Car Dealerships: How To Compete With Online Car Buying Sites like Carvana

Car buying sites and apps like Carvana, Carmax, and TrueCar are changing the way that people are buying and selling cars. The trend of buying things online has grown tremendously over the past 10 years; a convenience that’s no longer limited to clothes, furniture, or anything small enough to fit in a box. Now because you can make a purchase as big as a car from the comfort of your own home, the automotive industry is experiencing a major shift in the way that cars are bought and sold.

If you own or operate a dealership, you know how frustrating it can be to lose customers to an online retailer. Fortunately, there are certain measures you can take, and new technology to consider that can help strengthen customer retention, and even generate new business.

See: “The Top 6 Dealership TV Systems: Comparing Custom TV Offerings.“

The Rising Threat of Car Buying Sites

At the time this article is being written, many businesses- dealerships included, are closed because of the Coronavirus. Due to the fact that many customers are stuck at home, or practicing social distancing; if someone is in the market for a new vehicle, chances are that they’re going to explore car buying sites in order to limit contact with others. Because of this, services like Carvana are thriving more than ever before. Stocks in Carvana, specifically, went up a whopping 68% since last March.

Additionally, an article published by Forbes labels car buying sites as “The Best Way to Buy a Car in the Age of Coronavirus.”

Virus or not, car buying services didn’t need a worldwide pandemic to get ahead of the game; their success was inevitable. Competing against these alternative means of buying and/or selling cars isn’t impossible, but it’ll take some clever strategizing and forward-thinking.

3 Key Steps to Competing Against Car Buying Sites

Step 1.) Make Your Dealership Shine! If the Coronavirus left any sort of lasting impact on the way that business is conducted, it’s CLEANLINESS. Even after the country gets the ALL-CLEAR, you can count on folks practicing social distancing, or even wearing masks in public. The anxiety isn’t going to go away overnight. In fact, the bar for what constitutes as “a clean establishment” is likely going to be set high. Do what you can to keep surfaces and waiting areas clean. Offer sanitizer; a small, but meaningful gesture. You want your customers to be comfortable and stress-free when they visit your dealership.

See: “Top 5 Ways to Prepare Your Business for Reopening Post-Coronavirus.“

Step 2.) Revisit Your Social Media Pages

If your dealership isn’t on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; consider getting it on social media- especially Facebook. If you do have a presence, but your pages aren’t up-to-date, blow the dust off and make an effort to craft regularly-scheduled posts. Dedicate a member of your staff to make a daily, or even bi-weekly posts to ping your loyal followers. The more active your are, the more likely your posts are to get shared. The more your posts are shared, the more likely you are to generate more followers on social media. Followers are generally the best folks to market to since they’re already following you; and they’re more likely to make a purchase with you.

Related Article: “Social Media on TV: Businesses Become More Social with their Customers” & “Top 3 Reasons to Get Social Media TV Software for your Business.”

Step 3.) Brush Up on the Latest Waiting Room Technology

Waiting room technology is ever-growing. In the past, if you had a TV in your waiting area, you’d put cable on it and call it a day; whereas today, you have your choice of cable TV alternatives to pick from. Alternatives that not only tend to be more cost-effective than cable or satellite TV, but are a lot safer, and come with all kinds of features made with your business in mind. The elements that make up the best car dealership TV vary based on your dealership’s specific needs; however, the following article should give you a good idea in terms of what to look for: “Car Dealership TV Systems – The Top 5 Most Important Elements.“

Car dealerships are among the best users of custom TV networks; having no shortage of videos, promotions, and marketing messages to entice customers with. Deciding between a cable TV subscription that doesn’t block out ads from “Bob’s Better Automobiles,” vs a custom TV network that promotes your own brand is an easy choice.

Related Article: “Should I Cancel Cable? A Better Cable Alternative for Businesses.“

Interested in a Custom TV Network for your Car Dealership? Start Here

Whether you’re new to waiting room TV technology, or you’re switching from a service like Spectrio, or Automotive Broadcasting Network (ABN); the best TV solution for car dealerships is It’s Relevant TV. Featured in an article published by Automotive News, It’s Relevant stands out from its competitors by having the lowest cost, whilst being the most feature-rich.

It’s Relevant TV for Car Dealerships features the world’s largest library of licensed, short-form content at over half-a-million videos. Additionally, it’s the only service that features live social media integration; displaying your most recent Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts for visitors to enjoy alonside IRTV’s fun and engaging content. See what’s out there, but don’t settle for less than what IRTV delivers.

READ: “What’s the Best Dealership TV Service for Waiting Rooms?“

How To Remove The News From Your Waiting Room TV: FOX News, CNN, MSNBC

Looking for a way to remove the news from your waiting room TV? Whether it’s who-did-what in politics, a terrorist attack, or a school shooting; the news is so polluted with unsettling content that businesses want to disengage from it. If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of seeing reports of shootings, stabbings, or what the president Tweeted this morning.

What’s the answer? How do you protect your business, and your visitors, from news stories like the ones featured in this article? (WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE)

Can you really stop the news from showing up in your waiting room? Absolutely- 100%. Let’s take a look at how.

How to Remove the News from your Waiting Room TV

Now before you get the wrong impression- this isn’t going to require opening up your TV, climbing up a telephone pole, or learning any Hollywood hacking skills; the solution to removing disturbing content from networks like FOX, CNN, and MSNBC from your waiting room television is in using a custom TV network. That means no more cable, no more upset visitors, and no more bad reviews on sites like Yelp complaining about the news they saw on the TV while they were there.

Many business owners have employed digital signage technologies over the past few years, replacing television with business messaging. It’s a growing market that didn’t exist years ago when many businesses first put TVs in their locations. Back then, cable went on the TV because that’s all there was. Today, that simply isn’t the case. And now there are solutions that go beyond cable and even digital signage to match visitors up with programming they will enjoy, while being devoid of the problems faced with cable.

Forward-think technologies like It’s Relevant TV are available to any business owner who wants to STOP the news from hurting their business and remove programming that makes their visitors feel uncomfortable.

The Advantages of a Custom TV Network

Safe, family-friendly programming that visitors genuinely enjoy watching is one of the best reasons to consider a custom TV network. Other reasons worth mentioning is the ability to upload your own personal videos and messages. Additionally, if your business is on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you can actually program your TV to display your most recent social media posts! You can even go so far as to block certain keywords as an added layer of protection against videos that talk about topics you don’t want popping up in your business.

Make ‘your’ TV work for ‘your’ Business

Cable is a service that you pay for that has no allegiance to your brand. Whether it’s graphic content, unsettling news, or even competitor ads; you aren’t the one in control of your TV. If you’re going to pay to have TV programming in your waiting room, it should be designed with your business at the center of it.

As it stands, there is NO legal way to remove the news from your cable TV. Altering basic cable in any way without the expressed consent of your provider violates the Terms & Conditions of your agreement, and may result in a penalty. Cutting cable altogether and deciding to play DVDs or Netflix in your business is just as bad and could lead to a hefty copyright lawsuit. You can do better.

There’s no better time than now to start browsing for cable TV replacements for your waiting room. Begin your search here, and find the solution that fits what you’re looking for!

The Best Marketing Tool For 2020: Your TV

Looking for the best marketing tool for the new year? Want to make your marketing dollars count? Whether you’re a big franchisee with multiple locations, or a small business owner with a humble brand; your own television can be the key to unlocking your 2020 marketing potential. To fully appreciate the best marketing tool for the upcoming year, you need to take a closer look at the TV in your waiting room.

A Closer Look at Waiting Room Television

Take a moment to think of your lobby or waiting room. Think about what’s currently on TV there. Now think about who’s watching it, and for how long. Finally, how much does it cost? -and how much revenue is it generating for your business?

Bonus Question: How many competitor ads are your visitors seeing?

