A lot of small business costs are impossible to ignore. There’s the money you need to spend developing or sourcing products. Every physical store or restaurant location represents a serious investment in real estate. Any increase in headcount will probably add more digits to your expense sheet. There’s at least one area, though, where you might overlook the impact on your company’s finances.
Technology is essential to running any small business today, but it has to be current enough to meet employee and customer expectations. For example, investing in Samsung’s digital signage solutions for business means offering exceptional performance while avoiding many common headaches.
On the flip side, the consequences can be significant when your tools become too old or antiquated for the job. You might not see them coming at first, but over time, these costs can cause your small business expenses to rise unexpectedly, regardless of your budget.
The best way to get ahead of that challenge is by fully understanding the risks, which include:
1. Lost revenue
Imagine a customer walking into a store where most associates are already busy serving others. The customer might need essential information, such as whether a sale is still running for the item they want. A nearby display shows that it is, so the customer goes to the checkout — only to learn that the digital sign they looked at hasn’t been updated. They’ll have to pay full price if they want the item.
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Now, consider what happens when a customer looks at a digital sign or display and finds nothing but a dark screen. They’ll need to track down an employee who may already be overworked and struggling to manually update or troubleshoot digital signage.
These kinds of poor customer experiences drive people to shop elsewhere. Since 73% of small businesses say competition is their top macroeconomic stressor, it pays to have technology that informs your customers with accurate information. Samsung VXT offers a simple and streamlined way to create, capture and update content across all your digital signs, kiosks and menu boards. With the right content management system (CMS), you’ll inspire more confidence among your customers and give them one less reason to leave.
2. Staffing and support costs
Every minute focused on fixing or updating content adds to the overall cost of digital signage. This is sometimes called “tech debt” because it builds up the longer you put off upgrading or modernizing the tools you use. On average, 65% of businesses spend over $2 million trying to maintain legacy systems. Many small businesses lack the internal IT expertise to handle this work, often relying on costly third-party support services as a result.
The small business costs don’t end there. Employees who feel continually frustrated by the technology they use at work can become less productive and demoralized. This can contribute to staff turnover, and the cost of replacing them could be high, given that nearly half of U.S. small businesses have just one to four workers.
Contrast that with providing employees with retail digital signage that transforms visual merchandising and makes it easier to make a sale, LED signage solutions that answer customer FAQs, and Samsung Kiosks that promote self-service. Suddenly, you’re spending less on maintenance while freeing up your team to do their best.
3. Cybersecurity incident response
Digital signage for businesses has evolved to the point where a CMS may be integrated with a number of other platforms and applications running on the same network. That means cybercriminals who manage to penetrate a small business’s defenses could tamper with displays as easily as they steal customer data.
Without protection, for example, digital signs could be fed misleading information or present QR codes that take customers to sites infected with malware. On the backend, a digital signage CMS could provide access to systems where rogue actors cause financial and reputational harm.
Small businesses can’t afford to deal with data breaches and other security incidents simply because their technology is outdated and more vulnerable. This makes it all the more important that you opt for a CMS like Samsung VXT with built-in security and support for industry standards.
Take a holistic approach to investing in tech upgrades
Fortunately, more small businesses are starting to recognize the hidden costs of outdated technology and are investing accordingly. In fact, small businesses are spending more on new technology now than in the past three years.
Some of that spending will undoubtedly go toward artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and new mobile devices, but digital signage must also stay current. Connect with a trusted technology partner who can help you look beyond the basics of digital signage pricing and optimize your small business costs.
See the latest VXT product updates and features, and learn how one company seamlessly bridged online and in-person commerce with Samsung displays and VXT software in this case study. Also, discover why Samsung VXT is called an “all-in-one” content management system.
