[WEBINAR] Marketing 2.0 for Retailers: Social, Local, Mobile (SoLoMo) in 2013

This webinar is now available through the One Step Retail webinars page.

In this action packed webinar, retailers will learn key steps to improve their presence and sales through social, local and mobile strategies to produce increased sales in 2013.

Find out how to maneuver the rapidly evolving shopping trends, establish a SoLoMo game plan and utilize existing resources to start your year off right.

February 5^th, 2013 (Tuesday)

11am – 12pm PST
LIVE WEBINAR IS NOW CLOSED 
#ExpandMyStore2013

 

SnapRetail’s Christian Kratsas, Social Media Manager
Take your online traffic and turn it into in-store traffic! Learn how to use Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to get customers to “like” you online and in person!

About SnapRetail: SnapRetail provides a web-based solution that makes it easy for local retailers to engage with customers through email, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. Unique product features such as an interactive planning calendar, monthly promotion kits and hundreds of pre-written and professionally designed templates and social media posts make SnapRetail the choice for thousands of retailers looking for a one-stop-shop for their marketing needs.

PocketYour Shop’s Brian Downard, CEO and Founder
Learn how consumers are shopping in and outside of stores, with a focus on the latest trends in mobile retail and how you can leverage those trends to benefit your business.

About Pocket Your Shop: Pocket Your Shop provides mobile strategy, design, development and management for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

King Retail Solution's Andrew Swedenborg, Executive VP

Learn steps every retailer can take to maximize your retail space, with a focus on maximizing your real estate to grow your customer base and increase your sales.

About King Retail: King Retail’s award-winning environments leave your consumer feeling great about their experience in-store and looking forward to their next shopping trip. As builders, King Retail knows every step and every detail that it takes to realize a design with integrity.

RMSA’s David Downard, Retail Consultant
Find out how to utilize your existing tools and goal setting to manage your store and improve your customer’s experience for increased sales in 2013.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else,” Laurence J. Peter

About Dave Downard: Dave has over 25 years experience working with retailers to analyze and improve store performance, helping hundreds of retailers achieve their business goals.


Registration link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/678248982


Hosted by One Step Retail Solutions, One Step Retail Solutions has helped thousands of retailers nationwide achieve their retail goals through top of the line retail technology. With a consultative and personal approach, One Step is a top resource for 5 of the top point of sale / retail management systems available on the market. Having been in business for over 27 years we have evolved relationships with specialists industry-wide and strive to bring educational resources to our retailers and other retail friends.

We hope that this webinar will help you to start your year off right and achieve your 2013 goals!


SoLoMo image source: socialmediatoday.com

Happy Holidays from One Step Retail Solutions!

One Step Reels in Their Newest Retail Pro Client: The Fly Shop

We are proud to welcome The Grizzly Hackle Shop, The Fly Shop and Targus Fly to the One Step Family! As the North Wests premier fly and outfitter resource, their presence through their on-line stores and resource guides have been gradually expanding their reach beyond the great North West.

If you are ever looking to take a fly fishing adventure, take a trip to one of their several stores or through their helpful websites to find all of your supplies and gear.

“We fish for a living and have fun for a living” - Wayne

Sounds like a great life!

 

Experience LA Without Even Leaving the Airport

We are excited for our clients that are poised to take part in the much anticipated Tom Bradley International Terminal opening Spring of 2013 in LAX. While high-end airport shopping is not a new concept, Westfield has teamed up with Mayor Villaraigosa to bring several dozen Los Angeles favorites to this new terminal. Angelinos have been waiting for the day LAX would get a face-lift and our dreams are at least partially coming true.

The participating dining and retail locations were carefully curated and appear to bring together some of the best in LA, everything from Kitson to Umami and LAMill will give a passer through or arriving tourist an immediate taste (pun intended) of the LA scene.

La Mer, Smashbox, Fred Segal, Kitson, Umami and LAMill all within a 25,000-square-foot space? When can I book my next international flight out of LAX?!

For more information and concept images, click here.

