estimate of waiting times;
Broadcast news tickers to provide information such as weather forecasts, news and traffic conditions.

Employees can then leverage the knowledge customers have acquired while waiting for a consultation. The information presented on the displays facilitates customer management because:

People find answers to frequently asked questions, which in turn frees up time for office clerks;
Guidelines are explained with words and images, which makes them easier to understand. Whether for sanitary or safety measures or for parking information, these repeated messages are simpler to follow, and receptionists no longer need to communicate, explain and repeat these instructions.
The room’s floor plan and patient follow-up systems can also be shown on dynamic displays, indicating for example where people need to go. This will lighten the workload of specialists, nurses and receptionists.

Lastly, digital signage is still the preferred communication method to promote services and products. In medical or veterinarian settings, this can take many different forms, such as:

Promote a particular product such as a new kind of cat food;
Advertise the company’s social media and increase the number of followers on its official page;
Promote contests and guide customers to the company’s website;
Introduce specialists with pictures and a short biography.

Vet clinics can prioritise pet health, emergency clinics can display rules of conduct, room planning and definitions of priority codes, and health clinics can promote healthy eating and benefits of exercising or explain patient preparation before a consultation. The possibilities of dynamic digital displays are almost endless!

There are many subjects to explore, a vast choice of ways to present widely diversified and personalised content, as well as an amazing amount of benefits for customers, patients, employees and specialists. Dynamic digital displays such as those offered by ITESMEDIA have everything you need to entertain and inform your customers and complement your service offering.

Contact the leader in dynamic digital signage now at 514-642-3790. You can make waiting times profitable both for your customers and your business!

A Game Changer For Digital Signage

Digital signage solution ITESLIVE is a communication and marketing tool enabling you to broadcast multimedia content on any screen. It includes an online content management platform. Users centrally manage their content and distribute it over their network of screens. Historically, the challenge for some customers has been that most versions of digital signage software required expensive hardware or equipment. Such a media player behind each screen.

New ITESLIVE Web version

A key advantage of the new ITESLIVE web version is that it is a cross-platform and can be used on any device equipped with an HTML5 compatible browser (Google Chrome for example). Indeed, this web-based digital signage solution has no dependency on a specific operating system or equipment, which makes it an extremely flexible solution.In other words, this version works seamlessly on Windows, Tizen, WebOS and Chromium. ITESLIVE’s web version is a game changer for digital signage. You will have limitless use case possibilities.

It is also a very inexpensive solution because it does not necessarily require the use of an external drive. The software runs on both an on-screen player and an external player. The solution does not require specific configurations which in the past could generate additional costs.

With the web version, the content is displayed continuously (streaming). This may have an impact on user bandwidth. To help users manage their bandwidth, ITESLIVE is equipped with a bandwidth monitoring tool.

Windows vs Web version

The main difference between a Windows vs. web version is offline operation. With the web version, if the network connection is cut, the display stops. With Windows, if the network connection is interrupted, the display continues as is (without content updates). Aside from that, the web version will have some limitations in terms of possible remote monitoring of the equipment, due to the varied functionalities of different browsers.

30-day free trial

We offer a 30-day free trial to make it easier for companies to communicate with their employees, partners and customers. This includes viewing new safety measures and hygiene reminders. For this purpose, we include free images on the precautionary measures to be taken due to COVID-19.

Surviving Adobe Flash Player’s end of life

The year 2020 was a year of change in many aspects, from the economy to our life habits. Technology has also been impacted by these changes, and many companies will have to adapt their computer language significantly: from January 1st 2021 onwards, Adobe Flash Player will no longer be used. Web browsers, even the ones provided by Microsoft and Google, will stop supporting it. This means nothing less than the death of Adobe Flash Player.

What are the consequences?

All software still using Adobe Flash Player will need to be converted into other programming languages, which will require significant development time.

In other words:

Make sure your dynamic signage tools will continue to display your messages (sound and image).