These are the important things to consider; not just for your business’ television, but for your business as a whole. Here’s why:

1.) What’s Playing on your TV?: What you decide to put on your TV leaves an impression on your visitors. Many business owners like to default to the news – however the news can be graphic, unsettling, and a bit too political nowadays. It simply isn’t a fit for any waiting room. Also worth noting is that a popular TV solution for waiting rooms are DVDs, or Netflix in their locations as a cost-effective alternative to the drama of news, or the boringness of cable. This would be great- if it weren’t for the fact that playing Netflix or DVDs in a commercial setting is illegal. You can read more about the specifics in this article, but the message is clear; understand the Terms & Conditions of your TV subscriptions!

2.) Who’s Watching / How Long?: The answer varies from business-to-business. “The Who” matters because you want programming on the TV that your visitors will appreciate. Likewise, “How Long” matters because you don’t want your visitors exposed to something they don’t like if they’re waiting for a long period of time. Above all else; avoid looping playlists and displays. Nothing says “I’ve been waiting forever.” like knowing which videos are coming up next in a playlist.

3.) How much does it Cost / What is it doing for your Business?: The importance of affordability and cost-effectiveness doesn’t have to be stated. However the latter part of this point raises an interesting question; “What is the TV in your waiting room doing for your business?” Simply put, your TV should be serving your brand. All the money that goes into paying for cable or satellite TV each month could be spent towards a custom TV network. One that potentially costs less, is more effective at delivering your messaging, and is better at engaging visitors.

It’s Relevant TV: The Best Marketing Tool for 2020

It’s Relevant TV is a cost-effective programming tool for businesses looking to improve visitor experience, find new ways to deliver important messages, and generate more followers on social media. IRTV accomplishes this through carefully curating content from its library of customizable, short-form programs that people genuinely enjoy watching- packaged alongside a free rotating adspace, and active social media integration.

There’s no better, more cost-effective way to promote your services, get people excited about your brand, and grow your business. Hit the ground running for 2020 and visit ItsRelevant.com to learn more about this year’s most powerful marketing tool.

Top Places to Put Your TV Advertisement and Business Ads

So you’ve created a TV advertisement for your business, but you aren’t sure how to get the most mileage out of it.

With TVs all over the place; in homes, restaurants, doctor’s offices, car dealerships, and even at gas pumps nowadays; figuring out where exactly to play your message can prove to be a real challenge. Fortunately, this article will provide you with some useful insight, and cost effective resources to help get you going and settle on the best options for delivering your business’ messaging.

Before we begin, I recommend checking out the following article: “Top 5 Things to Consider When Advertising Your Brand“ – things like knowing who your target audience is, where they go, etc. are important starting points for the best ad strategy.

The Best Platform for your Business’ TV Advertisement is Closer than you Think

Cutting right to the chase; the best platform for your business’ TV advertisement may be the television(s) inside your business itself. Often overlooked, there’s no better, and more cost effective space to showcase your services than within your own walls. Likewise, there’s no better audience to advertise to than people who are already familiar with your brand, are loyal to your business, and might be interested in any new goods, services, or specials you have to offer them.

When it comes to marketing, one thing is true; it’s easier to get an existing customer to come back, than it is to attract a new one.

Whether you’re a restaurant getting customers hooked on your new seasonal sandwich, a car dealership getting word out about new lease rates, or a dentist showcasing specific products like Invisalign; you’re likely to generate more success by showing these promos to your visitors instead of the general public.

The Downside to Traditional TV Advertising

Traditional TV advertising is very expensive and is harder than ever to reach target audiences with. The increase in the number of cable/satellite channels combined with DVR and streaming services has increased the number of places you can put an ad, while making each less concentrated. If you are a big brand with an endless budget than standard TV advertising is likely still part of your marketing mix, but it’s likely not your most effective avenue to reach customers anymore.

Out-of-home advertising has its place, and marketing to new customers is important; but if you’re trying to make your marketing dollars count, you might not have the budget to spring for anything expensive. Digital billboards, one of the more common platforms, can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 a month. That’s a lot to set aside for marketing, especially if you’re a small business. It’s far more cost-effective, and practical, to run your own messaging on your own TV.

How to Put Your TV Advertisement on Your Television

Having a TV in your business and deciding to play your own TV ads on it is a step in the right direction; however, doing so is easier said than done.

The last thing you want is a repetitive loop of your commercials; that’s boring, and it will do more harm than good for your message.

