Tower Systems helps local retailers connect with locals
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Advice for local indie retailers on how to thrive through the valley of death of retail: June – August every year
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June, July and August are tough months in many local shops, independent shops. There is no major season, and, it’s winter. Brrr. Some who have been in retail for ages call these months the months of death.
This year could be tougher because of interest rates and the penchant in newsrooms for stories negative about the economy and the future.
Here are 7 ways you could make these three months work for you.
- Be happy. Make the shop bright, happy, smelling good and sounding good. Good lighting. Have a candle burning. Have an awesome playlist. Make your shop a place people enjoy. And, reflect this in your social media posts.
- Pitch your offers consistently: discount vouchers, buy x cards and get a card for free. If you have value offers, pitch them in-store as well as on your socials.
- Google My Business. Post several times a week. Be found by people nearby searching for what you sell.
- Christmas in July. Get out any Christmas related stock you have and sell it off. Heck, host a Christmas party to launch it. Load the sale with other stock you’d like converted to cash. Consider a local charity or community group connection.
- Bring in something new, something you’ve never sold before, something you thought you’d never sell. Challenge yourself to reach new shoppers. Launch it with an event. Put on some drinks and nibbles. Give people a reason to come out.
- Get a second opinion on your business performance. Gather your data and ask someone to look at what’s working and what’s not. It could be that fresh eyes help clear a better path ahead for you. We gladly help retailers with this.
- Pitch occasions like you would seasons. Bring together cards, gift bags and gifts to make it easy for people to celebrate: new home, baby arrival, engagement, wedding, congratulations and, yes, even sympathy. Choose one for a week or two and bring all the options together. Sometimes we have to show people what to do. The best opportunities here are the ones other retailers ignore.
Our point with this list is that this valley, June, July and August, separates retailers. Those who do well tend to be engaged, they tend to embrace opportunities to make their own success.
What’s this got to do with POS software? Plenty. Here at Tower Systems we serve a community of local indie specialty retailers. Our interest in their businesses reaches beyond our software and for they use it. We share ideas and inspirations to support their businesses because we want local indie retail to thrive.
It’s easy to spot AI bland in marketing and blog posts from companies
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Have you read a blog post or article from a company recently and thought about how generic and bland it was. It’s happening more thanks too AI. AI bland we call it.
AI tech is grinding out content fast and doing do by regurgitating what others have written and trying to make it sound new and from the voice of the person giving the AI machine the prompts. The blandness is one of several AI tells. You can see it in the words, the formatting and more. Ho-hum.
It’s okay, businesses can use AI for their posts if they want. But, here at Tower Systems, we prefer the real, the human, the emotional, the reality with feelings, because, after all, local indie retail is all about feelings. You know what we mean 0- you walk into a local shop and there’s a warm smile from a local, locally relevant conversation, useful local knowledge and engagement with the local community that locals understand.
AI doesn’t get any of this, because it has no feelings, no local roots. It can only fake it so far.
In our POS software we reflect the humanity of what we do by bringing to life enhancements our customers ask us for. Every enhancement we deliver in response to a customer requests, and votes from their colleagues, enhances the humanity of our software, the connection our software delivers to our customers, to0 its users.
Here at Tower Systems, our knowledge base articles are written by humans, our videos are made by humans, our software is written by humans. We do all this in service of local indie specialty retail – a very human local retail endeavour. Locals feel the heartbeat and that’s something that AI cannot give you.
So, next time you read something from a company and it feels bland or middle of the road, wonder to yourself if it is AI bland, wonder if the company cared about the reader in a way that they used an AI bot to write for you rather than having a human from their team write it.
What are we in small business if we are not ourselves, real, human, authentic, and in the moment? Sure, AI can provide useful tools, but when it comes to communication abut who we are, what we do and why it matters to customers and prospective customers, being human is our difference.
Advice for local small business retailers confronted by big business competitors
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Small and independent retailers can sometimes feel helpless when a big national retailer opens up nearby. There is no match for their range, buying power, advertising coverage or even news coverage.
