Facilities managers face 3 major challenges when putting people and places in sync: consistency, maintenance and revenue. Here’s the solution.

Today’s visitors expect high-quality information when they need it, delivered in a way that’s simple to digest. They expect this information to be always available and always helpful, in any format that suits them – mobile, digital, physical.

Get it wrong, and large crowded destinations quickly become overwhelming. This leads to unhappy visitors, wasted time and unspent money.

To get it right, you’ll need to overcome the following challenges:

The first challenge is one of consistency. How do we make sure that the information on mobile devices is the same as on physical signs or digital directories? How do we ensure that the same terminologies are being used, or that messaging and design are on brand and easily identifiable? Do signs consistently lead to the same destination? It’s hard enough to keep information consistent within a large campus on physical signage only. Can it be done across physical signage, mobile, digital and web?

The second challenge is maintenance. Today’s environments are in a continual state of flux. Is it possible to update information quickly across a massive area, when each change may affect dozens of physical signs? The same changes will need to be updated on mobile and across a number of digital touchpoints.

The answer has generally been, “It can’t be done.” Ad-hoc systems are then put in place by facilities managers and marketing departments to try and keep up, but it’s a losing battle. Eventually the problem gets so bad that the whole navigation system needs a complete audit, upgrade or replacement. This is generally well after the damage has been done, and you’re back to square one: rebuilding trust with lost, disgruntled, disenchanted customers.

The third challenge is revenue. Simply put, lost customers don’t spend. They don’t spend while they’re lost (they’re too busy getting unlost!) and they’ll spend less once they’ve found their destination. Often the thing that goes by the wayside is discretionary spend. If I’m late to the game, I don’t have time for a snack. If I’m rushing to make a flight, there’s no time for duty-free. If I’m unsure where the store I’m after is, I may just not bother.

The power of one integrated platform

Most navigation platforms address one or two of these issues. PAM’s point-of-difference is we solve them all.  Our platform contains a suite of smart software tools and features, each working together to address the challenges outlined above. It’s our mission to simplify connectivity, turn friction to flow and visitors into fans.

By synthesizing multiple information sources, PAM is a vital piece of infrastructure that makes it easy to personalize information to each visitor’s preferences on their own mobile devices. One person may be tied to their phone and looking for new experiences: a night out at a restaurant or bar, let’s say. Another is old-school, and wants to get to a meeting room just by following physical signs. The key to giving everyone a connected seamless experience, regardless of their interests and preferences, is consistency.

It’s one of our core benefits as an integrated platform: PAM creates connected environments where all navigation elements are consistent – synchronized, accurate, clear and available at the right decision point – and easy to maintain, too.

Connected environments have massive benefits for visitors, ensuring they make the most of their time, with the tools they feel comfortable with, and with minimal stress. They also deliver tangible benefits for precinct owners, the most obvious being revenue.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can improve connections at your precinct, don’t miss next week’s post, which offers a step-by-step guide to wayfinding in the digital age.