POSWizard

Brand pages might be the next big thing for your business.

Google+ booted businesses and brand names off its service last summer. But in doing so, officials at Google promised that it would welcome businesses back shortly. It also promised that the wait would be worth it.

Did Google make good on its promises? That depends. Businesses and brands are now welcomed back on Google+. But there’s some debate as to whether the wait was, indeed, worth it.

One prominent tech writer, Robert Scoble, who runs the Scobleizer blog, doesn’t think it was. In a post titled “I wish I had never heard of Google+’s brand pages,” Scoble lists several problems with the new service.

Scoble is most upset that only one person can own or post to a Google+ brand account. As Scoble explains, this means that there is currently no way for a social media team or a customer-service team to split up posting duties on the site.

Scoble also points to how easy it is to post something on your company account that you really wanted to post to your personal Google+ page.

Search Engine Watch writer Miranda Miller also had few positive things to say about Google+ brand pages.

She points out that the owners of Google+ brand pages can’t run any promotions or contests on their pages. This means that the owner of a hardware store can’t advertise that his business is selling hammers at half price or that the car dealer can’t promote her lot’s 0% interest offer.

Google+ brand pages are also lacking a page analytic feature, Miller writes. This means that small business owners can’t determine who’s looking at their page and for how long.

In fact, according to this survey by Adweek writer Ki Mae Heussner, the majority of reviews for Google+ brands have been negative.

That isn’t to say that Google’s effort has all been in vain. As the SearchEngineLand website explains, Google+ for brands does have some nifty features.

Nifty Features

Business owners can create several Google+ pages promoting different facets of their enterprise. The owner of a financial services firm might have a Google+ page advertising her financial-planning services, a second promoting her tax-preparation work and a third promoting her estate-planning work.

Then there is the circles concept. With circles, business owners can create separate groups of Google+ customers, and then send custom messages to each group. Currently, entrepreneurs can split their audience members into three categories, VIPs, customers and team members.

Search Engine Power

There’s another benefit to Google+ brand pages that could mean all the difference to business owners. As the Business2Community website says, Google is the undisputed king of online searches. Google+’s main competitor, Facebook, is the king of social media.

For business owners, the power of search outweighs Facebook’s advantage in social media.

If Google+ brand pages are indexed by the search crawlers — which Business2Community columnist Alex Wall says will more than likely happen — then users seeking information through search will soon find a related Google+ brand page. This provides incredible power to the owners of these pages, and makes them a great marketing tool for their business ventures.

While it’s clear that Google still has plenty of kinks to work out before its Google+ brand pages meet all the needs of business owners, it’s equally true that the pages concept already boasts some features that savvy business owners will want to use.

And the best news? Google officials have said that its brand pages are a work in progress. Hopefully, Google technicians will be able to address the concerns that business owners across the web have voiced.

Dan Rafter is a freelance writer and editor with 15 years of journalism experience.

Megan Mostyn-Brown –

Every small business owner who spends the bulk of their time outside of the actual store knows that a web-based point of sale can be a lifesaver. But just like every other piece of technology you deal with on a daily basis, your point of sale is set to change in the upcoming year. From new perks to easier applications we keep you posted on what you have to look forward to in the new year. 

In 2012 Shopkeep users with an iPad register can look forward to the possibility of being able to modify the quantity of items directly on the tab. This means no longer having to delete the entire quantity and then re-enter the new one, which could be a major time saver for some folks.

Customers of MerchantOS users will be able to toss out those rewards cards before the new year. The web based point of sale is launching an integration with virtual loyalty program Perkville, which uses your email address in place of an actual rewards card. This integration can increase a small business’s email list and Facebook presence and it also frees up space in your customers’ wallets.

Vend, the world’s first HTML5 web-based point of sale, has grown immensely since its launch a little over a year ago.  According to an August press release in the SFGate, the company received an injection of capital from a European investment consortium led by Point Nine Capital. This investment means Vend is set to rapidly increase its presence internationally, which can only be good news for its users.

