5 Tips for Increasing Customer Satisfaction with Your POS System

Point-of-sale (POS) systems have revolutionized the way small business owners track inventories and process customer payments, but there’s another way these platforms can improve the bottom line. When properly utilized, these systems can also serve as effective marketing tools. The following are five tips for increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty by maximizing the effectiveness of your POS system.

1. Provide a memorable purchasing experience

As customers more frequently turn to online shopping, it becomes even more important to ensure their in-store experiences are memorable for all the right reasons. When a customer steps into your business, you have a unique opportunity to engage them with personalized, friendly assistance they can’t get when shopping online. Your POS system can help.

A properly utilized point-of-sale system can provide valuable personal data about your customers. Train your sales staff or cashiers to quickly access this info in order to target an individual customer’s interests. Learn what they like and then make sure their shopping experience fits that profile. This information can also be used to implement loyalty programs that reward your best customers at the point of sale.

2. Send targeted promotions and messages

By tracking important customer data, your POS system also allows you to target customers with promotions that are meaningful to them. That doesn’t mean compiling contact information in order to blast them with spam emails or multiple promotions every day. Instead, use relevant data to deliver promotions that provide concrete, actionable benefits. Your customers will come to recognize and appreciate marketing that saves them money and time. That’s how you build trust and earn repeat business.

Cross-selling and upselling are two key methods for simultaneously boosting revenue and customer service. The right POS system makes it easier for your sales staff to do both by providing important information right at their fingertips. When a customer is considering a specific item, your POS system can suggest complementary purchases, or higher-end options that might better fit their needs. Having instant access to this information will improve your sales staff’s results and keep your customers happy at the same time.

3. Keep the lines of communication open

Open, effective communication can go a long way toward keeping your customers happy and earning their trust. The inverse is true as well. When a customer can’t find the information they need, they’re likely to take their business elsewhere.

Fortunately, a quality POS system can help business owners make sure their customers have up-to-date and accurate information about the products and services they’re looking for. Real-time inventory allows your cashiers to answer customer questions quickly and accurately, telling them exactly which merchandise is available, or when it will be in stock.

In addition, your POS system allows you to alert customers about upcoming sales or new inventory that are meaningful to them. As with any of your marketing communications, the key is to target customers with specific information instead of blasting them with scattershot emails that may not be of interest.

4. Interact with mobile devices

We all rely on mobile devices to make our lives easier, and of course this includes shopping. By utilizing mobile POS units, you can help your sales staff increase sales, while improving your customers’ in-store experience at the same time.

Mobile POS units allow your employees to instantly access information about inventories, current promotions, or even a customer’s data and transaction history, right from the sales floor. These systems empower your staff to quickly answer questions and provide relevant suggestions that can enhance the customer’s shopping experience. At the same time, they can input real-time updates to the customer’s profile which will help you cater to their individual preferences and provide them with more targeted communications in the future.

5. Speed up the checkout experience

A point-of-sale system can speed up the process of returning or exchanging items, looking up inventory, or completing purchases. A consistently quick and efficient checkout experience will resonate with your customers and keep them coming back.

Today’s customers are more likely to frequent your business when they know they can conduct their business quickly. With an intuitive, easy-to-use POS system, you will be able to process transactions more efficiently and with fewer errors, allowing your customers to avoid long lines and wait times. Don’t underestimate the importance of a speedy checkout experience in building customer loyalty.

Getting the most out of your POS system

An effective POS system can go a long way toward improving sales and increasing customer loyalty. To learn more about increasing customer satisfaction with your POS system, contact PlainsCapital Bank’s Merchant Services team at merchantservices@plainscapital.com.