Navigating the Impact of Tariffs: How Your TV Can Support Your Business

Overcoming The Impending Tariffs

The recent imposition of substantial tariffs on imports from key trading partners has created a challenging environment for U.S. businesses. Industries ranging from manufacturing to retail are grappling with increased costs and supply chain disruptions. In this climate, finding innovative solutions to maintain customer engagement and drive revenue is crucial.

One effective strategy is enhancing the in-store experience to encourage customer loyalty and repeat visits. It’s Relevant TV offers a tailored television network that transforms your business’s waiting areas or retail spaces into dynamic, engaging environments.

thank-you-on-business-tv-digital-signage

Here’s how a Custom TV Network can help your business navigate the current economic landscape:

Cost-Effective Marketing: With rising operational costs due to tariffs, allocating budget for advertising can be challenging. It’s Relevant TV provides an affordable platform to showcase your products, services, and promotions directly to your customers while they are on-site.
Enhanced Customer Experience: By offering entertaining and informative content, It’s Relevant TV reduces perceived wait times and improves overall customer satisfaction. A positive in-store experience can differentiate your business from competitors facing similar challenges.
Filtered Content: The platform allows you to choose from 65+ categories of content that are comprised of over 500,000 TV programs, giving you many more choices of content. Add to that a filtering system that allows you to block out topics and people from your screen, and you are sure to foster a stronger connection with your clientele.
Cut the Cable Cost: With cable bills soaring year over year, and no end in sight, businesses are looking for alternatives to the traditional TV subscription. It’s Relevant has affordable plans starting at a fraction of what cable TV plans cost. They also have a history of keeping rates low. The CEO was quoted in a recent news article saying, “We have never raised the rates on any of our clients, despite the last few years of inflation. We are committed to being a partner, and a good partner does everything they can to keep costs low and predictable”.

In times of economic uncertainty, leveraging innovative solutions like It’s Relevant TV can provide your business with the tools needed to adapt and thrive. By enhancing the customer experience and effectively communicating your value proposition, you can mitigate some of the challenges posed by the current tariff situation and position your business for sustained success.

How to Build Your Own TV Network in 2025 | A Simple Muvi Alternative

If you’re looking to start your own online television network, you’ve probably come across high-priced solutions like Muvi. While Muvi positions itself as a comprehensive OTT and streaming platform, the truth is—most businesses can get more for less than the $199+/month price tag) that comes with it.

What most businesses really need is a customizable, content-rich TV network that works right out of the box—with no tech team required. That’s where It’s Relevant TV comes in, offering a fully-managed, branded TV experience for just $89/month. Let’s break down how It’s Relevant TV lets you build your own television channel the smarter way.

You Don’t Need to Build a TV Network From Scratch

With services like Muvi, you’re expected to act like a full-blown media company: sourcing your own video content, building out distribution, setting up monetization, and managing user interfaces. That might make sense if you’re launching the next Netflix—but it’s overkill for businesses that want to control what’s playing on their in-location TVs or their owned channels.

It’s Relevant TV simplifies this entire process:
• 500,000+ licensed videos across 100+ categories
• Custom-branded network for your business
• Turnkey solution: No programming or content acquisition needed
• Set up in minutes, not months

Instead of spending hours uploading content and building menus, you’re spending time where it counts—growing your business and engaging your visitors.

Designed for Businesses, Not Broadcasters

Muvi is great for large media companies or content distributors. But what about restaurants, auto dealerships, doctors’ offices, gyms, and retail stores that just want engaging, brand-safe content to play on their TVs?

It’s Relevant TV is built specifically for those businesses.

You get:
• A curated mix of short-form content that keeps people watching
• Your brand featured on-screen at all times
• The ability to run your own promotions, ads, or messaging
• Smart keyword blocking to keep out controversial content

That means no more cable commercials for competitors, and no more irrelevant or inappropriate shows turning customers off.

Pay $89 per Month, Not $199+

With Muvi, plans start at $199/month, and that’s just the beginning. Add-on costs for bandwidth, transcoding, and app development can send your bill soaring.

