Interactive kiosks: Right message, right audience, right time

A well-equipped kiosk can deliver the right message to important shoppers when it is most needed.

Large-scale retailers of items such as cars or appliances need to deliver a series of different messages at the appropriate times. As customers get ever closer to buying an item, retailers will want to focus on converting each lead into a sale. Each individual purchase is a momentous event for a customer and a large source of income for the company: Losing or gaining one sale is a big deal. If someone buys a car from a rival dealer, he or she will be out of the market for years and the opportunity to capture that business has passed. Furthermore, the company that wins over a single customer now will be well-positioned to appeal to that individual's friends and family, as well as to stay in touch and re-target the client in a few years when it's time to buy again.

"Touchscreen information kiosks are present at a critical moment."

Each step of the customer's journey, from the initial interest in the product to the final decision to buy it, demands a unique type of information. Businesses that can hold the consumer's hand through these steps and provide information when it is most needed are doing themselves an important service. However, this process will have to be more subtle now than at any other time in the past, as consumers are interested in making their own decisions and performing research independently.

Kiosks can help
Information is what consumers demand, and companies need to find ways to provide it effectively. This is where touchscreen information kiosks enter the picture. These devices are present at a critical moment: The shopper is in the store, but still needs to know more. Organizations with a good kiosk strategy are well equipped to not only inform the public, but also do so in a way that preserves customer autonomy.

This is a part of the customer's journey where the usual modern methods - well-equipped websites and other digital resources - are less helpful since they can be a distraction to the customer. A kiosk keeps the digital experience going, while still focusing all the attention on your brand. In particular, a young customer making a final purchase decision may react well to such a display.

Making a big sale relies on imparting the right information at the right time.

Right message
A kiosk with the right software is a repository of a company's best, most up-to-date product information. The whole line can be represented, with features and options added or subtracted via a swipe of the user's hand. Whether guided by a staff member or acting autonomously, consumers can confirm their findings from earlier online research and get ready to make the purchase. All the care that goes into an organization's website can be recreated on the impressively responsive screen.

Right audience
Millennial shoppers are a rising group today, possessing buying power and exerting new pressure on the retail field. They are especially averse to a hard sell from a store employee, so the sweet spot between the need to impress these consumers and their requirement of autonomy could be a kiosk.

Right time
If today's shoppers are in a store, they are serious and looking for information immediately that will solidify their decision to buy. A great deal of online research has likely gone on beforehand. McKinsey's research in the automotive sector revealed that each dealer now sees a customer once during the purchase cycle, and big-ticket sellers of all types face this same pressure. If potential buyers go away empty-handed, they probably won't come back. It's vital that limited visits to the store pay off in a big way, and this is what a kiosk full of top-quality content can accomplish.