A Restaurant Business article reports: Kiosks are rapidly growing in popularity at U.S. restaurants, as more operators see the devices’ potential benefits for increasing sales and cutting costs, while digital ordering becomes a key goal. Several chains, including Burger King, El Pollo Loco and Shake Shack, are either testing or adding them.
This trend isn’t exclusive to the restaurant industry, either. Retail kiosks are gaining traction as well.
And with consumers becoming increasingly more comfortable using self-service technology, businesses are quickly adopting kiosks.
However, to truly maximize your investment in self-ordering kiosks, delight your customers, and drive revenue – you need to market your kiosk. So, how do you attract customers to your kiosk? Here are six ways to market your self serve kiosk to ensure you’re getting a return on your investment:
1. Educate Your Employees
The first step is to teach your employees the ins and outs of your kiosk technology. In fact, research indicates that about 65 percent of quick-service customers prefer kiosks over traditional ordering systems; especially if staff are available to show them how to use them. By directing customers to the kiosk and instructing them how to use it, first-time users will become regulars much quicker.
2. Optimize Signage
Placing a machine in your restaurant alone won’t bring in new orders. It’s important to add signage to the self-service station for clarity and guidance. If you’re wondering, how can I make my kiosk more attractive?—a simple ‘Order Here’ sign leads your customers to utilize the kiosk to place orders. Similarly for take out or grab and go orders, signage helps to make the kiosk’s purpose clear. Try out a fun sign to ease any hesitation, clear confusion, and help to improve overall service.
3. Strategic Placement
Self-service kiosks serve a different purpose for each establishment. For example, if you are a coffee shop that sells easy grab-and-go items, it makes sense to create a dedicated space that highlights your food and allows customers to check out and go.
Or, if you are using your customer kiosk for self-ordering, place your kiosk where your line typically forms. By understanding how your business will use kiosks, you can strategically place them to get more traffic and allow your staff to focus on high-value tasks.
Once you’ve got your kiosk setup for optimal use, move on to more outward forms of marketing and promotion.
4. Reach Out to Your Current Customers
Use email marketing to inform your customers of the new addition to your business! Let them know you have a kiosk, and invite your loyal customers in to test it out. This is a great reason to re-engage with customers who may have become less frequent visitors.
5. Launch a Loyalty Program
Adding a self-service kiosk is the perfect opportunity to also introduce a loyalty program. Integrate a loyalty program into your kiosk and reward your loyal customers for ordering or making purchases from the kiosk.
6. Offer Exclusive Promos
If you’re still looking for ideas that answer the question, “How do I get sales at a kiosk?” we have another suggestion: add a layer of exclusivity to your self serve kiosk.
Offer customers promotions or discounts, available exclusively on the kiosk. For example, at your hamburger restaurant, offer the ‘Kiosk Combo,’ a special hamburger/fries/soft drink combo offered exclusively on the restaurant self service kiosk. Incentivize your customers to try out your kiosk—and ideally—fall in love with using it.
Conclusion
Whether you are using your kiosk for self-ordering or for self-checkout in your establishment, it is important to use marketing to promote the new tool. By ensuring your customers and staff are educated and excited about your kiosk, you’ll keep a constant stream of business flowing through your kiosks. Learn more about how one Revel client leverages kiosks to drive business and engage customers.
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