Article

Making kiosks work for small business

Traditional wisdom holds that self-service technology offers the most promise for large companies able to implement large deployments. But a recent report from Forrester Research shows how kiosks can make a big difference for small companies.

September 25, 2005 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Virgin Megastore recently unveiled a characteristically massive program at its New York superstore: a rollout of 150 mini-kiosks that offer information on artists, let customers view DVD clips and check product inventory. The sheer scope of the project means that customers standing virtually anywhere in the store have fingertip access to interactive, dynamic information about the products they are considering buying.

This is all well and good, but what does it mean for the entrepreneur running a small boutique store, or the manager of a regional chain with a handful of locations? On the surface it might be discouraging, painting a picture that kiosk deployments are best when they are juggernauts, that the economy of scale forever tips the balance in favor of the titan.

But kiosks can be powerful allies for small business, if they are approached properly.

"I believe kiosks are as beneficial to small businesses as they are to large, if not more so," said Dave Gonsiorowski, founder and chairman of software firm WebRaiser Technologies. "Kiosks are another tool that helps level the playing field when utilized correctly."

Focus on the transaction

Gonsiorowski pointed out that the goal of a kiosk program must be fundamentally different for a small company than with a large one. He said that the smaller the business in question, the greater the focus should be on using the kiosk to facilitate a transaction, rather than provide information.

"Larger companies are better equipped to leverage the technology for informational-only purposes," he said. "Smaller companies need to utilize the tools to help them do things that they otherwise find pain points in their businesses."

He uses the real estate and mortgage businesses as examples. In both cases, many of the players are either self-employed individuals or small offices with just a handful of employees.

"In a hot real estate market like we have seen over the past few years, many of the forms of gaining listings or advertising properties to prospective buyers have been inefficient," he said. "Too many of the traditional media have outdated content and for many (customers) are too expensive to drive consistent campaigns. Kiosks for some of our real estate customers have been highly effective."

Small organizations need all the help they can get when it comes to outreach, organization and logistics. Sydney Arfin, vice president of marketing for Redondo Beach, Calif.-based SeePoint, said her company has had great success helping small, quasi-government agencies and groups, like the organizations that manage California's organ and tissue donation programs.

"Formerly, these organizations would have to expend a lot of human and financial resources to set up drives to increase the donor base," she said. Since SeePoint's kiosks are designed to be portable, they can be taken to events to collect information from new donors. "When there is no event going on, the kiosks can be set up someplace like a post office or a library."

She added that one of the agencies SeePoint works with has struck deals with large area employers to set the kiosks up in places where employees could have access to it during the workday or on breaks.

Arfin said that another great opportunity for a small-business kiosk exists among the many small software development companies that offer very specific, niche-oriented product. "The software development companies themselves are small businesses, and their product can be appropriate for businesses of every size," she said. "Many of these applications are best deployed on touchscreen kiosks."

Keeping it affordable

While it may be easy to convince a small-business operator that a kiosk will be beneficial to them, it is a tougher sell to convince them that it will be worth the money. And while there definitely is an economy of scale in action that makes kiosks more affordable the more you deploy, smaller numbers can be feasible if properly planned.

"In our experience it's not as much the cost, but the business model," said David Traub, vice president of sales for Burnsville, Minn.-based JobView, which specializes in building kiosks for newspaper publishers. "Kiosk price ranges are all over the map. The key is to know what you want the kiosk to do, and then find or create a viable, and sustainable business model."

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Gonsiorowski added that it is important to separate the device from the business model.

"One of the patterns that we have seen over the last eight years is companies looking at the kiosk as though it is the strategy, without realizing that the kiosk is only a tool or a component of the strategy," he said. "This drives cost up not only during the development stages but in the ongoing."

Companies should instead focus on what they want their kiosks to accomplish - and, specifically, if that goal is accomplished, how costs will be reduced. From there, work backward and determine how the kiosk will facilitate the actions needed to meet the goal.

"When incorporated into an overall strategy, it's easier to spot how the kiosk will reduce costs in one area or drive additional revenue in another," Gonsiorowski added.

But even when the strategy is rock-solid, the actual price of the unit itself might be a stretch for some small companies. Arfin recommends equipment leasing, as well as some rental plans. "Small business can take advantage of short-term rentals if the kiosk is just required for a trade show or event."

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