A Point of Sale System: It Works for You (and Your Customers)

To the smart business owner, checkout technology can be much more than a way to ring customers up with ease and efficiency, or as a way to record sales for business and tax purposes - a good point of sale system can also benefit your customers once they've left the building.

Here's how:

• Customer Loyalty Programs: Point of sale systems can be a great help when considering a customer loyalty program. A good program can take a long time to track and implement manually, but most high-quality point of sale systems make this a breeze, creating something that is easy for you to set up and monitor.

The advantage of developing such a program is two-fold:

1) They give customers a reason to keep coming back to your business

2) They keep your name in the forefront of their minds (especially if you create customer loyalty cards that can be used repeatedly, such as a high-quality plastic card that is kept on a key chain, or in a wallet or purse.)

• Customer Tracking and Appreciation: Being able to track customers is an important feature in retail store software. The right point of sale software allows you to identify your customers who have been "missing in action" for a while, so that you can invite them back. Because the last thing you want is for that customer to drift away and start shopping with a competitor, you can show them your appreciation by implementing an email or postcard campaign to remind them why they chose your store in the first place: great prices, super service, friendly staff, etc. - the list goes on and on!
• The Convenience of Gift Cards: Gift cards are a favorite among gift-giving patrons, and should be a strong factor in choosing retail management software. Your software should be able to sell, redeem and report the balance of the gift cards - without incurring third-party processing fees.

On that note, there are two important facts to remember about gift cards:

1) Customers tend to spend 20 to 30% more than the face value of a gift card

2) They tend to use them on full-price merchandise, not markdowns.

• Online Shopping Ease: Going beyond a "brick and mortar" storefront with online retail options is increasingly the way to go for ambitions store owners who want to be able to do business around the clock, and offer customers the ease of shopping from home in their pajamas. If you choose this route, a retail point of sale system that interfaces with your online store is very important. This functionality saves time and eliminates shipping mistakes.
• Quick Service: And finally, you can't ignore the obvious (and crucial) benefit of speedy service provided by a point of sale system. Credit card processing, touch screen interface, and the ease-of-use factor heavily when looking at the time it takes to process a point of sale transaction.

Would you like more information on the different ways that a point of sale system can improve your business? Give is a call at (734) 453-9200, or contact us via email. We are eager to learn your needs and see how we can respond to them and help you serve your customers better.