Even if your customer doesn’t come out and say it, they’re probably thinking: ”If I invest in this (enter health-screening tech), is it going to collect dust in a warehouse if and when all of this is over?”
They’re right to worry. After all, they have to stand in front of a leadership team that’s asking them the same question. They don’t want to look stupid and you don’t want to lose a deal, so we’re going to help you cut the issue off at the pass with the simple 3-point talk track below.
Point #1: “We don’t know if this concern will go away anytime soon … and we have to legally protect ourselves now, first and foremost with our employees.”
This is a fact, and risk is at play. All research indicates that the public will remain gun-shy about getting back to life as we previously knew it for quite some time, so investing in what we consider “peace of mind” measures should not be considered an option.
For employees, it’s more critical. They are under duress to come in regardless of the measures put in place because they need their job to support themselves. To fall down on what an employee thinks is ‘reasonable’ to protect their health could become a legal matter. See our Duty of Care piece to dig into this topic in detail.
Source: McKinsey; Survey: US consumer sentiment during the coronavirus crisis: August 28, 2020.
Point #2: “I know this is an investment and we’re financially strapped—but the worst of it is over once we get it up and operational. From there, we have an infrastructure that gives us some runway for things we’ve been wanting to do anyway.”
Installing safe space solutions requires financial and human investment to sell in, install, operationalize and manage. If we lean on point one, it’s a necessary investment. As intense as the effort may be to get it all off the ground, there’s an upside—that initial hard work can pave the way for ‘experience’ related innovations.
Those with a background in digital signage and AV know what we’re talking about; it’s all of the sexy stuff that gets us excited, but inevitably never really gets rolled out. See the beauty here? We invest in what may seem like a big process to do something we have to do, but by doing so we open the door to innovations we want to do.
Point #3: “Think of the possibilities!”
Be prepared if the response you get to point #2 is, “like what?”
A large portion of the health screening solutions out there are basically Android devices running Windows. That makes it fairly easy for them to become something else—a digital sign, visitor management, a time-card terminal or one of many other creative applications for re-imagining the hardware. The devices used to track social distancing and traffic can be used for path tracking, wayfinding and room booking management. We’re also hearing buzz about some of the sensors flexing into CRM and personalized, location-based venue messaging.
Most of these alternative use cases would require some development and a flexible platform behind the curtain, so do take note and ask about limitations up front.
InReality’s Learning Center is committed to sharing important guidance to help the industry navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving Safe Space landscape. The information shared is informed by experience working with many constituents and stakeholders. If you have a topic you would like addressed, please submit it to Laura Davis-Taylor at ldt@inreality.com for consideration.
