01732 759725
40
DIGITAL SIGNAGE
Nigel Morris,
Marketing Director,
Beta Distribution
If you have a
customer with
a poster on
the wall, why
are they not
communicating
that
information
on a screen,
which will also
give them the
flexibility to
change the
messaging as
often as they
wish
Beta Digital Media Solutions is
a newly created business that
is complementary to the firm’s
traditional offering. Headed up
by Joel Chimoindes, it’s designed
to help dealers capitalise on the
accelerating convergence of AV and
IT and to provide the channel with
an opportunity to get stickier with
customers by offering an additional
value-add solution.
Beta Digital Media Solutions has
been built in a way that suits its channel
customers, providing them with a one-
stop-shop, a single source through which
they can access solutions from a number
of different vendors, (Beta has secured
two direct distribution agreements with
Philips and Signage live), as well as experts
who will assess customers’ requirements,
create the content, install and network
the screens, roll out the deployment and
manage ongoing content changes on the
dealers’ behalf.
“Supplying digital signage content
packages is a service oriented business
and dealers operating in this space need
additional support and that’s what we are
geared up to provide,” Morris said.
Beta DMS will continue to sell the range
of AV products that has been part of Beta’s
business for many years. The addition of
the comprehensive range of services will
provide a compelling proposition. “For
dealers, this is an easy sell which provides
them with a recurrent revenue stream,”
Morris said. “They simply have to find the
opportunity and we will do the rest.”
Every business regardless of size has
something they want to say to customers,
visitors or staff. “If you have a customer
with a poster on the wall, then ask the
question, why are they not communicating
that information on a screen, which will
also give them the flexibility to change the
messaging as often as they wish,” Morris
said. “Come and talk to us and we will
take it from there.”
Recognising that resellers are naturally
protective of their customer base and don’t
readily share customer data outside of their
own organisations, Morris pointed out that
Beta is a trusted partner. “We don’t have a
direct sales arm, we are a strictly trade only
distributor. Three-quarters of the deliveries
we make are direct to our customers’
customers, which is quite a staggering
statistic and one which I believe speaks
volumes about the levels of trust we have
engendered with our reseller customers.”
Importantly the cost of entry for end-
users is ultra-low, the screens and content
are provided on a lease, with a monthly fee
Turning a blank screen
into a revenue opportunity
PrintIT Reseller
spoke to Nigel Morris, Marketing Director at Beta Distribution about the
company’s new digital content solutions business and the revenue potential for resellers
payable. “It’s an easy entry for the reseller
and an easy decision for the end-user to
make, they can be up and running for an
outlay of tens of pounds as opposed to
thousands of pounds,” he said, adding:
“How many times have you walked into
a building and seen a screen that’s blank
or says ‘no network connection’? That’s a
sales opportunity.”
For dealers already used to selling
solutions and MPS, this works in a similar
way and generates a recurring monthly
revenue. The subscription packages are
comprehensive, simple to sell and offer
significant margin opportunity.
Beta DMS will conduct a customer
survey to determine their requirements and
revert back to the dealer to say how much
it will cost including one content refresh
per month. “It’s as easy as that,” Morris
said. “And importantly if customers require
further content refreshes we will do those
at a competitive rate, presenting an even
greater margin opportunity.”
According to Morris, the crux of this is
that a blank screen has many possibilities.
Global Market Insights reported that
content management forms a crucial part
of the system, which allows end-users to
control what is displayed on their screens.
“This proves the point that simply supplying
the screen isn’t enough, providing the
content is also key. Beta Digital Media
Solutions has a comprehensive content
service which turns your customers’ blank
screens into dynamic engaging displays, it’s
too good an opportunity to pass on,” he
said in conclusion.
