Article

Four tips on claiming the technophobe market

With all the attention tech-savvy millennials are getting for their love of self-service, there's a forgotten market demographic that could mean more revenue for your kiosk – if only you could get their attention.

October 13, 2014 by Nicole Troxell — Associate Editor, Networld Media Group

With all the attention tech-savvy millennials are getting for their love of self-service, there's a forgotten market demographic that could mean more revenue for your kiosk – if only you could get their attention.

This is the demographic of the technophobe: those who shy away from technological innovations. They may loathe technology – the constant change, the unfamiliar-- and might even fear it. So how do you grab their attention if you can't even get them in front of your kiosk to begin with?

Kioskmarketplace spoke with several industry players on how to capture the technologically reluctant consumer and create new alliances with self-service. Among the most important considerations are screen displays and the process that customers encounter.

Here's what they had to say:

1. Keep it simple - and familiar.

ChannelNet CEO Paula Thompkins on screen basics: "Keep any forms on the screen simple. It’s really tempting to ask potential customers for related information. 'When you have their attention,' you might assume, 'why not get all the information you can?' But this is the wrong approach. Asking for too much information or unrelated information works against you. Consumers get wary and you scare them away. Only ask for the information you absolutely need to complete the task."

Fresh Healthy Vending founder Nick Yates on the value of the familiar: "As most 'tech unsavvy' folks know how to place an online order, they can do the same with ordering specific meals or snacks to the micro market."

On showcasing simplicity, says Yates: "For all of our micro market locations, we introduce the concept and its elements to all employees. We leave a brochure on every person's desk to make them aware of the simplicity and efficiency this micro market will bring to their workday."

Ben Wheeler, Redyref Interactive Kiosks Director of Sales and Marketing, on the value of the familiar: "We have strategies about attract loops and topper displays to attract attention, but most people walking by a kiosk and seeing it come to life find that eerie. And, honestly, most locations don’t want the additional sound in a quiet environment or more sound added to louder mall-type settings."

2. Keep it easy and obvious.

ChannelNet Vice President of Strategy and Customer Experience Renee Triemstra, on error-proofing screens: "Include inline error handling. Analytics reveal that forms with unclear directions are one of the biggest reasons consumers abandon a task. Today’s technology can guide customers’ entries. If a customer accidentally enters the wrong information or misses entering information, a good application will highlight the actual field they need to fix before they submit the application. Real-time entry validation helps people complete your credit application faster with less effort, fewer errors and more satisfaction."

On customer problem-solving, Triemstra says: "Include contextual FAQs. If people have to navigate away from a page to find more information on another page or in another section, you take the risk that they will not return to complete the task. To avoid sending people elsewhere for answers, link the answers right in the form near the related steps in the process. For example, where the name and address are entered, you might have a link that says: 'What if my mailing address is a P.O. Box?' On the page where income is entered, you may have a link that says: 'Should I include my total annual household income or only individual income?'"

3. Keep it convenient and essential.

Fresh Healthy Vending's Nick Yates on flexibility of use: "Integrate. We've created a mobile application that coincides perfectly with our micro market POS system, so each employee can browse the app whenever and wherever they please. They don't have to go 'out of their way' or spend valuable time in a lecture."

Redyref Interactive Kiosks' Ben Wheeler on making kiosks essential to the retail experience: "I don’t think it's a matter of doing something to grab their attention as much as it is a matter of making the kiosk an absolute requirement in the process."

On making the kiosk the most attractive option, Wheeler says: "The software is just as irrelevant as the hardware if you can't get the customer in front of it. For example, if a human-resources client has to wait for a later appointment with HR by not using the kiosk, then the client will choose to use the kiosk rather than find ways around the process."

On what convenience looks like, Wheeler says: "Today, everyone checks in with someone who is moving around holding a tablet. The fact that they’re moving makes it difficult to find them. The fact that they’re dealing with first line check-in means they’re going to be surrounded by a queue of people. Wouldn’t it be better to have stationary check-in kiosks with obvious signs so that the client can register trying to find the right person? Kiosks can feed check-in information directly to an iPad. Staff can spend time arranging first line assignments and triage of products rather than checking in everyone."

4. Keep it fun – but valuable.

Fresh Healthy Vending's Nick Yates on motivating customers: "Incentivize. Kiosk operators are able to reward employees/customers with both monetary and product incentives, and notify them via mobile apps. They're getting something for free or heavily discounted. It's an easy way to encourage customers to use the technology for the first time."

Redyref Interactive Kiosks' Ben Wheeler on the limits of "fun" and the value of experience: "Obviously, you can do attract loops, rewards programs or give-a-ways for using the kiosk, and if they’re lucrative enough the consumer can be trained to use the kiosk. But at some point when the free item that's offered is no longer available, the time the client used the kiosk has to have proven to have been of enough value to get them to come back. The bottom-line is not how cool a kiosk looks, or if you give the user a prize to try it. The real reward is what the kiosk/kiosk software does to enhance the experience -- and make it simpler so people will opt to use it again and again after all the free toasters are gone."

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