Splashing the cash is something few of us can afford to do without a considerable amount of care and attention at present. As a business owner, this can leave you feeling conflicted. On the one hand, you want to invest in growth, and you know that tech in particular can help in a big way. But on the other hand, you can’t ignore that we’re not exactly living through boom times. With all the economic uncertainties and financial pressures on businesses, this isn’t the time to overstretch yourself.
As tech vendors, we get it. And we know exactly how potential customers feel when they look at the price tag of kiosks sometimes. We call it ‘sticker shock’. Digital hardware comes with a price tag, and the upfront costs can feel risky when you’re watching the purse strings.
But one thing we do know is that kiosks have a strong ROI. Or at least, they do if you make the right choices. One way to end up not making the right choice is baulking at the price of the first options you look at, and subsequently choosing the cheapest model you can find. When functionality, performance and longevity are compromised, that can very quickly turn into a false economy.
Making smart choices about your kiosk investment means thinking beyond the initial price tag. It’s about balancing quality, functionality and long-term value. And as it turns out, there are some savvy ways to stretch your budget without compromising on what really matters. Here’s our take on how to get the most out of your kiosk spend.
Don’t skimp on quality
Let’s start with a truth that’s easy to ignore when you’re trying to keep costs down. Cutting corners on quality is a false economy with any kind of business IT hardware, including kiosks. Yes, there’s plenty of budget gear out there. But it’s a budget for a reason. Especially with kiosks, which are built to be handled by lots of different people day in, day out, cheap just doesn’t cut it. You want resilience and reliability, otherwise in a matter of months, you could easily find yourself landed with a hefty repair bill or even needing a replacement.
Tested, reliable hardware might cost a bit more upfront, but it pays for itself by lasting years instead of months. Fewer breakdowns mean fewer service calls, less downtime and happier users.
Rethink what you actually need
One of the easiest ways to ensure any kiosk purchase makes financial sense is to avoid paying for features you don’t need. This covers everything from technical specs to the types of peripherals you include. Yes, the bigger the CPU storage and RAM, and the faster the processing speed, the better a kiosk will perform. But there’s a balance to be struck between the level of performance you actually need and the cost of more powerful machines. This is where thinking about, and taking advice on, the type of software you want to run becomes important. If you only need relatively lightweight cloud-based applications, you don’t need a top-spec CPU to deliver high-quality performance.
With peripherals, it’s all about thinking about which functions are essential for end users. Does a ‘nice-to-have’ really add anything to the user experience? Is it worth the cost? You can also think smart about using tools for multiple purchases. In the entertainment industry, for example, many venues used to have separate printers for tickets and receipts. Now, it’s more common to have a single printer that combines the two, with a QR code serving as the ticket added onto a receipt, for example.
Don’t forget the hidden costs
Finally, it’s important to remember that the cost of ownership of a kiosk is not all about that upfront ticket price. It’s all the repairs and maintenance you have to put in, as we’ve touched on. There are also hidden costs in the choices you make around setup and maintenance. You might feel it makes sense to opt for a very straightforward model with a do-it-yourself setup out of the box. But someone still has to spend the time doing the staging and installation. If that’s a member of your staff, you’re paying them for their time. Is that the most efficient option, if it takes them away from another task that has to be fulfilled, and it takes longer than getting a professional installation as part of a bundled service?
At the end of the day, getting more bang for your kiosk buck isn’t a race to the bottom. It’s about playing the long game and making smart choices that balance quality, functionality and scale, reducing costs over your kiosk’s entire lifespan. Which is the kind of value that really counts.
