News

Small business, big potential

January 24, 2006

This article appeared in the Retail Self-Service Executive Summary, Winter 2006.

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 kiosks can make a big difference for small companies too.

Virgin Megastore recently unveiled a characteristically massive program at its New York superstore: 150 mini-kiosks allow customers fingertip access to interactive, dynamic product information from anywhere in the store.

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?

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

Gonsiorowski pointed out that the goal of a kiosk program must be fundamentally different for a small company. He said that the smaller the business, 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."

Keeping it affordable

While it may be easy for a small-business operator to believe a kiosk will be beneficial, it may be harder to believe that it will be worth the money. And while there definitely is an economy of scale 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."

Gonsiorowski added that it is important to give the kiosk its due, but no more. "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."

Instead, companies should 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.

But even when the overall strategy is rock-solid, the actual price of the unit itself might be a stretch for some small companies. Sydney Arfin of Redondo Beach, Calif.-based SeePoint 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," she said.