When you think about what is involved in revamping your business, things like renovating your building and investing in new product lines might come to mind. While these strategies are certainly effective and can lead to unparalleled growth and success, there is something else you can do that involves a significantly smaller investment in both time and capital. Believe it or not, simply by integrating a modern credit card reader or point of sale system into your business model, you can take your retail store to the next level.
What is a point of sale system?
Most likely, you already have some sort of credit card reader that communicates with your payment processing company to securely accept customers’ electronic payments. If you are using the same single-function “dumb” terminal that you have had since the last century, it’s time to learn what an updated point of sale solution can do for your business.
In addition to being a device that interprets the information on your customers’ credit and debit cards, today’s POS systems can:
- Communicate contactlessly with shoppers’ smartphones and wearable devices to allow for touchless and seamless payments.
- Keep track of every item of inventory from the time it was delivered until it is sold.
- Create and store a customer database that holds useful details such as demographics, buying history, and even hobbies and interests that you can use to run targeted marketing campaigns.
- Run customer relationships management, including a loyalty program that rewards buyers for their frequent business.
- Generate reports that track inventory and sales trends, monitor employee productivity, and enable you to forecast future sales outlooks so that you can intelligently grow your business.
- Integrate seamlessly with other programs that you already run, including accounting software that streamlines bookkeeping and tax preparation.
- Accept multiple forms of payment. In the past, you might only have been able to accept cash, checks, and standard credit cards. However, a modern credit card reader does more than simply facilitate the movement of electronic payments into your merchant account. It can also help you accept nontraditional forms of payment, including gift and EBT cards, and even cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. In addition, you can make agreements with your customers for recurring or subscription payments to be withdrawn from their credit cards or bank accounts on a set date each week or month. Once these arrangements are in place, you can benefit from greater cash flow predictability. At the same time, customers can count on receiving their products or services without interruption and without ever needing to worry about forgetting a payment.
Giving your retail store or website a makeover does not need to involve a huge investment of time or cash. Simply by upgrading your payments hardware and software to include a modern credit card reader, you can provide your customers with the cutting-edge services and personalized shopping experience they have come to expect. At the same time, your behind-the-scenes operations will become more streamlined and efficient than you ever thought possible. In the end, upgrading is a win-win for everyone involved!
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