How to cultivate long-term, personalized relationships with your customers in one simple step.

No matter how dedicated you are, it is virtually impossible to get to know every one of your customers on a personal level in the same way that you would cultivate a friendship or a romantic relationship. Yet that perceptive knowledge and insight into their needs and wants as consumers are exactly what your buyers have come to expect from you. Fortunately, there is one decision you can make that will revolutionize and personalize your buyer-seller interactions.

Meet your new virtual business partner.

What is this magical element that will enable you to best use customer data to your benefit? It’s a modern point of sale (POS) solution. In addition to being your electronic payment processor that communicates with your merchant provider as well as the other players involved in transactions, today’s POS systems are jam-packed with a suite of features that will take every other facet of your operations to the next level. That includes employee and inventory management, sales forecasting, report generation, and, most important for our purposes, customer relationships management.

How does what appears to be nothing more than a credit card terminal and attached or mobile readers accomplish all of these tasks? Every detail is tied into the information that can be obtained when the buyer is making a purchase. After some initial setup involving establishing a customer database and cataloging your products, your system is equipped with all it takes to cultivate, store, and interpret data on demand.

Creating a superior personalized buying journey for your customers.

While your POS system likely has the raw potential to make that sought-after personalized relationship possible, it won’t happen on its own. After all, you are at the helm of your business, and as such you have the power to guide the process in the best way to suit your needs and brand requirements. But here are some tried-and-true suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.

Make the sale the starting point.

Traditionally, retailers thought that their relationship with a buyer pretty much came to an end once payment had been submitted. However, you should think of cashing out as just the start of an ongoing dialogue and rapport.

To that end, train your staff to engage customers by commenting on their purchases, making friendly conversation, and encouraging them to stay in touch. This is a great time to let them know about your newsletter, returning customer discounts, and special offers. Once they sign up, you have gained access to their vital contact details that can then go straight into your POS solution’s database.

Gain feedback by using QR codes.

Invented in 1994, the quick response (QR) code is a barcode that can be scanned by devices such as smartphones. QR codes store data in pixel form in a square-shaped grid. Often used to track products, they have also become effective marketing tools that you can leverage to enhance the customer experience. They can store phone numbers, URLs to websites or applications, and up to 4,000 characters of text.

Using a modern POS system, you can print a QR code onto customer receipts that they can then use to send feedback, fill out a survey, redeem a coupon, view a product, or ask questions about merchandise. You will be amazed at how powerful and effective these barcodes can be in building relationships and encouraging customers to make return visits to your store or website.

Keep the dialogue flowing with follow-up.

When your customer makes that positive step of filling out a survey or otherwise providing reviews or feedback, it’s time to take advantage of the contact information stored in your POS system to reciprocate. Whether you do so by rewarding a glowing testimonial with a coupon code or free product, or addressing criticism with direct corrective action, you will be letting that person know that you are listening and that you care about enhancing their particular shopping journey with your company.

Are you ready to put a contemporary point of sales solution to work for your business and your customers? If you don’t already have a modern POS, contact your payment processor right away. You’ll be glad you did!