Consumer adoption of the latest self-serve technologies – such as Android kiosks, interactive digital signage, and contactless payments- has accelerated rapidly during the pandemic.

Your customers are scrambling to offer more self-service and contactless options to their employees and customers in compliance with the new social distancing guidelines outlined by the CDC and leading health officials. 

This means ISVs and VARS like yourself are in a prime position to become a trusted resource for businesses looking to make these types of changes. Don’t miss this chance to seize your opportunity to win customer loyalty.

By aiding your customers to capitalize on the latest payment technologies, you ensure your position as their trusted industry transformation advisor.

Keep reading to learn 3 ways you can establish yourself as a trusted advisor in the eyes of your potential and current customers.

3 Ways to Help Your Customers Navigate the Pandemic Storm

With 87% of shoppers preferring to shop in stores with self-checkout or contactless payment options, we can see people’s perception of technology is changing. Your customers are more willing to adopt new technologies they may have been hesitant to try before.

Retailers using outdated POS systems are being forced to upgrade their hardware to accept contactless payment options. 

With self-service and contactless payment needs on the rise, Android ISVs and VARs have an opportunity to fill the current gap in the market.

Think about the customers you serve and the industry they’re in. How can you improve their current processes to easily include automation and self-service options that increase employee safety and improve the customer experience with your software?

1: Become an Industry Expert

Becoming an expert in the industry of the customers you serve helps you better answer the question above. The more you know about your customers and their day-to-day operations, the easier it will be for you to find new ways to enhance their processes and their customers’ experience.

Self-Service Kiosks & Robots Replace Servers and Bartenders in Iceland Bar

A self-service bar in Iceland uses kiosks for customers to place their orders, and their robotic bartenders fill the orders — providing a completely contactless experience.

Guests are alerted when their order is ready by checking the projection wall, but they also receive a digital confirmation via email or text on their phones.

This example illustrates how customers can use kiosks and omnichannel communications  to survive and thrive during the pandemic.

Retailer Uses Self-Service Kiosks for Customers to Try On and Purchase Clothes

A UK-based clothing retailer integrated self-service kiosks with their omnichannel shopping experience to allow customers to browse for clothes online, then try them on in the store and pay for the ones they want to keep — without having to interact with a human.

Customers simply browse the retailer’s website to find clothes they want to try, place their order, and wait to receive an email or notification telling them to come to the store.

At the store, the customer uses the self-service kiosk to alert the store that they have arrived to try on clothes and reserve a fitting room. From there, the kiosk gives them a number that will display on the screen when their fitting room is ready. 

The customer tries on the clothes and only pays for the ones they like. 

A School Uses Self-Service Kiosks to Check Temperatures and Masks

Back to school is going to be a little different this year for students that attend public schools in the US and worldwide.

At one Midwest public school, students will be greeted by a self-service kiosk to have their temperature checked and to ensure they’re wearing masks before being allowed to attend class. 

Students with a temperature over 100 degrees or not wearing a mask wouldn’t be permitted to attend class.

2: Help Your Customers Save Money

With the sudden need for businesses to adjust their processes to comply with social distancing guidelines, CIOs are making operational efficiency a top priority. They are more willing to invest in new technologies than they have been in the past thanks to COVID — meaning your products as an ISV or VAR could be an easier sell. 

Not only can your software keep your customers safe — it can save them money. Replacing humans with self-service kiosks and machines allows you to save on labor costs and reduces expenses accrued due to human error.

You can help them save even more money by adding new capabilities to their existing technology deployments. 

Offering your customers the ability to add contactless payment capabilities to their existing self-serve customer kiosks is cheaper than investing in new deployments. 

Another way you can help your customers save money is by simplifying remote management. Do you have the opportunity to build operational efficiency into your customer’s workflows via new tools for remote management or automation? ISVs and VARs should consider their end customers’ need to improve OpEx costs and efficiencies, especially during remote work conditions.

The key to retaining monthly recurring revenue in financially uncertain times is to help your customers save money by adding value to your partnership. 

Better reporting tools for your customers can facilitate stronger data-driven decision making. Honest advice and the willingness to steer customers away from poor implementation decisions can save customers money and strengthen trust. 

3: Understand Your Customer’s Customers

ISVs need to be obsessed with their customer’s customers to understand how end-user behavior is evolving.

“22% of people say they are experiencing anxiety from being confined to their house, and 62% say their country will not make it through this crisis without brands playing a critical role in addressing the challenges.” Forbes

COVID is causing everyone a lot of stress, and people’s fear of catching the virus keeps them at home. The customer experience has to change in order for companies to adapt to the changing needs of their customers.

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Understanding the fears your customers’ customers have is a great place to start when determining how your software can help keep them safe and enhance their customer experience post-COVID.

Android VARs and ISVs can win if they help their customers improve their customer experience by conducting original research to discover how to improve their customer’s ability to monitor devices, apps, and users in mid-flight.

How to Become an Android Partner

Organizations across all industries must adapt quickly to the challenges COVID has them facing. The faster you can get your product into your customers’ hands, the quicker you can improve their business and help them improve the lives of their customers.

When you become a partner of Esper, you’ll gain access to our growing ecosystem of OEMs, ODMs, chipmakers, VARs and ISVs for Android innovation. 

Click here to learn more about how Android ISVs and VARs can partner with Esper.