Tower Systems. POS software for small business retailers.
When it comes to shopper loyalty, one POS software company helps retailers genuinely differentiate
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All ready for Boxing Day sales in small business retail
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In keeping with tradition and our help for small business retailers beyond the POS software w develop and support, we are posting here artwork for A4 and A4 Boxing Day sale posters for anyone to use.
Click here for the A4 PDF.
Click here for the A3 PDF.
Boxing day is massive in some states. It can be as valuable as the two weeks before Christmas.
We are thrilled to help small business retailers attract new shoppers through marketing like this.
In retail today
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Being Christmas Eve it has been crazy busy in the shops today with last minute shopping.
Since we are a POS software company that owns retail shops we have been personally and practically involved in retail today, behind the counter, using our software serving shoppers with last-minute Christmas purchases. This photo is from our shop at Knox City in Melbourne today before we opened for customers. Thankfully it is the only time of the day the shop was empty.
We are grateful for another busy day in retail and another day of retail experience that inform some choices we make in our software.
The POS software help desk is winding down for Christmas
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As is always the way with the last office day prior to Christmas, help desk calls have stopped as retailers focus on selling.
We are calling it a day and switching all support coverage from now until December 28 at 7am to our after hours numbers. Here are our contact points. This is a copy of the card, which we sent to all customers last month by mail and by email:
Tower Systems helps retailers cut the time of a stock take
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Stock takes in retail can be a chore, especially if you do them the old school way. Thanks to smart technology in the Tower Systems POS software our retail partners are able to get stock takes done faster.
The new approach leverages facilities unique to the Tower software. The approach is ideal for a business with stock take needs that vary based on product types, categories, suppliers and other groupings.
The custom stock take facility in the Tower Systems software is simple and elegant. Retail employees love it for its ease of use and that it delivers the outcome in much less time than the way too many other POS software programs go abut the stock take process.
This is another Tower AdvantageTM another time saving and benefit for the small business which which we partner.
Thanks to online and other trade stock takes are needed far more regularly than ever before. This is where the tower Systems approach really shines.
Managing the POS software help desk in this busy week before Christmas
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The types of calls our POS software help desk receives in the week before Christmas changes. This week, calls will all be about quick resolution, the calls will be about the now rather than with an eye to the future.
Retail businesses will be busier this week than any other week of the year in most situations.
To serve the needs that we know will be unique to this week we have our help desk team focussed and our processes tuned to serve our customers, to provide the best possible outcome as quickly as possible.
We understand time is especially short this week. We have structured our approach to ensure we meet the expectations of our customers.
We have a fully staffed help desk. We back them with our escalation team and senior management.
We want this week before Christmas to be happy and valuable for everyone!
Small business retail marketing advice: protect your business data against disaster
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Data is as valuable as cash to any retail business yet many do not treat data with respect. Our advice to small business retailers is to get real about data, to get serious about protecting this important asses.
In terms of protecting your business data against disaster, here is our most important advice:
- Backup your business data every day, at the end of the day, without fail.
- Better still: use a cloud based backup service that undertakes the backup as the day unfolds without you having to every do anything to backup.
- Maintain a separate backup for each day of the week.
- Remove the backup from the business property.
- Store the backup in a safe, dry place.
- Check the usefulness of the backup by restoring and checking the data.
- Store original business software in a safe off-site location.
- Check the backup every three to six months – to make sure the backup is actually backing us current data and can be read. A backup you cannot read is a waste of time and money.
- Change your passwords regularly.
- Use hard to crack passwords.
- Do not share passwords widely.
Extraordinary results for Tower Systems small business retailer e-commerce sites
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Retailers are thrilled with the results of several Tower Systems created, hosted and managed e-commerce sites in the rush to Christmas.
Delivering extraordinary sales, the sites are helping small business retailers find new customers.
The thrill is heightened in regional and rural situations where retailers are able to win sales that are substantially more valuable than they ever see in their out of the way situation.
Call from retailers winning this unexpected windfall business is a wonderful experience for us. We love to hear the stories about the several hundred dollar sale completed online and shipped to a happy customer across the other side of the country.
