LED Displays and Their Economic Impact

Take a good look around and you can see that more and more businesses are turning to LED signs as their on-premise signage. It is enough to make you wonder what the point is and if these do indeed help communicate with potential customers better than traditional advertising methods to improved store performance. 

It has to be said that some business generally like high-traffic locations. These are the kinds of businesses that make use of message boards as a way to inform potential customers about where they are and what they have to offer. Take for instance businesses like gas stations that use signs to indicate petrol prices and advertise promos and products. Car dealers also make use of supplemental signs as a way to tell the public about their services and offers. The reason they do so is that informing the public of such information is integral to the success of their business as it helps increase traffic and sales.

Electronic Message Boards and Their Benefits

It is plain to see then that the true value of a highly-visible or corner location rests on the ability of a business to make use of signs to draw in potential customers. This is where electronic message boards come into play – they can be controlled to make sure that the most relevant messages are displayed to the public at a moments notice. The best part is they can be customized to provide messages with information that is vital to the target market of the business any time of day.

Traditional reader boards used to come with plastic letters that had to be changed manually by employees every time they change the message on the board. They worked out well enough though the letters did have a tendency to fly off when the wind and rains came down too hard; they would also be frequent victims of vandals. Repairing the damages and changing the message was time consuming plus maintaining consistency across chain retailers could be very messy and extremely tough to maintain. It is plain to see why most business breathed a sigh of relief when the electronic message boards came into existence and gained widespread use in business.

Benefits for Business and Communities

Back in 2011, Freeborg, Moeller, and Drury came out with a report entitled “EMC and Digital Sign Issues.” In the report, they pointed out a wide range of community and business impacts that would come with the use of electronic message boards. For businesses specifically, the major benefits include a more pronounced ease in the changing of the messages which means that businesses are more efficient when it comes to respond to the needs of their prospective customers. It also enhanced the ability of businesses to add images to their messages which also help to increase sales.

When it came to communities, they listed even more benefits, such as the increase of tax revenues that are brought about by increased business sales. These signs also work to improve business viability and this means the signs can bring about a reduction in blight and vacancies in community areas. There have been some concerns about digital message boards and accidents on the road but so far, the fear is misplaced, according to 5 major studies conducted between 2007 and 2010.

Good Practices to Add Years to Your LED Display

Most experts will tell you that digital sign boards and other LED-based signs are as sturdy as anything and can stand up to a lot of wear and tear, especially since they are outside and exposed to nature’s mood swings. You know how it can be blistering hot one day and raining cats and dogs the next, complete with winds that could blow a house apart. Aside from nature’s weather follies, there are a number of other factors that could wreak havoc with the circuits and general well-being of your digital LED signs.

There really is no major different between a digital sign solution and other pieces of circuitry in that they all have parts and components that are susceptible to damage from lack of maintenance, accumulation of dirt and moisture, etc. If you look at it closely, there are really so many things that can affect the efficiency and well-being of your digital signs, but this does not mean that you should just sit back and let the damage happen. After all, it is not like you are completely powerless and there are some things you can learn that will help you take care of your sign boards. A little bit of know-how and some time and effort on your part can save you from a world of pain and prevent your digital signs from going on the blink.

Care and Maintenance Tips

Have a look at some basic care and maintenance tips below that you can apply to your LED signs. They really are quite simple and can save you from hundreds of dollars in repair fees as well as days or even weeks of aggravation.

• Regular cleaning – A layer of dirt can do a number on your signs and not just because it can make the sign look ugly. Dirt can move inside inside the display and cause untold damage. To prevent this, ensure that you schedule a cleaning for your LED signs every couple of weeks. When you do this, most dust and dirt that can cause damage to your signs are cleaned away. When you clean your signs, make sure you clean from corner to corner and really get into all the little nooks and crannies. It is okay if you can't get all the dirt out but it helps to get as much of it off as you can.
• Regular maintenance – There is no getting around the fact that every system demands maintenance from time to time. This is especially true for equipment that are made to stay outdoors. What you can do is schedule maintenance work every several months so that an expert can check for loose or damaged parts and make any replacements when necessary. Maintenance can also include repainting or just judging the state of the circuits and the LED diodes.

If you want your LED signs to stay in tiptop shape and if you want to avoid the aggravation that comes with repair fees and the lack of signage for your business, you owe it to yourself to spend a few moments caring for your investment by following the tips listed above. 

Sign Codes and Traffic Safety

It is common practice for city planners to use sign codes that are developed by other cities (and therefore do not have real bearing to their own cities) or they make use of extremely strict rules because they believe signs are “eyesores” and will cause injuries and accidents by distracted drivers.