The key to success with any TV solution is having a robust library of content. A blend of your personal videos mixed with other engaging content is the best way to deliver your messaging to visitors. The secret is getting access to licensed TV content.

Unfortunately, you can’t simply build a playlist of entertaining videos you’ve found on the internet to mix in with your TV ads; you’d need permission to play those videos in your business. As such, building a custom TV network from scratch can be very time-consuming and costly in the long run. It’s much easier, and economic, to find a service provider that builds custom TV networks as a service.

It’s Relevant TV is the go-to for businesses ranging from family-owned medical offices to 10,000-seat sports arenas that are looking to do more with their TVs. Featuring a library of over half-a-million, licensed TV programs; It’s Relevant feels like real TV that’s working for your business. The best part of utilizing their service is that your messaging will reach visitors in the best possible fashion; by playing alongside, and in between, the engaging TV programming,

IRTV is the best way to deliver important marketing messages to your customers, generate repeat business. Get them excited about your brand in a unique way!

Kid-Friendly Waiting Room TV: The Best TV For Young Patients

Are you a doctor’s office, urgent care, or dentist looking for kid-friendly waiting room TV ideas? This article is for you.

Kid-friendly is really the key. It’s easy to find waiting room TV solutions that offer basic programming, but that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here because you’re looking for the best TV experience for your young patients.

The Best Kid-Friendly TV for Doctors & Dentists

It’s Relevant TV is the go-to for doctors and dentists looking to put kid-friendly content on their waiting room TVs. Safe and friendly, It’s Relevant’s kid’s content is split into two categories; Kids Under 7, and Kids 7-and-Up. This is especially convenient if your waiting room has multiple TVs, or has multiple rooms for different age groups.

As for the content itself, It’s Relevant delivers a variety of videos that range from fun and interesting, to educational; sometimes all three! Whether it’s puppets, cartoons, toy reviews, or games and trivia – IRTV provides a variety of quality children’s content. You can see samples of the kids programming on the It’s Relevant TV official site.

It’s Relevant TV is more than Kid-Friendly Waiting Room TV

Wherever there are children, adults usually aren’t far behind. When your patients are primarily children and young teens, never forget who’s bringing them to their appointments: Adults!

Adults spend the same amount of time, if not longer, in your waiting room; so finding a solution that keeps parents in mind is important, but often overlooked.

Depending on your waiting room’s setup – It’s Relevant TV can help deliver enjoyable content, important messaging, or both, to your older visitors. Kid-friendly TV is just the tip of the IRTV iceberg. The service fully-includes an additional 40+ categories that are geared towards a general audience; all of which, like the children’s categories, can be turned on/off at your convenience depending on who’s watching.

Do you have multiple TVs in your waiting room? Perfect! You can dedicate one of those TVs to general content; meanwhile another other TV can be tuned to another custom channel that is suited for kids, keeping them occupied and entertained while they wait to be seen.

Do you have a single TV? No problem! You can still communicate important reminders and marketing messages to adults-in-waiting through It’s Relevant’s free side adspace. You can also connect with visitors through personal videos, and social media posts which can be integrated seamlessly into the system and displayed directly on the TV- even if the primary content is kid-focused.

It’s Relevant TV: The Best Waiting Room TV Experience

Kid-friendly waiting room TV is hard to find; even harder is to find one that caters to adults as well. If you’re looking for a cost-effective set-it-and-forget-it TV solution that you can trust to play safe, interesting content for your visitors, start your search with It’s Relevant TV. Visit the official website, or schedule a demo to learn more about the best waiting room practices; because many of the best waiting room experiences come from having the best waiting room TV programming.

For more useful hints on how to make your waiting room shine; check out “Top 10 Secrets for Creating the Best Waiting Room.”

Dental Waiting Room TV: The Best Content For Your Patients

The key to a great dental waiting room TV is the content. Whether it’s patient education videos, or content that’s more homey, it’s the quality that counts. This article highlights some of the “Shoulds,” and “Should NOTs,” to consider when choosing the best content for your patients.

