Customer-centric selling flows through kiosks

Today's customers want to shop in new, customer-centric ways, and kiosks give marketers an exceptional way to do that.

Today's customers want, and expect, to be in the driver's seat. Even when an item is sold in person, it's possible or even likely that the buyer will direct a large portion of the journey him or herself. The natural next step for an industry that has changed in the face of online browsing and buying is to give the buyer technology that lets them drive.

"Touchscreen kiosks play directly into a modern approach to buying and selling."

Instead of trying to prevent consumers from taking the initiative, leaders are using tech tools to enable their customers to control the process while still making the sale effectively. Interactive touchscreen kiosks, through several of their key features, play directly into this modern approach to aligning the buying and sales processes.

Picking informational devices
Choosing to deploy kiosks on the sales floor is one way to keep up with changes in the sales environment as it stands today. People want to guide their own journeys, and kiosks allow them to do this. The critical point is that, even though the shopper is in control, the connection with the company still exists, and savvy companies have set up an experience that aligns with their brand and their proven sales processes.

Touchscreens enable customer contact while allowing autonomy.

This means businesses can keep their audiences close and effectively make the sale. The following three traits show the depth of this connection:

• Information delivery with no pressure: Customers today care about the products they buy and want to know a great deal of information about them. Kiosks provide an unparalleled ability to tell a visual, dynamic story through in-depth multimedia. They can deliver the same information as a conversation with staff members, but at a pace dictated by the user, not the seller, and in a format they are already familiar with. Data shows that it's both more memorable and more trusted.
• Data collection and analytics: Kiosks fundamentally change any aspect of marketing that has long been without data. Signs - both print and digital - simply do not collect data on usage. But the right touchscreen kiosks do. If businesses use these devices to log information about their clients, they can learn a variety of facts that will help improve offerings in the future. Would a new screen layout help sell particular items? Is one product attracting far more attention than leaders suspected? These types of questions can be answered with the data collected from kiosk software.
• Strong connections: Information kiosks don't just enable browsing, either. These devices can be used to forge more lasting connections between companies and customers. A buyer can sign up for an appointment, ensuring that the information-gathering session leads to closer contact with the business at a later, fixed date. Companies can also ask for feedback from the audience, gaining direct reporting of what people want most. Offering other dynamic and fun interactions such as allowing the user to build things and share videos or images within the touchscreen experience, can strengthen the bond with the brand.

New form of connection
A new take on retail relationships is becoming standard practice across verticals, and companies that do nothing to change their marketing communications, merchandising and sales may seem to be behind the times. Fortunately, systems such as kiosks, act as bridges between the past and the future. Customers who look for products using technology can now do so in-store and businesses offering touch systems need not sacrifice the relationship with the customer, offering a new way for both to connect.