Stay ahead of the competition

In this article we look at why you should never underestimate your competition and the importance of investing in your EPoS hardware and equipment.

As a retailer, you know the importance of having a unique selling point to encourage customers to choose to spend with you as opposed to the competition and that to be successful you have to try to stay at least one step ahead of the competition. Even if you feel that your business offering is unique, you must not assume that you have no competition as it doesn’t always come from direct or obvious competitors. Therefore, it is vital that the experience you create for the customer is consistently good by ensuring seamless transactions and service so that customers choose you over your competition.

Whether you are setting up a new retail business or you are an experienced merchant, having the right EPoS system and equipment is essential. A point-of sale system is the central part of any retail business and is much more than just a way for customers to pay for their purchases. A quality EPoS system has the ability to merge and simplify crucial business operations as well as provide you with a steady supply of data which can be used to make informed business decisions.

EPoS systems are designed to enhance the customer experience and streamline your sales transactions therefore it is vital that you invest in and upgrade your EPoS hardware, make no mistake, your competition will be!

Here are the compelling reasons why EPOS systems are worth the investment regardless of the nature of your retail or hospitality business.

Inventory management
Tracking your inventory is essential in optimising sales and unlike traditional cash register systems that require you to manually adjust your stock levels, EPoS software provides a real time representation from the sale of a product to its adjustment in your inventory system. Furthermore, EPoS solutions allow you to accurately monitor any theft and removes the element of human error.

Employee performance
The manual labour associated with traditional cash registers only allows you to analyse which employees are top performers only after this time consuming process is complete. Whereas real-time sales management allows you to analyse the performance of a specific employee. EPoS software also allows you to monitor all aspects of your staff with easy access to employee records which include attendance, sales figures and more.

Tracking KPI’s
Advanced EPoS systems produce business reports which give you the ability to analyse your KPI’s and other data in real-time. These systems provide you with 24/7 access to your reports via a web browser, tablet or smart phone. In addition to sales reports, EPoS systems also give detailed reports of all business operations including finance, inventory, HR, security and marketing reports.

Understanding customers
Traditional cash register systems limit businesses in their ability to understand client behaviour due to the lag produced by manual stock take and human error. EPoS systems have an intuitive CRM function built into them, this allows businesses to capture vital customer information and behaviour in real-time. These systems can store contact details, personas, delivery addresses, accounts, preferences and purchase history.

Cloud-based optimisation
EPoS systems provide a unique advantage that traditional cash registers do not, and that is the cloud. Cloud-based technology allows businesses to effectively manage sales, inventory and customers across multiple platforms and channels. EPoS systems can be updated as consumer behaviour changes and this technology allows retailers to access all information at any time independent of location.

SUMMARY
Many retailers think that upgrading their EPoS hardware and equipment is unnecessary and they choose to use the most rudimentary form of devices. However, it is true that every single business out there wants to achieve growth and to effectively grow you need a system that can keep up with your rate of growth.

Although investing in EPOS software may seem like an unnecessary and additional expense, there is no doubt that it will benefit your business in the long-run and allow you to grow your business. The reasons above should be enough to convince you to invest from the very beginning or to upgrade your current system and equipment now.

While you may be content with just one bricks and mortar store for now, there is no telling how well or how quickly your business may grow. As we said at the start of this article, EPoS systems are designed to enhance the customer experience and streamline your sales transactions therefore it is vital that you invest in and upgrade your EPoS system and hardware, make no mistake, your competition will be!

Of course, you need an EPoS solution that suits your unique needs, from investing in a new EPoS system from day one to upgrading your existing hardware and equipment, such as replacing old hard drives with new solid state drives and ensuring that you are planning and making provision for the life cycles of operating systems.

There are always better equipment and solutions out there and RMS are here to provide you with the solutions that are right for you and your individual business. Give us a call to discuss how we can help you to stay ahead of the competition.