How to leverage data from your smart terminal for targeted marketing and promotions

No doubt, you are already well aware of the robust payment tools that lie within your smart terminal. With them, you can count on efficient, secure transactions using your customers’ payment methods of choice. 

With the right payment processing company, you can also be assured that the system is scalable to evolve as your business grows and changes. 

But did you also know that there is much more in your point of sale solution's bag of tricks, and what it can accomplish for your company and your customers?

Smart terminals defined.

A smart terminal is a hardware-software combination that enables you to accept payments. It also includes more advanced features, including customer relationships and employee management, inventory tools, integration with third-party software, and multi-functional report generation.

Your smart terminal is, at its foundations, designed to make the purchasing and payment processes secure and seamless. The system, a combination of hardware in the form of a terminal and a card reader, and the software that acts as the “brains” of the operation, makes it possible for customers to complete purchases using multiple payment methods. 

Meanwhile, merchants can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that all data that is stored or transmitted is shielded from hackers, with strong tokenization and encryption that masks the details and makes them unusable to non-authorized entities.

However, if you want to know how a smart terminal works in today’s advanced environment, you also need to understand its additional capabilities. 

At the heart of the system is its powerful database, which can be used to store everything from your product catalog, to valuable details about each customer and their buying behaviors. 

With the support of this information repository, your smart terminal can be your partner in starting a customer loyalty program, tracking your employees’ productivity, gauging inventory quantities, re-ordering intelligently, and generating clear reports that aggregate data that help you to gain illuminating insights into virtually every aspect of your operations.

Using your smart terminal as a marketing juggernaut.

Considering the depth and breadth of the tools packed into your smart terminal, it’s no wonder that it can be a powerhouse in helping you jump-start your sales and marketing campaigns. 

Use it to learn about your customers and reward them for their business, mount a targeted email campaign, and purchase the exact products that clients are demanding.

As we said above, the secret to your smart terminal’s versatility and power lies in its database function. Utilizing your barcode scanner peripheral, begin by registering each product in your catalog. This enables you to track every piece of merchandise and all the steps of its journey.

The same database capabilities are also essential as you gain insights into your customers. By incentivizing clients to provide you with details about themselves, you can begin to draw a picture of what products interest them, their buying behaviors, and even the trends they are following. 

Heed the lessons displayed in the comprehensive sales reporting made possible by your terminal, and you will be able to formulate a marketing campaign and inventory selection that are fully in line with what your best customers are demanding.

Of course, getting the word out to your customers about what you have to offer is vital. Once again, your smart terminal has you covered. 

Not only does it give you everything you need to initiate a terrific customer loyalty program, but it is also packed with tools that let you create targeted emails and send out newsletters and social media posts that will draw consumers to your brand and keep them coming back for more.

Gone are the days when a payment terminal was actually nothing more than a receiver and transmitter of customer funds and the relevant information associated with them. Today’s systems are full-fledged, multi-talented allies that can partner with you to take your marketing, sales, and customer relationships to great heights. 

If you don’t already have a smart terminal, talk to your payment processor today about adding one to your arsenal. You will be glad you did.