Dental Waiting Room TV: “The Shoulds”

1.) Your TV Should be there for your Patients’ Comfort: First and foremost, you want your patients to feel comfortable in your waiting room. Compared to other practices, dental offices tend to stand out as the most-stressful, and most anxiety-inducing; across all ages. The last thing you want is the TV making things worse. Put something on the TV that your patients will enjoy.

2.) Your TV’s Content Should be Entertaining AND Educational: As a dentist, getting your message across is important. Whether that message is promoting the importance of brushing twice daily, or reminding patients to schedule routine-cleanings; equally as important is balancing those messages with content that visitors will find personally enjoyable. Which, in the end, is proven to help the educational messages go down easier.

3.) Your TV Should Communicate with your Patients: Videos that feature your office, staff, or community, are a great and friendly way to connect with your patients. Having a TV gives you the power to communicate. Use this power to greet patients-in-waiting, create a more welcoming environment, or even get more followers on social media!

Dental Waiting Room TV: “The Should NOT’s”

1.) Your TV’s Content Should NOT be Strictly Dental-Related: Content that is medical-related is only good in small doses. Unless you’re a dentist, you really don’t find dental-related things very interesting. This idea that dentist offices must have dental, or tooth-related things playing on the TV is a dangerous mindset. It can be a big put off for patients.

Dental TV services that provide only dental-related videos are experts at spinning them in a positive light- and, as dentists, it’s easy to get excited about it. However, your patients are NOT as enthusiastic about seeing teeth, technology, and dental procedures as you are. Many visitors will be turned off, or even anxious about the prospect of being trapped in a room with a TV telling them that they might have cavities, or gingivitis.

2.) Your TV’s Content Should NOT be Gross or Unsettling: However well-intentioned your videos of rotting teeth, bloody gums, or bad breath are- they’re simply not doing your office any favors. Patient comfort comes first; leave the gross, graphic, and nightmare-fueled imagery to the voluntarily-read pamphlets and brochures and online videos. People that are interested enough will search out the gory details. But you can spare the rest of your patients the displeasure.

3.) Your TV’s Content Should NOT be a Looping Playlist: Looping playlists are just a bad idea in general. Nothing says “I’ve been waiting forever” like knowing which video is coming up next. A lot of times providers utilize playlists because they simply don’t have a large enough library of content. Quality is important, but so is quantity when it comes to not seeing the same thing over and over again.

The Best Dental Waiting Room TV: Where to Start Looking

Knowing the Shoulds and Should NOT’s of dental TV is a good start in terms of “what” to look for in a TV solution; “where” to find the right provider is the next step. A simple google search is one’s best friend, however you’ll have to sift through the riff-raff of dental-only services for the needle in the haystack.

For the best in quality content that patients truly enjoy watching, start your search with It’s Relevant TV. It’s Relevant features one of the world’s largest libraries of short-form licensed content; no playlists. It’s a cost-effective, easy-to-use TV service that dentists- big and small, are using to improve patient experience, promote their brands, and connect more with their visitors.

Alternative Dealership TV Systems for Spectrio & Automotive Broadcasting Network (ABN)

Do you have a dealership TV system? Are your customers bored by it? Does it cost too much? Are you getting what you want to out of it?

If you’re using a service like Spectrio, or ABN, and it just isn’t working; this article is for you. Keep reading to see the reasons how your dealership’s custom TV software might be failing you, and your car business. If you’re fed up, not thrilled, or just simply disappointed with your current provider, I recommend that you start your search for a better dealership TV here.

Your Dealership TV System: What Went Wrong?

Custom TV networks for car dealerships have been around for years. While the technology has grown in the world, most of the car TV services have not. As a result, a number of the older “pioneer services” are being left in the dust by alternative providers delivering a lot more, for a lot less. Innovative ideas and technologies have transformed the dealership TV systems of 5-10 years ago into new, forward-thinking tools that are better at delivering your marketing messages, and better at entertaining your customers. If you’re browsing automotive TV solutions in today’s day and age, hone your selection by finding one that is feature-rich, and cost-effective.

A Feature-Rich Dealership TV System

Chances are, you probably liked the features that came with your current dealership TV, hence why you originally got it. If those features failed to live up to your expectations, or got dull over time, then you’re doing the right thing by going online and seeing what else is out there.

