pos

This weeks roundup features five articles form the past week that will help small retailers with point of sale advertising customer service. The first article in the roundup consists of ten ways small business owners can increase sales of displays at their POS. We then move on to the announcement that will have an effect on small retail establishment in California due to a new plastic bag law. The third article this week gives tips for small businesses to start going green, this will reduce energy costs and could even bring tax credits your way. We feature many articles on listening to your customers and this week is no exception. Our fourth feature this week focuses on 8 ways you can use to listen to what your customers which will help in various parts of your small retail business. We end the roundup this week with an extensive article on how small retailers can increase their chances of survival.

1. Ten Steps for Lucrative Point of Sale Displays – The techniques outlined in this article will help you bring in more money at your POS displays. This is now longer limited to large brand stores, small retail shops across the country are adopting this form of advertising. Read on to learn ten short ways to make your profits rise using point of sale display advertising.

2. Calif. Assembly passes ban on single-use bags: Senate vote is next – Although this will not have an effect on California small retailers until June of 2013, it will play a major role in changing the way businesses pack the customers goods for carry-out. The California Assembly has voted to ban all single-use disposable bags and also any paper bag that is not at least 40% recycled content. This ban will start at the beginning of the 2012 year for larger chains such as supermarkets and then roll into the small retail sector starting in June of 2013.

3. A Green Approach to Office Technology – Going green seems to be the new trend that many retailers are adopting. This article outlines a few simple steps small retailers can use to reduce energy costs and their carbon footprint. One answer is to start purchasing energy star compliant computers, point of sale equipment and peripherals. Taking this initiative could also bring tax credits to your business while providing you with a cheaper energy bill.

4. 8 Ways To Listen To Your Customers – this is informative and laid out very nice for you to learn 8 different ways to listen to your customers. The author points out that for every one person that complains there are 26 customers who do not but listening to them in various ways can give your retail establishments a step up and avoid customers who are unhappy.

“Whether your customers are filling out a standardized form or having a one-on-one conversation with you, asking them for feedback allows you to get deeper insight into how they feel about your business, and what you can do to make it better.”

5. The Small Retailer’s Survival Guide Part 9 Range Changes and Range Extensions – A very uplifting article that encourages the small retail industry that they can rise above and beyond large chain stores with the advantage of one little thing, stock. This is one area that large chains seem to fall into a trap of not knowing, long wait times and too much research. Small retailers have the speed and flexibility to order stock on the fly and also know right away what is selling and what’s not selling.

Tips, Tips and more Tips in this weeks weekly roundup. Below you will find great questions to answer when considering the purchase of a point of sale for your business. Then go on to 101 tips for small businesses from small business owners, followed up by three rules you should abide by when using digital audio signage. We finish up with a couple great articles about how small retail has declined and the nostalgia of the mom and pop stores.

1. What Retail Point of Sale (POS) System is best for my business? – This is not your typical article about buying the right POS. The author gives you very poignant questions you should consider and answer before attempting your point of sale purchase.

2. 101 Tips from 50 Small Business Bloggers – This article is invaluable and a must read for all our viewers. There are 101 tips from small retail business just like yours. These are tips you can use and put in place immediately to help conquer any obstacle you may encounter.

3. Three rules for digital signage audio in the retail environment – The retail customer experience pull it off again with a fantastic article about digital signage. This is one of the latest, most effective advertising technologies but it can be ineffective even annoying if not used right. Take these three rules for displaying your audio digital, implement them and reap the rewards.

4. The Slow Drift From Great to Good – This writer makes a great analogy comparing the way to get a good cup of coffee to the way small retail hospitality has declined. Just like the taste of your coffee dwindles as it ages so does the generous experience from your local retail shop. The change is slow and you might not notice but this spells it out and gives you something to think about.

5. The enduring wisdom of Mom & Pop – A truly inspiring story about the time when small retail shops lined the city streets. It was not just a matter of retail style it was about the values, the experience and always the friendships.

Researching articles for this weeks roundup proved extremely interesting. Learning about Go-Tags and the technology that comes along with it was amazing. The techniques outlined in the article about competing with the big box should be printed an hung on the wall of every small retailer, its great stuff! I also learned of a new concept for increasing revenue that I would have never thought of before. Enjoy this weeks retail and point of sale roundup.

1. Which Comes First, Stickers or The Phones? – “Go-Tags” is an interesting concept from First Data Corp. that will be available at some retail chains around the country. A Go-Tag is a contactless sticker that can be attached to mobile handsets for use at a point of sale. First Data Corp. has already made a deal with Visa to expand merchant acceptance in order to peak consumer interest.

CEO of product innovation Barry McCarthy hopes the demand will spur network operators and handset manufacturers to integrate the feature into future phones.