Tower Systems created a series of sites and managed the marketing of the sites to make them highly sought after, compelling and enjoyable for shopper experiences. This is a 100% in-house project for our retail partners.
We are proud of the technology and even more proud of the commercial outcome we have facilitated for our customers.
Is cloud based POS software right for your retail business?
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Our Tower Systems small business POS software can be run on a local PC or in the cloud. You can choose the right approach for your business.
- Run local in PCS in your business.
- Run in the cloud on your server.
- Run in the cloud on a hosted server outside the business.
- Run in the cloud on a hosted server outside the business with no need to ever manage software updates.
- All these options and more are available to customers at any time.
With the cloud based option, you can choose to be hosted anywhere you prefer or you can go with our full-service hosted option.
We have plenty of customers in each scenario – running locally, self hosted for multiple locations or hosted by us in a full service model.
With our full service model we can shield you from any requirement to update software. All you worry about is the hardware you have running in your business.
Big It companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing the term cloud. They have done this because they know buzzwords sell. The reality is, your software has to run somewhere. It has to be maintained. Whether it is running on computers in your business or in the cloud, the costs are not that different. The key difference is one approach feels sexier than the other, because of the marketing.
Our retail skilled account managers can talk with you to determine your needs and propose a solution that best serves your needs.
We would be happy to share with you details of customer with businesses similar to yours so you can hear first-hand about their operation and how the Tower solution fits.
Our Tower Systems account managers can provide further advice and assistance to help customers make informed choices as to the best approach for their business. They are not incentivised in any way to guide customers to one decision over another.
Tower Systems offers software for the following niche small business retail channels: gift shops, jewellers, bike shops, toy shops, fishing/outdoors businesses, garden centres/nurseries, pet shops, produce stores, firearms businesses and newsagents.
We are a full service and personal POS software company. To demonstrate this, direct access to our account management team is easy: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.
Here is a key point of difference for our POS software
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We are retailers too. We own and run several shops, as live testing grounds for our software and as training facilities for our staff. here is the front of one of our shops, from Saturday just gone.
Should small business retailers rent or buy POS software?
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How small business retailers acquire the Tower Systems POS software is up to them. Our approach is flexible, leaving the decision entirely to our customers to choose what is absolutely best for their business.
You can purchase the Tower software for your business and own it forever without further cost.
You can also lease the Tower software through almost any finance company and pay it off over 3, 4 or 5 years.
You can also rent the Tower software on a 30 day cycle with the ability to quit the rental at any time.
Each option is different and each can be appropriate in certain circumstances. We share all the information so our customers can make an informed decision themselves or with their accountant or other business adviser.
The choice of how best to acquire the software is 100% yours. We can provide advice but are happy for you to make the decision that best serves your needs.
How you acquire the software, purchase or rental, training and installation services are billed separately as they are required regardless of how you acquire the software. Installation ensures the software is properly installed and setup. It shields you from technology. Training ensures you and your team know how to properly use the software for the business to get the best outcomes.
Regardless of how you acquire access to our software – rental, lease or purchase – our software is our software. No facilities are restricted via the mechanism of access. This makes the acquisition approach purely financial rather than operational or functional.
Our Tower Systems account managers can provide further advice and assistance to help customers make informed choices as to the best approach for their business. They are not incentivised in any way to guide customers to one decision over another.
Tower Systems offers software for the following niche small business retail channels: gift shops, jewellers, bike shops, toy shops, fishing/outdoors businesses, garden centres/nurseries, pet shops, produce stores, firearms businesses and newsagents.
We are a full service and personal POS software company. To demonstrate this, direct access to our account management team is easy: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.
We are proud of our small business POS software company
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Professional immediate rewards loyalty facility from our small business POS software co.
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We are proud of the professional marketing for the professional immediate rewards loyalty facility in our small business POS software. Check it out:
Advice for small business retailers on using Facebook to promote your business
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We are called upon at our POS software company to help our small business retailer customers in areas far removed from our POS software. One such area is how to use Facebook to market your business. We appreciate opportunities to share what we know from our direct experience for businesses we own.