The sheer size of a national competitor is what scares many smaller retailers. It can feel overwhelming.
Here at Tower Systems, all of our customers are local small business retailers, indie retailers, because that is the community we seek out.
Here are 5 practical tips for small businesses on how to face and deal with a national retailer moving into the area:
1. Don’t compete. By not talking about the competitor, pricing against them or pitching your business in any way, you separate yourself. While they may have similar products, it is unlikely that they are targeting your specific business so why target them? Focus instead on your own business. Not competing should include not advertising price comparisons, not focusing on the competitor at staff meetings, not expanding your range to sell more of what they sell and not obsessing about them.
Know why you are different and lean more into that, and, it’s likely that price is not a significant difference in your mind.
If you know why customers shop with you, you have the opportunity of not giving up margin out of fear.
2. Run a better business. From the moment you hear about a new national retailer coming to town, look at every aspect of your business for opportunities for improvement. From the back room to the front counter fine tune your processes, employee training, stock buying and the look of the business. Dramatically improve your business from the inside out. This will improve your business health and help you weather challenges which may lie ahead.
Too often, independent retailers wait until the national retailer is open to react. This is probably a year or two too late.
3. Be unique. Look for ways to make your business unique. It could be on product range, operating hours, add-on services or something else. Embrace any opportunity to make your business unique.
Even a unique niche range of products can give you traffic a big competitor will not chase. Try and focus on products which require a level of retail skill and knowledge to sell – national retailers have challenges hiring and retaining retail employees with specialist knowledge and skills.
4. Engage the community. Like, really engage. Support local groups, speak at functions, get known as someone and a business who care deeply about the local community. Subtly make the connection that you are fortunate to be able to help because of your local business.
Being smaller and independent you are better able to personally engage with the community. You and your team are the business whereas a national chain will always be the corporate. They can throw money around locally, you can throw time, knowledge and more flexible assistance.
5. Tell your stories. Your retail narrative, your stories, connect you with the local community. Tell these through the people you contact, your own blog, a Facebook page and in the pages of the local newspaper. Tell human stories about your business, the people who work in it and the local stories which connect with it.
Your stories could be about local community connection, convenience of shopping, commitment to range, personal customer service, product niche knowledge … there are many different narratives with which an independent retailer can connect. It is important that one you have your narrative you stick to is, that it inhabits your decisions, marketing and public presentation.
Local indie retailers can compete against with any big business by not acting as a big business would. This is the key. Be yourself. Have faith in yourself. Sell yourself.
Now, why is a POS software company sharing something like this? That’s easy – we care about our customers, we care about local indie retail. We’ll embrace any opportunity to help local indie retailers shine.
Small business retail advice: if you think the only option left is to close your shop for good
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We get it. Sometimes, the road ahead can have so many obstacles and the air is so heavy with fog that a pathway can be hard to find.
In any indie local retail business you can collect a ton of obstacles and feel surrounded by fog if you are drawn to the end is near talk and have your business rooted deep in out of date practices.
If you feel like closing is your only option, we are writing this for you.
Stop. Take a month to first of all breathe. That;’s important, breathe, take in the outdoors. Find a calm. Then, collect data – your sales data, your financial situation information, local economic circumstances. Gather all the facts together, and go over them – not the emotion, the hearsay – stick to the evidence, the facts.
Usually, in the evidence, there is opportunity. The challenge is that often opportunities cannot be seen because of the noise of obstacles and fog. That’s why we say stop, get your evidence and sit with that.
Our hope is that in your evidence there is sufficient opportunity to find a path forward for the business, and for you.
Turning a situation away from closing is my only option can only come about by one or a mix of:
- attracting new shoppers
- getting existing shoppers purchasing more
- making more from some of what you sell
- reducing costs
It’s pretty simple when you read the list. The hard part is the action, that’s where retailers can get stuck. We mean, attracting new shoppers is difficult, especially in small business where the levers we can pull are limited.