So what should you expect from your TV? The best TV for your dealership’s lobby is one that gets your messaging across, and provides entertaining content for customers who might be waiting for longer periods of time. It should be customizable. You should have control over more than just your own videos, but the content you’re paying for as well. More importantly; managing that paid content, as well as your own personal ads/videos should be easy, and able to be done on most smart devices. From anywhere. Lastly, your dealership TV system should integrate with your social media accounts.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are often the best ways to keep in touch with your customers, generate repeat business, and get referrals. If your brand is on one, or more of these platforms – get your TV integrated! Display those posts right on your TV for visitors who aren’t following you, and give them a reason to check out your pages. If you’re interested in this feature in particular, visit click here to learn more about the automotive TV software that does it best.

A Cost-Effective Dealership TV System

Dealerships are playing HUGE amounts of money each month for services that barely include half of the features listed above. A more in-depth article comparing the top 6 dealership TV systems worth checking out can be found here. The big takeaway is that car businesses are paying upwards of $500, to $1,000+/month for their TVs. What’s truly interesting, is what those dealerships are often getting in return for that cost. The answer? A playlist.

Looping playlists, in general, are bad news. Avoid any dealership TV service that mentions the word playlist. Avoid them like the plague, or a live-action movie remake. A list of pre-loaded videos; whether it’s 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour long, is not quality waiting area TV. Neither are clips from top TV networks like NBC. Be wary of TV providers who claim to have content from those big networks. Most often, they’re just short promotional segments– a.k.a. commercials, designed to market the networks and have your customers go home and watch the full shows on their own time.

Dealership wait-time is a little longer than the average waiting room wait when looking across industries. That being said, you don’t want your customers watching a looping playlist of the same videos over and over again. It’s maddening, and creates a bad impression of your brand. Good, quality content goes a long way. Additionally, car videos showing outdated models that you no longer sell have no place being on your TV. When it comes to videos, up to date content is the best way to deliver programming to your dealership.

It’s Relevant TV: A Feature-Rich & Cost-Effective Dealership TV System

There’s only one automotive TV service that has every feature that was listed up above, and won’t burn a hole in your pocket; It’s Relevant TV. It’s Relevant has everything from the ability to upload and easily manage your own videos, access to one of the world’s largest library of licensed short-form content, and perhaps most importantly; real-time social media integration.

This is the automotive TV service you were waiting for. Partnering with brands across the spectrum, from Subaru to Mercedes-Benz, It’s Relevant is providing car businesses across the country with the best choice in dealership TV.

Top 5 Tips For Improving Your Hospital Waiting Room

Looking to spruce up your hospital waiting room? If you manage a hospital you probably want everything to look as nice as possible; that goes double for anywhere visitors are sitting for any length of time. This article will share the top 5 tips and tricks towards making your waiting room welcoming.

Tip #1: The Waiting Room TV

What waiting room feels complete without a TV for people to watch? TVs in waiting rooms is a tale as old as time, however simply having a TV is only half the battle. What you decide to put on it makes all the difference.

The waiting room TV options available to hospitals vary in terms of quality, and practicality. There’s the default standard cable/satellite service, which is a bad idea for all of the reasons listed in this article. But in short, cable is a missed opportunity, it allows competing hospitals to show up uninvited on the screen, and you can’t control what programming plays beyond choosing the channel.

Alternatively, there are patient education videos for medical offices. Yet they’re just as risky for the fact that most visitors find them boring, or in some cases; upsetting. However educational or informative they might be, the truth is that your patients most likely won’t see it that way.

Finally, there are custom TV networks, which are arguably the safest, and most cost-effective type of waiting room TV solution. It’s hard to beat a service that’s specifically designed to improve patient experience through fun and interesting videos. Utilizing a service that has videos that are fun, and interesting, is the trick though. For a head-start on where to begin looking, check out It’s Relevant TV.