Here is a snapshot of some advice our customers tell us they have found useful abut facebook posts:
If sales are your goal, the key is to work out how to pursue this without your post sounding like an ad for ads are quickly ignored by people on social media as they are on their for entertainment and not to consume advertising.
Here are tips for writing the ideal post. Keep them close and refer to them for your next few posts. Soon, the process will become second-nature:
- Be certain of your voice. When you write a post you are not writing as you personally. You are writing to the person you are targeting. Your ‘voice’ needs to be relevant to them. Think of their language and what they like.
- Choose the best photo. On social media a picture really is worth 1,000 words. The best picture features a product, not a display but a product, a hero product. Make the product look interesting and memorable. It could be a photo of how a product is being used or a photo of a product suggesting movement – like a bear climbing a ladder or two Pop! Vinyls facing off.
- Be brief. You have a few seconds to get attention. Yes, seconds.
- No essays.
- No rambling.
- Two sentences. Yes, that is all you need.
- Short sentences. Ten words or less.
- Have an opinion. Let people know what you, the you writing the post, think. For example, in a post about Batman and Superman, name your In a post about State of Origin, show your colours.
- Set a time deadline. A social media post has a short life. The time you spend on it needs to reflect the short life. When you start out, spend no more than five minutes on a post. Once you are settled in what you are doing, that should fall back to two minutes.
- Hashtag with thought. On Instagram especially hashtags are vital. Choose the right hashtags and you will attract new eyeballs.
- Have fun. If your posts are funny and provide entertainment you will attract followers and shares and grow your audience.
Tower Systems is a full service POS software company, helping small business retailers way beyond what is often done by POS software companies. We embrace this point of difference.
POS software knowledge base continues to evolve
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Every week we add and revise content at our POS software knowledge base. This work is on-going as we expand the range of self-serve resources available to our growing customer base.
We let our customers know about changes inner weekly email. Here are some of the changes delivered in the last few days.
- Retailer 2.7.2 Update Notes
- New PC / Windows Configuration – Operating System Configuration
- Stocktaking In Retailer 2.6.1 Onwards
- Performing A Full Store Stocktake In Retailer 2.6.1 Onwards
- Performing A Spot Stocktake In Retailer 2.6.1 Onwards
- Performing A Custom Stocktake In Retailer 2.6.1 Onwards
This list is not complete by any means as we do not want to give too much away here for competitive reasons.
We take care with our knowledge base as it is the one location for all user-facing knowledge about our software. It drives consistency in help desk advice and ensures all of our customers have access to common advice and guidance.
We can tell from usage stats the topics that are of most value and this information guides further enhancement.
Another way Tower Systems helps small business retailers
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On our website we offer free and open access to marketing collateral small business retailers can use to promote their businesses to the local community. This is another example of service beyond our POS software company.
We are proud to help small business retailers more successfully compete in their local community. Here is a screen shot of the free marketing tools page of our website.
Tower Systems makes accessing POS software support easy
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What are reasonable small business retail benchmark goals?
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Benchmarks are vital in every retail business. They provide the business performance goals to aim for, target of aspiration.
In our work with small business retailers beyond our smart POS software we often help with benchmark suggestions. We offer the as a starting point, to guide.
While the data points are common, the numbers can vary by retail channel.
Here are benchmark data points and the values we have suggested to transforming newsagency business owners – these are hybrid businesses that are part newsagency, part toy shop, part gift shop. See what you think:
BENCHMARK GOALS
I am often asked for benchmark goals newsagents ought to aim for. Here are some benchmarks I have developed in my work with newsXpress and through Tower Systems:
- Gross profit: this is the goal gross profit for all product sales not taking into account any revenue or costs related to any agency business. The traditional newsagency average sits at 28% to 32%. For a newsagency focused on the future, the goal has to be at least 45%.
- Ratio of Gift revenue to Card revenue: 50% minimum. The goal ought to be 100% or more. If you do $100K a year in cards, target to do $100K in gifts, or more.
