Successfully deploying tablets can lead to better sales, improved customer experience or a warmer brand. Getting it right though, requires convincing answers to a set of business, design and technology related questions.

1. What are the business objectives? Is this project about the brand, the visitor experience, customer convenience, customer loyalty or social media? What are you trying to achieve? “The iPad is cool” does not qualify as a business objective.

2. How many things are you trying to achieve with the tablet installation? If it is more than one, you are risking getting nothing out of it. People are merciless when it comes to content that does not make sense instantly.

3. How are you going to measure success? Besides setting quantifiable targets, observe how people approach the tablets and interact with your content. It will tell you more than anything else.

4. Is the content relevant to the situation people find themselves in? For example are people waiting, are they searching for a product or needing information? A “Store Locator” is not particularly useful when someone is already in one of your stores (I have actually seen this somewhere).

5. Is the content relevant to the location/environment that the tablet is installed in? Site specific content can make a big difference, i.e. a wine selector in the wine section versus providing access to your whole website at a dusty corner of your store.

6. Is your content interactive in some way? Please, say yes. There is no point using a tablet if you are going to display a slideshow. There are picture frames for that purpose.

7. Is there a clear call to action for potential users? How will people know from a distance what to expect from the content? People are not attracted to screens anymore just because they are screens. Those days are over.

8. When you come across the tablet installation, does it blend in the environment or does it look like a forced add-on? It shows when it is not part of your strategy, but someone’s pet project.

9. Who owns the project? Is it Marketing, IT, Branding, Retail Innovation? Installing tablets is a challenge that requires input from several disciplines and different departments. In a nutshell, business, technology and experience design people need to work together to get it right.

10. Is the staff on board regarding the tablet project, or do they see it as “something that the Head Office is doing”? You know what I am talking about.

Strictly technological questions (i.e. which tablet, which device management solution to go for) are important, but installing tablets is primarily a business strategy and design project. Technology should mainly focus on making it happen in the best possible way.

A successful tablet deployment can prove very rewarding, making a real difference in sales numbers and customer engagement. It can gradually become a digital, interactive channel at your disposal; a channel you did not have in place before.

By Solon Sasson
Bouncepad Co-Founder & Head of Operations
solon@thebouncepad.com