“If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

If your business TV is playing poor content, and you’re not there to watch it, are visitors still seeing it? Yes, they are; and it’s hurting your business, your brand, and your bottom line. If you already know where this is going, and you’d like to explore an alternatives to cable or DirecTV, start here.

How your Business TV is Hurting your Business

It isn’t the TV that’s hurting your business, as much as it is the programming that’s playing on it. A big part of the problem is a lack of awareness. Business owners don’t always know what’s on the TV. Whether they’re behind the counter, in the back office, or even working from home – you don’t know what’s playing unless you’re sitting in front of the TV, watching it. So chances are, you’re not seeing how the TV that you bought to entertain your visitors is actually showing boring politics, graphic news, or even worse; COMPETITOR ADS.

How your Business TV is Hurting your Brand

Nothing beats being the owner of a business that sells something like coffee and breakfast fixings literally paying to have competitor ads show up in their business, advertising where to get the same things; but cheaper. That’s effectivly what you’re doing by choosing services like cable and DirecTV to power your business television. You’re paying to invite other brands to steal your customers away; outshining your own brand and reducing your monthly revenue.

The worst part? No one’s really interested or even enjoying the programming that’s playing. When was the last time you sat down at a fast-food restaurant, saw a local news story about a man who was stabbed to death, and as a result had a cheery conversation with friends or family while you ate?

Probably never. That kind of programming can is almost certain to create a bad, or awkward experience for your visitors. This can leave a bad impression on your brand, and even impact the chances of your visitors coming back.

Identifying the problem is only half the battle. Fortunately, it’s a problem that’s easy to address.

How to Fix your Business TV: IRTV

Until recently, there never really was much else to put on the TV other than cable; but as technology evolves, forward-thinking business owners are turning to services that cost less, with features that improve their marketing, and host content that is engaging, and family-friendly.

IRTV, or It’s Relevant TV, is television software that business owners across the country are taking advantage in order to become more relevant to their customers; using it as a customizable marketing tool, one that replaces the boring, graphic, and unwanted content with videos that people genuinely enjoy watching.

If you’re a business owner, or you manage a business with a TV; take 3 minutes out of your day and put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Watch the TV, see what they’re seeing, and consider whether or not you’re getting the most out of your service. Don’t be afraid to change what’s on the TV.

Whether it’s your waiting room TVs, the TVs in your patient rooms, or even the ones in your nurses’ stations or employee lounges; TVs play a vital roll in your hospital. In fact, it’s hard to settle down anywhere in a hospital without seeing a TV from where you’re sitting. That’s why what goes on the TV is important. But before you throw any old thing on the screen, you should consider what the TV is for.

Waiting Room TVs vs Patient Room TVs

When deciding what to put on the TV, it’s important to recognize that the TVs in your patient rooms serve a different purpose than the TVs in your waiting rooms. Patient rooms are places where patients have a one-on-one experience with the TV. They can also be there for an extended period of time. That being said, it’s a no-brainer as to why cable is the preferred choice for patient rooms. The patient gets to control what’s on their TV. They are the primary audience of that television, and as such can choose the exact content they want to without upsetting anyone else.

Waiting room TVs are different. If you have a solution that works in your patient rooms, it’s likely not the best solution for your waiting rooms. The time spent waiting is usually less than in exam rooms, and the audience is different. The content on your TVs should reflect that.

Patients gathered in a waiting room aren’t there to watch TV like they would at home. They’re in a waiting room, waiting to be seen, or waiting for someone else to come back from treatment. Waiting room TVs are casual distractions to help pass the time. Patients neither have the time, nor the interest, to invest in shows or segments that run 30-60 minutes long. So why pay for something that people are ignoring? You can do better than cable, or a medical TV display for your waiting rooms.

IRTV: Better Waiting Room Television

It’s Relevant TV is television designed for waiting room settings. It’s short-form, family-friendly content is split into 40+ categories that you pick and choose from which people genuinely enjoy watching. Patients gathered in waiting rooms aren’t individually in control of the TV, or TVs there. The ability to have multiple programming types appearing on the screen, which helps the patients all find something they enjoy, and keeping the content a short, 2-3 minutes long is best as you can shift between many content types to please the greatest number of people.

So leave cable to the patient rooms, and explore how you can do better for your waiting room TVs with It’s Relevant TV.

If you’re a business owner, marketing professional, or someone in charge of visitor experience; and you don’t know what’s on your TV in your waiting areas, you may want to keep reading. This article will highlight some of the things that are appearing on your waiting room TV without you realizing it.

Why knowing what’s on your TV is Important.

Some people say “what you don’t know can’t hurt you,” but in reality, the exact opposite is true. In the case of your waiting room TV, not knowing what’s playing can come back to haunt you. It’s like leaving your garage door open for the day; you have no idea how many unwelcome squirrels, birds, and mice may have found their way inside. You might think you have the TV tuned to something safe, or family-friendly; but with cable, DirecTV or a medical service provider, you don’t know unless you’re there in person. Unless you’re in control of what’s on your TV, there’s really no telling what your visitors might be exposed to.