This is really not the case especially when good signage is installed. After all, not all signs are created equal and some are just better than others. There are simply some signs that are built better and designed better so they still convey the right message but are easy on the eyes and never distracting. These signs were made with the city’s needs in mind and are made to direct and grab attention but never distract.

Static Signs of the Yester-year

For generation upon generation, signs have been static. They really only ever displayed one message and some of them would carry the same signs and messages for years. However, leaps and bounds made in technology used for information display in recent years have changed that and business owners and city planners can now opt for digital signs. These signs are particularly useful when used as on- and off-premise signs for businesses. These on-premise signs have the ability to display a wide variety of messages so they allow a business to really “talk” to old and potential customers alike.

These digital signs represent a massive shift and advancement in communication technology that have an impressive ability to deliver valuable marketing information to customers. After all, there is nothing quite like an attractive sign that you can use to convey to potential customers why they need to do business with you. You can use the signs to tell them about new deals and promos as well as advertise brand new products on display and for sale within the hour.

Traffic Concerns and LED Signage

There is no denying that such signs can bring a world of good to business but some groups have their concerns about such signs especially when it comes to traffic safety and business signs that change content in a regular basis. These groups state that drivers might get distracted seeing as they might feel the need to take their eyes off the road and read what new message these business signs have put up for them instead.

These safety concerns are usually addressed by way of local regulations concerning electronic LED sign boards; they might limit or prohibit the use of these on-premise signs. The fact of the matter is that these regulations mostly stem from the local level and there is no scientific research data or national based surveys and research that support the implementation of such regulations.

In fact, what these city planners and city managers fail to take into account is that their static signs might just be doing more harm than good. To put it plainly, signs do NOT distract drivers or cause accidents - it is small or hidden signs that are the real culprits for road accidents among other reasons.

For businesses that are having issues with sign codes in your respective cities, you may pay a visit to the United States Sign Council. They have lots of information that you can use to counter bad sign codes in your city.

LED Signs for Auto Dealerships

These days, marketing has evolved into something else, and as always, the Internet is to blame. With the rising popularity of the Internet for almost every entertainment need, the TV and the radio have lost their former marketing glory. TV commercials don’t get viewed as often as they used to because it’s more convenient to recorded television shows. The radio industry has suffered a similar fate with the popularity of subscription radio services and mobile devices. Newspapers have struggled to stay afloat, reducing publication frequency and weathering the decline of circulation. People prefer taking out their tablets and reading the news from the Internet.

What does this have to do with auto dealership? It means that traditional advertising won’t work as well as it used to, and that it’s important to look for alternatives. One effective alternative is using outdoor electronic display or LED sign advertising. In fact, LED sign advertising is more cost-effective than other forms of advertising. There’s no need to put in numbers and other geeky marketing data here, but LED sign advertising, like that which is offered by LED Sign Authority, has been proven to be cheaper per thousand impressions or CPM. This is the kind of advertisement people see without intending to. They’re probably just driving to work, and then they see your LED sign and say, “Oh, that’s a nice offer.”    

The LED Sign Authority Displays we offer to auto dealerships ensure that you get to showcase your monthly, weekly, and even daily specials and also be able to highlight community activities that increase floor traffic. What makes LED Signs different from traditional advert media and campaigns is that things can be changed very quickly. There is no need  to take weeks or even months to plan an ad campaign because digital messages that really speak to potential buyers can be loaded in mere minutes.

Auto dealers can further increase the return on investment of their LED signs by using them to market the high-margin services they offer. With the flexibility of these LED signs, dealers have the ability to display different and multiple messages within the day about offers that customers may be unaware of. It will be a significant opportunity to make customers know about service department specials, customer loyalty programs, special financing opportunities, rental cars, and specific vehicles.

Benefits of LED Sign Advertising

The benefits of LED signs go far beyond just increasing recognition and awareness in prospective buyers but go as far as saving you money. Since they are energy efficient, they also lower operating costs in comparison to obsolete bulb signs. Outdoor electronic displays eat up less electricity, which means you will enjoy significantly lower operating costs, thus yielding a better return on investment. High quality LED signs are cost-efficient and may even qualify you for rebates from your local power companies. 

Purchasing an LED Sign

Not all outdoor electronic displays are of the same quality though. It’s important to do a lot of research about LED sign companies before choosing one. Some important details to know are what warranty they offer, how good their customer service is, how they work with repairs, what after sales services they provide, and of course, the price range of their products. Doing your homework is important if you don’t want to blow your marketing budget on an outdoor electronic display that doesn't do the job. An LED sign is indeed a powerful tool but it will only be as good as the services that come with it. Before you buy anything, make sure you have all your bases covered and that you have asked the right questions.