Routes to Finding Funds for a New Retail Store [Guest Article]

Getting a business off the ground isn’t easy. Whether you want to own a boutique or are looking to run a brand new designer retail store, finding the right funding is a necessity. Starting a new business is expensive and in order to get your retail store up and running, you’ll need enough in the bank to start and stay in business.  While this is a process that requires many considerations, here are 3 of the routes you can take to find capital for your new retail store.


Credit Cards
While it is important for small business to accept credit cards, having a credit card for your business is one way to fund necessary expenses. Using a credit card can be risky if you don’t anticipate being able to pay off your balances in the near future, e.g. 90 days. A business credit card is how some small businesses have been able to fund operations and choosing the right card is important. Make sure you look for a business credit card with permanent rates that are low and an introductory rate that is even less. To keep the credit card debt you will acquire until you are able to pay it all off, be frugal and buy only what you need.


Bank Loans
There are a few different places new businesses can look for a business loan. Acquiring a loan can be a bit of a challenge, however, if your credit score is low. You’ll also need a well-put-together business plan to present to financial lenders that incorporates financial predictions to demonstrate you’ll be able to make your loan repayments. The SBA (Small Business Administration) backs loans – from the 7(a) Loan to Microloan programs – that are open to any small business, but there are a number of qualifications. In recent times, small banks are more likely to take chances on small businesses such as a new retail store.

Personal Investment
Some startups and new businesses are able to fund a new business on their own, from life savings or other means. If you can’t, turning to friends and family is an option. When you turn to your loved ones for financial backing, you’re risking your future success and their financial future. Make sure you have a business plan in place with financial projections and are able to have a contract in place. Letting those who support your new retail store ventures should be made aware of when they will receive their money again, though it could be lost, and have a clear understanding of what their financial contribution’s status is as a loan or if you’ll offer equity.
Taking these steps can help you avoid miscommunications down the road.

One of the most important things when finding funds for your retail store is making sure you estimate correctly so you don’t end up with less capital than you need or too much that results in greater debt. While it is often difficult for new business owners to get a business loan, plan out your business’s estimated startup costs, financial projections and crunch some number. Make sure you are ready to present your business plan to lenders and investors, no matter whether they are a family member or major banking institution.

 

Author Bio: Erica Bell is a small business writer who focuses on topics such as comparing small business loans and small business credit card offers. She is a web content writer for Business.com. Find them on Facebook!

3 Tips for Implementing Loyalty Programs This Holiday Season [Guest Blog]

According to Inc., 65% of marketers have implemented a loyalty program, and for good reason. Current customers spend, on average, 67% more than customers who are buying from your business for the first time. And acquiring those new customers costs 5 to 10 times more than selling to a current customer.

It’s quite clear just how valuable your loyal returning customers are to your business now, and in the future. While direct mailing tactics or a seasonal email campaign can keep your current customers interested, a loyalty program is the most strategic way to keep them interested and spending long after the holidays are gone.

Determine Your Customers’ Needs

The first step in creating a loyalty program is determining what your customers need. These needs may vary depending on the time of year; for example, the holiday rush is a lot more stressful and time-consuming than it is to shop for March birthdays. Figure out what your customers need from your company to get them through the holidays in one piece.

·         Be sure you’ve researched and developed an in-depth customer profile for your company. Are your customers young adults, middle-aged moms, or retirees? Each group will have different needs from a rewards program, so know which one you’re working with.

·         Know how your customers use your product or service, and then determine how you can add value to what your customer is buying. Holiday retail rewards could include free gift wrapping, free shipping, or extended terms on product returns.

·         In “The Loyalty Effect,” Fred Reichheld claims that a 5% increase in customer retention can result in a 25 to 100% increase in profitability.

Offer Actual Value

In order to turn new customers into returning customers through a loyalty program, you need to offer them something with actual value. A points system that creates unattainable goals or a promotional game they have no chance of winning will frustrate your customers and can cause them to drop out of your program, which could then potentially drive them away.

·         If you offer a points-based program, keep it simple: allow customers to earn a free item for every $50 spent, or give them $10 off for every $100 spent. For a holiday promotion to bring in more sales, consider doubling your rewards until the end of the holidays.