If you are the type of manager who sees the inner workings of information technology as a foreign language reserved to technicians, programmers and your service provider, always remember: as a decision-maker, you must assess a product’s specifications and look at “the flip side of the coin”, “under the hood”, or “backstage”. The expression used is not important – what does matter is to know the language spoken by a software: it is vital for communication! Don’t forget: if your dynamic signage system uses Adobe Flash Player, your main communication tool will die at the same time as the software.

Here is what you should know to stay ahead…and not be left behind!

Ask yourself: is your software using Adobe Flash Player?

If the answer is yes, the countdown has begun! It’s time for you to work toward a solution (and to read this until the end).

Be proactive and choose a trusted partner to operate the change.

We strongly recommend communicating with your dynamic signage service providers. If they haven’t already warned you of the coming change, they may be overwhelmed by the death of the software – otherwise, why did they wait this long to offer you solutions? Considering whether you should change service providers could ensure your business continuity and resolve many issues before they even arise. Choosing a dedicated communications expert will bring you peace of mind and ensure a seamless and efficient technological transition.

Be informed

Did you know that, as a platform used for the production and display of interactive multimedia content, Adobe Flash Player changed the face of the internet? However, even though it had a positive impact on the experience of internet users, technology always moves forward – and Adobe Flash Player now belongs to the past. The software has even been disabled by default on Google’s Chrome web browser. To learn more, visit the Adobe Flash Player End-of-Life General Information Page.

Apply the solution

To ensure an efficient and seamless transition and to prepare for 2021, you know now that a technological upgrade is inevitable. For instance, replacing Adobe Flash Player by HTML5 is one of the most widespread solutions, and is exactly what ITESMEDIA suggests. The hyper-performant ITESLIVE software uses HTML5 and JavaScript technologies for broadcasting needs, combined with Microsoft’s world-renown technologies.

You haven’t begun to operate the change?

It’s not too late! With over 16 years of experience (of success and technology breakthroughs in dynamic digital signage!), ITESMEDIA ensures you have access to the latest software versions for your applications and can meet the latest technology requirements from the market. And more importantly, you will have all the tools you need to communicate securely in a language that is compatible worldwide!

Join the leader in dynamic digital signage today and call: 1 866 553-5462. Adobe Flash Player may no longer be with us, but with ITESLIVE and ITESMEDIA, your dynamic digital displays will be more alive than ever!

How to Make Your Digital Display Profitable

Digital signage is a very versatile tool for broadcasting relevant information to your agents and customers. It can be used to:

ROI Calculator

You can make your screens profitable by offering advertising to your partners for example. We offer a price grid based on the number of advertisements that will be displayed and the location where the screen is located.

There are two options for the advertisement’s visual:

1. You can create the advertisement yourself directly in the digital signage software using pre-made message templates.

2. You can ask the company to provide you with a good-size image that you can include in your display.

To Convince Someone to Display Advertising

You offer the perfect captive audience and the opportunity to display an ad right when a consumer or an agent is looking for help. Think about the potential it can provide you; it’s an easy sell. Imagine, a home buyer is waiting in your lobby to speak with an agent or to sign a deal.

Other advertising media don’t guarantee the audience will be as accurate. While advertising in your office space, all customers are part of their target audience. Companies can even, in their advertising, offer a special discount only on your screens. This way they can quickly see their return on investment. It is cheaper to advertise on your screens than on social media.

Types of Businesses Can You Approach

You can approach any company offering services ( insurance company, mortgage bank, home inspector, notary, mover) to customers buying or selling their property. You can start by offering to the companies located in the same building as you are in or very close to your office. Look to local businesses that ask to attend your sales meetings. In short, the goal is for you to lower your monthly costs. For the company, it is to reach its target customers and for your customers, it is to have a relevant content. Everyone wins.

You no longer have to do without digital signage because with advertising you will be able to cover the monthly digital signage software costs and your partners will have advertising that targets 100% of their audience; it’s a win-win situation.