It’s Relevant TV keeps it simple:
• $89/month flat rate, no hidden fees, no setup costs.
• Includes support, content, branded graphics, and unlimited video uploads.

For small to mid-sized businesses, that’s not just affordable—it’s a game-changing investment in customer experience and internal marketing.

Your Own TV Network = Internal Marketing Power

Why let your TVs advertise for someone else?

With It’s Relevant TV, your screens become powerful in-store marketing tools:
• Display seasonal offers, product highlights, or loyalty programs
• Reinforce brand identity with custom visuals and messages
• Schedule different content for different hours or locations

You’re not just entertaining your audience—you’re converting them.

And unlike Muvi, you don’t have to worry about content moderation or production. It’s already done for you.

No High $$$ Development

Muvi expects users to know (or hire) a team to handle things like:
• Backend video configuration
• DRM protection
• CDN integration
• App development across platforms

Unless you’re building a multi-platform entertainment empire, that’s probably overkill.

It’s Relevant TV requires zero technical knowledge. Everything runs through a user-friendly portal with live support just a click away. You choose your topics, upload your ads or promos, and you’re done.

Built to Scale with Your Business

Whether you have one location or hundreds, It’s Relevant TV can grow with you:

• Multi-location content control
• Location-specific advertising
• Centralized management dashboard

You can even monitor how often your promos are running—and adjust messaging by day, time, or season. Try doing that with standard cable or static digital signage.

The Bottom Line

If you’re a media company with a production team and a multi-tiered distribution strategy, Muvi might be worth the $199+ investment.

But if you’re a business owner, franchise group, or marketing manager who just wants a modern, professional, branded TV experience without the hassle or high cost…

It’s Relevant TV is the better choice.
• Faster setup
• Smarter targeting
• Less cost
• More content
• Ongoing support

Ready to Launch Your Own TV Channel?

Join the hundreds of businesses already using It’s Relevant TV to power their custom-branded networks.

👉 Learn more and get started

FAQs

Q: Can I upload my own content to It’s Relevant TV?
Yes. You can upload your own videos, ads, or announcements to play in between content segments.

Q: What kinds of businesses is It’s Relevant TV ideal for?
Restaurants, retail stores, medical offices, auto dealerships, gyms, franchises, and waiting rooms of all kinds. Anywhere there is a TV with people in front of it for 2 or more minutes!

Q: Does It’s Relevant TV have ads?
No. Just marketing messages for the products and services you are selling or are partnered with.

Q: How fast can I launch?
The SAME DAY! No developers or AV specialists needed. If you have a Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV/Stick you are ready to launch!

Q: Is this streaming or cable?
You can cut the (tv portion) of your cable subscription. It’s Relevant TV is a streaming-based platform.

Breaking the Cycle: Why Businesses Are Moving Away from 24/7 News on TV

Turn on a cable news channel today, and chances are you’ll be hit with a wave of stress-inducing headlines within seconds. From political tension and international conflict to economic fears and public health scares, traditional news programming often paints a bleak, chaotic picture of the world—and your customers are watching.

If you’re a business owner, that’s a problem.

Whether you’re running a medical office, auto dealership, restaurant, retail store, salon, apartment building, or fitness center, what’s playing on your TVs directly influences how your customers feel—and how they perceive your brand.

Increasingly, businesses across the country are saying: “Enough with the news.”

The Problem with 24/7 Cable News in Your Business

There was a time when having the news on in a waiting area felt like a neutral choice. That time is gone. Here’s why sticking with cable or satellite news can do more harm than good:

Negative Emotional Impact

Constant reports of violence, disasters, political conflict, and crises can leave your customers feeling anxious, frustrated, or worse—especially in environments where they’re already under stress (like hospitals, clinics, or automotive service centers).

That kind of negativity lingers and can even be unconsciously associated with your business.

Divisiveness & Complaints

In today’s polarized political climate, even the choice of news channel can trigger discomfort or arguments. Your staff may get pulled into debates they didn’t ask for, and customers may silently judge your business based on what’s airing—even if it’s just background noise.