- Revenue per employee – $250 an hour minimum not including agency revenue.
- Revenue PSQM $4,500 – $8,500 depending on country vs. city / high street to shopping centre and depending of product mix. Higher GP lower revenue required.
- Overall revenue mix percentage targets: Cards: 25%; Gifts/toys/plush: 25%; Stat: 10%; magazines/newspapers: 20%; other: 15%.
- FLOORSPACE ALLOCATION: Cards: 25%; Gifts/toys/plush: 25%; Stat: 8%; magazines/newspapers: 15%; other products: 15%; office/back room / counter: 12%. It’s rare you make money from an office or store room.
- Mark-up goals: Stationery: 125%; Gifts 110%; plush: 110%.
- Occupancy cost: between 9% and 11% of revenue where revenue is product revenue plus commission from agency lines. Location and situation are a big factor in this benchmark. For example, a large shopping centre business will have a higher cost than a high street situation.
- Labour cost: between 9% and 11% of revenue where revenue is product revenue plus commission from agency lines. Labour cost should include fair market costs for all who work in the business. (See above).
We are sharing these benchmark goals here as a guide for other retailers to contemplate appropriate numbers for the measurement points for their businesses.
Tower Systems is not your average POS software company. We engage beyond the software, to help our small business retail partners to run more successful and enjoyable businesses.
Extraordinary small business retailer e-commerce success
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Wow! Thank you! We have the best customers!
We are on cloud nine as a result of extraordinary sales success being achieved by retailers connecting through one of our new e-co0mmerce sites.
Tens of thousands of dollars of business generated for partner small business retailers in a few short weeks. This is cream revenue – on top 0of what these retailers are making even day in their businesses, bonus revenue, unexpected revenue for which they have had to pay nothing to achieve.
Our website has done all the work – found the customers, processed the sales, provided fulfilment guidance and delivered extraordinary customer service.
Here is a comment from one retailer who resisted being part of the Tower Systems created website:
We have just gone live on Monday, this week. It took me ages to get organised and do a stocktake. I had too many other things to do. It was the last thing on my list. Well I REGRET not doing it earlier, please hang back tonight or on the weekend and do a customised stocktake. The stocktake is NOT hard and it only took me a couple of hours and I have lots and lots of stock. But do the stocktake, then contact head office and go live. This week, not next month, not next year, THIS WEEK.
Here are comments from another small business retailer.
I am shocked. You have given us a thousand dollars in extra revenue in just two weeks. You cannot understand how important this is to me and my small business. Thank you form the bottom of my heart. I feel re-energised thanks to you.
And then this from another retailer.
O H M Y G O D!!!! It is like you turned on a tap in the middle of a drought and gave my business water. Thank you thank you thank you.
We love helping small business retailers find new customers. 8ur smart POS software connected to websites we have developed is one of the many good news stories that put wind in our sales. We love what we do here at Tower Systems.
The best way to get your business online is through smart POS software
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Independent retail businesses can get their business transacting online easily with less effort, greater accuracy and transactional consistency by linking their POS software direct to their e-commerce platform.
Here at Tower Systems we are expert at connecting our POS software to Shopify, magento and other web platforms. We are doing this easily for our customers, to new websites and to existing websites. The results are wonderful.
One customer processed thirty online orders in a few days where they were not online days earlier.
Being able to get online without double entering of stock makes it easy. This is where Tower Systems makes the pathway for a small business to move online easy, fast and accurate.
As retailers ourselves with with websites for our own businesses we have personal experience on which to draw to guide retailers as to the best moves for their businesses. This practical experience helps us provide our customers with retailer-centric solutions rather that a more tech software company solution.
Retail is personal after all. We get that from being retailers ourselves in several different retail categories. This is especially useful in the online space where service is paramount. Good service begins with a seamless and accurate link between the online and high street retail operations.
This is another Tower AdvantageTM.
40 Christmas marketing ideas for any independent retail business anywhere
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Tower Systems works with more than 3,500+ small business retailers in speciality retail niches including jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, gift shops, newsagents, pet shops, adult shops and more. We offer these ideas as our Christmas gift to you.
