Pro-Touch

Month: August 2013

Marketing your Kiosk; 3 Tips for Success

Posted on by Tom Pryor

In today's consumer society we are spoilt for choice. Everywhere we turn we are present with an array of products and services to choose from; everything from restaurants, clothes, gadgets, holidays, entertainment and so on.

With a heavy reliance on personal touch screen devices, such as iPads, tablets and mobile phones, it’s no surprise that people are drawn to touch screens in consumer facing industries. However, in a world saturated by choice, how can you make it so that consumers are drawn to your kiosk?

1. Make an impact

Carrying your brand across on to your self-serve kiosk is essential for marketers, as it allows consumers to immediately identify your product. However, when it comes to making your kiosk stand out, the power lies in having an original, creative design. Having fun with the design is this difference between a kiosk which could go easily unnoticed and a kiosk which customers are compelled to use. With simple to apply laminates, you can update your kiosk so its inkeeping with the current marketing campaign you are running. This ensures the continuity of your marketing message across all media platforms.

2. Think outside the box

Customising your kiosk doesn’t have to stop at branding. Say for example you want to place a self service ticket machine at the entrance of a zoo. You can theme your kiosk to suit its positioning by customising the laminate to resemble zebra or leopard print. This way your kiosk is in keeping with the theme of its location as, well as being eye catching and fun.

3. Engage your audience

Landing pages (the first page a customer sees) present the perfect opportunity to grab your customers attention and engage them with your product. For this reason it's vital to get your landing page right and make it as interactive as possible. Techniques such as demos, interactive games, or displaying your companies USP’s are all great ways to reach out to your desired target market.

In fact studies have shown that visual marketing, when it's relevant, is far more effective than typical print adverts. The reason for this being, it's easier to get a consumer to focus on an advert and gain their trust on the interface of a kiosk that they've chosen to use.

Our experienced team have helped deploy hundreds of successful custom projects, so they know how to get the best out of your touch screen kiosk. Visit or contact Protouch today for more information on how we can help your kiosk to make an impact within your market.

Growing Appetite for Self Service in Restaurants

Posted on by Tom Pryor

In the fast paced, ever changing world of technology, it's vital to keep your finger firmly on the digital pulse in order to keep up with the latest trends and consumer demands. While our familiarity and reliance on tablet devices and digital screens grows, so does our desire for more digital touch points in the areas where we live, work, shop, travel and socialise. Restaurants, in-particular, are now seeing the benefits of using tablet devices to maximise micro-convenience and customer experience, with tablets wrapping up everything that we're used to in a traditional sense; offering virtual concierge, digital menus, bookings, social media engagement, special offers and so on.

Digital Signage

Digital menus allow restaurants to entice and seduce customers through high-definition, interactive images; as opposed to traditionally print images, which are flat and lifeless. Digital images give restaurants far more flexibility and creativity to display eye catching and mouthwatering images.

When places in high-traffic areas, digital signs are excellent ways in which to capture the customer's attention as they walk past or queue up for service. This provides an excellent opportunity to upsell items, make recommendations and offer incentives. All of which can increase sales and improve ROI.

Self-serve kiosks

In 2012 it was predicted that a total of 44% of consumers would opt to use a self-service terminal, and 40% would choose to use a Smartphone application to place a food order. To reflect this many restaurants are now catching up with touch screen technologies, as they explore innovative ways to go above and beyond the standard level of service.

So far, 2013 has seen 28% of restaurant owners showing strong interest in having a mobile app, and there is a growing appetite for the technology amongst consumers too; with 67% now interested in booking their tables through an app (source).

With freestanding tablet kiosks and easy touchscreen interactions, customers are able to place orders easily, pay for their food quickly and efficiently, and access nutritional information at the touch of a screen. All of these simple tasks put the customer in control, freeing up staff for other jobs and improving the overall dining experience for the customer.

Other benefits include;

Nutritional/Allergy information
Ordering
Loyalty schemes
Payment terminals
Social media engagement
Reservations
Advertising
Reduce staff

Restaurants kiosks provide a wealth of benefits, not only to the customer, but to the company too. At a relatively low to deploy it’s worth considering how a touch screen kiosk can help your business by improving overall customer satisfaction, as well as ROI. Contact Protouch today and find out how you can start reaping the benefits of a restaurant kiosk.

Kiosks Are Harnessing Clean Technology

Posted on by Tom Quarry

We're all trying to be greener in our day to day lives; everything from choosing energy saving lightbulbs, to recycling our waste. However, with technology becoming ever more prevalent in society, and the concern for its impact on the planet growing, companies have a corporate responsibility to the environment. Whether it’s supplier or buyer, it’s now in both parties best interests to take the necessary steps and precautions to be greener. The question is, can you reduce your carbon footprint whilst at the same time adopting the latest technologies?