The best way to attract new shoppers in any local retail business is to introduce a completely new product category, to represent it well in-store and to pitch it appropriately on social media.
Your existing suppliers won’t have helpful advice in this area because they are your existing suppliers. You have to look outside your current pool of advice and influencers and look outside what people know your shop for. Choose a category that is fun, appealing and for sure traffic-generating. Ideally, it will be something not easily found locally, something that interests you. That last bit is important because one way to drive traffic for a new category is to be a bit of a local expert.
We get that it may be challenging to find the energy and money to make things work with a new category. If the survival of your business matters you’ll find a way.
The best way to get existing shoppers spending more is through a smart loyalty mechanic and having a shop people enjoy.
The best way to make more from what you sell is by charging more or buying better, or both. Don’t go crazy. A modest increase in GP% could work wonders.
Key to the success of any turnaround is starting on the road early, before fog and debris block the past. It’s important to all of us who own businesses to be looking well ahead, over the horizon, cultivating assets we can deploy when we think change may be needed.
Before we leave the topic we want to touch on cutting costs. That’s a common approach to saving a business. While it could help, rarely in our experiences serving many local indie retailers have we seen cutting costs alone be enough to save a business. Sure, it can be in the mix, but it alone is not enough. And the truth is that a well run business has trimmed costs already.
If you think closing your shop is the only option, reach out. There are plenty of indie retailers who will listen, and offer advice if you’d like it.
You are not alone.
Oh, and this all matters to us because we only serve local indie retailers, and we own and run local indie retail businesses ourselves.
Public holiday
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Okay so today is a public holiday for the Queen’s Birthday. We’re taking a break – but fear not! If you have an urgent query our after-hours crew is there for you.
Happy weekend Australia
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POS software that helps local retailers track parts and labour used in making products
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POS software for clothing shops and fashion retailers
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Tower Systems hosts another POS software user meeting
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We are grateful to have hosted another meeting of users of our software. This was done yesterday, via Zoom – a platform plenty of our POS software customer prefer.
At this meeting we previewed our next software update, sought feedback on some development plans in the pre-planning stage. We also had plenty of time for questions, which is the real value of meetings like this for plenty.
We know that being accessible is important to our local small business retailer community. It’s why we do these sessions regularly, and why they are open to all customers, and why there is no cost whatsoever.
To ensure we can answer as many questions as possible we had people there from development, support as well as senior management.
Back in the day, decades ago, in-person user meetings were a key feature from engages software companies. They still are today, but online, saving everyone time as well as travel costs.
We are grateful to the customers who joined in yesterday and those who watched later on video. Feedback from sessions like this is vital to our future.
Clothing store POS software helps local independent clothing retailers shine
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Local indie clothing stores can rely on the clothing shop POS software from Tower Systems to help them compete with the big players in the fashion space.
Using our clothing shop POS software, retailers can:
- Manage inventory by colour, size and style.
- Track the performance of fashion brands in the business.
- Analyse the sale of types of products such as shirts, dresses, trousers, belts and other category level items.
- Track sales transacted by employees.
- Sell online thanks to several e-commerce integrations.
- Forecast sales based on history.
- Track seasonal performance.
- Manage the process of clothing alterations for customers including parts used, and labour.
This clothing shop POS software is made locally for local retail businesses. It’s designed for local independent retail, not chain stores. This is important as the needs of local independent retailers are different to the needs of chain stores, especially when it comes to clothing shop POS software.
Embedded in this software is a loyalty solution designed to serve clothing retailers in a fresh way, a way shoppers love, a way that is likely to encourage them back into the shop sooner.
This clothing shop POS software is customisable too with plenty of options for setting look and feel and other factors.
The software connects with several roster solutions as well as a digital receipt platform, Xero and other integrations that help local clothing shops shine.
A feature of the Tower Systems clothing shop POS software is the insights dashboard. This is a visual platform that curates key retail performance data and presents it in a format designed to assist decision-making.
