Blog

The GUI's role in customer experience

When it comes to customer experience, you have to consider your graphical-user-interface. It doesn't have to be Monet, but if it appears outdated and unpleasing to the eye, it will hurt your customer's experience.

January 4, 2016 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

Earlier this month, I passed by a certain kiosk at my local Walmart called Quick Tag. It allowed users to create and customize their own pet tags. Since I had recently adopted a Siamese cat, I was excited to see what this kiosk had to offer. However, as soon as I pressed start on the kiosk touchscreen, which was rather inaccurate, I was greeted by a graphical user interface that would have impressed in the 1990s, not the 2000s. The images looked like they had been crafted in Microsoft paint and they were overlaid on a plain blue background. It was a firm example of the importance of GUI in customer experience.

However, criticism alone is useless if it does not lead to education. This example can teach us three key lessons:

Make your GUI aesthetically pleasing.

It doesn’t have to be Monet, but interfaces that are unpleasing to the eye will quickly turn off potential customers. The last thing you want to do is create a sense of cognitive dissonance with your customers. On the other hand, a neat, professional and visually pleasing GUI such as Coinstar will keep customers satisfied. Don't underestimate the power of aesthetics. According to an article in the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, "Design and aesthetics have a profound impact on how users perceive information, learn, judge credibility and usability, and ultimately assign value to a product. To dismiss design as merely visual is to make a fundamental mistake."

Keep it up to date.

Does your GUI look like a sharp smartphone app or does it look more at home on Windows 98? Technology moves quickly, and using outdated technology can, at times, hurt your credibility. The goal of a kiosk is to offer a self-service solution and create a positive customer experience. If your GUI is outdated, users might scoff at your solution and go elsewhere.

Make it user friendly

When I interacted with this kiosk, I noticed that the touchscreen took a while to respond to my commands. It was also slightly inaccurate. However, it did clearly identify its products in a simple manner, and it was easy to find the products. The key word here is easy. Customers do not use self-service solutions for their complexity, they do it for simplicity and to save time. Your GUI should follow this same model. As a practical example, don't make customers go through several steps to find basic items.

Closing thoughts

All these elements tie into the overall trend of omnichannel. Customers now have high expectations of quality for all the technological mediums they use, whether via an app or a kiosk. Hence, your kiosk's GUI should meet that expectation.

About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

Connect with Bradley: