Over the years, self-service kiosks have evolved into a required business investment. From offering faster ways of accessing services, buying items, and gathering information, this gadget enhances service delivery.
However, finding the best-suited kiosk for your business takes planning. In this buying guide, we shall cover all you need to know before buying a self-service kiosk.
We will give you tips on buying the right kiosk!
The Basics of Kiosks
A kiosk is an interactive terminal that allows customers to do what they want without the intervention of any staff.
These kiosks have been built with a touchscreen interface that helps users navigate the menu and help themselves. From ordering food to check-ins at airports or paying for goods at stores, kiosks ease operations for businesses and customers.
Common Applications of Self-Service Kiosks
The versatility of self-service kiosks makes them applicable in many sectors. Some applications include:
Retail
In retail, businesses provide kiosks to help their customers place orders, pay bills, and check the stock of a particular commodity.
In clinics and hospitals, patients leverage kiosks for checking in or filling out forms and clearing bills.
Hospitality
In the hospitality sector, customers check in to hotels using these kiosks. They also use these machines to order food and acquire information on local attractions.
Transportation
Kiosks at train stations or airports allow passengers to purchase a ticket, inquire about a schedule, or print out a boarding pass.
Nutrition
In the food industry, clients purchase food and make payments using a kiosk. This eliminates long queues and waiting in lines, thus boosting operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Kiosk
There are several factors you must consider before purchasing a self-service kiosk. Some of these factors include:
Define Your Aims
Specify what you hope to achieve so you can make the best buying decision. Before investing in a kiosk, outline your aims.
Do you want to improve customers’ experience, decrease employee workload, or hasten transaction times? Being clear on your aims will help you spot a kiosk that best fits your business.
Understand Your Business and Customers
A kiosk should reflect both your business and its customers. Understanding your customers and how they interact with the kiosk could also influence your selection.
Customers at a fast-food restaurant might want a kiosk that offers the quickest way to order and pay. A hotel might want kiosks for guest check-ins or to provide local information.
Budget Size
Your budget will affect the kiosk model that you select. Self-service kiosks have various models that range from simple information kiosks to more advanced ones. Such kiosks also have price ranges.
Before purchasing the kiosk, consider the one-time price and other recurring costs that include maintenance, software upgrades, and repairs.
Tips on Buying the Right Kiosk
One of the main decisions you will have to make right off the bat is whether your kiosk will be indoors or outdoors. All things being equal, an indoor kiosk will be less expensive because they do not need to endure extreme weather.
If you go for outdoor kiosks, then they must be strong and waterproof enough to work perfectly in rain, heat, and cold.
When choosing an outdoor kiosk, look for designs that work in different environments. Such kiosks may feature boxes that protect them from high humidity.
They can be either interactive or informative. With an interactive kiosk, you can perform several tasks, such as buying, checking in, and ordering.
In contrast, informational kiosks display static information. Examples include kiosks that offer maps, directories, and advertisements with only a little interactivity.
Whichever one you choose should depend upon what you want the kiosk to do for your business. If you aim for quick customer service, then an interactive kiosk would be ideal.
If you only need a device that presents information, then a basic model can serve that purpose.
Must-Have Features for Every Quality Kiosk
There are those kiosk features that are vital to functionality. Knowing them will help you find the right kiosk for your business.
Quality and Strong Hardware
Your kiosk hardware should be durable enough to withstand wear and tear. The eventual consequences of a constantly breaking down or hardly maintainable kiosk are frustrated customers and added costs.
Also, seek kiosks made from quality materials especially if the kiosk is to sit in a heavy-traffic area. Finally, kiosk touchscreens should be responsive, easy to clean, and resistant to wear and tear.
Ease of Use and Accessibility
It needs to be intuitive and easy to use for any person, regardless of his or her background and age group. The screen should be designed to allow users to make selections quickly.
Most importantly, clear instructions with large buttons are a must-have for people unfamiliar with touchscreen technology. Similarly, having kiosks that are accessible to customers with disabilities is critical.
Security Features
Several kiosks dealing with sensitive information have quality security features. Most modern-day kiosks boast security features like face detection systems. Facial recognition verifies users and raises the level of security.
You can offer a better user experience thanks to facial detection systems. According to your business needs, these features are useful add-ons that help prevent fraud and protect users.
Implementation and Operations
Installation Planning and Setup
Smooth installation always requires proper planning. First, consider where you will place the installed kiosk, keeping in mind that it should be easily accessible to the customers.
Whether you place the kiosk indoors or outdoors, the setup should always offer easy use to customers while staying maintainable.
Always consider power and internet connectivity as part of the accessibility requirements for kiosks.
Staff Training and Ongoing Support
Even though kiosks come with features that lessen staff intervention, you still need trained employees to troubleshoot basic problems and assist customers where necessary.
Assign a team to manage the kiosk issues so your operations run smoothly. Also, note that most kiosk providers offer ongoing support and maintenance services that help address technical issues.
Compare Overall Costs Against Long-Term Benefits
You need to balance the cost of investing in the kiosk and its long-term benefits.
Buying this device might seem like a huge investment upfront, but many kiosks pay for themselves in the long run, thanks to reduced labor costs caused by improvements in efficiency.
For example, a kiosk that can take orders would relieve a front-desk employee and enable him to engage in more constructive customer service-related work.
Kiosks streamline processes over the long term and offer a better consumer experience. This makes them worth investing in.
Buying vs Leasing
Next, you have to decide whether to lease or buy your kiosks. Leasing may be a good option if you do not want or need to make a large upfront investment. They may also be good for clients who intend to upgrade kiosks often.
In contrast, buying would suit long-term situations where one wants full possession and control of the equipment. To know how cost-effective a kiosk acquisition will be, weigh its pros and cons against your budget and future business plans.
Conclusion
From saving on operation costs to offering an improved customer experience, buying the right kiosk has many advantages.
Whatever the case may be, your selection of a kiosk should hinge on several aspects, including business needs, customer expectations, and budget size.
From where to place them to the type of kiosk, its security features, and ease of use, each decision will affect the success of your kiosk implementation.
If you need further assistance buying the right kiosk for your budget, contact us at BestKiosk today. You can get a free quote by booking a call with us now.