When Using Cable or DirecTV…

The News, Food Network, and channels like E! are the go-to standard for waiting room television. What is the purpose of choosing these channels? It’s usually just needing something to put on the TV. TVs are in waiting rooms because they’re a familiar distraction. They can reduce stress, and help pass the time; people put TVs in waiting rooms because they care about the comfort of their visitors. That is their intent, at least.

The news is often depressing, violent, and graphic. People in waiting areas don’t want to see how many people died in a shooting. They don’t want to see endless political commentary, graphic images of injured or fearful human beings, or a news story about something bad that happened close by. Nothing says “I’ll think twice about coming here next time” than a string of recent crimes in the area.

Channels like the Food Network, HGTV, and E! are tame by comparison, but no less important to keep in mind. Visitors have called these networks boring and frustrating. People have never been more sensitive to the smallest things than they are today; they’ve also never been more able to express those fleeting feelings of frustration over social media and online reviews. Something they saw on your TV, which has nothing to do with your business, could be the reason they go online and rant about their “bad experience”. As a result, you’ll lose potential customers who decide to go somewhere based on reviews.

It’s impossible to please 100% of the people 100% of the time, especially with services like cable or DirecTV. However waiting room TV software exists that gives you control over what’s on your TV; allowing you to cater to the interests of many, as opposed to few.

When Using Medical TV…

In the case of hospitals, clinics, or medical offices, sometimes what’s on the TV isn’t cable, but rather a looping medical display. These programs are detailed, informative, yet very often graphic, anxiety driving or depressing to waiting patients. Cross-sections of the human body, graphic imagery of a clogged artery, or a bold adventure down a 3D-rendered infected colon are not what visitors want to see. This is the sort of content that visitors are watching on your TV if you subscribe to medical waiting room television.

It’s gross, it’s unsettling, and if you’re lucky it’s not looping every 5 minutes. If this is going on in your waiting room, take a moment to sit in the chairs as if you were a patient. Watch the TV, and really consider if this sort of programming is actually improving visitor experience.

It’s Relevant TV, on your TV

“The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.”

-Spock

The trick to successful waiting room TV programming is content; content that you control, which appeals to as many people as possible. A good TV display doesn’t loop. It should feature interesting videos that are family-friendly, and should be something you can trust to set it and forget it.

It’s Relevant TV is just that. It’s a custom TV network; one that you control. You pick which categories you think your visitors will enjoy, and IRTV does the rest; providing you with non-looping, family-friendly content that is short-form, meaning that chances are high that someone will see a program that interests them during the time they spend waiting.

It’s Relevant puts visitors in a good mood, that helps lead to a good experience, which turns into repeat business. We no longer live in an age where standard TV channels are the only thing that can go on a TV.

Do more for your business by doing more with your TV.

Striving to modernize your hospital is an essential task, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. With a new age of technology that has given us countless innovative ways to improve our lives and businesses, figuring out where to begin may seem daunting; nevertheless, this article will explore the top 5 ways to bring your hospital into the 21st century.

Modernize your Hospital: Where to Begin?

Improving your hospital begins with improving patient experience, and patient experience begins in the waiting room. A comfortable, modern-style waiting room is the key to improving your hospital as a whole. The following 5 points will show you how you can achieve that goal:

5.) Forward Thinking:

Favoring progession, exploring innovative technologies, and investing in new ways of doing things is the first step towards bringing your hospital into the new age. First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that things change. Change can be difficult, but it’s a good thing. Keeping up with technology lets you keep up with your patients; by staying in the past, you’re disconnecting yourself from them. Do some research, explore your options, and see what’s out there!

4.) Communication & Productivity:

The ways in which we’re able to communicate with one another has evolved greatly over the years. When it comes to your hospital, improving the ways in which you’re able to communicate with patients, and staff, is a great step towards forward thinking.

In an evolving culture where emails are missed and ignored, hospitals are looking for new ways to communicate with their staff in places they’ll notice important messaging. At the same time, they’re exploring new ways to inform patients of important reminders, services they could be utilizing, and overall reasons to come back and improve their health and overall well-being. If you’re curious where to start, there’s no better way to get someone’s attention than the TV.

3.) Decour & Ambiance:

Never underestimate the power of interior decorating, because nothing leaves a lasting impression quite like a first impression. A few well-placed plants, some hanging portraits, and a TV, can make or break a waiting room. It’s all about atmosphere. Making sure there are decorative features to fill blank spaces, comfy chairs to sit in, no unsettling stains or holes in the wall, and something good on the TV; all of these are important factors to consider when modernizing your hospital.

2.) Patient Comfort:

Ensuring that patient comfort is up to par should come at no surprise, a good health center puts its patients first. Hearkening back to the idea that patient experience begins in the waiting room, it goes without saying that comfortability is closer to the top of the list.

The key is generating a positive experience that won’t leave patients feeling nervous, stressed out, or worse than they were when they arrived. There are many new and innovative ways to generate that kind of positive experience, but the most effective means is through your waiting room TV. The right TV service can make all the difference in the end. Finding one that works for you often means moving away from cable, boring slideshows, or unsettling medical content.