Repetitive, Non-Relevant Content

Many news channels run the same stories in loops, leading to information fatigue. Worse, much of the content is irrelevant to your local business, your services, or your customer’s interests.

So why show it at all?

TV can still have value to your business. You just need to put the right programming on it.

The Solution: Custom TV For Your Business

Instead of subjecting customers and staff to the stress of 24/7 news, more and more businesses are turning to custom solutions like It’s Relevant TV—a customizable, business-friendly television platform designed specifically for public spaces.

It provides full licensed, up-to-date, family-friendly content without the gloom and doom of traditional news.

Here are some of the advantages:

Total Control Over What Plays On Your Screens

One of the most powerful features of It’s Relevant TV is topic-level filtering. Want to avoid politics? Block it. Don’t want to show crime stories, tariff updates, or violent news? You’re in control.

You choose the content categories that make sense for your space. This ensures your screens are always aligned with the vibe you want to create—whether that’s relaxed, upbeat, educational, or just distraction-free.

🏥 For Medical Offices & Clinics

In healthcare settings, patients may already feel nervous or vulnerable. Watching alarming news about health crises, drug recalls, or hospital shortages only adds stress. Instead, It’s Relevant TV offers health tips, educational segments, and light entertainment that makes waiting less stressful and improves the patient experience.

🚗 For Car Dealerships & Service Centers

When customers are waiting for a sales rep or getting their vehicle serviced, their experience sets the tone for the entire visit. Instead of cable news negativity, offer custom content that showcases your latest models, maintenance tips, or promotions—all wrapped in engaging, brand-safe programming without competitor car ads.

🍔 For Restaurants & Cafés

Whether you’re a casual diner, a trendy coffee shop, or a grab-and-go lunch spot, ambiance is everything. Harsh news content can ruin a meal. It’s Relevant TV blends interesting clips, trivia, and local news that’s light, entertaining, and family-friendly, making your environment feel more comfortable.

🏋️ For Gyms & Fitness Centers

People come to work out, de-stress, and improve their health—not to be bombarded with bad news. It’s Relevant TV keeps screens fresh with motivational, wellness, and lifestyle content—plus room for you to share tips, class schedules, or new member offers.

💇 For Salons, Spas & Waiting Rooms

Guests are there to relax. The last thing they need is breaking news about a financial collapse or election turmoil. Instead, let them enjoy content that’s positive, uplifting, and calming.

🛍️ For Retail Stores & Shopping Centers

Even short dwell times can be used to your advantage. Instead of generic TV or background news, mix-in store specials, spotlight products, or highlight customer reviews. With It’s Relevant TV, your screens become an extension of your marketing strategy—not a source of noise.

Keep Your TVs Active—Without the Risk

We know one thing: having the TVs turned off completely isn’t the answer. Customers expect entertainment. And TVs can still be an asset when used the right way.

With It’s Relevant TV, you’re not just keeping screens on—you’re using them to:

Increase engagement

Promote your brand

Improve the mood of your space

Reduce perceived wait times

Avoid controversial content

This is all while keeping things fresh, relevant, and totally within your control.

The age of leaving cable news on “just because” is over. Today’s customers are more aware, more sensitive, and more selective than ever. What plays on your TVs matters—and can either support or sabotage the experience you work so hard to create.

It’s Relevant TV gives you a smarter, safer, and more strategic way to use your screens. With content that entertains, informs, and uplifts—and tools that let you filter out the noise—it’s the best way to ditch the news and stay in control. Because in your business, every detail matters. Especially the ones your customers are watching.

Branded TV Like Gas Stations Have

Have you seen the TVs above the pump at your local gas station? Wonder how that unique quick-hitting network came to be?

Digital Signage at The Pump

Gas stations utilize custom TV software to deliver programming and digital signage to customers as they wait. Whether you have a gas station, retail store, restaurant, car dealership or office, you too can benefit from having a customized TV network in your business.

