ExecutiveChronicles.com | Top 7 Reasons To Incorporate Digital Wayfinding Solutions To Your Business | When you travel to an unfamiliar surrounding such as a new campus, institution, or venue, how do you navigate your surroundings? Great wayfinding allows individuals to find their way around. Being able to comfortably explore a built environment is crucial to positive interactions.
Great wayfinding solutions in unfamiliar surroundings increase safety, saves time, and reduces stress and confusion.
In today’s environment, a well-designed wayfinding system requires digital solutions. Digital wayfinding solutions allow businesses and institutions to communicate information to consumers in a way that anticipates their needs and wants.
Interactive digital kiosks provide businesses and institutions a whole host of benefits. Here are the top seven reasons your business should consider making the transition to digital wayfinding.
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Improves navigation
We are in the age of mobile devices. Everyone has one and we all use our smartphones to navigate our surroundings. If you’ve ever taken a wrong turn, you’ve used a navigation app, such as Google Maps, to find the right route.
It’s become so commonplace that few people ask for directions these days.
Digital wayfinding continues that trend within the built environment. Digital wayfinding solutions can be integrated into interactive digital kiosks or a mobile app. This makes navigation easier and allows users to explore their surroundings in the way they want.
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Improves business efficiency
Like static wayfinding systems, digital wayfinding works around the clock. But unlike static wayfinding, digital systems can preemptively display informational messages that are relevant to a guest or customer.
Sophisticated programming can also include voice connections that improve navigation. This takes out the human interaction aspect of wayfinding, allowing staff to focus on other revenue-generating activities such as customer service.
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Enhances accessibility
A business or institution that incorporates a digital wayfinding system helps foster a more inclusive culture. Digital wayfinding can improve how visually impaired guests, customers, or staff navigate their surroundings.
A large venue built environment that’s known to be a tourist destination can circumvent language barriers with multi-lingual digital wayfinding. Digital wayfinding system can be programmed with a number of languages so that the navigation system can translate the experience to the desired language.
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Increases sales
Similar to programming languages, an interactive digital kiosk can be programmed to promote certain products or services via wayfinding.
For example, if a customer is seeking specific merchandise, the digital signage kiosk, finding office for lease sydney can not only provide directions to that merchandise but also feature limited-time offers that may entice an upsell. Likewise, digital kiosks can inform customers of your range of services that they might not know about.
Effective wayfinding encourages customers to spend more time in the store, resulting in more purchases.
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Adaptive to your needs
Digital wayfinding empowers businesses in ways that static signage cannot. Digital wayfinding systems offer enhanced personalization that can be tailored to your business needs. Usage and application can include anything from place-based digital wayfinding to mobile wayfinding apps.
Across all verticals, from healthcare to education and retail to travel, digital wayfinding programs can be customized to ensure the needs of your guests are met. Its ability to gather data on customer behavior allows your business to concentrate its efforts where it has maximum impact.
This ultimately results in providing your guests or customers a memorable experience.
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Supports emergency messaging
Every business and venue requires an emergency notification system. Currently, most businesses use static signage that does not disseminate information well. Static signage will often only display exit routes.
Digital wayfinding systems can be used as an emergency response tool in the event of an emergency. Beyond showing exit routes, digital signage can provide instructions on where to go, highlight nearby emergency centers, and display emergency services contact information.
Digital wayfinding can integrate with an existing emergency notification system to help visitors safely navigate their way to their intended destination.
Because emergency situations are dynamically changing, digital signage can be customized to deliver crucial messages in real-time. With digital wayfinding being used as a critical response tool, personnel is free to assist during a crisis.
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Reduces costs
An effective digital wayfinding system is more than just signage. Its value-added benefits are immeasurable. Not only does it eliminate printing and shipping costs, but it’s also programmable to update information automatically.
Other benefits that digital wayfinding systems provide that are not as easily quantifiable include journey time savings, accessibility, and safety. There are also hidden costs to bad wayfinding systems. Poor wayfinding can heavily affect your bottom line.
Visitors that have difficulty navigating a venue can become frustrated, angry, and stressed. When customer complaints increase, business revenues tend to decline.
Advancements in digital wayfinding technology are also lowering barriers to entry for many businesses. Installation, price of signage, and maintenance costs are all decreasing as digital signage becomes more commonplace.
Ready to go digital?
Digital wayfinding solutions allow your business to better interact with its guests and visitors in a format that is captivating and informative. The customizability of digital wayfinding systems provides limitless potential for any business in any vertical.
Regardless of how it’s implemented, digital signage provides a better and more efficient customer service experience for your guests and visitors. This will enrich the overall customer experience, encouraging repeat business.
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AUTHOR BIO
Zak Zakaria is a Waymaker at dezigntechnic in Dubai who also previously worked as the company’s Graphic Designer and Art Director. Zak is a creative with work experience in multiple multinational agencies such as JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi. Signage design is a family business, making Zak’s personal experience with signage his longest professional commitment.
