This time of year, one theme dominates all marketing plans. Well, unless you’re a food business and you’ve also been tossing pancakes into your promotional mix.
V-Day is a big deal for both the retail and hospitality sectors. This year, Brits are forecast to splash out some £1.5bn spreading the love around, at an average spend of £50 per person.
That just goes to show what a nation of hopeless romantics we all are – for one day of the year, at least.
As a business owner, of course, you have to be a little more consistent in the attentions you lavish on your customers. No bunch of flowers or box of chocolates will convince consumers to stick around if they don’t feel they’re getting what they deserve from you all year round. They’ll be open to the advances of any rival that can offer better.
With that in mind, we thought we’d use this Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to explore what retail and hospitality businesses can do to keep showing their customers plenty of love, long after the pink balloons and heart-shaped decorations have been packed away.
Smooth moves only at checkout
A guaranteed mood killer for every customer is a slow or otherwise poor POS experience. Prioritising smooth, frictionless and above all fast checkout will help keep your loyal customers smitten. This depends in part on the quality of your POS system, and also having one that is the right fit for your business. You can also look at diversifying your POS options, for example with kiosks and mobile terminals, to give customers more choice and flexibility. And this should of course extend to covering a range of different payment options.
Don’t leave them wanting
They say a little yearning can keep the fires of passion burning. But that doesn’t apply to the world of commerce. A consumer who finds the item they made a special trip to buy is out of stock, or a diner who sits down to find their favourite dish is off the menu, is unlikely to double down on their commitment to that particular shop or restaurant. They’ll go elsewhere next time. Good inventory management ensures customers can always get what they want. And that starts with an integrated system at POS that directly updates inventory records with every sale.
Communication keeps the connection strong
We all know that the secret to long, happy relationships is to keep talking. That applies to the relationships between businesses and their customers, too. One thing you can focus on doing better as a business is making that more of a two-way thing. Consumers are used to being bombarded with sales and marketing messages, you need to buy this and look how great we are. Ever been on a date with someone who approaches conversation like that? Exactly.
What customers really love is feeling that their thoughts are listened to and valued. A casual “how was your meal today?” or “did you find everything you needed?” can suffice. But more formal feedback options can make customers feel like it’s more than just part of the patter. It’s written down, after all.
Feedback forms are easy to deliver in stores, restaurants, hotels and other business premises these days via additional POS screens and kiosks. Listening to customers ultimately drives loyalty. Especially when you act on their feedback to deliver a better experience.
If you happen to be travelling to Dusseldorf at the end of this month for the EuroCIS Retail Technology trade fair, come talk to our team about all things POS! AURES Technologies GmbH be exhibiting in Hall 9, Stand F26.