While most of the gas station tv networks are owned by closed groups and ad-supported, you can create your own TV network and generate additional revenue for your own business by using custom tv platforms like It’s Relevant TV.

Longer Short-Form Content

If your customers are in your business for more than a minute or two, you’re going to want content that’s longer than what you typically see on Gas Station TV Platforms. Most gas stations have content ranging from 10-30 seconds in length, and often repeat their content every few minutes. Businesses benefit more from displaying content that is longer, and that doesn’t repeat so often.

Create Your Own Ad Network

Once you have a custom TV network in place at your business you can take full advantage of it by forming your own ad network. TV networks, billboard companies, newspapers and more have made a fortune off of ads they’ve sold over the years. So why not you? You can use the same principles that television networks have used for years to generate additional revenue for your business regardless of what industry you are in. With something like It’s Relevant TV or Rele.TV you can make your own Ad Network and keep all of the profits!

Ad-Free TV for Your Business

Keep ads out of your business!

Business owners are looking for solutions to remove ads from their TVs. Whether you operate a restaurant, retail location, medical office or car dealership, you’d likely prefer an AD-FREE TV option for your visitors to enjoy. But cable TV is riddled with ads, and streaming services like Netflix aren’t legal to use inside of a business. So what can you use that gets rid of the ads, is legal, and will still entertain and inform your visitors?

There are a few “custom tv” options out there today that can help you achieve these goals. They are all services that have secured content for commercial display to save you from licensing worries, but they are not created equal. The services differ in the following ways:
1. Size of Content Library
2. Variety of Content
3. Cost

If you don’t care to read about all of the details and would rather skip to the punchline, we believe that It’s Relevant and Rele.TV are the best options for Ad-Free TV.

1. Size Matters (for content libraries)

Q: What’s worse than seeing a TV filled with countless ads?
A: Seeing the same programs over and over on an endless loop

Many companies that provide tv services to business operate with a limited library of content. Content is costly, and many of the largest custom TV operators purchase their content to use forever. And they only purchase just enough content in order to keep their expenses low and maximize their profits. This leads to a lot of looping channels, and unsatisfied viewers.

As a business owner you want to find a company that works with TV networks and content producers regularly to make sure you have fresh content year round. The more content they have the less “loopy” you will feel watching the TV.

2. The Greater the Variety, the More People You Will Please

No matter what you do you can’t please everyone all of the time. But if you use a TV provider that is only offering a limited set of content, or only a handful of channels to choose from, it’s even harder to make your visitors happy.

Many industry folks think that their visitors want to hear about their industry while they wait. But it’s just not true.

Just because you are at a car dealership waiting for your car to be repaired, or at the doctors office waiting to be seen by a doctor, does not mean you want to hear about car or medical stuff the whole time. People in those situations are typically happier when they can take their minds off of the fact that they have to be there. Location owners can do their visitors a great service by putting a variety of content in front of them.

A lot of services tout their ability to remove outside ads from TV, but they also remove TV programming from the TV at the same time! A lot of times these services are referred to as “digital signage” and they have pretty much tossed the baby out with the bathwater. They use a television to display a looping set of videos or image slides (signage) instead of TV programming. And who wants to watch a sign???

3. Ad-Free Doesn’t Mean It’s Free. You Still Get What You Pay For

The third thing to look out for when selecting an Ad-Free TV provider for your business is cost. Cost is typically the top of the list for most businesses when considering their options, but the TV is one area you do not want to skimp on.
Here’s why:
1) The TV shapes visitors impressions of your business environment.
2) The TV can be a great tool to communicate with your visitors.
3) What’s on the TV can generate more business for you, or take business away.
4) Positive waiting experiences lead to better online reviews.

A lot of business owners gravitate towards “Free TV Services” for their businesses. And who wouldn’t want something for free? Well the old saying “you get what you pay for” holds true here. Free TV services typically have limited content, and are often ad-supported. And if you can’t control the content and/or advertising, it’s not worth it. Not even for “free”.

