Here at Tower Systems we only work with and support local retailers ranging from small shops to modest size family businesses with several outlets. We don’t sell to big business.

We have seen many local retail businesses compete with big businesses. The most successful have done well by not competing directly.

This is our advice today. if you have a big business competitor, spend less time looking at them and what they do and spend more time on what you do and how you can make your business more interesting, useful and healthier, because the healthier you are the better you will be.

Don’t compete on price. Price based shoppers are not loyal. They are not.

Be smart about this. Compete on value as value is appreciated. People who experience value will vie back again and again.

Using our Tower Systems POS software you have a range of options for competing on value. yes, the software itself helps you do this. It has facilities built into the software than enable this, that help you pitch value at the transaction level and after the transaction.

Small business retailers often express frustration at big business competitors: they have more money for marketing, get better supplier deals and often have lower overheads per dollar of revenue.

In our experience, there is little to be gained from worrying about these things, which we cannot change. There is more to gain from focussing on points of difference we can leverage.

For example, using our POS software, you can bundle items to make price comparison difficult or impossible, you can offer a loyalty pitch big businesses will not offer, you can be flexible in how and where you pitch products while big retail businesses are structured and, usually, inflexible.

Bundling is particularly useful as you can create a bundle unique to your business, which feels like it is a value proposition unlike anything they have seen to that point. While this is a product by product task, it is in these small steps that you can find success, by changing shopper perspective and winning business more direct competition may have denied.

The best way to compete with a big business is to not be in their lane. Create your own lane, your own playing field where big businesses are air a disadvantage. Our Tower Systems POS software can help you do this.

We are grateful to our POS software customers who joined us live Thursday last week for our first Zoom meeting of 2022 and to the many who accessed the video we shared after the meeting.

In this Zoom meeting we demonstrated some of the enhancements to our POS software that will be released in our first update for 2022 as well as taking questions and feedback from customers.

Accessibility is key not only to POS software users but to those who make the POS software. Connecting our development team with our customers regularly as we do makes for better, more useful POS software.

Good POS software does not come from dark rooms disconnected from the real world.

Advice to benefit any local specialty retailer … for a better 2022.

1. Touch data less. Every time you touch data, entering an invoice, entering accounting data, it’s an opportunity for mistake or, worse, fraud. 
2. Manage stock in one place. If you sell online and in a physical shop, manage your stock in one place. Double handling is fraught, and it wastes time.
3. Add a revenue stream. Seek out new products or services. Broaden the appeal of your business. Broader appeal = stronger foundations.
4. Leverage you. It’s likely your knowledge and passion are a key difference for your business. Share it. Your competitors can’t compete with you.
5. Copy less. Big retailers advertise loyalty programs to trick shoppers to think points are a reward. Be different, run an honest loyalty program.
6. Be authentically local. When you buy local, talk about it, celebrate it and, show shoppers with the local message on products tags and more.

We make POS software for local specialty retail. Find out more: email sales@towersystems.com.au or call 1300 662 957.

Click on any link below to see a video of a demonstration of our software. We don’t ask for your details, you don’t have to register, just click and watch.

• Produce / Stockfeed / Farm Supply. $199.00 / month.
• Jeweller. $185.00 / month.
• Gift Shop (full demo). Gift shop (brief demo). $99.00 / month.
• Sewing / Fabric / Haberdashery.
• Garden centre. $185.00 / month.
• Newsagents. $185.00 / month.
• Toy Shop. $155.00 / month.
• Pet Shop. $155.00 / month.
• Bike Shop. $185.00 / month.
• Fishing and Outdoors Shop. $185.00 / month.
• Firearms Dealer. $185.00 / month.
• Mobility Scooter. $185.00 / month.
• Music Shop. $145.00 / month.
• Computer Shop. $185.00 / month.
• Antique Shop. $185.00 / month.
• Bookshop – TitlePage integration.
• Quote and Invoice Management.
• Repairs Management.
• Software installation and setup process.

Tower Systems is not your usual POS software company. Our videos feature real people from inside our business. We don’t animate to hide or hire actors to play us. No, we’re authentic, as is our software … because local small business retail is authentic every day. This is what separates local small business retail from big business competitors.

We are sincerely grateful to only serve small businesses, independent businesses, local businesses – and only in the retail space. This specialisation helps us be better at what we do, it helps us focus.

Being Australian matters to Australian local retailers.

For many years, Tower Systems has published marketing tips for local small business retailers leading up to Christmas. The goal has been to present ideas early in the season to encourage local retailers to engage beyond the traditional.

Here is an edited version of Christmas marketing ideas pitched to local small business retailers this year:

1. Make it easy. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are have bundled gifts ready to go, pre-bagged or wrapped, with some card selections that are relevant, offer easy payment options including buy now pay later, 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.
2. 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.
3. Make the giving easy. If people purchase form you to send somewhere else. Offer a one-stop shop. Save them the trip to the post office.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Less is 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.
9. Christmas season in your shop should evolve. Major change weekly is vital for people to see what you have that they could buy.
10. 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!

The key to a more successful Christmas is to be different to what people expect from your business.

At Tower Systems, we are asked from time to time for help by a retailer doing it tough. Too often, the request comes when it is too late. In this article, we outline steps any retailer can contemplate from them moment they realise their retail business is in trouble, from the first thought that closing may be the only option.

