In the coming weeks, we'll know whether the current swine flu scare is a real pandemic or (hopefully) something much smaller. Either way, we are guaranteed to become a population with a heightened sense of germ-phobia and awareness, even if only for a short period of time.

Alex Richardson, industry pioneer and current managing director of Selling Machine Partners, wisely points out that 80 percent of infections are spread by touch. For companies that use touchscreens and PIN pads to interface with their customers, then, cleanliness and proper disinfection protocols take on a whole new level of importance.

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Here are five tips for making your touchpoints safe for both your customers and your associates:

1. Clean regularly and often. Richardson recommends an hourly sweep of busy areas, using EPA-registered disinfectants on all surfaces. That includes touchscreens, enclosures, scales, scanners, and anything else the shopper might touch. Now, for businesses that clean their surfaces less often than they should even during non-crisis times, once an hour might seem unlikely — focus on stepping up your efforts to the best of your operational ability.
2. Communicate what you're doing with shoppers. This should be done both overtly and covertly. Make sure shoppers see your associates with cleaning supplies in hand, proactively hitting the aisles and the touchpoints. Add messaging to attract loops that spells out what you're doing for them ("Because we value you, this machine is disinfected every X minutes," for instance).
3. Provide the shopper with cleaning supplies. Richardson suggests placing hand sanitizer dispensers at strategic locations near the point of contact with devices — much like health officials do in hospital waiting areas.
4. Consider investing in non-capacitive touchscreens, so that shoppers can use them while wearing gloves, or IR-based touchscreens that use small LEDs around the bezel to determine the location of the user's finger (and therefore don't actually require a full-on touch). Of course, most companies aren't going to buy all new hardware because of this crisis, but think long-term and use this as a reminder of the importance of purchasing technology that serves the widest possible audience.
5. Be understanding. Some people worry more than others, and there are going to be plenty of people who will be distraught over this issue. Instruct associates to be especially patient and understanding — and never dismissive or belittling — with customer concerns. If any part of a transaction is unsettling to the customer, go the extra mile and handle it for them.