There are a number of services you can find for under $100 a month that will give you better content, an ad-free experience, and provide ways to promote your own business on the TV. We recommend taking a look at It’s Relevant TV and Rele.tv for feature-rich ad-free TV options.

These platforms include licensed television shows without the commercials that usually accompany them. So the content is high quality, but the focus remains on you, and providing your visitors with a great experience. And unlike the majority of television, these are built for your business, not for advertisers.

Free TV for Medical Waiting Rooms

Looking for a full-featured TV service for your medical office waiting for free?

There is no such thing as a free lunch, but is there a good free TV solution?

We all know that free isn’t usually free. There is typically a catch. We’ll examine the things to look out for in this article, but if you want to cut to the chase, TV services like this one, are as close to free as you’ll get; with features that make it worthwhile, and tools to even offset the cost.

Many of the self-proclaimed “free” TV services are giving you TV while they are taking something away from your office. Let’s examine some of the ways that “free” service can actually cost you:

Most free services will put pharmaceutical ads on and confuse your patients into thinking you are endorsing the drugs on the TV. This can lead to a lot more patient examination time having to answer a bunch of questions that were generated in your waiting room.
Most free services have limited content that they provide. Many of the TV providers are operating with a limited library of content. They will continue to loop the same set of videos over and over, making your patients feel like they are waiting even longer than they really are. It can lead to poor online reviews and overall attitudes.
Most free services have boring content. While many of the medical related TV services provide specialty videos and seem great on the surface, the content can be very off-putting to your patients. Medical content played over and over has been known to create a nervous/anxious atmosphere for folks as they wait. No matter what your medical profession you want to create a healing environment, not one that makes people feel worse when they come in.

Free isn’t always the best option

We all know the phrase “you get what you pay for”, well when something is “free” what are you getting? When something is branded as “free” it’s likely taking advantage of you in some way.

Is it too good to be true?

A free TV plus videos that you pay nothing for may seem like a win, but beneath the surface there is almost always something else going on. Because as a medical office with a waiting room, you have something these service providers want; a captivated audience.

Those folks who are waiting in your office are taking in what you provide them on the TV. It’s your choice what you want to provide them. Would you rather share messaging for outside businesses, drug companies and emerging brands, or would you rather have it focus on you and your partners? You have the choice.

Recommended Read: “Top 5 Reasons a Free TV Service is Bad for Medical Offices“

Free Waiting Room TV that’s paid for by a local partner

You don’t want someone you don’t know to be controlling your TV and reaping all of the benefits from it. So there is an alternative that lets you pick your partner, have the partner pay for the service and you keep control.

It’s Relevant TV, provides custom TV networks that does just that. It offers medical offices a $0/month Sponsor-Supported package in which you choose a trusted company, organization, or partner to cover the cost. In exchange, you feature their brand and messaging on your TV in a way that is mutual, non-intrusive, and most-importantly; safe for you and your patients.

If anyone should be making money off of the TV in your business or medical office, it’s you, or a partnered brand.

Do I Have the Licensing Rights for Using TV in My Waiting Room?

This question is becoming much more common these days as motion picture companies, television studios and others are sending threatening letters to business owners. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in– if you operate a medical office, restaurant, retail establishment or car dealership, you can be held liable for showing television content that you don’t have adequate permission to display.

And it doesn’t matter how you are playing this content, whether it’s on a DVD, or through a popular streaming provider like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ or YouTube. Showing that content inside a business is likely against copyright terms, and could put you in legal jeopardy. Hulu’s Terms & Conditions for instance clearly state that their service is NOT for commercial use. Therefore, you cannot use it in a public or business setting- even in a waiting room.

Did you receive a threatening letter from a licensing company?

While there may be many valid points in a letter you’ve received in the mail from a content licensing organization, you should read it carefully, and realize that there is not one licensing body for all content. In a lot of cases these letters are designed to scare you into using a service that they are selling. Many of these services will offer a solution that shows a limited library of uninteresting content, looped on your TV day in and day out. You don’t need to trade away interesting television for “safe” TV when there are options out there that are both safe and interesting.