Whether your business is a fashion boutique, a school uniform shop0, a local dressmaker shop, a kids clothing shop or a local fast fashion shops, this POS software has facilities ready for use that can assist to facilitate efficiency, accuracy and enjoyment in, with and from the business.
Easily see what’s working, and what’s not. Spot upward and downward trends early, and leverage those insights for the benefit of the business.
This software continues to evolve thanks to tight engagement between our Tower Systems software development team and our customer community. There is a transparent process for suggesting enhancements and customers voting on these suggestions.
Only you can decide if this software is right for you. Work out what’s important to you and compare your needs list with what this software offers in a personal and obligation-free demonstration. The Tower Systems sales team will not pressure you, ever.
Call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand. Or, email sales@towwersystems.com.au. Or, check out: https://www.towersystems.com.au/fashion.html
This clothing shop POS software seeks to help local clothing shops thrive.
What does Tower Systems look for in a prospective POS software customer?
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An update on the integration of ChatGPT AI tools with the Tower Systems POS software
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In March, Tower Systems released new POS software for specialty retailers offering an integration to ChatGPT from OpenAI, a leading AI tool.
In this first cut of AI integration in POS software, using the optional integration, ChatGPT can generate for extended product descriptions and web descriptions. This is based on the product title that you enter. We have tested it with a range of products. It is a significant time saver.
Customers are telling us they love the POS software ChjatGPT integration. The feedback includes:
- It saves so much time.
- It generated product descriptions better than I was doing.
- I love that it gives me options to consider.
- It’s something I love using in my business that I had no idea I would benefit from.
Retailers are providing wonderful feedback on their use of ChatGPT from within the Tower Systems POS software.
Retailers who want to type their own descriptions can still do this. The integration is for those looking for product descriptions likely to capture the attention of shoppers, especially those shopping online.
The Tower software development team has more AI integration options being prepared as this technology offers many business benefits.
There is considerable debate about AI and its use. “We don’t see our job as being a controller of access to AI. We build tools and right now this is a tool more snugnesses want to play with. Hence, this integration.” Mark Fletcher CEO of Tower Systems commented.
“It’s important that we provide retailers with tools they can use to be more efficient, more competitive. AI offers such tools in a rapidly changing retail landscape. We are grateful to have been an early adopter of this opportunity for our local small business retailer community”
The ChatGPT POS software integration is available free to all Tower Systems POS software customers across a range of specialty retail marketplaces.
Tower Systems currently serves in excess of 3,000 small business retailers with POS software. The software rents for a modest monthly fee with no lock-in contract and no cancellation penalty.
The ChatGPT integration is only part of the AI engagement opportunity for Tower Systems POS software customers.
What we look for in local retailers for our POS software
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How our POS software helped a retailer free up $20,000 in their local shop
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The Insights Dashboard in our POS software serves up curated data in a thoughtfully selected range of topics sure to interest any retailer. The software does this work in the background with little human engagement.
In one retail business recently, the software reported on the financial value to the business of what’s not working. Like any engaged retail business owner, if you show them, prove to them, using their own business data, what’s not working, they will act. This retailer did. That’s where the $20,000 comes in. They converted dead stock to cash and replaced the space and inventory investment with stock that is working.
The insight was serves by our POS software. It was pushed to the retailer. They didn’t have to seek it out or wonder if there was something to see. No, our software figured this is interesting and important, here it is, here is a problem, and an opportunity.
That’s what the Insights Dashboard in our Tower Systems POS software is all about. The insights are genuine, up to date and for your business, based on your data. The software seeks to help you leverage your own data to make more money in your business, make fewer mistakes andiron a more successful and enjoyable business.
While some POS software focusses on transacting, we go further, we go beyond transacting and we do this to help deliver genuine value to our customers.
The Insights Dashboard in the Tower Systems POS software is designed by and for retailers. It is outcome-focussed, targeting actionable data that any retailer, regardless of business training, will understand and leverage for the success of their businesses.
