Adopting a smart terminal for your retail store can help you achieve your goals.

You have likely heard of smart terminals, the hardware-software combinations that can integrate with your existing business applications to streamline the processing of payments and many other operational tasks. Now that conditions are beginning to stabilize with regards to COVID, it’s time to set some attainable goals for your business. As you look at customer relations, employee and inventory management, and report generation, take some time to think about how a smart terminal can become one of the most intelligent payment options for your retail store.

Smart terminals explained.

Before taking the leap and obtaining one, it makes sense to learn a little about the way smart terminals work. On one level, the purpose of these intelligent devices is to gather the information contained on buyers’ credit cards or, if the terminal is upgraded for contactless payments, their smartphones and wearable devices. In addition to this speedy and secure payment processing, smart terminals can integrate with your other business systems to become your virtual silent partner.

How a smart terminal can transform your retail store, please your customers, and prepare you for the future.

In many respects, your smart terminal is the invaluable assistant you have always wanted. Built into its software are numerous capabilities that will help you run virtually all aspects of your business more efficiently and profitably.

• Deepen your relationships with your customers. Today’s shoppers want an enriched experience that extends far beyond the mere making of a purchase. Your smart terminal, or smart point of sale system, can capture valuable customer details such as demographics and buying behaviors that will make it possible for you to curate a marketing strategy just for them. For example, your system can generate a report that shows you the person’s birth date as well as their recent purchases. Armed with these specifics, it’s a cinch to send a targeted email not only congratulating them for attaining another annual milestone, but also suggesting some special gifts they can purchase for themselves in honor of the day. Personalized attention like this helps people to feel special, which is a sure recipe for referrals of your store to family and friends. 
• Intelligently manage your employees. Your staff should be your business’s most enthusiastic ambassadors and its most knowledgeable experts regarding the products and services you sell. Having said that, with all the tasks you are juggling, it can be difficult to keep track of everyone’s progress in real time. So, in addition to all of the personal interactions that you should continue to have with each worker, why not augment them with data from your smart terminal? In just a few clicks, you can learn which worker is excelling and who is struggling. Find out the areas where each person shines so that you can provide positive reinforcement, and learn where there may be gaps in knowledge that could be corrected with additional training or personal feedback. Furthermore, your smart terminal can remove much of the scheduling burden from your shoulders, automating time cards and sending out emails notifying workers about upcoming shifts. You can even make changes in real time when the situation warrants.
• Manage your inventory like a logistics pro. As a business owner, you know that there is nothing worse than miscalculations in your inventory. Over-stocking ties up precious cash while failing to order enough of a favorite item can lead to disappointed customers who elect to find what they were looking for elsewhere. The good news is, with the help of your smart terminal and a simple barcode scanner, you can track every piece of merchandise throughout its journey from your shipper to your warehouse and eventually into the hands of your happy customers. Before popular items sell out, your system can even alert you so that you have plenty of time to reorder. Additionally, you can learn which merchandise is languishing on your shelves so that you can take steps to relocate it to a more prominent space or sell it off at a reduced price to make room for more sought-after goods.

Although your smart terminal might appear to be small and innocuous, it is chock full of an array of features that you can harness to take your business to the next level.

There is no time like the present to do some strategic planning for your shop. Whether you want to expand your customer base, refine your marketing programs and inventory, or help your employees to excel, your smart payment device can prove invaluable. If you aren’t already enjoying its many benefits, talk to your payment service provider to add this invaluable assistant to your retail operation today.