Just know, you are not obligated to use any specific licensing service in your business or waiting room. You just need to be sure that whatever service you are using has secured commercial playback rights for the content you are showing.

There are TV Providers that Include Business Display Licensing as Part of the Service

While Hulu, Netflix, Sling, Pluto and other streamers do NOT provide commercial licensing at the time of this article, there are other providers who do. And that’s what you want to utilize in order to keep your in the copyright-clear. It’s Relevant TV is one service provider that was built with integrated commercial licensing from day one. It’s cost-effective, easy-to-use, and features a growing library of over half-a-million videos. In addition to being the best streaming option for businesses, it’s also the best cable replacement on the market.

Retail Digital Signage: What Can You Do With The TV In Your Store?

As technology grows, more and more business owners are exploring their options when it comes to retail digital signage. Nowadays, it isn’t uncommon to see TVs in clothing stores, furniture outlets, and shopping centers; wherever people tend to gather, you can usually count on a TV screen being close by — that’s because TVs are eye-catching, and strangely comforting. Forward-thinking business owners using that to their advantage and building retail TV networks for their stores. This article takes a closer look at the technology that is taking retail digital signage to a whole new level.

Retail Digital Signage: How Effective is it?

The average adult is believed to watch about 4 hours of TV a day. That’s a lot of screen time. But because of that, human beings are naturally drawn to colorful, moving, or otherwise animated displays. Often when we see a TV, our guard is lowered — if only for the sake of seeing what’s on, and choosing whether or not to keep watching. Unlike banners or traditional paper signage, digital signage is bold and inviting. People notice it more, for obvious reasons, and all it takes is a properly-placed TV to host it.

How do you Get Customers to Engage with What’s on Your TV?

Getting customers to notice the TV and watch the TV are two very different things. That brief window of opportunity when they notice the TV and are choosing whether or not to keep watching is the golden moment. What determines their choice usually relies on a few factors:

1.) What’s on the TV? Obviously, this is the most important part. “Digital signage” users tend to just show ads that showcase sales, or reminders for customers to sign up for X or become a member of Y. This is smart, and it’s a great way to utilize the TV, but if all you’re showing is JUST marketing messages, your customers will see it as “just another ad” and tune it out. However, the solution to this is easy; instead of using digital signage, create a custom TV network. A custom TV network will mix in fun and entertaining videos with your marketing messages and your customers will be MUCH more receptive to your ads.

2.) Where is the TV on display? Second to what’s on the TV is where you choose to put it. Is it hanging on a crossroads pillar between sections? Is it part of a living room set acting as the TV? Or is it above the checkout for customers to see while waiting in line? All of these are great. You want it to be in a place that customers can consume what they are watching for more than a few seconds before feeling they are obligated to move.

3.) How are your customers feeling? This one is slightly more difficult to account for, but what’s going on inside a customer’s head plays a big part in whether or not they’re receptive to your messaging. Are they upset? Annoyed? Or bored? A captive audience doesn’t mean that they’re appreciative of your ads. Echoing point #1, mixing in content that might uplift a customer’s mood or alleviate their boredom can go a long way towards improving visitor experience, which improves your chance of making an extra sale.

The Best way to Utilize Retail Digital Signage

You might have gathered that the best way to use retail digital signage is by combining your marketing messages with content that your customers will enjoy watching. Not just any content; you want content that is fun, interesting, and not-necessarily related to your brand, but will put your visitors in a purchasing mindset. Ideally, you also want that content to be on the short-side, since your customers are mostly lingering and waiting. You want videos that anyone can start/stop watching at any time, and are short enough that people are more likely to see something that interests them.

Shorter Videos = More Variety.

Accomplishing this through retail digital signage alone is nearly impossible, that’s where a retail TV network comes in handy. A retail TV network combines the best aspects of digital signage + television; bringing them together in a unique and effective way. Imagine your digital signage board being part ad, and part TV; with occasional ads playing in between or next to engaging videos. That’s how It’s Relevant TV approaches retail TV networks.