- Make it easy. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the local business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are with easy Lay-By, free wrapping, better shop floor help, guide buying advice or tips on perfect gifts no one else will think of. Consider making Christmas easy as being a key part of your messaging.
- Be thrilled people are in your shop. Your personal smile or greeting is something they may not see in a big business where employees are less invested in each shopper and where the owner is usually thousands of kilometers away.
- Make the giving easy. If people purchase items from you to send somewhere else. Offer a one-stop shop. Save them the trip to the post office.
- Make the shop less about Christmas. Consider pulling back on the Christmas visual noise. Go for something simple, muted, respecting the season but making a calm statement. Consider declaring the shop a Christmas carol free zone – not because you hate carols but because you want to help customers take a break.
- Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.
- Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other through their suggestions.
- Make price comparison difficult. If you sell items people are likely to price compare with other businesses, package them so price comparison is not easy. Put items into a hamper as a perfect Boy 8 to 12 bundle for example. Or offer the item with pre packages services if appropriate for an item.
- Less is more. The stack em high watch em fly mantra can be wrong. Indeed, it is often wrong in retail. Shoppers can be store blind because a shop is too full or a display is too busy. Consider creating simpler less cluttered displays and window promotions. Draw attention to what you want people to see by promoting that one thing. Every time someone asks if you have something that you think through should be able to find easily – take it as a challenge for you to address rather than a commentary on a facility of the customer.
- Change. Christmas season in your shop should evolve. Major change weekly is vital for people to see what you have that they could buy.
- Be socially engaged. On Facebook, Instagram, twitter and elsewhere, be the calm voice, the person people enjoy reading or seeing photos from. Provide entertainment this Christmas rather than the usual retailer shrill of come and shop here!
- Be community minded. Choose a local charity or community group to support through Christmas. Consider: a change collection tin at the counter; a themed Christmas window display; promotion on your social media pages; a donation to their work; a collection point for donations from customers.
- Facilitate sharing stories. Find space in your shop for customers to share their Christmas stories. It could be a story wall inside or in front of the shop. This initiative encourages storytelling by locals and better connects the business with the community.
- Award a prize at a local school. Fund a year-end prize at a local school. Attend a school assembly to award the prize. Work with the school leadership on a prize appropriate to your business.
- VIP preview. Host a VIP shopper preview night when you show off your Christmas ranges ahead of being available to the general shoppers. Respect and reward your local shoppers with deals and the opportunity to preview ahead of others.
- Leverage Christmas traffic. Encourage the Christmas shopper traffic surge in after Christmas. Give them a reason to come back. A coupon promotion or a discount voucher on receipts could be the enticement to get shoppers back in-store. Note: the Tower POS software produces discount vouchers to rules you establish.
- Become a gallery. Work with a school, kindergarten, community group or retirement village to bring in local art for people to come and see through Christmas. A small space commitment can drive traffic from family and friends of those with art on show.
- Dress the shop. Fully embrace Christmas. Create a Christmas experience such that shoppers know they have stepped into somewhere special this Christmas. Go for more than some tinsel and a tree. Fully embrace the opportunity.
- Make your shop smell like Christmas.
- Send cards. Send Christmas cards early in the season to suppliers, key customers and local community groups. This connects you with Christmas. Invite all team members to sign each card.
- Host a Christmas party. For shops nearby. You are all in the season together – let your hear down before things get crazy.
- Ensure you have gifts targeted at occasions. For example: Kris Kringle, by price point and by recipient. Make it easy for people to know what they could give.
- Stocking stuffers. At your counter always have one or two stocking stuffers for impulse purchase.
- Offer gift vouchers – for someone to give when they are not sure what to give.
- Be local. Ensure you have a selection of locally sourced products available for purchase. Make it clear in-store that these products are sourced locally.
- Tell stories. On your Facebook page, talk about what is important to you at Christmas. Personalise the season and deepen the connection with those who could shop with you.