·         If your products tend to be purchased less frequently, or your services aren’t conducive to a points-based system, you can implement a tiered system instead that increases rewards over time or with more purchases. Offer each tier special holiday rewards, move lower-tier customers up a level for the holidays, or give new program participants a special gift for joining during the season.

·         No matter what kind of loyalty program structure you choose, it needs to provide customers with attainable, valuable rewards that they can redeem quickly and frequently.

Partner Up

There is a limit to how many rewards and discounts you can offer your customers on your own. Collaborating with another company can enable you to offer additional rewards beyond the scope of your own business and capitalize on the holiday shopping season.

·         Coalition programs are strategic partnerships formed to increase customer retention and company both for all partners involved. The coalition can last for the length of the holiday season, or become a permanent partnership.

·         If you understand your customer’s needs, you can find other companies that serve your customer and would be valuable partners in a coalition program.

Customer loyalty programs increase customer happiness and retention by offering them rewards and extra services they can use during the holidays. Whether you offer a coalition program, a points system, or a tiered rewards structure, make sure that it adds value to your customer relationships during the holidays and all year long.

Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for ResourceNation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as business sales. Follow Resource Nation on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Teamwork Retail Feature in POS News Blog

 

See full article HERE

For more information on Teamwork Retail

Retail Metrics Webinar Series are Now Available – Free Download

Retail Metrics, our wildly successful 6 part webinar series are now available to download for free. You will have consistent access to these educational webinars designed for the everyday retailer, both large and single-store.

View this series of 6 educational webinars for free CLICK HERE.

Retail Metrics is presented by One Step Retail Solutions and Dan Jablons from Retail Smart Guys and covers many key topics, including: 

• Not enough cash to pay your bills?
• Too much inventory?
• Not enough of the right inventory? 
• Excessive markdowns ruining your bottom line?
• Not sure if you’re doing the right thing with your business?

One Step Retail Featured on APG Cash Drawer Blog!

 

To view full article, visit the APG Cash Drawer Blog

Missing Facebook Posts in Your Feed

Spread the word, if you want to be able to see updates from your favorite brands, companies AND friends you need to make sure you have subscribed to them. Facebook is increasingly focusing on paid ads and algorithms to make it so that posts will show up in your feeds.

You will also note a friends or company starting to pop up in your feed IF you have visited their page recently or interacted with them. To keep these posts showing up, be sure to subscribe.

How to subscribe: When on a fan page or friends page, click the LIKE BUTTON (top right just under the cover photo) as usual and then a drop down will show up.. click "Get Notifications". You will need to click the "friends button" and "Get Notifications". It looks like this setting applies for when you are in a personal accounts and not a company pages.

Visit our Facebook page and be sure to subsribe!

Save on Your Next Point of Sale

Don't let the TAXMAN take all of your profits from Black Friday!

3 REASONS TO BUY A NEW POS SYSTEM BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR:

1. Tax write off! (talk to your tax accountant for specifics)
   Purchase before end of year and your tax savings could pay for your implementation or your first year's lease payments.
2. Get an early jump on the competition with Mobile POS on an iPad, iPod or iPhone, Enhanced Reporting, Marketing Plans and ways to better service your customers in 2013.
3. And... We have End of Year Discounts!

Technology doesn't have the kind of margins that retailers enjoy on apparel, jewelry or furniture. So, when One Step has a 10% Off Offer, it's a BIG DEAL and it only happens ONCE A YEAR.

Make the purchase by:

November 30th, 2012 - SAVE 12%*
December 14th, 2012 - SAVE 10%*
Decmber 21st, 2012 - SAVE 8%*
December 28th, 2012 - SAVE 5%*




Act now and save. If you are not sure which POS Solution is best for you, no problem, follow the link below for a courtesy consultation or call us toll free at (800) 266-1328

 

 

*We are not tax attorneys or advisors. You should consult your own tax attorney regarding the tax consequences of a specific purchase. Discounts expire per dates listed above. For new customers only. Discounts on select software products. Must take delivery and pay in full by 2/28/2013. Hardware discounts up to 5%. SaaS POS systems discounts apply to the first 12 months after purchase. Cannot be combined with any other offers.