The Best Retail TV Network is It’s Relevant TV

It’s Relevant TV licenses over half-a-million short-form videos spread across 40+ customer-favorite categories. As a store owner, you don’t need to being anything to the table except for your own goals and aspirations. It’s Relevant TV allows you to easily create marketing messages — which you can upload into the system and have play alongside countless entertaining videos. The technology is fully-automated, meaning that you can set-it and forget-it knowing that your TVs are delivering a mix of ads + interesting content. Additionally, It’s Relevant can be used to promote your social media, or barter ad space to other local businesses in order to generate even more revenue.

IRTV is the most feature-rich custom TV network on the market. Chat with the television experts at itsrelevant.com and get an online Zoom demo to learn more.

Businesses Are Already Looking Ahead To 2022 | COVID 2022

The coronavirus hit businesses hard in 2020 and 2021, and while the forecast for COVID in 2022 is hard to predict, business owners are already preparing for next year. Whether your business has been able to stay open throughout 2021, or you’re preparing to re-open your business in 2022; this article spotlights a new technology that can help you generate repeat business and deliver important messages to your visitors during these uncertain times.

Preparing your Business for COVID 2022

If you managed to keep your doors open during the pandemic, then you already know the challenges that business owners are facing regarding healthy & safety. If you’re re-opening, it can be overwhelming as there’s a lot to train your staff and employees on. Doors and tables need to be disinfected regularly, masks are mandatory, and seating is spaced out — you get the idea.

Related: Top 5 Ways to Prepare Your Business Space for COVID-19

But signs on the ground encouraging social distancing and staff members taking your temperature with a gun don’t make for a very welcoming atmosphere; it doesn’t matter if these precautions are for your customers’ safety, it still feels strange and can turn visitors off. Customers who don’t feel safe probably won’t come back for a long time, or at least until the virus is gone- which could be a while.

Safely Communicating with your Visitors about the Coronavirus

Making your customers feel safe is just as important as making sure they’re safe; the difference being that you can adhere to strict health & safety regulations, but easily forget how it affects customer experience. COVID-19 has a lot of people stressed, so finding a way to reduce that stress wherever possible should be top-of-the-list.

They key to making customers FEEL safe is communication.

Except, effective communication can be hard for small businesses; especially medical offices. There usually aren’t a lot of good options. Yet, every business has messages they need and/or want to get across to customers; sales, specials, etc. — including COVID-related messaging. Most business owners settle for posters or fliers, without realizing that the best place for their messaging is the TV in their business. The best is to use a custom TV network.

Not sure what a “Custom TV Network” is? Click here.

If you’ve got a TV and you aren’t using a custom TV network, your visitors are at the mercy of the news. At this point, the whole world knows about the coronavirus. We also get to hear about how many new cases there are each day, and how many people have died; people don’t need to be reminded of this everwhere they go- especially inside of your business.

If you have a TV in your business, chances are you customers are seeing that kind of messaging, and it’s stressing people out. Being informed is one thing — but constantly being reminded that there’s a pandemic is overwhelming. Your visitors don’t need that. The safest, most-effective way to communicate with your customers is through the TV in your business; but only if that TV is playing content that you control.

Tackling COVID-22 in your Business with a Custom TV Network

One of the best things you can do to prepare your business for COVID 2021 is getting rid of any mention of the coronavirus off your TV. Anything COVID-related — unless it’s your own personal messaging, isn’t necessary to have playing in your business. In fact, for all of the reasons stated previously it’s probably doing more harm than good. People aren’t visiting your restaurant, medical office, or car dealership for the bad news. Whether they’re looking at the TV for 20 minutes or 20 seconds, it’s the perfect opportunity to comfort them, and inform them about anything you want them to take advantage of; either while they’re there, or the next time they visit.

If you had the choice — would you rather show the news? Or would you rather show something that supports your business?

Custom TV networks are designed with your business in mind. It gives you more control over what show up on your TV, and gives you variety of content. Additionally, the right technology will let you upload you own messages to play in between videos. Once you realize what’s possible with custom TV software, it’s hard to imagine any business owner choosing cable over a system that improves visitor experience, AND is a powerful marketing tool.