1.) Technology:

There’s no better way to modernize your hospital than modernizing your technology. This starts with the TVs in your waiting room. Not the TVs themselves, but what’s on them.

As many hospitals strive to keep up with patient demand, many are forgetting to bring their TVs the modern age – settling for an antiquated solution instead. Cable, and looping medical displays, are holding hospitals back when their TVs could be doing so much more for them and their patients. We’re no longer in an age where the only thing that can go on the TV is cable, and we’re well beyond needing to settle for cheap, all0medical-related content. Take some time to explore cable alternatives that are out there for hospitals to take advantage of, and see how you could improve your hospital.

Modernize your Hospital with It’s Relevant TV

Utilizing It’s Relevant TV is an easy step in the right direction to bring your hospital’s waiting room into the 21st century. A new and innovative approach to waiting room TVs, It’s Relevant provides hospitals with a custom TV network; one that you control. With content that is interesting, family-friendly, and spread across 40+ categories to pick and choose from – that generates a more welcoming environment, and gives patients a pleasant distraction as they wait for treatment.

It’s Relevant is forward thinking. It combines the best aspects of television and digital signage in order to deliver a final product which improves patient experience, and allows you to engage with them, and your staff, on levels otherwise impossible with cable TV, or medical TV displays. It’s also future-proof, because the service and technology evolves with the times.

Explore It’s Relevant TV, and see how it could transform your waiting room TVs.

Whether it’s cable/satellite tv, a digital signage service, or a custom TV network for your waiting room, you can always count on there being a contract that needs signing before you can get started. Contracts are a necessary tool for any subscription-based service. They outline the terms, conditions, and policies while solidifying the consent of everyone involved. But at the same time they can be tricky and require careful review.

How contracts and terms are structured might reveal something you didn’t notice about a service you’re signing into. This article will explore the top 3 risks to avoid before finalizing a contract for your waiting room TV.

1. Long-Term Contracts

The first red flag to identify are companies that lock you into long-term contracts. “Why is my waiting room TV service that just loops nature pictures all day requiring a 5 year contract?”

Plainly put: Because it’s boring. And the service provider knows it’s boring. They know you’re likely to get tired of the dull, repetitive service within a few days or weeks so they make it so you can’t back out of it. If you don’t like it, then chances are your visitors won’t like it as well.

In addition it’s important to realize that things change. A better TV service for your waiting room might come along tomorrow, so why prevent yourself from being able to use it by signing a contract today? If you’re stuck in a contract for the next few years, you’re forced to dwell on what could have been. A long-term contract usually means the provider is afraid you’ll back out on them, which speaks to their lack of confidence in their own service.

2. Poor Video/Image Content

A service with a great library of quality digital content for your waiting room TV can be difficult to find. Unless it’s Netflix, which is illegal to play in public, it isn’t likely to be chock full of interesting videos for people to see.

This is particularly true with medical TV displays that loop stress-inducing, and sometimes graphic medical videos. No one wants to see them. People also don’t want to see the same 10 videos repeating again and again while they wait. If it wasn’t interesting the first time, it certainly won’t be the 10th time it plays.

Don’t sign a contract until you’ve had the chance to really explore the service. Take time to see for yourself what visitors are going to see when they come in. If you’re curious about a particular waiting room TV software, look into scheduling a demo with the provider. The best bet is to get a risk-free pilot going- allowing you to put the service in place at your location, while having the flexibility to back out of the service if it doesn’t end up being as good as it sounded when you bought into it.

3. The “FREE” TV Service

A TV service for your waiting room that’s inexpensive is great, even better when it’s free. Not good enough? How about a free TV and a box of iPads? Better, right? Unfortunately no.

TV services aren’t free. If someone was giving out hundreds of free TVs and ipads without getting anything in return, he or she would be out of TVs, iPads, and probably a job. Everything has a cost – sometimes it just isn’t what you think. That TV on the wall you get for “free” will be full things you didn’t know you would be getting, like ads- even competitor ads. And those iPads, apart from being riddled with ads themselves, are also riddled with germs from a day’s worth of visitors handling them. Which in the case of a medical office may be unsanitary.

TV services that label themselves as “free” make their money selling ads to companies that want to sell their product. Which puts money in everyone else’s pocket but your own. There is truth to it being free, insofar as you aren’t being billed for the service. But it also isn’t making you any money and may be losing you business. Don’t fall for free.

Avoid the Risks with a Low-Cost TV Solution

It’s Relevant TV is a television network for businesses, designed with businesses in mind. IRTV provides waiting room TVs with programming and a digital signage app which transforms your TV into a tool that improves visitor experience. With It’s Relevant, you control what’s on – selecting from a list of 40+ categories, from a library of over half a million videos. And you don’t get ads from competitors or pharmaceutical companies that might harm your bottom line.

Everything is customizable, and can even be controlled from your computer, tablet or smartphone – anywhere, anytime. Visit It’s Relevant.com to schedule a demo to explore how It’s Relevant works and see if it’s a fit for your business.