“We think we can kick-start this market.” he says.

It seems consumers were fast to accept the stickers and on average used it more frequently than conventional cards.

2. Panasonic broadens POS support – Panasonic has opened up its support base for their leading hardware platforms to add seven POS management software systems. This allows those software providers to offer their POS suite on Panasonic’s hardware including the new Stingray workstation. Read the rest of the article to view the seven POS software suites that will easily integrate into the Panasonic platform.

3. 5 Things Small Retailers Need to Compete with the Big Box – Great article for any small retailer that has faced the fear of a large retail corporation moving in on their territory.

“It is only the small merchant that can truly compete with big box.”

The list contains five things that you should do to beat out the Big Box competition. Be proud you’re a small retailer and remember customers love a personal touch.

4. Point-of-sale license issue aids hunters – Pennsylvania has jumped on the bandwagon that many states have already joined…POS Hunting Licenses! These hunters can now join the modern age by purchasing their licenses through a system the Pennsylvania Game Commission calls appropriately “Point of Sale”. The system will let hunters have a new smaller license that will be easier to obtain rather than the old large paper tags on your back.

“It will provide opportunities for the Game Commission to monitor license administration, license sales, create strategic business plans based on trend analysis and, most importantly, create marketing plans based on more accurate customer demographics.’’

5. Want to Increase Revenue? Reduce Your Inventory – When I first started reading this article I thought it was a backwards concept. As the article continued it began to make sense less on-hand inventory is a great way to increase your revenue! This is a must read for any retail business especially specific niche type stores. Grab a pencil and paper, follow the steps outlined in the article and you may be able to reduce unnecessary inventory to help with your overall costs.

This weeks weekly roundup is full of technology news for the retail industry. It seems shopping has come a long way from the old clunky cash registers and little variety. In today’s retail environment a customer can find what they want, when they want it and quickly. This makes every market very competitive in which you will only survive if you can provide the best customer service combined with an excellent product.

1. Low-Cost Marketing Ideas to Help You Ring Up More Sales – Another great marketing article from the Specialty Retail Expert. Patricia discusses five low cost marketing ideas to improve your overall business. These ideas are simple and straightforward she suggests giving away a monthly prize or a product giveaway promotion with a purchase. Customers love when they get something for free and it will keep them coming back for more.

2. Penney’s ’smart fixture’ rolls out as next technological step – This is amazing technology that you must read about! J.C. Penney has taken shopping to a whole new level by implementing the smart fixture. The smart fixture is a door frame size structure that has a touchscreen and runs an application allowing for customers to scan an item, learn more about the different features and even have the information e-mailed to them. J.C.Penney has applied for a patent on a smart fixture they plan to test next month in a few stores…it’s called “findmore jcp interactive store”.

3. Live chat drives sales, satisfaction, but only when executed honestly – It’s amazing to learn that a live chat application on a website can bring more satisfaction to a customer than calling the store customer service hotline. James Brickers discusses the benefits and downfalls of offering live chat to your web-based customers. Number one no-no don’t use chat bots and always train your chat operators to be superior in customer service.

4. Which businesses should use Mobile Point of Sale Equipment? – We all know the answer to that question…any business that wants to keep their customers happy. Times are tough economically right now and the fastest ways to lose a customer is poor service and long wait times. This article discusses various options for mobile point of sale along with logical reasons every retailer should be using it.

5. Bravestorm unveils click-to-call for small retailers – This goes hand in hand with the live chat article. Bravestrom has announced a beta version of BoldCall Express click to call. It is an online lead generation tool to help retailers connect with their customers. A button placed on a website is clicked by the customer requesting that a representative from the business call them. The calls can be routed a variety of different ways to suit the business using the feature. It’s affordable, it’s new and it will bring personalization to your web based customers.

“Our goal was to make click-to-call technology easily accessible to any business,” says Bravestorm president and CEO Steve Castro-Miller.

The biggest problem for Point Of Sale system vendors are the traditional cash registers. Cash registers not only take a big part of the market, they also influence what shop owners expect from a POS terminal. Many shop owners switching from a cash register to a complete Point Of Sale simply want the same functionality and the ease of use of their old equipment.

I have done some POS implementations where I delivered exactly that: a POS system configured to emulate a cash register, with a few buttons on the sales screen to book sales on the various product groups, but without inventory control, reporting and all other features that make a POS system worth its money. The idea is to provide them the same way of working in a new environment to get the employees used to the new system. Once they now how to sell using the old-fashioned buttons I have them take an inventory so they can start selling using the barcodes on the items. Little by little they get deeper into the available features of the system, and the system becomes more valuable.

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