Want more reasons to cut cable? This article gives you 10.

Want to Learn more about Custom TV Networks? Check out It’s Relevant TV

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How Much Does It Cost To Advertise On TV? | It’s Relevant TV

How Much Does it Cost to Advertise on TV?

Great question! The answer depends on whether or not your ad is going to be local, or national. Local ads cost significantly less, and are the go-to for smaller businesses for obvious reasons; your business with 1 to 3 locations on the East Coast doesn’t need to reach people in California. National ads- on the other hand, will cost much more per spot, but will cost less when divided among the viewers you are reaching.

If you’re reading this, chances are that what you’re interested in is a local advertisement — however both will be covered. Before we start, it is worth noting that there’s a third option that most business owners don’t think of; which is running your ads on the TV within your business itself. If you think that’s counterintuitive to the point of playing an ad on television, keep on reading and see why more and more business owners are adopting this new strategy.

Want to Advertise on TV? Here’s what to Expect

Business owners looking to run a local ad can expect to pay upwards of $1,500 for a 30-second advertisement on a broadcast network — compared to national ads, which can cost as much as $120,000 for an ad of the same length. Cable TV networks in limited areas can cost as little as $50 per spot, but the viewing audience for those ads is very small.

A Quick Calculation:
Just think if there are 200,000 cable subscribers. 50% of them may be watching TV at any given time, so that’s 100,000 audience. Now, those people have the choice between a thousand different cable channels. Most will gravitate towards the broadcast stations like NBC, Fox, CBS and ABC. So you may only be left with 40,000 viewers that are choosing between the other 1,000 channels. Divided evenly between the channels you might expect that ad to be shown to just 40 people. So even for a “cheap” ad on regional cable purchased for $50, you’d be paying $1.20 per viewer in the example above.

Television ads are costly, and that money spent is a lot for a small business — especially when there’s no guarantee that you’re going to make that money back. When it comes to most advertising platforms; cable TV, billboards, newspapers, etc. — you’re paying to have your message exposed to thousands, if not hundreds-of-thousands of people on the off-chance that a large number of them will see it, be interested, and then act on it. That’s a lot of off-chances.

Don’t bet your advertising budget on the Law of Averages. Not when you can achieve the same goals, with the same ad, for far less money.

The Advantages of Advertising on your Own Business’ TV

Some might argue that the point of having a commercial ad is to have it play on broadcast television; in people’s homes. The “I don’t need to advertise to customers who are already in my business” stance comes from a place of logic, but it has its flaws. Most notably, it’s ignoring the simple fact that those customers- who are already in your business, are there because:

1.) They trust you, or they trust your brand

2.) You sell a product that they need, or you offer a service that you provide.

3.) They are statistically more likely to (re)visit your business than someone who had never been there before.

Less often than you might think it’s because they saw your ad at home on TV. The small handful of “those-interested” that you might get out of a TV ad will have an equal mindset to those who are already visiting your business naturally. It’s far easier, and way more cost-effective, to target customers who are already in your location.

Why spend thousands of dollars fishing for 1-in-1,000 people who are interested in your brand when you can instead target 1,000 visitors who you know are already interested?

Selling visitors on additional products and services while they’re right there — where they can buy or act on it that second, is the best strategy for generating more sales and repeat business. If you were advertise on TV, your product, service, or message would REALLY have to motivate the consumer to stop what they’re doing, get up, go out, and visit your business. No matter which way you look at it, the best place for your business’ ad is your business’ TV.

Finding the Right Advertising Platform to Stream your Business’ Ads

DIY solutions cost time, money, and upkeep to maintain; trust a business TV provider to do all the hard work for you.

Finding the right platform can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the technology. The best place to start looking for business TV software is It’s Relevant TV. The TV experts there know businesses, and they know television; schedule a call with them for a closer look at the technology, or chat with a representative if you have any questions about using custom TV software in your business.

If you’re going to advertise on TV, make it your business’ TV.