- Offer a free gift. Bulk purchase an item to offer those who spend above a set amount. For example, spend $65 and receive XX where XX may have cost $5.00 but could have a perceived value of $20.00.
- Keep it fresh. Every week make significant change to your Christmas displays and promotions to keep your offer fresh.
- Share Christmas recipes. Each week for, say, four weeks, give customers a family Christmas recipe. This personalises Christmas in your business, creates a talking point and makes shopping with you different to your bigger competitors.
- Free wrapping. Sure, many retailers offer this. Make your offer better, more creative and more appreciated.
- This is essential in any business. Manage it through your computer system with strict rules.
- Work the floor. Increase time on the shop floor. Be present to manage shopper flow and to facilitate purchases.
- Christmas is crazy busy I most retail situations. Give yourself and your team members sufficient time to recharge so the smile greeting shoppers is heartfelt.
- Keep a secret. If yours is a business selling gifts a partner may purchase for their loved-one, create some mystery with a closed off display for the shopper to see the products.
- Free assembly. If you sell items that require assembly. Offer to do this for free.
- Free delivery. Offer free Christmas Eve delivery for items purchased for kids for Christmas.
- Sell training. Leverage the specialist knowledge you have in your business by selling as gifts places at classes you run sharing your expertise.
- Hold back. Don’t go out with everything you have for Christmas all at once. Plan the season to show off what you have as the season unfolds. This allows you multiple launches.
- Share a taste. Regardless if your type of business, bake a family recipe of Christmas cake, Christmas pudding or Christmas biscuits and offer tastings to shoppers on select days. This personalises the experience in your shop.
- Offer hampers. Package several items together and offer them as a hamper. Time-poor shoppers could appreciate you doing this work for them. We have seen this work in many different retail situations.
- Buy X get Y. Encourage people to spend more with a volume based deal. Pitched right, this could get customers purchasing items for several family members in order to get the price offer you have. Use your technology to manage this.
Christmas is the perfect time to plan for next year. It is the time to do everything possible to leverage bonus Christmas traffic to benefit your business through next year.
Tower Systems offers Point of sale / retail management software tailored for your specific type of retail business. Our software can help you leverage Christmas traffic for year-long benefits.
We provide you with loyalty facilities that are fresh and small-business focussed, loyalty facilities through which you can pitch a point of difference compared to big business competitors.
One of our retail experts can help: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.
More Xero skilled accountants list with our POS software co.
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Tower Systems is grateful that more accountants have provided their details for including on our website where we list the details of xero skilled accountants.
Connecting our small business retail customers with Accountants skilled in xero helps our customers and helps the growing bro community.
As Xero users ourselves we understand the value of working with like-minded service providers. Xero is innovative and time-saving. We are thrilled to have made the switch for our own shops and to be accessing the benefits we pitch to our sales prospects.
Using our POS software and the Xero add-on, our customers are able to easily, seamlessly and in the background share data between the POS and Xero, reducing bookkeeping costs, improving data accuracy and feeding more informed business decisions. This is a win for our customers.
Not all POS software companies are approved to partner with Xero. This can lead those not approved to be critical of Xero. Those of us in the room are grateful for the recognition and support of the company as we help retailers to pursue more efficient and successful businesses.
Tower Systems helps local small business retailers with free shop local marketing collateral
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POS Software company Tower Systems is helping small and independent local retailers to promote the support of local retailers through an innovative campaign of collateral created by the company for its retailers.
We are thrilled to be investing our creative resources in support of our retailer partners in this way.
This artwork is part of a series we developed in-house through our amazingly creative marketing team to give our retailers different voices and platforms through which to pitch their shop local credentials.
This is another Tower AdvantageTM.
More free collateral is available on the Tower website.
How discount vouchers help small business retailers beat big business at loyalty
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This is a personal story about small business retail and the value achievable from a smarter and more customer respectful approach to rewarding loyalty … but in a different way, a way that is counterintuitive in that it front-ends the approach.
Here is our story…
I want to share with you a true story of what happened recently in my own retail business. It is a story of how a small everyday purchase led to something bigger and how this happened as a result of fundamental changes in how the business is run.
