Pro-Touch

Shine At A Touch Screen Kiosk Trade Show With These Top Tips

A trade show and expo is a fantastic opportunity to interact and network with potential clients as well as display your best performing kiosks. Exhibitions are a brilliant way to get your brand noticed, maximise exposure and get possible sales that you wouldn’t necessarily have done beforehand. This is partially because you can reach a varying range of audiences but what use is hosting a stand if you are not going to shine out from your competition and draw attention? Protouch is often sponsoring and exhibiting at prestigious and renowned tradeshows up and down the country. As Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technology, we are often showcasing multifunctional and self-service kiosks in order to help companies find how kiosks can benefit their business and what advantages they can bring for customers. The Kioskmarketplace.com has put together some top tips on making your kiosk stand pop out at a tradeshow. It is integral that a spectacle of sights and sounds is displayed to draw the crowds to your stand and therefore Protouch feature a vast array of different kiosks from all industry sectors.

Promote through marketing

It is useless going to so much effort in your stand if no-one knows you are going to be there so use marketing tactics and social media ahead of the big day to let people know where and when you will be located in the show. Distribute press release, write blogs, utilise social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and increase the traffic to promote your stand.

Dazzle in lights

They say never read a book by its cover but still people do. Presentation is key so attract audiences in with lights, colours, sounds and movement. You don’t have to host a bright pink stand to get attention but why not use flashing lights, shimmery fabric or a laser projection to give your stand that edge. Make a strong impression with a big banner and grab client’s focus quickly.

– Look professional

If you appear professional then people will assume you are professional and take your service seriously. A full suit is not necessarily needed but a smart top and trousers that are clean and crisp portray expertise.

– Stand up and be noticed

Don’t sit down on the job! It discourages people to visit your stand as it comes across that you’re disinterested and bored. Look lively and energetic and customers will want to talk to you. Be on your feet, interact with them and draw them into your stand; don’t make them do all the hard work. Make sure someone always mans the stand though and wear comfortable shoes. Come check out Protouch at the Kiosk London Expo 2011 at the Barbican Centre on 19th-20th October and see their leading self-service kiosk solutions that are in demand; and find out how they can benefit your business.

President Barack Obama Slates Kiosks For Unemployment Figures

American President Barack Obama has been recorded slating kiosks and ATMs saying how they have contributed to the nation’s unemployment figures. The U.S President sat down in a Today show interview with Ann Curry and took a swipe at touch screen technology, saying one of the reasons he though employment numbers have been slow to rebound was because of self-service automation, specifically kiosks and ATMs. Obama said: “There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don't go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you're using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate. All these things have created changes in the economy, and what we have to do … is identifying where the jobs for the future are going to be.”

MAN OR MACHINE?

It is arguable that touch screen technology has replaced human labour but it is only because it provides an extensive amount of benefits to both the business and the employee. Sophisticated ATMs are proven to dramatically reduce cash handling costs at bank branches, freeing up valuable staff time for more critical tasks. And kiosks have been proven to win the nation’s trust and likeability more so than man, which reflects the growing trend in technology and modern needs. Consumers prefer to interact with a touch screen unit rather than a human being and everyone knows that customer service in the form of human interaction is dying out but employees will always still be needed to man the machines should a customer need help in using it, or there be a technical fault.

GOOD OR BAD?

Some, for example the President Barack Obama, say kiosks are a bad thing others argue it is a simple progression in customer assistance. In such a tech-savvy world people are more willing than ever to use the technology and would rather do so than talk to a human. Is this a dilution of social development? Maybe so but the point is touch screen units reap tons of advantages as opposed to employing several members of staff. The technology speeds up processes in all industry sectors and the future of it is exciting and widely speculated…who really knows what it will hold! Check out a touch screen kiosk today!

Self-Service Ticketing Kiosks Aid Airports: Lily Allen In Need Of Touch Screen Advice

Many airlines globally are deploying touch screen technology to check-in its passengers more efficiently. A traveller can check themself in, including their baggage, and print out their tickets all without the need of airport staff. Instead, it can all be done via a ticketing kiosk. And this is exactly what celebrity Lily Allen should have known, before she forked out money to print off important documentation. The “Smile” singer, who recently announced that she is expecting a baby on her wedding day to partner Sam Cooper, tweeted her upset and wrath online after an altercation with Ryanair. The 26 year-old was left disgruntled when she was forced to hand over £40 to print off a boarding pass ahead of her flight to Dublin, in Ireland last week. She furiously sent a message on the social networking site Twitter, saying: “Ryan Air have just charged me 40 quid to print out my boarding pass. Unbelievable.” “Oh, and now they've taken it off of me. 40 pounds for a piece of paper that was mine for approx. 7 mins, wow….” Many self-service units are deployed at airports so the passenger can print off their documentation beforehand. In some kiosks there are additional fees and extra charges but not to the extent of £40. The technology has been proven to improve customer satisfaction and better queuing times.

Frontier Airlines claims that almost 70% of its passenger check-ins nowadays take place at a kiosk or online. The functions like the printer enable holidaymakers to print off the receipt which is hugely beneficial for those who do not have a printer at home. The touch screen interface also helps customers allocate their own seat selections. Furthermore, the kiosks reduce labour costs and streamline the process for passengers. In the General Conditions section of the airline website, it states that there is a £40 or 40 euro 'Airport Boarding Card Re-issue Fee'. The English recording artist- turned-designer was travelling to Ireland to launch her Lucy In Disguise collection with her sister Sarah Owen. Save billions of pounds a year and let Protouch help your passengers print tickets off and check-in quicker. Simply click here to find out more…

Controversial Wine Kiosks Given Its Last Orders

Wine kiosks in America that have caused controversy since deployment have now been given their last orders (sorry for the cheesy pun!) Complaints from consumers about the touch screen kiosks that sell wine have resulted in the units being given the boot from one supermarket chain. Wegmans Food Markets, which has stores located across many states, have pulled out of the much-criticised wine-kiosk program in Pennsylvania stating that they had hoped customers would find the units to be a valuable addition to shopping experiences but that proved not to be the case. A statement from the firm said that the supposedly user-friendly kiosks had in fact backfired, saying: “The kiosks have not realised their potential, and in some ways have been detrimental to our stores.” Based in Rochester, New York, the supermarket chain had protested to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) arguing that the machines often malfunctioned leading to a significant volume of customer complaints. Wegmans had installed 10 of the 22 active units in Pennsylvania. 

The PLCB first proposed the technology proposals back in 2008 for the deployment of up to 100 kiosks. The units would hold up to 500 bottles of wine and include biometrics and other security measures in the mission to enhance self-service alcohol sale. The first exampled units were rolled out as part of a pilot scheme last year in June 2010 but expansion plans since have been haltered to address mechanical issues.

Keep up to date with all the Touch screen technology news across industry sectors with Protouch.

Pic Credit: The Consumerist