INTERACTIVE WAYFINDING BENEFITS YOUR CUSTOMERS (AND YOU)

Today’s consumers follow whatever path they want and expect you to communicate with them and anticipate their wants and needs. Although printed wayfinding has been around for a long time, more and more businesses are moving to interactive digital wayfinding which offers a wide variety of benefits and actually enhances the use of traditional printed wayfinding.

BENEFITS OF INTERACTIVE WAYFINDING

• Self-service – Interactive wayfinding provides immediate information at the user’s fingertips and reduces the requirement for staff to assist in directing visitors to their desired location.
• Enhanced user-experience – Customers feel welcomed with interactive wayfinding kiosks. By reducing frustration, your visitors will have a more positive experience when they don’t feel frustrated by finding what they want; when they want it. Plus, interactive wayfinding allows the user to filter large lists of items alphabetically, by department, etc.
• Data and analytics – Track how long it takes for customers to fulfill their navigating needs and what information is most important so you can apply this data and enhance your marketing and user experience efforts.

INTERACTIVE WAYFINDING DESIGN AND CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS

• Define your internal and external stakeholders, budget and timeline.
  • Project Manager, Turnkey Digital Signage Provider, Marketing/Communications, Facilities Personnel
• ADA considerations
  • Accessibility of screens for wheelchair access and more. Consider ADA buttons near the bottom of the screen.

• Define what should be included on the wayfinding digital media.

  • Events
  • Departments
  • Areas of Interest – Dining, Parking, Elevators, Shops, Emergency Exits, Restrooms, etc.
  • Promotions

• Content and creative

  • Introductory screen content and design
  • Photo displays
  • Video
  • Maps
    • 3D maps vs. flat design
    • Floor maps, campus maps, google maps
    • Directory data

• Navigation

  • How will visitors need to find where they want to go. How simple or complex is the navigation? Should they be allowed to text themselves the paths they have selected?

• Additional information

  • Date/Time
  • News
  • Weather
  • Announcements
  • Specials

• Technology considerations

  • Touchscreen display
  • Screen resolution
  • Facial recognition technology to profile demographics of passerby displaying targeted advertising
  • SMS text messaging
  • Integration with support tools
  • Digital camera
  • Media devices
  • Customized content management system (CCMS)
  • Analytics
  • Mobile integration
  • Beacon integration

In today’s market, we are finding interactive wayfinding as less of a ‘wow’ feature and more of an ‘expected’ feature amongst many public facility locations. At Oppna Digital, our strategy is to provide a rich user experience on both interactive wayfinding kiosks and mobile apps as well as complimentary cross channel digital media.