Low energy consumption hardware

Kiosk hardware is constantly evolving to meet the demands of the user, and at the same time suit the needs of the environment; operating at maximum efficiency, whilst creating the lowest possible carbon footprint. They've come a long way since the early days when you simply had one manual on and off button, and are now designed to consume very little energy. With capabilities such as Power Save Mode your computer can save energy by turning off automatically. Likewise, if a kiosk is not going to be used, for example, after business operating hours, you can set it to shut down and then automatically reboot at a certain time. This ensures that the computer is ready when it is needed, but does not consume energy when it is not in use. The benefit of energy saving kiosks lies in low-power consumption that optimizes long-term kiosk performance and efficiency.

Eco friendly processes

Recycling doesn’t just stop at separating our plastic bottles from our everyday waste; kiosk manufacturers and buyers have a responsibility to be green too. Under the European Law, all end of life kiosks are disposed of under WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). For this reason every single piece of metal in an end of life kiosk is saved and recycled; meaning that nothing is wasted or sent to a landfill.

Green self-service initiatives

As well as fulfilling their duty of care to the environment, kiosks are helping consumers to be green too. Changes in the automated retail space are seeing self service kiosks turn eco friendly in order to help consumers recycle everything from mobile phones and coins, to day-to-day waste products. In our highly disposable economy this is a much-needed service, working to encourage recycling and save the environment. Consumers are very used to helping themselves, so the quicker and more efficient the recycling experience can be, the more likely it is that consumers will get involved and take an interest. Eco-friendly kiosks help to automate recycling, streamline the process for consumers, help the environment and save on manual labour costs.

Kiosks of the future

Eco friendly, self-supporting kiosks are going to be at the forefront of technological developments. The next generation in innovative eco-friendly kiosks is harnessing ‘clean’ energy from the power of the sun; eliminating the need for wires and reducing installation costs. Solar power technology is already in place in some parking meter and info-point type kiosks in metropolitan areas such as London, and will see energy consumption reduce dramatically.

Green technology is an exciting field and one in which we can expect to see innovative and significant progression in the future; in order to see the environment and technology working together in harmony. If you’d like to find out more about how kiosks manufacturers are taking their responsibility to the environment seriously, or find out how a green kiosk can improve your ROI, contact Protouch today.

Is Digital Learning the Way of the Future?

Posted on by Tom Quarry

There's no question that touch screen kiosks are revolutionising public facing sectors such as leisure, retail and healthcare. However, recent studies have indicated that touchscreen technology can make a prolific impact when is comes to student learning and education, too. Gone are the days where students relied solely on notebooks and turned to textbooks for information; with the advent of devices and technology, classrooms are now becoming paperless and the future of teaching and education lies mainly in ‘smart’ classrooms.

Touchscreen technology hasn’t been around for very long, but it is already making a huge impact on education. Whether it be in early learning, key stage learning or higher education; technology allows the current generation of learners to go out and find answers on their own, catering for their desire for information and improving their critical thinking skills. According to an infographic by Educase, 70% of students say they learn most in blended learning environments; indicating that with access to a variety of rich media resources, students can benefit from higher levels of engagement.

Digital learning, touchscreen PCs in particular, has the advantage of being able to capture the attention of students, who may otherwise become bored or restless by more conventional teaching methods. Interestingly Educase found that 54% of students say they are more actively involved in courses that use technology. Through E-learning students can play educational games, read interactive books, practice logic and arithmetic skills, take tests, submit work, research, and much more (depending on varying learning styles and interests); allowing them to learn more effectively as they interact directly with the device.

Touch screen technologies can prove particularly valuable in the education and development of disabled students or students with learning difficulties. Through interactive learning teachers can better engage students who may have short attention spans, difficulties reading or hearing and so on. Specialist software can be installed in a touchscreen PC in order to suit the requirements of the users, including; large, easy to read text, colourful visuals, interactive games, voice command and moving objects.

Technology is becoming an integral part to the learning experience, not only for students but for teachers too. By understanding how to present information to students teachers can better connect with them and therefore benefit from the positive impact that comes with empowering students through independent learning.  As well as this, teachers can use technology to manage their own time more efficiently (lesson planning, marking etc), using collaborative tools to reduce the demands placed upon them as the sole teacher.

While technology for technology sake is not the answer, it’s important to know what is out there and what tools can be used in a classroom environment to make learning a more positive and integrated experience. If you’d like to find out more about how touchscreen technologies can be used in the classroom, contact Protouch today.

Image source: CNN.com