We Hope You Had a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving from our One Step Retail Solutions family to yours!!

A Point of Sale's Value is in the Using [GUEST BLOG]

By Evan Wise
Managing Director- Management One®

Point-of-Sale (POS) systems are a valuable tool and a necessity for running a retail store today.  YOU CAN'T WIN THE GAME IF YOU CAN'T KEEP SCORE! ALTHOUGH RETAILERS SHOP FOR A SYSTEM WITH THE MOST BELLS AND WHISTLES AND NEAT FEATURES,  many have not progressed  beyond printing price tags and ringing up customer purchases.

Customer tracking
While all POS systems have the ability to track basic customer information like Name, Address, Phone Number and Email address, most systems have the ability to track customer types (Surf, Skate, Snow, Bike), birthday, anniversary, etc.

Use your POS system to  track your customers buying habits.  Your customer's purchases will give you a wealth of information from which to do selective marketing.  Here are some examples:

·         Reward your best customers by sending a thank you gift card or certificate. Invite customers that haven't made a purchase in the past 12 months back to your store
·        Send a  Birthday card with a special offer or incentive.
·        Specific merchandising  to customers that bought a specific item, vendor, style, color or size  There are many creative variations of ways to use POS information  to enhance sales,  loyalty and rewards programs.

Merchandising Analysis
Your POS system  gathers data that feeds a merchandise planning system which is the foundation for your assortment planning.  Use your POS system  to identify groups of like merchandise (Departments, Classes or Subclasses) and drill down from there.  Develop or find the reports that will provide that information:
·         Sales and Inventory Report to evaluate your sales, markdowns and inventory levels.
·         Best Sellers/Worst Sellers Reports to find items that need to be replenished (Best Sellers) or to identify items to promote or markdown (Worst Sellers).  It is best to make these decisions based on gross margin dollars or sell through percent.   Unit sales can be distorted as a best seller is not something that was sold through markdowns.
·         Vendor Analysis Report to find  the vendors that performed the best within a group of vendors within a department, class or subclass.
·         Vendor Performance Report (shipment) report to help identify vendors that ship the highest percentage of what you order.  Size Analysis Report could be a helpful report to compare the sizes you sell to the sizes that are remaining in your inventory.
·         Many other reports will help make the right decisions for your business!

Success means knowing the right amount to buy in each classification.  That is called open-to-buy (OTB) planning and depends on accurate sales forecasting in each category. Many POS systems offer an option to develop OTB plans. A caveat is that these systems are very simplistic in their ability to forecast sales accurately and therefore the OTB plans can be way off.  An OTB planning professional can develop more accurate forecasts and OTB plans to assure you not only get the right goods, but that you get the right amounts (correct stock to sales ratio for each classification each month)  and flow them into the store at the right times. That assures fewer stockouts, lower markdowns and the availability of cash to pay the bills when they come due.

Store Management
Most POS systems offer analytical reports to help you fine-tune the operational functions of your store including tender types, salesperson productivity and sales by day and/or hour.
·         compare actual store deposits to recorded tender transactions to help you identify losses, theft or bank errors.
·         Salesperson Report would help identify your best salesperson by amount sold, number of items sold and even number of transactions.  Use this to track sales performance against the goal set for each salesperson each month.  When you measure results you improve results.
·         Time Period Reports could help identify the best days and times during the day for store activity.  A great report for planning days off and break times as well as scheduling sales staff.

Your POS system is a great data collection vehicle, and if used properly can be used to lead you to develop information that can impact the actions you take when running  your business.  But remember, it is only a machine that relies on human interaction.  Maintaining accurate information is paramount and that only happens when the input is accurate.

Your POS system is the start of success.  If you drop the ball before the goal line you won’t score.

 

 

 

For more information on point of sale systems and to receive a free consultation CLICK HERE

Management One® specializes in independent business success by showing any company how to get a better return on their investments in inventory and people. For more information, CLICK HERE

 

One Step Retail Solutions is ranked as one of the top resellers and service providers for some of the most comprehensive and state of the art retail POS software solutions in the industry. For a free retail technology consultation, click HERE.

iPad Mini Point of Sale

With the holidays coming up, consumers are aflutter with the recent launch of Apple's newest brainchild, the iPad Mini. Strategically designed to fit in one hand and affordable to a new range of consumers.