While this story is about what happened in my newsagency, it could happen in any type of business. This newsagency, by the way, is not your typical newsagency. Close to 70% of what we sell is non traditional. It is high margin higher price point items that sit at the core of this unique business.
At its core, this is a story about shopper loyalty, especially shopper loyalty in a retail situation where between 25% and 30% of shoppers visiting the business are not local and therefore not likely to engage with the old-school points-based loyalty program.
A customer passing the shop noticed our greeting card range and stepped into make a purchase because of a specific need. They purchased two cards. On their receipt was a voucher for almost $2.00. As they are not usually in the shopping centre they looked around for something in which to spend the $2.00.
This is the key: the customer came in to make a quick destination purchase. The type of business we were did not matter. They were on the way to the car park and happened to pass buy our shop. Point 1: location is in our favour. The stepped in because they saw our greeting cards. Point 2: the floor placement of cards was key in getting them in the shop.
Having made the purchase, the customer then noticed, for the first time, what else we sold – because of the $2.00 discount voucher on their receipt. Point 3: we got them to look around and see what else we sold.
The customer did a 180 degree turn and saw a locked glass cabinet of beautiful collectible bears. This was in the right place at the right time as they had been looking for a gift for a child. Money was not an issue. They wanted something to last a lifetime. They purchased a $500.00 bear.
This purchase would not have been made had they not been given the $2.00 voucher on their receipt. The voucher is what got them to notice what else we sold.
Fast forward several weeks and this customer who said they don’t usually come to the shopping centre was back for another $500.00 purchase. Now, several more weeks later, the customer has another $500.00 order placed.
I can directly trace more than $1,500.00 in sales back to the $2.00 voucher.
The software produced the voucher based on rules I established. The initial staff member serving the customer made a brief professional pitch highlighting the voucher. These are both important factors as they are at the core of a structured consistent approach to what has become the most lucrative loyalty program I have seen in my 30+ years involved in retail as a retailer myself and working with retailers in many different channels.
While most times vouchers are handed out they are not redeemed, they are redeemed enough to make them worthwhile. They are redeemed for good margin product as they get people looking at the shop for the first time and discovering items to purchase they were not in our four walls to consider.
The discount vouchers are disruptive and this is why I love them. People respond in unpredictable ways.
Best of all, the discount vouchers are profitable.
For this story to work in any retail business you need to have the right products, placed strategically in-store. Your employees need to make the right pitch. Plus, you need to be attracting people who don’t know and probably don’t care what shop they are in.
Tower Systems offers not only excellent software but also the business acumen, experience and drive to help you make the most of the opportunities in the software.
From points on a purchase to buy X and get Y FREE to Discount Vouchers, the Tower software offers flexibility in loyalty offerings that enable you to make the pitch right for your business to bring shoppers bag to spend more than might usually be the case.
Mark Fletcher, managing Director. Tower Systems. M: 0418 321 338.
BOGO offers easy with Tower Systems POS software
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BUY ONE GET ONE FREE.
This is a common offer in retail, especially in pet shops, garden centres, some gift shops and some newsagencies.
The Tower Systems POS software handles these BOGO offers easily as part of our comprehensive loyalty management solution. This enables small business retailers to compete with big business competitors in a way that is easily understood, and indeed expected, by shoppers.
We enable local small business retailers to compete with big chains by making these offers easy to run, easy to manage and valuable to offer. yes, a locally owned retail business can eliminate the competitive advantage in this area for a big business.
In addition to BOGO offers, we offer discount with purchase, free with purchase and more. Plus loyalty points and discount off future purchase.
Having options for loyalty and discount offers for retail is important in retail today where things move quickly. Thanks to rapid-setup, a store can pitch BOGO quickly, in response to the activity in a competitor business.
Big retailers like BOGO as it is easy to implement and easily understood. In some respects it is lazy. This is where small business retailers can leverage BOGO on their own terms and in a way that is more respectful of shoppers.
Tower Systems supports the BOGO facilities with training, documentation and other assistance to help our retailers make the most from the opportunity.
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