Back in August effortlessE launched a webPOS Mobile iOS app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, making it possible to do a complete sales transaction – including signature capture and email receipts – all on your handheld technology. Not only that, they offer a webPOS cradle that provides physical inventory capabilities letting you cut out the third party inventory counting firm. 

The use of this technology means that in the coming year we’ll see more small retail companies gaining the freedom to be hands on with customers, making it easier to compete with bigger retail stores.

As for new the web-based point of sales systems set to hit in the new year, Moneris Solutions Inc. is launching Morris. This system is already offered in Canada and will become available in the US sometime in 2012. Morris has three modules geared towards different tiers of small businesses. This division allows you to select the point of sale level that’s is right for your business.

Whichever web-based point of sale brand you use, these additions and upgrades mean good things for independent retailers trying to make a go of it in a bad economy. 

Megan Mostyn-Brown is a freelance writer who has worked for Elle.com, Girlshop.com, TypeF and Shopwiki.com.

Dan Rafter

There was a time when cutting-edge point-of-sale technology meant a cash register. Who could argue that the humble cash register wasn’t an advancement over scrawling out sales or calculating sales tax on a piece of paper?

Today, though, point-of-sale technology is advancing more quickly than ever. It’s allowing store owners to reduce their operating costs — by installing self-service checkout lanes — and send personalized email marketing messages to their steadiest customers. It’s even helping them reduce employee theft.

What does the future hold for point-of-sale technology? And how can it help boost the bottom line of your business? Here’s a look at point-of-sale technologies that can help your business boom.

Self-Service Checkouts

Jeff Haefner, on the Point of Sale Software Guide site, points to the growing number of self checkouts in grocery stores, department stores and other retail venues as evidence that point-of-sale technology can bring big savings to business owners.

In a self-service checkout, customers do the work of expensive cashiers. They scan their own items using the latest in point-of-sale technology. These systems have built-in safeguards.

Consumers, for instance, must weigh certain produce items, such as apples or broccoli. If they try to trick the system into thinking that they are buying something less expensive, like a tube of lip balm, the checkout system’s scale will immediately sense that something is wrong and won’t allow the transaction to continue.

These systems are also set up to make life as easy as possible for consumers. Shoppers can usually pay for their items with cash, credit cards or debit cards. The benefits to store owners are immense: They can greatly reduce their labor costs by replacing salaried cashiers with un-manned self-checkout lanes.

Reducing Theft

RetailSystems.com does a good job summarizing the benefits of biometric fingerprint IDs, which the site labels as the future of retail point-of-sale security.

Before accessing important store data, employees must first swipe their finger across a biometric scanner attached to the point-of-sale device. Employees have to repeat this scan every time they try to access a password-protected area of the point-of-sale software.

This offers an important level of protection for business owners. It prevents the wrong employees from accessing sensitive data. It also leaves an evidence trail showing which employees have accessed which areas of their employers’ point-of-sale software.

Advanced Customer Marketing

Haefner points out that retailers can use point-of-sale technology to further cement their relationships with existing customers. This is important; it’s far easier to keep existing customers than it is to find new ones.

Retailers can program their point-of-sale software to automatically send customers email messages after they purchase a product. For instance, if a customer purchases a lawnmower from a hardware store, the store can send an automated message to the customer later that day thanking him for making that purchase. Three days later, the point-of-sale software can send another email message asking the customer if the lawnmower is working properly. The auto responder can even be set up to send the customer regular maintenance reminders.

This does require that cashiers first ask customers for their email addresses. The system should also include an option that allows consumers to opt out of receiving email messages in the future.

These are just three ways in which point-of-sale technology can help business owners boost their profits and reduce their losses.

The best news? Point-of-sale technology continues to improve. And as that happens, it provides even more benefits for savvy business owners.