Everyone knows the phrase “You get what you pay for,” and nothing is more enticing than something free; especially when that “free thing” is a TV for your business. Trying to get the most while spending the least is a sound business tactic. It makes sense to think that spending $0 for a service that you want in your business is a win-win.

But what’s the catch?

This article tackles the top 5 issues that come with free TV services and the ways it impacts your practice. If you’re already aware of the risks and you’re looking for a better alternative for your TV, then check out a custom television service we recommend that’s made for medical practices.

1. Who’s Paying For Your Free TV?

Contrary to what Sam Cooke was singing about in the 1920’s, the best things in life aren’t free. If someone approaches your business offering you a free TV service, it isn’t out of the goodness of their heart. It’s about business. You might not be paying any money for the service, but it does come at a cost. If the service provided isn’t getting their money from you, they’re getting it from someone else. That someone else is the one who ends up having the most control over what’s on your TV.

Advertisers pay for the messaging, so most of the content is there to benefit them – you have a lack of control over what your patients are seeing. If you’re not paying for your TV in money, you’re paying for it in other ways. The prospect of a free TV can be enticing, but don’t fall for it. There are better alternatives out there.

2. Free TV = A Bad Patient Experience

In a hospital, clinic, or medical office, a medical TV service that costs very little, or nothing at all, might seem like a great idea because it’s health-related and compliments the medical setting. But how does it make patients feel? Visitors might be there for health-related reasons, but that doesn’t mean it’s the sort of thing they want to watch while they wait. Graphic cross-sections of the human body, gross videos about clogged hearts or debilitating diseases, or even pharmaceutical ads for pills patients can purchase – however informative or well-intended these pieces are, it can make patients anxious or lead to an overall bad experience. The visit starts in the waiting room and you owe it to your patients to put something on the TV they will enjoy.

3. Poor/Limited Content

The content that comes with free services are often outdated, uninteresting, unsettling, or of poor quality. The providers of your free service pay as little as they can to procure cheap content that they can play over and over again forever. In the end you’re left with the bottom of the barrel, or the least amount of effort your provider has to put forward in order to hold up their end of the bargain. Don’t settle for this kind of service.

4. Updating Content…

If you’ve ever used a free TV service in your business or clinic, you might have experienced the frustration of waiting for the system to update. If you haven’t, then based on the previous sentence you could probably guess that it can take a very long time. Sad but true; in most cases, providers of free medical TV services are busy serving the clients that pay them, a.k.a. pharmaceutical companies that are advertising through their platform. As a free user, you rank lower on their list of priorities, and therefore updating your individual TV is often something they’ll “get around to doing,”… eventually.

5. Stolen Potential

Free TV services rob the potential your TV has to improve your practice, patient experience, and your bottom line. When you settle for a free service  you’re sacrificing the most effective tool for communicating with your visitors. A free TV and several hours of dry, looping content isn’t worth the expense of your patients’ comfort. It also isn’t worth the lost potential that your own controlled TV network can provide you with. Don’t short-change yourself.

A Service That Works For You & Your Practice

Instead of settling for one of these “free” services, utilize It’s Relevant TV – and for a small monthly fee you’ll have access to interesting content visitors will enjoy. You’ll have control over what’s on your TV, and you’ll see a real return on your investment. With It’s Relevant you control what messages patients see; getting them to come back for other reasons, ultimately raising your per-patient-revenue. Outside companies shouldn’t be the ones getting the most out of your business. Schedule a call or demo with It’s Relevant TV to learn more: http://www.itsrelevant.com/medical.

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably interested in learning more about the different kinds of TV software available for waiting rooms in businesses, medical offices, and the like. As a business owner, manager, or owner of a medical practice, it can be hard to find time to sift through all the options out there. If you’d like to save time, check out It’s Relevant TV. It’s an all-inclusive TV software and TV program provider that can meet most branding needs.

Interested in more details? Here are the Top 3 Things to look for in a quality waiting area TV program:

1. TV Software that is Engaging

Much like the Field of Dreams phrase: “If you build it, they will come,” if you hang a TV in your waiting room, people will look at it. Once they see it, you want them to continue to watch it; that part’s harder. It’s important to have something on the TV they will enjoy. Owners like to put cable on their televisions- which is great if you’re at home. But in a business setting, or medical office, the programs are too long and not as engaging.

Slideshows or industry-related looping displays suffer the same kind of problem. Simply put: they’re boring, and people aren’t going to watch. You need waiting room TV programming that will catch people’s attention and give them a reason to keep looking. IRTV for waiting rooms is a tool that helps draw attention to your TV, and gets visitors to notice the important messaging that you want them to see more.

