How to make more intelligent business growth and inventory decisions.

Have you come to the conclusion that it’s time to expand your business so that you can forge ahead of your competitors and reach a whole new set of customers? What if we told you that there is one simple action you can take that could revolutionize your operations, amp up your marketing campaigns, and turn your inventory procedures into a well-oiled machine? Believe it or not, this can all be done by using a smart terminal to grow your business.

What is a smart terminal?

Not long ago, the ordinary “dumb” credit card reader was a one-trick pony. All it did was scan the contents of customers’ credit cards and forward the information on for processing. It performed the task well, but it definitely does not hold a candle to the “smart” terminals that grace stores these days. That’s because, in addition to reliably transacting standard credit card payments, the modern smart terminal is packed with additional features that can streamline your entire business.

Simply put, a smart terminal is a combination of hardware (card reader) and software (processing and business management tools). It can stand alone, but is most effective when it is linked with other systems in your operation.

How the smart terminal can take inventory tasks to the next level.

As a business owner, you know that one of your most important jobs is to manage your inventory effectively. That way, you can maintain the cash flow that is so important to small and mid-sized businesses. Unfortunately, this can be difficult if you are trying to do everything by hand using spreadsheets and scattered receipts.

With the aid of your smart terminal, you can leave those archaic methods behind and get an accurate grasp on exactly what you have in stock at any given moment. This is possible because you can use a barcode scanner to input each piece of merchandise as soon as it arrives and can track that item throughout its journey into your customer’s hands. Thanks to analytics, you can learn who bought it, which employee made the sale, how long it was on your shelves, and much more. Furthermore, you can keep running counts and have your smart terminal alert you when a particular product is getting critically low.

No business owner wants to disappoint a customer with the words: “That item is currently out of stock.” On the other hand, there isn’t an entrepreneur in the world who wants to be saddled with shelves filled with inventory that fails to sell. Nor does anyone want to shell out money making orders that do not accurately reflect what is actually appealing to customers. Fortunately, the inventory tracking and reporting features contained in your smart terminal can make nightmares like these things of the past.

How the smart terminal can help you expand your business’s reach.

In an era when every penny counts and competition is fiercer than ever, you need to go the extra mile to broaden the scope of your retail operation. Although there is no substitute for old-fashioned customer service, your smart terminal can augment it with additional capabilities.

Today’s buyers are looking for more than a simple sales transaction. They want to cultivate a long-term, personalized relationship with their favorite retailers. To that end, they harness powerful tools such as social media to connect with sellers, communicate their needs and wants, and express their opinions, both positive and negative.

Of course, you should not let a day go by without availing yourself of the many advantages that regularly updating your social media pages can have for your business. However, you can also enhance your presence with intel that comes straight out of the analytics features in your smart terminal.

This is possible because smart terminals and point of sale systems can help you track your stock automatically. Every time someone makes a purchase, it can be recorded and attributed to a specific customer. Over time, that person’s shopping history and demographic information can be combined with those of other buyers to form an entire sales mosaic for your business. The gold mine of details found in these reports from your smart payment device can be indispensable as you craft your next targeted marketing campaign designed specifically to appeal to your best and most loyal customers.

On the surface, a smart terminal may not look much different from the boring card readers that have taken up space on your checkout counters for the last few years. However, the real truth lies in the myriad of capabilities this innovative digital business partner contains. If you haven’t already looked into incorporating smart terminals into your business, there’s no time like the present. Once you do, the rewards will speak for themselves.