Tower Systems is more than a POS software company. We are retailers too. We cherish the relationships with our retail business customers. We will help whenever and wherever we can to help small and independent retail businesses survive challenges and grow. 

If your retail business is in tough times and facing imminent closure, you may be able to save it if you act quickly and ruthlessly. Based on years of working with many different retailers, I have found that some basic steps can successfully turnaround a business in trouble. But you need to be ruthless.

Crucial to saving a business from closure is to understand why it is in this situation. You have to be honest with yourself about this. How did it get to this?

1. Did you not make changes to your business when you should have?
2. Has something local and unexpected impacted your business?
3. Have you been a bad retailer, allowing the business to fade away?

Do not be afraid or ignorant in confronting these questions.

Make an honest appraisal of the state of the business as the truth can inform what you do next.

You have to own your situation. This means being realistic about what you face and what got you there. This is important as it opens you to what you need to do to resolve the situation, to rehabilitate your business.

Now, to the urgent steps you could take to avoid the closure of your retail business:

1. 1. Know your truth. If you run a computer system, analyse the data it collects. If you don’t know how to do this, find out. Look for surprise information in your data, things you did not know about your business. For example, look at the top selling items. If there are surprises there they could inform other decisions you make to urgently address your situation. Talk to your computer software company, ask for their assessment. Knowing your truth is key to owning your situation.
   2. Quit dead stock. If you have stock on the shop floor which is old – ‘old’ can vary between product categories – and for which you have already paid, quit it. However, stock that is greater than six months old is a reasonable guide – then take action to sell this at a substantial discount. Move the stock off display units. Line it up to look like clearance stock – stacked up on tables. Setup plain and simple signs indicating the discount prices. Create signage to show it as clearance stock. If you have enough clearance stock in your business, consider signs across your front windows. Give your sale a name that is unrelated to your situation. Here are some suggestions: MEGA SALE, FIRST EVER MARCH SALE, AUTUMN SALE, SMALL BUSINESS MIGHTY BIG SALE. Give it a name you can theme around.
   3. Run a loyalty offer. Immediately setup and run a loyalty program rewarding shoppers with dollars off their next purchase. The most successful loyalty offer in recent times is discount vouchers whereby vouchers are included on receipts offering an amount which is cleverly calculated by your software based on the items in the purchase. The goal has to be encouraging shoppers to purchase again soon based on the offer on the receipt for items they just purchased.
   4. Move things around. If your business is in trouble it is likely that it has not changed much in recent years. Change it. Move departments around, shake things up so your customers trip over things they did not think you sold.
   5. Review prices. Look at the common items you sell, consider a small increase in your prices. It could be a small increase will not hurt sales volume yet will add profit to your bottom line.
   6. Upsell well. At the counter, work to extend the basket for every sale possible. Do this with clever counter product placement and witty and engaging banter with customers offering upsell products. You goal has to be to make more from each customer.
   7. Stand for something. What is different about your business? What is special about it? What makes people want to come back? If you don’t know the answer to these questions you’re in trouble. If your answer is we’re the only shop of your type nearby you’re in trouble. If the answer is people have always shopped here you’re in trouble. You need to have a difference that people want and will talk about to others. It could be a product or a service. However, it cannot be a product line that is traditional to your type of business as that will not add value to your shingle in the way you want or need. What do you stand for?

This is a tiny snippet of advice we provide in this area, advice we share with our customers as a service beyond the POS software itself. Our advice has been developed over years of serving many different types of retail businesses. It is advice we have seen appreciated by many types of shops.

Never give up. Fight hard and fight smart to turn your business around.

Facing tough circumstances in retail can be like the deer in the middle of the road at night facing the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Don’t freeze. Take action to mitigate your situation. A series of small steps could be the difference between closure and trading out of the problem.

Thanks to smart hooks in the Tower Systems small business POS software, we are able to help local small business indie retailers and their suppliers work more closely and efficiently together.

The hooks include easy and accurately two-way flow of data, thereby enabling more timely and accurate supply of inventory to retailers and through this a strengthening of the supplier relationships.

Delivering this through a seamless, data-driven, relationship is key to both the retailer and wholesaler businesses. This is where good POS software shines, helping both sides of the commercial relationship to benefit. It sits at the heart of a good commercial relationship and feeds mutual respect.

Our POS software is a beautiful glue for retailers and wholesalers who appreciate working together.

The connections we offer have been built into our POS software to worldwide data sharing EDI standards. This ensures that they will serve the needs of larger businesses with more rigid IT infrastructure. This is important where small business retailers need to connect with IT systems in large business suppliers. The Tower systems approach means that small business retailers are not disadvantaged.

Through or work in this area of seamless two-way data flow, we are able to help smaller wholesalers walk the path of better IT connection with small business retailers. There are many case studies we can share showing the success of this work. regardless of internal systems in use in wholesale businesses, we are usually able to help them take the steps necessary to achieve a beneficial connection.

Our work in the area of EDI for retailers in channels such as fishing and tackle stores, produce businesses, bike shops, garden centres, jewellers and newsagencies is well established and consistent.

Tower Systems is committed to helping independent small business retailers to compete effectively and successfully in a rapidly changing retail landscape in-store and online. We do this by providing best practice software backed by friendly, human and local support, helping retailers to compete and to enjoy their businesses.

EDI is key in retail today for retailers and wholesalers who want an efficient apply chain. Tower Systems is ready to help both sides of the EDI relationship.