The Critical Moment
Part Four
Checklist
I present your check list in order of priority, failure in any one could spell disaster.
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The first thing on your check list is your commitment to the project, this is one thing you have to take out every now and again, look at it, adjust it, rev it up, polish it and put it somewhere you can always see it. Sometime things can seem to be going so bad, your commitment is your anchor, the one thing you must never go back on.
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The second item is a business plan. For years I would charge of on an idea because “I knew what I was doing!” I saw no need to write it down. After all these years we do a business plan or a project overview on everything.
The reason is so simple: make your mistakes on paper; at this point your time and paper are cheap. Map out you your plan in every respect, think of every aspect of your business and be real about what you project. If you are consciously or unconsciously decreasing costs and increasing profit projections you are just cheating your self. The idea of a business plan is, if you can prove it works on paper you may just have a chance of it succeeding in the real world. Keep in mind as you go to market with your signage company you will find obstacles constantly.
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Within the scope of your business plan you want to identify your market. There are primary closed networks and the variations on those. First is a point of purchase network that is designed for the benefit of the store owner. The primary goal is to up-sell product. The second is a revenue network which sells advertising to clients that don't have product in the store. The third is an information network where the primary focus is one of providing the viewer with information. One thing you will learn early on in the world of Digital Signage there is no one business model that will fit the needs of every client but a few versatile models are a great starting point.
This is as good a time to mention one of our company objectives is to “Keep it Simple Stupid” Kiss. If you look at the rate card for a Billboard company or a radio station or even a news paper you almost need a degree in advertising to make a decision about what, where and when. With Digital Signage just by its nature can be a simple process with simple objectives and a very effective result. For now my suggestion is don't complicate your and your customers lives by introducing day part placement etc, just give them good value. Our customers comment on the simplicity and ease of operation. Video Billboard is a full service Digital Signage company in that we own the network we sell and design the advertising. You may choose to do this or perhaps you would like to specialize in one or two of the disciplines with in our industry. What ever you choose to do, do it well and remember you don’t have to be big to be good.
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I will insert a copy of a Digital Signage business plan as a template for you to make sure you have thought of everything.