Since the launch of the Insights Dashboard we have heard from retailers about their use of it, what it’s showing them, the actions they have taken. It is wonderful hearing these stories as each one shows that POS software can be more than a glorified cash register, that it can make a real difference to the performance of a local retail business.
Here at Tower Systems our focus is on helping local indie retailers run more enjoyable and successful businesses – beyond a marketing pitch, we are keen for them to live it, feel it, and want more. It’s what we want ourselves in retail businesses we own and run.
POS software for specialty retailers in New Zealand
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We’re not your average POS software company
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How retailers are using POS software integrated ChatGPT to create more valuable product descriptions
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Local small business retailers are short on time and challenges in competing with well-resourced big businesses.
The ChatGPT AI integration delivered by Tower Systems in its local specialty retail POS software early this year is being used by small business retailers to create for search friendly product descriptions.
Using this optional and free facility, retailers are able to describe products faster and in search friendly terms. Here’s a short video we made for our customers to show how it works:
No, we’re not going all AI is replacing the world on our customers. Rather, we are providing access to optional time saving tools. Feedback from our local retailer community has been wonderful, for which we are thankful.
Tower Systems promotes specialty retail channels
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The videos we have created promoting specialty retail channels are working a treat. here are some of the videos we have done for channels in which we serve:
Do comparison websites actually compare the products they list and pitch?
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No, they don’t, at least as far as we can see.
We are a POS software company. We make retail management software for local specialty retailers. Our company, Tower Systems, is a market leader in a range of retail channels such as newsagents, jewellers, bike shops, produce businesses, gift shops, and more. yet, we do not appear on comparison websites.
We don’t appear on comparison websites because we do not pay to appear.
In our experience that is the main reason they list you, because you pay to be listed.
Comparison websites are advertising platforms plain and simple. There is no comparison, no analysis of the POS software listed, no testing of functionality or marketing claims, no due diligence as to the appropriateness of the POS software.
This is why, in our opinion, comparison websites that we have seen are not comparison websites.
It’s on our mind today as we have seen a comparison website target people looking for our company. A Tower Systems Google search lists a comparison website pitching products as alternatives to us. But, they’d have no idea because they have done done any comparison. The companies listed have paid to be listed to people searching for us.
In our opinion this is lazy marketing. While we invest in creating robust and useful software, some other businesses invest in marketing and while that may get the noticed, in local specialty retail function matters the most. Local retailers want POS software that works for them, that suits their needs, serves them deeply and well within their businesses.
If you click on an ad for a comparison website it costs the other companies money, which we like as each dollar they se=pent to not get a sale is a lesson for them.
We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 retailers today with POS software made for their type of business.
In the small business world, personal service matters, personal service is the difference. Our POS software reflects this focus on personal service, it reflects our commitment to helping our local retail business customers to more valuably and successfully connect with their local shoppers. This is a Tower Systems difference.
Retail theft story: I don’t believe you!
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I don’t believe you.
That’s what a retail business owner told us when we told them that employee theft had cost their business more than $100,000 in the previous 12 months.
When we asked who worked four specific shifts each week and who had two weeks off a month prior, they knew we might be on to something.
Prove it.
They trusted their employee, a relative, more than they trusted us. It’s understandable.
So, we proved it. We then went back further in their data and proved that over three years the theft was more than $350,000.
This all started because of what they thought was a bug in our software impacting their business data.
It ended with the police laying charges.
Our POS software collects data that can be analysed to look for patterns of use that could indicate theft behaviour.
In a typical independent retail business, theft costs between 3% and 5% of turnover. Our software backed by our Theft Check service seek to reduce the financial imp[act on the businesses owned and run by our 3,000+ customers.
We are grateful to help independent retailers reduce the cost of theft in their shops.
Helping local small business retailers discover and manage theft situations is just one way we help our retailer community.
Our Australian sales number is 1300 662 957.
Our NZ sales number is 0800 444 367.