2. TV Software that is Easy to Use

Waiting room TV programming that is difficult to use, set up, or manage, can be frustrating beyond words. TVs shouldn’t be difficult. Owners should be able to simply put something on the TV,  and walk away with the confidence that it’s going to work without them constantly needing to fix things. IRTV is the “set it and forget it” of waiting room TV software. Straightforward and easy-to-use, you’re able to customize and control every aspect of the service through our digital signage app; from your phone – regardless of where you are.

3. TV Software that is Inexpensive

The best waiting room TV software is one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Cheap cable TV is the standard for many business owners, but in the end, you always get what you pay for. Monthly cable bills stack up, and if your cable subscription is nothing but a flat expense, consider an alternative that actually gives back to your business.

IRTV brings a noticeable ROI to your business. The engaging content gets visitors watching the TV, while your messaging educates them on reasons to come back. The It’s Relevant ROI Calculator can show you just how much additional monthly revenue you can make if you switch.

It’s Relevant TV is All You Need

It’s Relevant TV is engaging, easy to use, and inexpensive. The short-form, family-friendly content informs, entertains, and gets people looking at the TV. Managing It’s Relevant is done through an easy-to-use control panel/app that is straightforward; with technical support that’s available at your convenience. Other services cost you money, It’s Relevant TV makes you money by getting people to come back more, and spend more.

Schedule a demo with It’s Relevant TV, and discover how it can help improve your business.

Inexpensive marketing is possible, even on a shoestring budget – it’s all about knowing how to identify the ways to take advantage of what you already have available to you. The right strategy can make all the difference. This article will explore some of the top 3 things to consider when shopping for low budget marketing options. If you’re in the market for a business tool that’s inexpensive, improves visitor experience, and your bottom line – then check out this marketing program for your business TVs.

1.) Inexpensive Marketing: Internal vs External

Internal and external marketing are two sides of the same coin. Depending on your goals; what you’re trying to improve, who you’re trying to reach, or what you’re trying to promote, one can take priority over the other.

Marketing externally via billboards, TV commercials, or magazine ads, etc., can be effective, but can also be costly. If you’re working with a shoestring budget, every marketing dollar counts. Instead of investing only in new ways to promote what you do outside your business, use some of those precious dollars to improve what you do inside your business.

2.) Customer Retention vs Customer Acquisition

Identifying which of these two you’re trying to go after is a key part in determining how to execute your marketing budget. If you’re working with a low budget, then customer retention is probably the wiser option. It’s considerably easier, and more cost-effective, to get someone who’s already walked through your door to come back than it is to cast your line into the great unknown and hope somebody new bites. The people who visit your business have already experienced your service firsthand. When your marketing dollars are put towards improving the quality of their experience, you have a much higher chance at generating repeat business.

3.) Positive Experience = Repeat Business

If you believe in doing the most with the least, or if you’re forced to do the most with the least because of a low budget, then an inexpensive marketing strategy for your business that’s focused on improving visitor experience is a good idea.

A great place to start is trying to see through the eyes of your visitors. What do they see when they first enter? Is someone there to greet them, answer questions, or wait on them? Is there a lobby, or waiting area? Are there TVs? If so – is what’s on something people will enjoy? The first things people experience in your business determines their first impression. When you build a comfortable, welcoming environment, visitors remember that. The smallest things can make all the difference. Do more for your business by doing more for your visitors.

It’s Relevant TV is Inexpensive Marketing

It’s Relevant TV is an inexpensive marketing tool that improves customer experience and helps generate more monthly revenue by getting visitors to come back more and spend more. Learn more about the service at itsrelevant.com or schedule a free consultation to get an online tour and learn more.

Gyms and fitness centers across the country are reconsidering what’s on their TVs. In the midst of a hostile and tense political climate TV channels are being scrutinized. Gym-goers are there to get fit, work through stress, and feel good about themselves. The TV programs get in the way.

The Effect of News and Politics in Gyms

It’s not hard to see why managers are banning news and politics in gyms across the country. Tensions are at an all-time high on both sides to the point where some gyms have hung signs asking visitors to check politics at the door. Networks like CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and CNBC broadcast political news, controversial stories, and coverage that creates a negative workout environment.

Gyms and fitness centers strive to provide visitors with a comfortable enviroment, while accommodating as many people as possible. This is hard to maintain when the TV content is generating fights between visitors! Business owners want to avoid fostering bad impressions, and violent situations.

Cutting Out the Negative Content

In an effort to combat the all the negative content streaming through their locations, gym and fitness center owners across the country are opting to remove cable news channels from their TVs. Life Time Fitness and the YMCA are just two examples of well known locations taking part in the crack down.

This news story from Fox 5 DC details their recent efforts:

“We made the decision to remove cable news channels from the large TV screens in the cardio and fitness floor areas at the start of 2018. This was based on many member requests received over time across the country, and in keeping with our overall healthy way of life philosophy and commitment to provide family oriented environments free of consistently negative or politically charged content.”