Tip #2: Comfortable Furniture

Now, no one’s expecting a waiting room full of heated massage-chair recliners with built-in speakers. But some nice, well-maintained and intact chairs can go a long way when it comes to patient comfort. The bar for visitors’ expectations isn’t set very high in regards to what kind of seating they’re going to find in a hospital waiting room. Still – these are going to be chairs where either patients or relatives of patients might be expected to sit for a very long time. So it helps to invest in some furniture that won’t cause them to visit a chiropractor. Generating repeat business is important, however that’s not way to go about doing it.

Tip #3: Cleanliness!

Cleanliness. Hospitals are full of germs, sicknesses, and plenty of people anxious about catching them; so making sure that your hospital’s waiting rooms are spick-and-span is instrumental to your visitor’s comfort, and the overall state of the waiting room itself. Cleanliness is more than just vaccuming the floor, or mopping the slick surfaces with cleanser. Dust has a habit of gathering on surfaces such as lampshades, picture frames, or plastic plants that are easy to miss; but the perceptive, and scrutinizing visitors will notice the dust in these places in a heartbeat.

Next time you’re in your waiting room, run a finger over these places and see what, if anything, is being missed. If you don’t find any dust, treat your cleaning staff to something nice. Because you’ve got some folks working for you who are doing a good job!

Tip #4: Plants & Art

Plants, artwork, and other decorative accents turn a bland, or daunting waiting room into one that is aesthetically pleasing. A hospital waiting room doesn’t have to be on par with the Musée d’Orsay, but a piece of art here and there can make all the difference. It’s just a simple way to make the place your visitors will be waiting in feel more natural.

Artwork can be bought at any local gallery, thrift store, or flea market for reasonable prices. Likewise, you can find a number of plastic plants at just about any home improvement, or department store. But as with Tip #3 – don’t forget to dust them from time to time!

Tip #5: Music & Ambiance

Hospitals are a haven of sick people coughing, doctors being paged, and a host of other administration noises. These, and other typical hospital sounds, can be anxiety-inducing for some patients and a constant reminder of where they are. That’s why it’s important, or at least considerate, to invest in some kind of music, ambiance, or white-noise soution for your visitors’ comfort.

Whether it’s a radio speaker, a calming white noise generator, or even somthing as simple as a TV that’s not muted; a little sound can go a long way. If you do end up going the route of television- make sure it’s not too loud. Yelp is full of medical office reviews of patients complaining about noise levels being too high. Patients are tons more likely to post a bad experience online before they’d ever approach you, the hospital, about it.

Bonus Advice!

Play it safe with your TVs. The best thing any medical office can do for its waiting room is put something on the TV that will give the visitors something enjoyable to watch. Fun and interesting is the key. Visitors in waiting are always looking to kill time, so programming that helps pass the time is what you should be on the lookout for.

Look online for waiting room TV software for medical offices. There’s plenty of options to pick from. See what you can find, schedule some demos, and talk to some experts about how implementing a custom TV network for your hospital is a forward-thinking strategy.

Tips On The Best Patient Education Videos For Your Waiting Room TV

Patient education videos are a great way to inform any visitors in your waiting room about health-related topics. However, many hospitals, urgent care centers, and dentists, aren’t aware that these videos often make their patients feel uncomfortable. Are you currently playing patient education videos on your waiting room TV, or considering it? In this article we’ll explore why so many doctors, dentists, and medical specialists are so keen on showing patients educational or medical-related content; but most importantly, examine why that isn’t necessarily the best idea.

Patient Education Videos on the TV: Good or Bad?

Generally speaking, people aren’t really interested in watching medical-related content in waiting rooms. They’re not (usually) doctors, dentists, or a part of the medical industry themselves, therefore the chances of them having your level of appreciation for health-related videos is low. Regardless of how educational the videos are, patients tend to perceive them as boring, gross, or even depressing. Which is not how you want your visitors to feel.

