It’s reassuring to think that we’ve got past the ‘training wheels’ stage of sales businesses adopting technology. For the most part, even the most resolutely brick-and-mortar stores are now confidently using some basic technology. Like a POS system that doesn’t strongly resemble the Engima machine.
Gone are the days when the big chain stores panicked and started handing out expensive tablets to their staff without any formal training or a functional internet connection. “We have other engagement rings available in this range that we don’t currently have in-store but — hang on — let me just click here — just a second — oh no, why is it crashing? — but you can order them — Cassie, can you make these tablets work?”
So what technology does a modern business need to make it competitive? How do you use technology to improve customer experience and staff morale at the same time? Below we’ll review a few updates you should probably make to your business.
1. High-Quality POS System
Fun fact: it’s called a POS system because you use it at the Point of Sale. The moment when you either make money or you don’t. We stopped calling it a ‘till’ because too many businesses were underestimating the importance of this piece of technology.
Okay, there are a few other technical differences, but the fact is that without a high-quality POS system, you risk losing huge sums in missed opportunities. Whether you’re a nightclub in New York or a designer boutique in Dubai, prompts to upsell are as crucial to your business’s success as effective software that doesn’t crash regularly or baffle your employees.
Customers experience one of two reactions upon watching an employee struggle with a POS system:
- I’m sorry, I’ve made you do something that is causing problems, I should leave as soon as possible
- You’re incompetent, you’re wasting my valuable time and I don’t know if I believe anything you’ve told me during my buying experience
Which customer do you think you encounter more in luxury sales environments? The point is that trouble at the POS system always makes customers want to be somewhere else. This means no more upselling and potential loss of sales that were all but guaranteed.
Get an intuitive, high-quality POS system for your business and ensure your employees know how to use it.
2. Tablet (and Wi-Fi!)
You can do incredible things for sales if you have a tablet to hand. A tablet is a whole extra room in your business, filled with things similar to the item that the customer almost wanted.
Unlike the early adopters, ensure that your staff is trained to use the tablet — we know, everyone has one these days. However, sales tablets often operate on slightly different software from the tablets your employees might have at home, and you need to take this into account.
Also, please make sure that your business has a strong Wi-Fi connection. There’s no room for cold spots in sales: imagine if you were in a restaurant and the waiter said “sorry, the menus take a long time to load in this corner.” Right. Thanks for giving me such a great table.
3. Workplace Gym
A bit left-field? Not at all. Staff morale is extremely important in driving sales; have you ever bought optional insurance from someone who didn’t care if you bought it or not? We thought not.
If your sales business is office-based, your employees are likely to spend most of their day making frustrating phone calls while sitting in an uncomfortable position. This can be stressful.
Give your staff the chance to blow off some steam and loosen up (punching bags are very cheap, incidentally). Even a few pieces of gym equipment in an isolated area of your work building can provide a great place for employees to get back on the level, and also to socialize.
Conclusion: What Does Technology Offer You?
The problem has always been that businesses invest in technology they don’t fully understand. They were unable to use it effectively as a result and blew a huge chunk of their budget on unnecessary extravagances.
Look for clear-cut benefits to your revenue when you buy technology for your sales business. Make the right choice and watch morale and profits soar.