Improving retail via technology can make notable differences to your bottom line, your customer’s experience and also make things at work a lot more convenient. There are numerous different ways that this can be done and we’ve compiled some you should consider for 2016.
Inventory Control and Point of Sale (POS) Software
Having a good Retail Management / POS System can save you a huge amount of money and time. That is one of the main reasons why it is number one…
A solid POS system, in its most basic form, tracks all your sales to enable you to easily be able to tell how your business is doing during any given time frame. In other works, it serves as a replacement for your cash register. This page from Revel POS shows the sheer array of different industries that can benefit from a new system – everything from stadiums to small family run restaurants.
It is hard to know where to begin discussing POS software since it is able to do so many different things for you. A book could literally be written about all of the ways that a good POS system can assist you. I will provide you with a quick summary of the 5 key areas to a good POS system, which can:
- Improve your customer service dramatically;
- Improve and simplify your inventory management;
- Improve your marketing efforts effectiveness;
- Easily show you where you are losing and making money so that adjustments can be made to increase your profits; and
- Save massive amounts of time through automating bookkeeping as well as many other of your retail tasks.
Just remember that a POS system not only can provide you with tremendous benefits, but it also can be the toughest technology to select. There are so many different things that you need to consider and you definitely don’t want to miss anything important since changing POS systems can be a big investment. So when you are choosing a POS system, be sure to take your time and do some research ahead of time.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
One of the major keys to building a retail business that is successful is developing good relationships with your customers. That is why CRM software is so vital to retail businesses. CRM will help you generate new business market to prospects in addition to help you make improvements to your customer loyalty.
CRM software enables you to identify market segments, track your customers and communicate with them easily via email, direct mail, telephone and much more.
Some of the POS systems that are available have CRM capabilities included. That is the type that I recommend. It lets you track all the information from one place which reduces having to waste time on double entries. You can purchase CRM software as a separate module within your POS software or in the form of a standalone product. That is why it deserves a category of its own. Here is a list of the best CRM systems on the market at the moment.
UPC Codes And Bar Code Scanning
Bar code scanners enable you to check products more accurate and much faster at point of sale than when a keyboard is used. It not only saves you time, but has positive effects on your inventory as well.
Keep in mind the potential negative consequences from entering wrong product numbers and throwing your inventory off. Inventory is your business’ lifeblood and it is absolutely critical for it to be accurate. Errors can cause hours of time to be wasted, increases your inventory costs and result in lost sales.
Also, if there are UPC codes that go with your merchandise, you can scan those tags easily without needing to print bar codes yourself. That can save you a lot of time.
Email Marketing
It seems that everybody does email marketing these days. However, many companies that are using email are still taking an outdated approach. You can easily use GetResponse to bring your email marketing efforts up to the next level.
GetResponse, in addition to offering the regular features that come with an email marketing platform, also offers tools to design responsive emails, conversion-optimization with A/B testing and creation of modular landing pages. However, it capability for event-triggered email is the real game-changer here. It sends messages with content or alerts to subscribers whenever the take certain actions at your website, when it is someone’s birthday or when they haven’t visited a certain page yet.
Email marketing campaigns go well beyond sending emails these days. It involves an amalgamation of advanced relationship-building tools, intelligence and business processes. It is a very powerful tool to make the email marketing of a business effective and intelligent.