What marketing opportunities are there for your business?


Every individual has entered an establishment such as a retail store, restaurant, salon, hospital, to attain a service or product - would you be able to count the number of Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems you have seen in your lifetime? The answer would be no, because we as consumers are constantly standing in line to complete the payment for our desired purchase, that it has become second nature to complete the transaction and leave without acknowledging the everyday process. Point-of-sale (POS) systems are changing for countless businesses, there is no going back to traditional POS terminals, as we are all evolving with the intellectual technology we have at our fingertips. Technological advancements at the point of sale are making it easier than ever to operate a thriving business. When comparing traditional POS systems that was used only to complete orders and payments from a individual terminal, to today's POS systems which can complete a number of tasks such as processing credit card payments to conveying sales data, it is safe to say that if you are not prepared you may find yourself in the dark ages lacking imperative data that your competitors are already utilizing. These modern EPOS devices, which appear to be ordinary bar code readers and cash registers, are significantly more than that. These everyday devices are responsible for a range of business opportunities which is referred to as Point of Sale Marketing. As for the consumer – it may seem unlikely that these everyday devices are employed to initiate marketing strategies, they have become inimitable for all businesses in these industries. Here is an explanation of how Point of Sales marketing works, specifically, what is possible when using these systems to their full capabilities.

 

DETAILED PRINTED RECEIPTS

For noticeable reasons, consumers are inclined to keep their receipts and analyse all the information they hold. Turning your receipt design into a communication technique may seem unnecessary because most of us often discard the most attractive and beautifully designed pamphlets once we have shown little or no interest, however pamphlets or fliers are imperative marketing components that cannot be left out but there are modern ways to go about this. Due to the latest technologies and customized opportunities, advanced POS systems can convert your receipts into advertising material by including sophisticated details such as loyalty programmes and discount codes. Receipts allow you to include contact and social media information for future and better communication with your customers. You can accurately customize your strategized message and relay it to a large number of your consumers that on any other day you may not reach.

 

EPOS SYSTEMS CAN DRIVE CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMMES

EPOS systems collect and store incredible amounts of data, not only offering quantity but quality data which offers you detailed inside information on your consumers purchasing patterns, wants and needs. Your EPOS device can help you create customized loyalty schemes for specific, recurring customers. By analyzing this data, you have the opportunity to incentivise your consumers to return by offering a rewards programme that is uniquely designed for their needs and wants in mind. With customized POS devices, you have the ability to roll-out your loyalty incentives via the machine itself by delivering high quality information to your customers through text messaging or well thought out email campaigns. Your consumer would need to opt in on the marketing incentive, while you as the business owner should ensure your consumers are not receiving spam but rather incentivised material which increases sales.

 

UP-SELLING AND CROSS-SELLING WITH EPOS DATA

With endless opportunities found, using the collected data sourced on your EPOS system, you can now strategize an effective cross-selling and up-selling initiative as the data will offer you the assistance in ensuring the strategy is highly targeted and effective. Up-selling is defined as the action taken when consumers are influenced to purchase a similar item which is of higher value, in comparison to the product they were initially ready to purchase. Cross-selling, alternatively, is when consumers are presented with associated items in addition to their original purchase. Offering high quality alternatives to your customer’s already selected item/service or offering related items/services to consumers who can profit from them will ensure effective marketing tactics where you identify your customer’s needs/wants through listening to why they are spending their hard earned income in your establishment rather than pushing a hard-sale, this is a great step to effective customer liaison.

 

CUSTOMIZING CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION

As you may have noticed, the most exclusive perk of leveraging POS Marketing is the opportunity to view the intricate details of your customers – the insight to your consumers and all the opportunities connected to that information. An example of impactful data would be purchase history – you are now able to generate targeted email and text marketing campaigns that target a specific like-minded group of consumers, for example if you have noticed a large number of sales within a specific product or service, you can create discounts or promotions on that product/service, as you would around a holiday such as Valentine’s Day – instead of following the traditional marketing strategies - you can offer great customer satisfaction by having these targeted incentives all year round. Using the data at hand, creativity and preferred forms of communication you can formulate a unique strategy which will improve your chances of increasing open rates, click rates and, ultimately, conversion rates. There’s nothing more powerful than increased profit to stand as evidence on how valuable and impactful Point of Sales marketing can be.

 

STORE CREDIT OFFERING

Store credit options have been viewed as highly effective as you are giving your customers the benefit of advanced benefits on their items, while securing the benefit of keeping individuals in your establishment where ultimately sales increase. When viewing the insights on your POS system, you are able to place incentives where the cashier has the opportunity to award customers with store credit during promotions, specials or any other marketing strategy you see fit. More businesses are offering credit to gain a competitive edge within their industry. Offering frequent store credit may encourage your consumers to multiply the amount they are willing to spend at that point of time. Matching the possibility for increased sales partnered with the risk of a reduced cash flow can be viewed as a significant part of risk management within your business.

 

SEARCH CAPABILITIES LEADING TO INCREASED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Having the ability to have an instant search option for items that your customer would like to purchase or a product of which is in high demand that may not be found on the floor of your business,  can be what sets you apart from your competitors. Quick search features where you initiate a search using names or product codes for items that are in stock is another must-have feature of your POS system. It offers instant information to your customer, the beauty of this? If the item in question is not in stock, a search of the exact item in other stores could be initiated, offering optimized results, giving your cashier the ability to offer helpful information without losing a sale. Another great data list is that, items searched for can easily be documented which will help with trend forecasting and inventory.


SYNCHRONIZE WITH MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS

Being a business owner, distributing important information among staff members can become a daunting task. Imagine a system that can organize and synchronize transactions, customer details and other sales data in real time across departments? Sounds heavenly right? By using customized POS software you can put your mind to ease that this data will always be automatically updated, available anytime in real time for your staff members to utilize, this daunting task has now been optimized to a few easy steps which is logging in to a single platform for access. This detracts the lengthy training workshops on how to use the company’s systems and ensures speedy results through user friendly software which ideally creates a refined environment for your staff members to reach their goals which will improve your customer service and increase your customer satisfaction.

 

AUTOMATED BACKEND PROCESSES

CRM-integrated POS systems are not limited to only automating tasks at the point of sale, backend tasks can be automated with ease, such tasks are reporting, exporting data, creating client records, inventory and the most trending and desired feature - populating email marketing lists and other important details which can be partnered with the marketing strategies to ensure maximum results. The marketing process can only work correctly if you have been able to obtain the detailed research on your consumers, their wants and needs, their feedback on service and much more. Without this information you cannot succeed in reaching the goals you have placed to increase sales because you have not understood your ideal consumers’ needs and wants — but do not worry - all this can be compiled using the comprehensive data sourced straight from your POS system. This means there's no need to go into multiple programs or solutions to manually perform these functions, taking the burden of monotonous, CRM-related administrative tasks off your staff's shoulders while joining the modern age where intelligence found within our chosen systems can offer the assistance of completing daunting admin related materials, with ease and precision.   

 

By implementing marketing tactics that focus on the use of your POS, you can increase your bottom line and see almost instantly, the return on your efforts. To develop you must be consistently dynamic within your marketing strategies and guarantee that your effort showcase that you have your ideal customer in mind at all times.


As stated by ECR Software -

Service is a philosophy not a department, this relationship is the ECR difference.


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