Is spontaneity dead? We hope not. But when it comes to booking a holiday, a restaurant, or choosing which shirt to buy, we’ve become so obsessed with research in an effort to optimize our lives, that quick decisions can be few and far between. For a venue, the benefits of such research-driven consumerism are potentially rewarding, and (almost) without lifting a finger.
According to Google, researched-obsessed consumers are driven by three things: Getting excited, getting confident, and creating the best experience possible. In other words, preparing for something is emotionally rewarding, and more importantly, it adds to the overall experience.
Humans are curious creatures and the increasing access to information about everything has made us even more curious. Not only do we find content entertaining, we also find content about content entertaining. For every hour people spent watching Game of Thrones on live TV last summer, they spent 30 minutes watching Game of Thrones-related videos on YouTube. Additionally, there was a 90% growth in watch time of preview and prediction videos on the social media platform (3 trends that show how the very notion of TV entertainment is changing).
Now, TV entertainment may not have anything to do with your venue, but it shows us just how curious consumers are and that previews of what’s to come, get them excited. At this year’s Mobile World Congress, 107,000 participants were equipped with indoor navigation, and the number of sessions before and during the event clearly shows that visitors like to prepare for their visit. By Monday, 19th February, one week before MWC’18 kicked off, the indoor navigation solution had more than 173,000 calls. Additionally, the number of unique sessions increased six-fold in the week leading up to the congress rising from 10,000 to 60,000.
Google states that the research process is becoming part of the experience itself and that it helps build anticipation. This makes it even more important for large venues to offer visitors indoor navigation. Why? The possibilities of an indoor navigation solution go way beyond wayfinding. For instance, stadiums can offer fans a virtual tour around the sports arena including hospitality areas, VIP areas, and more importantly trophy and locker rooms.
In their study, Google also found that research makes people feel more confident. One respondent even said, “I guess I just don’t like looking or feeling lost”. Well, who does? We all dream of a relaxing and stress-free vacation. However, in reality, most of us struggle to keep track of kids, luggage, and time while navigating crowded airports.
With digital indoor wayfinding, you empower travelers to prepare their route through the airport from home. This boosts their confidence and reduces stress. In addition, they’ll have the opportunity to spend more time - and money - in the duty-free area.
While venues like airports, stadiums, convention centers, etc. can increase revenue by offering indoor navigation, visitors can work out costs or save money. With the ability to get an overview of, e.g., restaurants in the venue, they can compare prices and do their own calculations. Not because they’re cheap, but because they like to be prepared, so they don’t have to worry about running out of money.
Also, hospitals, universities, and corporate offices can really benefit from indoor navigation as they’re often complex buildings with potentially high-stress levels. By equipping visitors, patients, students, staff, and employees with digital wayfinding, it’s possible to reduce stress, thus improving the overall experience. In addition, indoor navigation frees up valuable human resources as staff no longer have to give directions. The solution also supports flexible workplaces with shared desks, and it ensures that doctors and nurses always get the exact route to a crash call.
The third reason why consumers research is that they’re afraid of missing out. They feel pressure to do research, so they don’t miss out on things they find interesting. Additionally, respondents state that they would feel remorseful if they had a negative experience they believe could have been avoided. In other words, they use the planning process to create the best experience possible, so they’ll have no regrets afterward.
No matter your industry, this gives you the opportunity to improve the experience of your venue (almost) without even lifting a finger. An indoor navigation solution lets visitors explore the points of interest (POI) without getting overwhelmed or missing out on anything. If you’re in the retail industry this means that customers may visit your supermarket or shopping mall instead of your competitor.
Of course, digital indoor navigation also offers you important insights. With heatmaps it’s possible to see how traffic moves in your venue, allowing for layout optimization and differentiating stand or shop pricing based on people flow.
The conclusion is that the research-obsessed consumer is increasingly dominating the market. By embracing this behavior and pleasing your customers with relevant information, you can improve the experience of your venue and increase your revenue. What’s not to like about that?
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