-Life Time Fitness

The decision to cut out these networks has often been in response to actual members speaking up. Requesting about removing news and political commentaries are becoming more common.

Life Time Fitness isn’t alone in this trend – for similar reasons, the YMCA pulled their 24-hour cable news programs off their TVs after visitors got into fights over politics that disrupted an otherwise peaceful community. But as tensions in politics remain what they are, and news coverage consists of negative stories, more and more gyms and fitness centers are breaking away from cable news channels and exploring new TV solutions.

It’s Relevant TV Removes the Bad, While Keeping the Good

It’s Relevant TV is a living network that features content from a vast library of over half a million videos.  With 40+ categories of content, the TV is easily catered to who’s watching. All programs are screened, and certified as family-friendly. This ensures that the content is safe for all audiences. Beyond the active reviewing, IRTV allows each business to place further filters on the TV shows they show. This allows each location to block out content types and even keywords.

It’s Relevant is fully customizable. Clients have the ability to upload their own videos, pictures, and messages.  Easy to use – the service also allows you to connect to your social media accounts. This lets you showcase recent Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts for visitors and members to see. In the end, It’s Relevant is a platform that gives you control over what’s on your TV, and gets people exited about your brand.

For more information on IRTV please visit: www.itsrelevant.com.

So you’ve got a business, and you’ve got a TV in that business – what’s more, you have an important descision to make; choosing what goes on your TV. Far too often people get a TV and throw cable on it without so much as a second thought – and that’s understandable. Cable is the norm, it’s what we’re used to. “TV goes on the TV” – plain and simple. While that may be all well and good for your home, what about your business?

When it comes to business settings, basic cable fills in a blank screen and does little else than stick you with costly cable bills. Unless it’s a sports bar, people aren’t coming to your business to watch TV – so why bog yourself down with the cost of a cable subscription when there are less expensive, and more suitable alternatives? Alternatives geared towards benefiting you, and your business.

If you’re willing and innovative you might consider putting together some videos of your own, featuring highlights of your business to fill in that blank TV screen. You may even create a scrolling slideshow of pictures to showcase things you want visitors to see. Both are certainly less expensive than cable, but where do you begin?

We’ve got the top 3 easiest ways of getting videos on your TV, along with the pros and cons of each.

#3 – USB/Thumb Drive

A USB drive is possibly the most common means of uploading custom videos to modern TVs. It is certainly one that is fairly easy to use/learn. Not all TVs support video playback from a USB drive – if your TV does, then it’s a great and easy way to loop photos or videos on your TV. Most TVs that support USBs will require that your video be in MP4 Format. From there – it’s just a simple matter of:

+ Plugging the USB into the TV.

+ Accessing your TV’s menu.

+ Selecting a playback mode that suits you.

PROS: USBs are cheap and fairly easy to update. You’re able to upload your custom videos and set them to play accordingly for the benefit and enjoyment of your visitors.

CONS: USBs lack versatility, and they can become boring and repetitive. Additionally, USBs can’t be updated from afar – requiring the device to be removed and updated manually on each TV.

#2 – Computer Hookup

Perhaps less common, but no less useful, is streaming videos and slideshows directly from a computer hooked up to your TV. This method works just about the same as using a USB drive, except the equipment is larger and harder to hide.

PROS: Using a computer has the added benefit of being able to manage your videos on the device it’s being directly streamed from. Computers are more powerful than USB drives and generally more flexible.

CONS: If you don’t have a computer laying around to stream your videos, going out and getting one can be expensive. There’s also the issue of having an unsightly computer in view of your TV. If there isn’t a tech closet to store it in, a computer can easily turn into an eyesore.

#1 – It’s Relevant TV

Last but not least, there’s It’s Relevant TV. IRTV combines television programming with digital messaging that’s easy to use and updates automatically. It takes the best of the first 2 options, adding flexibility and control while bringing in outside content that is attractive to customers.

PROS: It’s Relevant TV provides over half a million licensed TV episodes straight to your TV. All of the content is family friendly, updated hourly, and arranged into categories for you to choose from. It’s Relevant gives you the ability to mix in your own content with interesting TV programs, making it more appealing and engaging to visitors. The service is easy to use, with a “set it and forget it“ kind of feel. Everything can be controlled and uploaded from your phone through our It’s Relevant TV app – making it a unique service unlike anything else out there.

CONS: It’s Relevant TV is a service with a monthly fee – however it is intended to be less expensive than what it costs to run basic cable. It’s designed to bring a real ROI to your business through your TV. IRTV has put together an ROI Calculator that you can use to calculate how much of a return they might expect to see from using the service.