HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY RENTAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS BY, BIG DIGITAL
When you are exploring technology rental for your business you want to ensure that you’re not just using cutting-edge solutions to impress; you want to explore your options and make sure that you are using the technology that will meet your specific needs. Here are some tips to help you choose the right technology rentals for your business.
EASE PAIN POINTS Whether you are planning a pop-up boutique, participating in a trade show or looking at options for an event, understanding the pain points of your customers is the first step to making the right decisions. Pain points will vary based on your client relationship. B2B clients share common issues, including spending, productivity, processing and support. The consumer will share concerns about spending, but this is not always a driving force. Although saving money is always desirable, it is not always the most important factor for the consumer, especially if you sell a high-end brand or offer a high-end shopping experience. Other considerations for the consumer should include how quickly they can check out; convenience; and selection, such as finding the colour and size they desire.
If this is not your first event, you can get more specific and speak to staff who participated and interacted with customers at the last event. This will allow you to determine if expectations of the customers were met, challenges they might have encountered from a service standpoint, and technology that could help improve engagement for visitors. This can help you focus on issues, so you can try to address them and make the second time around more successful. You can also speak to staff about details such as set-up and planning. For example, did they encounter issues with the last technology company they used? Did the technology meet expectations? Did they find they were spending too much time troubleshooting to get the technology to work? All of these questions can help you determine what changes can be made to ensure their jobs are easier and help them focus on the customers’ needs instead of wasting time troubleshooting. Leveraging previous experience your team might have gained with other companies can also be helpful if this is your first event or pop-up. Speak to your team to learn more about their background, whether it was working with a competitor or planning other events. You can even gain valuable knowledge based on your team’s experience on the consumer side shopping at pop-ups or attending trade events.
dentifying all pain points will allow you to come up with the best solutions to overcome shortfalls, become more proactive in foreseeing customers’ needs and avoiding downtime due to poor technology choices.
CONSIDER YOUR PURPOSE The strategy behind your event is also key to what digital technology you want to rent. Some possible strategies might include:
• Attracting new customers • Collecting email addresses for marketing new products or events • Providing a brick and mortar experience to help to convert abandoned shopping carts into sales
• Geotargeting to gain market share in a new location • One-on-one personal experiences to see and touch your product • Demonstrating the launch of a new product or service
• Creating an experience or event to gain media attention
TEAM REQUIREMENTS There are a few considerations when it comes to your team requirements. For example, if you will be in a very busy venue, such as a high profile trade show, having large screens available to draw attention to rolling digital demos is a must, in addition to tablet solutions, touchscreens and a social media wall. However, a smaller venue with less traffic might just require tablets to encourage oneon-one interaction with customers in tandem with a large screen to attract passersby. Your team will also bring varying levels of familiarity with the technology you might require. Consideration should be given to how much training is required so that you do not put your team in a position to be embarrassed should they be unable to handle the technology you have chosen. Understanding how technology will impact your team will help ensure your choices provide support while meeting their skill level. If you choose technology that requires training, this will also have an impact on your budget. You will want to avoid technology that causes disruption in one area in an attempt to resolve a problem in another.
If you are going with new technology, make sure the digital technology rental company provides onsite support should you encounter any issues during the event. You can also decide if you want to partner with a company that can provide resources or if you want to consider a special team you can train specifically for your event or pop-up.
UNDERSTAND WHAT’S AVAILABLE Doing some research upfront will introduce you to some of the leading edge technology that’s available. Technology rentals cover a wide variety of options that each have pros and cons. Some of the technology rentals available for events and pop-ups include:
• Video Wall Designs: This is perfect to create impact and show off products, but also create brand awareness.
• Social Media Walls: This allows people to post what they are experiencing at an event directly to social media in real time. Large projections attract people at the event, but posts will also help attract more people to the event when they see what they are missing.
• Projection Mapping: This is ideally to create interest using visual projections on any surface from buildings to fashion runways and stages to actual water.
• Touchscreens: These are perfect where interaction is encouraged from pop-up retail stores to trade shows and events.
• Diverse Tablet Solutions: This provides your team with access to information required from ordering to checking inventory and access to product specs to running one-on-one demos.
Other common solutions might include Indoor and Outdoor LED Displays, Outdoor Signage and customized tech solutions designed to meet your specific needs. There truly is no limit to the technology available to make your event memorable and successful. Technology rentals should be designed to provide solutions to help meet your ultimate goal. This means having a strategy in mind that helps you choose the right tools to help you meet your core objectives. To find the best solutions to meet your technology rental needs, contact us here or call us at 416-645-5186.