How point of sale marketing and can boost your holiday sales.

It’s no secret that the window of time between late November and late December has the potential to represent a profits bonanza for most businesses. In addition to consulting analytics to determine what your customers want most and prepping your physical store and website to reflect the festive season, there is another absolutely essential step you can’t afford not to take. Maximize your chances of unparalleled profits and customer engagement that lasts well into the future by harnessing the power of your POS system.

A word about your POS solution.

No point of sale guide is complete without a cursory description of your point of sale (POS) system. The following are the primary components.

• Tablets or terminals where staff and customers have visual access to the details of the purchase.
• Card readers that either are wireless or that attach to the tablet or terminal and take in the customer’s payment data.
• Software that enables not only payment processing, but also acts as a hub to help you run your entire business more efficiently.
• Barcode scanners that assist you in entering and keeping track of information for each individual piece of merchandise you sell throughout its journey.
• Receipt printers.
• Cash drawers.

A modern POS has everything you need to securely take payments, manage your inventory and employees, create useful reports, and integrate with your other existing software to maximize the performance of your entire business operations.

Putting your POS to work during the upcoming season.

Mounting an effective marketing campaign well in advance of the target time period is an excellent strategy that will pave the way for your skyrocketing profits later this year. Integrate these holiday marketing tips to get you started.

• Streamline employee schedules. If you don’t have sufficient staff to take care of your customers on Black Friday or thereafter, your sales are sure to suffer. The good news is that your POS comes equipped with employment management tools that allow you to coordinate schedules, change shifts on the fly, and take advantage of historic data to learn when the busiest times will be. As a result, you will never be under- or over-staffed.
• Pique customer interest with POS-assisted email marketing campaigns. If you are not already taking advantage of your POS’s database capabilities, there is no time like the present to start. Input relevant details for your most loyal customers — with their permission, of course — and then harness that information when you want to spread the word about holiday promotions and discounts. Thanks to the powers of automation, you can create customized messages that go out to specific segments of your client base in just a few clicks.
• Start or build your existing loyalty program. Rewarding people for their regular business is a tried-and-true way to bring them back again and again. After all, who doesn’t like freebies and discounts? Your POS’s loyalty program tools draw information from that database we talked about before to help you launch a rewards program that will incentivize future purchases while simultaneously bringing your best buyers closer to your brand.
• Link with your website to make in-store purchases seamless. These days, it’s all about creating a fast, convenient, and trouble-free shopping experience. With the help of your POS, you can arrange to have orders shipped directly to a customer’s door. Alternatively, the system can help them to buy online and pick up the merchandise at your store, thus shortening your in-person check-out lines while simultaneously giving customers a chance to see and touch their purchase before they take it home.
• Create a shopping journey that flows effortlessly before, during and after the purchase. Your POS is perfectly positioned to provide a secure and fast payment experience, but that’s not all. Long after the product is in your customer’s hands, your POS can continue to play a vital holiday marketing role. That’s because the system keeps track of who made the purchase and what they bought and can add it into that individual’s existing shopping profile. That information is then at your disposal for future marketing campaigns that will enable you to provide personalized suggestions and enticements lasting long after the holidays have ended.

It can’t be said enough that your POS is the electronic hub and powerhouse that should be simplifying and revolutionizing all aspects of your retail operations. Test out its numerous tools during the busiest sales time of the year, and you will be able to translate those holiday sales into happy, life-long customers who love your brand and will be eager to come back next year.