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A waiting room TV in an auto shop helps customers pass the time while they wait for their service to be complete. It seems like a fairly straight-forward tool. Turn on a television facing chairs, and your waiting room is complete. But a waiting room TV can be used for so much more. 

The Benefits of a Waiting Room TV

Yes, one of the primary benefits of a waiting room TV is that it entertains guests while they wait and helps them pass the time.

In fact, a waiting room TV actually makes a customer’s wait even feel shorter. When a TV screen or digital signage is present in a waiting room, a customer’s wait can feel up to 33% shorter.

Digital signs decrease perceived wait time and make a 30-minute wait feel more like a 20-minute wait. That alone makes a waiting room TV a valuable asset, but it’s just the beginning of its benefits.

Custom digital content displays also:

  • Effectively capture and hold attention. People are visual learners with short attention spans. So, the engaging delivery of digital signage content allows this platform to resonate strongly with viewers and hold their attention longer.
  • Block competitors. With regular cable television airing in your waiting room, you have no control over what comes on the screen. Ads for your competitors can air to your customers who are sitting right there in your waiting room. But with custom digital signage and private label TV, you control all of the content and therefore, can block messages from your competitors.
  • Cycle content based on time and environment. Another benefit of customization is that your digital signage content can automatically change. Screens can display different material based on the day of the week or time of the day. They can also automatically update based on the weather outside. So, you can promote products based on conditions (snow tires in snowy weather, air conditioning checks in the summer, etc.) and time-based factors (daily specials, instant offers, etc.).
  • Cycle content based on customer wants and needs. You can even use digital screens to deliver the exact messages that customers want to see when they want to see them. Interactive screens allow audiences to control what they view and choose their own content based on their needs and wants.

All of these benefits make a waiting room TV more than an entertainment tool; they turn it into a full-blown advertising tool.

How to Use Your Waiting Room TV as an Advertising Tool

The following tactics and tools allow you to use your waiting room TV to promote products, services, upsells, and promotions.  

1. Display Video Advertisements

When you use digital signage to customize your waiting room TV rather than simply plugging in a television set and putting on a cable channel — you can seed a variety of advertisements for your business (and only your business). Customers are already in your store and engaged with your brand, so this is an ideal place to promote cross-sells and upsells and highlight lesser-known or less-prominent products and services.  

2. Provide Procedure Explanations & Product Demos

Many customers in the auto industry are skeptical. They often don’t fully understand the products or services, so it makes it difficult for them to make a purchasing decision. Help guide skeptical customers by showing them how procedures and products work and why they need them. For example, show a customer the difference between a new tire and an old tire to help them understand why they need to make the purchase.

3. Highlight Results  

Another way to build trust with skeptical auto customers is by offering proof of the results of your work. Use your waiting room TV to display testimonials of happy customers, before and after images, and improvement stats. This allows you to highlight the value of your products and services and guide customers to making those purchases.  

4. Utilize Branded Frames & Banners

Ads for your business on your waiting room TV aren’t restricted to full-screen promotions. You can also continually promote to your audience while they watch entertainment programs by adding a branded frame, banner, information ticker, or sidebar to the screen. This allows you to keep your brand front and center while still delivering engaging content to customers while they wait.

Start Advertising Through Your Waiting Room TV

Take a second to look at your auto shop waiting room TV.

Is it just sitting their airing local news and television programming? Is it showing commercials for your competitors? Is it a sales resource that is being underutilized?

The answers to those questions are probably “yes” if you haven’t set up a system to use your waiting room TV as more than an afterthought entertainment tool.

By using the tools and tips mentioned in this post, you can transform your TV from a time-filler to a sales-maker. To learn more about how you can use the TV in your waiting room to maximize your advertising opportunities, increase your sales, and actually help you save money — get our free digital signage guide.

The free guide will help you identify advertising opportunities for your business and includes everything you need to know when deciding if digital signage is right for you.