“The TV in the waiting room was playing some gross health news infomercial.” -Yelp Review

As doctors and professionals concerned for the well-being of others, it’s only natural to want to educate patients wherever possible. However, you don’t want your good intentions accidentally making things worse. Additionally, you don’t want a video being the reason a patient had a bad experience, or left a bad review. Therefore, you should think carefully about what’s playing on your TV.

gross_tooth — Sitting in a waiting room shouldn’t feel like pulling teeth.
FREE DENTAL PICTURE BY AUTHORITY DENTAL UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS 2.0

Waiting rooms across the country are playing videos that make patients feel uneasy. Many of these medical offices are paying, or have paid, a lot of money to put this kind of content on their TVs. Whether it’s cross-sections of clogged arteries, rotten teeth being pulled, or eyes getting scraped with scalpels (I wish that was only a joke, but it’s happened), it simply isn’t the sort of thing people in waiting rooms want to see. That goes double if those videos are on a 10-minute looping medical display. Medical offices – you can do better. Fortunately, there are ways of getting around the gross, or graphic content.

Waiting Room TV: The Best of Both Worlds

Should you do away with all of your patient education videos? Not at all. There’s a happy medium between showing videos with educational, or important health messages, and fun, interesting content that your visitors will enjoy watching. Finding a good balance between the two is the key to crafting the best waiting experience for your patients. Patient comfort comes first.

The Best Waiting Room TV: Where To Begin Looking

It doesn’t matter if you’re a hospital, urgent care, dentist, or specialist of some kind; finding the best waiting room TV software for a medical office is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, except the hay are countless custom TV providers telling you that they have the best technology, cheapest devices or easiest to use system. So how does one narrow the list down? Follow these 3 simple steps, and you’ll find the custom TV software that’s perfect for your waiting room:

1.) Avoid Medical-Only Content: For every reason that’s been detailed above. Medical videos are best shown when played alongside traditional TV content that people enjoy watching– like food/cooking, entertainment, home/garden, sports or fashion. Medical content can be good when it’s educational, and not gross. However, who doesn’t like watching something fun over something medical?

2.) Don’t Fall for “Free” TV Services: Nothing is free. That “free” TV for your medical office is likely paid-for by pharma ads that have no business in your waiting room. For more information about why “free tv” is a bad idea, check out this article: “Top 5 Reasons a Free TV Service is Bad for your Waiting Room.”

3.) Feature Your Own Content: Find waiting room TV software that allows you to upload, and mix-in your own personal videos. Medical videos aren’t bad, they’re just best in small doses. They are especially effective when the videos are personally-branded, and the people on the TV are your own staff. Most importantly, your messaging is better-received when it’s played in between content that puts visitors in a good mood. That’s really all it takes.

Your Business’ TV is NOT a Commodity: Make the Most Out of Your TV

Your business’ TV is more than just a box on your wall, in your waiting room, or over your bar. Depending on how you utilize it, your TV can be a key player when it comes to generating repeat visits, promoting your marketing messages, and gaining more followers on social media. However, most business owners treat TVs as commodities because they can’t achieve these successes though cable. In order to get the most out of your business’ TV, you need to do some exploring. Specifically, you’ll want to start by searching online for custom TV networks, or digital signage solutions for businesses.

Commodity or Not? Knowing the Difference

When you think of the word “commodity,” what sorts of things come to mind? The coffee you might have had this morning is a commodity. Commodities are basic goods that are bought and sold for convenience, and consumption. That being said, it’s more accurate to label a “television set” as a commodity – but what’s playing on the TV itself is an entirely different story.

Let’s compare your TV to your morning cup of coffee.

That coffee you had this morning, was it generic? Or was it from somewhere like Starbucks? When a commodity stands out amongst its competition, it becomes a luxury; meaning that it’s higher-priced for its quality, or popularity. Cable TV is the generic “coffee“ in this case; whereas custom TV networks that are tailored to your business become the name-brand coffee.

When it comes to a business’ TV, the brand of the television doesn’t matter so much as what’s playing on it. For most people, it doesn’t matter if the TV is a Samsung, or Sony; it’s a TV – what’s important for your business is what you decide to put on it.

Your Business’ TV can do More

No longer treating your TV as a commodity is the first step; getting rid of cable, if you have it, is the second. The third, and final step, is investing in a TV service that works for your business. A simple online-search will land you a long list of options to choose from. However if you’re looking for a feature-rich TV solution with the best content, start your search with It’s Relevant TV.