Make 2022 the Year You Upgrade Your Laundromat’s Interior Signage
We’ve all seem them. They’re at the mall, our local fast-food restaurants and a wide variety of other businesses we all frequent.
I’m talking about digital signage. And, if it’s good enough for the giant chains like McDonald’s, then why not for laundromats?
In recent years, laundry equipment has gotten much more sophisticated, enabling store owners to offer their customers the option to customize how they do their laundry. It also allows owners to set different price modifiers, thus providing the ability to create upcharges for various choices – such as extra cycles, extra time and ozone.
However, the problem is how to let your customers know about all these great options.
For the many years, I used a backlit display with information for my customers. It featured prices by machine, upgrade options and store policies. The problem with this type of display is that to have the information in both English and Spanish – which is a necessity in many laundromats – this type of signage becomes quite crowded. Another issue occurred when prices were adjusted – a new sign had to be created, or at least the old prices needed to be scraped off and new ones applied.
There had to be a better way, I thought, and there is – if we just follow the example of today’s fast-food titans and utilize digital signs.
The Advantages of Digital Signage
One of the major advantages of digital signs is that, rather than having a multitude of signs, a single display can be programmed to rotate between screens, providing all of the necessary information.
How many stores have you been in where the walls and bulkheads were covered with “Do This…” and “Don’t Do This…” signs that you know no one is reading anyway?
Of course, another advantage of digital signage is the fact that prices can be easily altered by merely changing the video file. This type of setup also can be programmed to automatically change time-of-day and day-of-week pricing when needed.
The Hardware
The easiest way to present the content you want is with a flat-screen television that includes a built-in media player. Most TVs today have the ability to plug in a USB key with various media files that can be played on the display. However, it’s important to understand that some units don’t automatically rotate through all of the files, which then would require someone to repeatedly hit the “play” button. Not a very practical option.
But there are televisions that enable you to play content on a continuous loop – and that’s what you want. Personally, I use a Samsung BE Pro TV, which allows me to easily loop content from a USB key. There also is built-in digital signage software, but I’ve found it difficult to use, and the results are spotty at best.
If you don’t want to purchase one of these units, another option is to use any modern television, along with a digital signage player to handle the content. There are a variety of players available with several options.
The most basic solution, which is what I use on most of our older televisions, is a Micca Speck G2 portable player. This unit is about the size of a deck of playing cards and plugs into the display’s USB port. Simply insert your USB key and press play on loop.
The main advantage is ease of use and cost, as they are only about $40. The drawback is that to change the content you must create a new key for each display and swap out the old one. For most, this isn’t a huge issue. However, if you are looking for something that can be updated remotely or if you want to send the same content to multiple units, a more sophisticated option will be required.
One such unit is the ViewSonic HD Multimedia Digital Signage Player. Although this signage option is more expensive (approximately $220), it features a Wi-Fi connection that allows you to update content remotely, which can be a major time-saver.
A third option is to utilize a streaming box, such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku. There are apps that can be used on these units to create and display content and upload it remotely.
The major drawback here is that you not only have to purchase a streaming device, but also will be required to pay a monthly fee to use the app. Although the fees typically are low (about $10 a month), they’re usually charged per display, which can add up quickly if you want to place multiple units throughout the laundromat.
The Content
After creating a way to display the information you want, the next step is to develop engaging content.
For those of you who are creative and have the required technical skills, you can easily do it yourself. There are several types of digital content that can be used – from full videos to simple digital images.
When I first began doing this, I used PowerPoint to create a presentation with all of the information I wanted to display. After creating that presentation, I exported it to an MP4 video file and downloaded onto a thumb drive.
While this did the job, my lack of artistic ability made the content look amateurish and didn’t present the professional image I wanted. Fortunately, during a marketing session at one of the CLA’s Excellence in Laundry conferences, the presenter spoke about two websites – Fiverr.com and Upwork.com – that connect freelancers with individuals looking for that type of help. Both of these sites offered a number of providers who created menu boards for restaurants, which is a format I believe works well in a laundromat setting.
I received quotes from a number of freelancers, hired who I thought was best for my needs, and got this individual started on developing menu-board-type signage to be placed over my card machines. I decided to not only post prices, but also add some screens advertising such amenities as drop-off laundry service, pickup-and-delivery service and laundry products. In addition, store polices were included as well. These were set up as separate screens that rotated every 10 to 15 seconds.
As for the other digital signage placed throughout the laundromat, I added a few screens that displayed the typical laundromat information, but I also had a freelancer create a short animated video of a child playing in a laundry cart and then falling out of it – as a safety warning to not play on or in the carts. I also developed another one conveying the message that we are not responsible for items left in our machines. The digital signage allows me to add any number of signs and messages without taking up a great deal of wall space.
Starting a digital signage program is fairly easy and relatively inexpensive. Plus, the only limit is your own creativity.
So, why not take a cue from the profitable world of big-name fast food – and go digital with your laundromat’s signage in 2022?
