The point of sale is the most logical place to communicate with customers about their buying habits and who they are or what they want from your store. Unfortunately, not all retailers are using that time to collect information on their customers. Here are 4 deadly point of sale mistakes retailers make (and how to avoid them):
- Not capturing personal information – The best way to ensure that customers return to your store is to send them invitations, coupons, brochures, and special promotion notices. You can’t do that if you don’t have their name and mailing address, or email address. Use your customer interaction time at the point of sale to collect that information and verify it. But don’t annoy the customer in doing so.
- Not having an opt-out plan – You don’t have to collect information on every single customer that walks in your door. It would be nice if they all agreed with a smile to your information collection practices, but some people guard their private information. You should respect that. If you do collect information on your customers at the point of sale, have a way for customers to opt out of the process. Some POS systems simply don’t do that and the customer is locked into giving you their information whether they want to or not. You run the risk of the customer walking out of your store and never returning if you don’t have an opt-out policy.
- Not using the information – If you collect it, you should use it. Decide whether you can afford to send out notices once a month, twice a month, once a quarter, or whatever. The number one key to ensuring customers return is staying in contact with them when they’re not in your store. Just don’t overdo it.
- Not customizing the marketing – As you collect information your customers, narrow down product preferences. Does your customer like Brand X over Brand Y? Note that. Do they always buy in certain sizes? Pay attention to that. Have you noticed that some customers never consider buying specific products, brands, sizes, or colors? These are the things you can note on your CRM and then use that information to customize your marketing.
Are you using your point of sale solution effectively? Why not?
