Four things a mobile reader can do (on top of seamlessly processing your customer's payments).

On the surface, your mobile card reader looks quite humble. Considering its diminutive size, it might come as a surprise to learn just what a powerhouse it can be throughout your entire retail business. Its integration with your point of sale (POS) software enables it to work wonders with intelligent inventory ordering, employee management, and customer relations. It can even help you to predict the future of your store.

Preliminary definition.

Just in case you are unsure of what mobile credit card readers are, let’s take a minute to define the term. No doubt, you have seen these types of card readers both as a customer and as a merchant. In many cases, they connect to a smartphone or tablet that has a cardB processing app installed.

This hardware-software combination works wirelessly, which means that it does not need to be tethered to a traditional stationary point of sale terminal. As a result, you and your sales associates can use your mobile reader anywhere: throughout the store, at curbside for contactless delivery to customers’ cars, at trade shows and farmers markets: anywhere you want to facilitate fast and secure product purchases. Because it is integrated with your entire POS system, your tiny mobile reader can expand to perform a broad array of valuable functions for your business and your customers.

1. Inventory management.

The products you sell are the lifeblood of your retail store. They are why your loyal buyers choose to make purchases with you. They also help you to create a brand that will set you apart from your competitors. Because they are so important to your success, it should go without saying that inventory management needs to be one of your top priorities as a retailer.

If you are still relying mostly on spreadsheets, ledgers, and paper receipts to keep your product quantities straight, you are no doubt keenly aware of the headaches that manual inventory management causes. Human errors occur; papers get lost, and there just never seems to be enough time in the week to truly get a handle on this important task. Of course, when tax time rolls around, what was already a high-stress endeavor is magnified a thousandfold.

It’s time to take a deep breath, relax, and think about the benefits your mobile card reader and POS software will bring to your inventory management strategies. Of course, you will need to invest in barcode scanners and devote some time to entering products into your inventory database. However, things become exponentially easier once you do.

Every time a customer makes a purchase, it is recorded by your mobile reader and is thereby recorded by your payments software. A count is kept in real time that enables you to have an up-to-the-second idea of everything you sell. This will allow you to see ahead of time what is running low so that you can re-order in plenty of time. By the same token, you will be able to clearly see what merchandise is failing to move off the shelves, leading to better sales and training decisions. Thanks to your mobile card reader, you can give your customers the products they want when they want them without cluttering your shelves with things that aren’t popular.

2. Employee management.

You could be selling the most sought-after and compelling line of products. You might have an appealing layout and intelligent marketing strategy that attracts a steady stream of potential customers. However, without informed managers, empowered sales associates, knowledgeable cashiers, and happy brand ambassadors, your success will be limited.

Believe it or not, your mobile card readers provide a great deal of freedom and empowerment to your salespeople. Instead of being anchored behind the register to accept payments, your workers can be freed up to roam your entire store. This gives them more autonomy while simultaneously enabling them to provide on-the-spot customer service that your shoppers will love.

In the past, a customer may have had to wait in line just to ask a question about a product. In many cases, the harried cashier may not have even had an answer and had no way to provide the assistance the customer needed. Today’s mobile technology means that associates’ hand-held devices contain detailed descriptions of each product, including accessories, and close substitutes. A well-trained associate can provide the information the buyer requested and then complete the sale – all without the person ever needing to wait in line at the register.

Modern POS systems also make the scheduling and changing of workers’ hours easier for all parties. Everyone has access to their upcoming shift times from anywhere and can request changes that are sent to you in real time, ensuring that there are no gaps in scheduling that could leave you short during your busiest hours.

You should also be able to use your POS solution to generate reports that let you see how each employee is performing. For example, you might learn that Jane sells more coffee makers than anyone else while Joe hasn’t sold a single one. Armed with that data, you can look deeper into what might be happening, enabling you to provide training or encourage workers to share selling tips with peers who might be struggling. In the most extreme cases, these reports will show you where the dead weight is so that you can hire more productive team members.

3. Customer relationships.

Personalization is the name of the game in today’s retail environment. What does this mean for you as a seller? In short, you need to do everything possible to make your customers feel special. Merely facilitating a product purchase is no longer enough.

You probably already do a great many things to provide first-class customer service. Your commitment to shoppers is demonstrated in the high-quality products you sell, the careful way you lay out your physical and virtual retail spaces, and the attention you devote in the event of dissatisfaction or item returns.

Your mobile card reader can take what you already do and carry it to the next level so that the buying journey you provide is unique and customized for each customer. Incentivize shoppers to give you their contact information and other small details about themselves such as their birthday and hobbies and interests. Then, use that information for the buyer’s benefit. Who can resist a birthday discount or a customer loyalty prize? And how tempted would most people be by a personalized message that recognizes a customer’s past buying history and invites them to come back to view a new product?

Furthermore, your POS system can help to ensure that the buyer’s experience is positive after the purchase. Keeping the customer in the loop about projected delivery dates, confirming that items have arrived at their door, and inviting feedback are great ways to show people that you care about them long after their money has gone from their account to yours.

4. Grow your business.

No matter how committed and well-trained your staff may be, you still juggle numerous tasks as an entrepreneur. With everything that is going on, it may seem next to impossible to conceptualize where you will be in one, five, or ten years. How can you possibly have the time and energy to sit down and plot the course for your future growth and product offerings?

This is another situation where your mobile reader and POS software will truly shine. With the information gathered by your reader and stored and interpreted by your payments software, you can gain invaluable insights into the overall functioning of your business. With just a few clicks, it is possible to create reports that reflect sales by date, location, and staff member; what products are most popular; the busiest and slowest times of the day, week, and month; your most and least productive workers; your profits and losses this year compared to last year or the one before. You get the idea. The sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to the data your the right payments software can crunch.

Once you have access to numbers and names that are laid out in a way that you and your staff can understand, it will be much easier to scope out your future plans for your business. Should you expand or scale back, hire another worker or lay one-off? Exploring the intricacies these reports reveal will truly let you see into the inner workings of your business so you can safely move forward.

Your mobile card reader might seem like nothing more than a piece of plastic that connects to your smartphone or tablet. However, it actually is a key that works seamlessly with your entire POS system to unlock the potential in your retail operation. If you are not already taking full advantage of these mobile tools, talk to your merchant services company today!