The Art of Communicating Key Messages Without Using Emails

Ah, internal communications! Having to say everything in as few words as possible. To make sure you are being read and be able to compete with external information channels is a great challenge. Fortunately for companies, dynamic signage technology is there to help them. The manufacturing sector is a good example, since using signage as a means of communication can easily be adapted to the work environment and facilitates information sharing.

When employees start their shifts, leave their personal belongings (including their cell phone) in the locker and clock in, they take the time to stop. If a TV screen shows words, they won’t be able to resist: they will look and read! In 2020, we can say that looking at a screen is an “acquired” reflex for the vast majority of people. Here are some examples of recurring internal communications in all company environments.

Promoting occupational health and safety (OHS)

How many emails do you send every year to remind your employees of occupational health and safety regulations? Do these communications all feel alike? Do you have stats on the open rate of these safety regulations email reminders?

Even though occupational health and safety is an important issue, people get eventually bored of reading this type of communications. But if these are shown differently, on screens, with eye-catching graphics, pictures taken directly on the work site, with precise guidelines about operating machinery, they have significantly higher odds of being read and heard.

OHS improvement relates directly to prevention, and digital signage provides the opportunity to communicate important reminders efficiently, continuously and physically on the workplace.

Display production data in real time

Giving production goals to employees is good, but displaying metrics such as work status, results and performance levels can have a direct impact on teams. Depending on their personality types, some team members will feel motivated to see the work left to do before taking a break, while others will be relieved by seeing they have nearly reached their objectives. People managers have the opportunity to use real-time signage to determine where and when they need to lend a hand, congratulate a co-worker or adjust goals.

Identify OHS first aiders

What could be better than displaying the name and the picture of people who have first aid training? And what if you could display them on-screen when they are at the workplace? It would be an effective way to bring everyone’s attention towards these key people. After all, they deserve to be recognized.

Enrich training

Employees remember what they can from enhancement workshops, training on new equipment and annual refreshers. To optimize the benefit of this training, digital signage is the perfect tool to display reminders and consolidate training.

There are many ways to entertain employees while giving them important reminders. Riddles, picture puzzles, simulations, multiple choice questions and videos are all great ways to communicate information in different ways.

Encourage your employees

Recognition has become much more than a discussion topic for companies; it is now an objective for managers and for communication strategies. For employees, it is a reason to stay with their employer.

A handshake, saying “Thank you”, giving free coffee, offering gifts to celebrate an employee’s years of service… These recognition gestures are necessary and make a difference for the person receiving them. What if you could extend the impact of this recognition to a large number of people? How about publishing pictures taken during the “coffee and muffin” break, courtesy of the boss? Or displaying employees’ work anniversaries and your teams’ key wins? Depending on your company’s manufacturing type and the level of proximity of the employees, you could also publish news about your people such as congratulations on the recent birth of a co-worker’s baby, warm words for a colleague about to retire, or pictures taken on social events.

Examples in this article are but a small fraction of all the possibilities of digital signage. Matters such as employee recognition, OHS prevention, real-time communication of information and training reminders are a priority in the manufacturing sector because they directly impact the well-being of the employees. Dynamic displays give the opportunity to repeat information often and in different ways, and make sure everybody has seen, read and understood the message. In all cases, communicating messages through digital signage can significantly increase employees’ engagement and attract their interest on important topics, while greatly reducing the amount of email communications.

Did you know it is possible to operate dynamic signage with touchscreens? To learn more, contact the team at ITESMEDIA, 514-642-3790 ext. 1.

ARCELORMITTAL CASE STUDY WATCH FULL VIDEO NOW

Are you ready for deconfinement?

The new health rules imposed will bring a lot of changes upon returning to work. Among all the challenges and preparation that progressive deconfinement brings, content creation is sometimes the last item on the list. That’s why, we’ve created images illustrating health precautions we should take to protect ourselves and others. You can download them for free and distribute them on your digital signage networks or other media that you use to communicate with your customers, staff, and partners.

Where should you post these images?

We suggest you distribute them to strategic places in your business, whether it is at the main entrance, in the cafeteria, or in the break room. In short, wherever employees, customers, and visitors have a few seconds to look on your screens or your bulletin board.