We’re not your average POS software company and here are 3 examples why:
- Dead stock often represents between 5% and 12% of stock on hand in local indie retail businesses. Our software proactively helps retailers identify dead stock and stop making decisions that lead to dead stock.
- We provide a free theft check service where we look at data patterns that can indicate theft. Our evidence has been used by police, prosecutors and accepted ax expert evidence in court.
- Copying big retailers is not smart. Our software offers genuinely unique, and successful, ways you can differentiate to nurture deeper baskets per purchase and more frequent return of shoppers.
Sure, we do the usual of scanning products, tracking sales, supplier electronic invoice import, linking to Xero for accounting and linking to Shopify (and more) for online sales. It’s what we do outside the usual where our retailers can leverage real value, like our insights dashboard.
POS software for clothing / fashion / apparel shops
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Here’s our quick marketing pitch:
Here’s a short demo of this POS software:
Our POS software for fashion / clothing / apparel shops helps these local retail businesses thrive.
POS software that helps local retailers stand out
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Tower Systems, not your average POS software copmpany
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Your local Aussie newsagency is likely not the business you remember
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Many Aussies think of the local Aussie newsagency as a papers, magazines lotteries and car shop, around the corner, close, a bit dark, run by someone old, carrying a bit of everything, expensive for some things, probably out of date for today.
That’s the narrative pitched in too many stories. It’s out of date, many years out of date.
The local Aussie newsagency, the one serving where you live, is most likely not like that old narrative. It’s changed.
We made this video Tuesday for one of our own newsagency shops, to promote it on social media as well as YouTube. Below we explain how we made the video and, more important, why we made the video.
We took the photos on my iPhone and used promo.com to assemble these, add text and lay music underneath. All up it took less than 10 minutes. I share these details to illustrate how easy it is for anyone to make a video like this.
Now, the why.
This video is important as it is us pitching a narrative for this shop. For decades, the narrative of the local Aussie newsagency has been controlled by others. Today, in 2023, the narrative about our shops is rooted in decades ago. It is out of date. It challenges our relevance. It does not help us.
We wanted to have a crack at recasting the narrative for this one shop in a suburban Westfield centre in the bayside area of Melbourne. While for sure we are biased, we think it’s a good video that does re-cast the narrative for this newsagency, while at the same time making a statement about the channel, calling for others to see us differently and not as others so wrongly and ignorantly pitch us.
We’d love to see more newsagents do this, make videos and other social media content that pitches our businesses with a fresh and relevant to 2023 narrative. Points about lottery jackpots and the major seasons are predictable, expected. The more we play outside of what is expected the better for us, the more we are likely to attract new shoppers to our businesses.
As we noted above, this video took less than 10 minutes all up. There are plenty of platforms you can use to make videos just like this one. While we pay a commercial licence for promo.com, there are others out there that are free.
As for the products we chose to highlight, plenty are made in Australia. In fact, half the air time of the video features Australian made, small business sourced, products.
We want to call out the final frame. This features a pair of colourful stud earrings on a card that says you inspire me. That is a very deliberate choice to pitch that message at the close of the video.
Hopefully all this background is helpful enough that other newsagents create content to recast the narrative of not only their newsagency businesses but the channel more broadly.
But back to the video. In 24 hours it passed 20,000 full views thanks to a nudge through the YouTube ad platform. Tonight, Friday night, it’s at 37,000 full views. That’s 37,000 people in the area of Melbourne I targeted who watched the video in maybe the first newsagency pitch they had seen in years.
We appreciate it’s not call to action advertising. It’s not intended to be. As we wrote above, this is about the narrative relating to the Aussie newsagency.
Here’s a footnote about why we’re writing about this here at a blog for our POS software company.
Tower Systems is not your average POS software company. This video speaks in a small way to that, it shows us engaged beyond the software, in service of one of the local small business retail channels in which we serve.
The advice in this post could relate to any of the specialty retail channel s in which we serve.
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