Interactive digital kiosks have been around for a while now. You’ve undoubtedly seen them — in building lobbies, in shopping malls, at tourist destinations. Hospitals and schools have also started to adopt them.
More and more we’re also seeing them getting brought out by forward-thinking exhibitors. Digital kiosks can be such a useful way to showcase products and services at tradeshows or any type of event!
But you probably already knew that. Yes, they’re nice — but they can also be expensive and difficult to set up properly if you’ve never used them. Are they worth it?
Absolutely. Here are 5 reasons you need interactive digital kiosks.
Give Your Employees a Break
We aren’t talking about replacing employees with kiosks, like self-serve checkouts replace checkout operators. Rather we’re talking about freeing your employees from their greatest headache:
Ceaselessly answering the same questions over, and over, and over again.
Rather than fielding questions from customers all day, staff are now free to do, well, any other task they need to do. It can even free them up to give more personal one-on-one service with customers who have specific problems.
Conversely, many customers who are shy or aren’t keen on too much human interaction feel more comfortable using the kiosk to find answers. They get to look up what they need to know, and your staff reports higher job satisfaction by not dealing with repetitive frustration.
Lower Operating Costs
A digital kiosk can help cut down the number of team members you need to send to man an exhibit at an event. Fewer team members means fewer air fares, hotel accommodations, and travel costs.
They can also be used to lower customer service staff numbers in larger organizations, much like the self-serve checkouts mentioned above. There is a balance, however. People still want human interaction; replace too many front-face staff positions with machines, and people will turn away.
Faster Customer Service
Have two team members on the sales floor, but customers are queuing to ask questions? Digital kiosks provide instant customer service to people who would otherwise need to wait for assistance. This is perfect for the trivial questions we mentioned above — getting directions, asking about stock, or just inquiring about available services.
Active Customer Interaction
Engaging people is a crucial way to get them to buy your goods or services. The more they interact with you, the more likely they are to buy from you. Digital kiosks give you additional points of active customer interaction that further strengthens the bonds you can create.
Providing useful information freely and conveniently also builds trust. It says you care about their experience and that you’re willing to put systems in place to make it easier.
Kiosks can also be used to advertise deals, sales, up-sells, and cross-promotions, to bolster marketing efforts while they’re engaging with your services.
Data Collection
Kiosks can provide accurate, robust data on customer behavior. You can see what services they’re interested in, or what they most ask directions for, or what ads or specials catch their eyes. Data collection and analysis is crucial to modern businesses to thrive and remain competitive. Digital kiosks give you another data entry point to build your research from.