While the buzz may be varied, one thing is certain, the iPad Mini is at a lower price point and has all of the features and design points consumers are looking for in a traditional iPad. This opens up the Apple fan-favorite to a whole new range of customers and fits the niche of users that want a smaller tablet.

A popular uses for the iPad has been for mobile point of sale, the iPad Mini has been tested as a new option for retailers looking to incorporate iPad POS into their store. iPad Mini will run Teamwork Retail smoothly and effectively in a retail space.

If you are looking to incorporate iPad POS or the iPad Mini into your retail store contact us for a free consultation to determine the best software to fit your need OR call 800-266-1328.

iPAD costs, available through Apple on-line or retail locations world-wide

Choosing a Cash Drawer for Your Retail Environment - Breaking Down the Different Options [Guest Blog]

Choosing the right type of cash drawer for your retail environment is an important decision with implications for your business's success.

There are many choices and decisions to make even for something seemingly simple like a cash drawer. If your business has high traffic you will need a cash drawer that's durable and dependable to keep up with the heavy use. You don't want to invest in new cash drawers or hardware, only to find they need to be replaced after a few thousand transactions.

Check out the common components of a cash drawer below to help determine what type of cash drawer is best for your business:

Cycle life: Cycle life is the main factor in determining whether a drawer falls under the heavy duty or standard duty category. One cycle = a drawer opening and closing once (one transaction).
A heavy duty cash drawer will last longer and will require little or no maintenance.  A typical life expectancy of a heavy duty drawer is 4 million cycles while a standard duty drawer will last 1 million cycles.
Suspension System: The suspension system in a cash drawer allows it to open and close. Many heavy duty drawers have industrial grade steel slides which include large ball bearings running in a heavy gauge track for smooth, consistent, and quiet operation. Standard duty drawers are built with a roller wheel suspension. Roller wheels are made from plastic and are not as durable. Some roller wheels actually have ball bearings in them making them more durable than most standard duty drawers.
Latch: A latch is what keeps the cash drawer closed. The type of latch used in a drawer often affects the cycle life. Choosing the right materials along with a robust design will determine the life of the drawer. Unfortunately, just looking at the latch may not tell you if it will last or not.

Why choose a heavy duty cash drawer?
If you'll be using your cash drawer in a high traffic environment, you should consider a heavy duty cash drawer. High traffic is usually characterized by constant use of your cash drawer or by periods of extremely heavy use.
Heavy duty drawers are found in fast food, grocery, hospitality, and convenience stores. The following characteristics of an APG Heavy Duty Cash Drawer were implemented to meet the needs of your high traffic environment, bringing you peace of mind at a low cost of ownership.

• Industrial-grade steel ball bearing slides for maximum dependability.
• Fatigue resistant latching/opening system.
• Durable mechanical and electrical components tested to last four million operations.
• Two-year to lifetime product warranty depending on the product chosen.

Why Choose a Standard Duty Cash Drawer?
If you'll be using your cash drawer in a light to medium traffic environment, you can consider a standard duty cash drawer. Low to medium traffic is characterized by low or infrequent use of your cash drawer. Standard duty drawers are found in environments such as mall kiosks, farmer’s markets, craft shows, and specialty shops. The following characteristics of an APG Standard Duty Cash Drawer were implemented to meet the needs of your low traffic environment, bringing you a reliable drawer when low cost is your priority.

• Reliable, roller wheel suspension, adequate for low cash drawer use.
• Electronic components tested to last over one million cycles.
• Manual components to last 300,000 cycles.
• Two-year product warranty.­

After you select the level of drawer durability, you can move forwarded to more straight forward options such as color, size, and interface, etc. Below are a series of other questions you might want to ask yourself.

· How the drawer will be opened (from the printer, serial, USB, or Ethernet?).

· What does your software require to open the drawer?

· How much room is available for the POS equipment at the checkout counter?

· How will the flow of customers and product relate to the location of the drawer?

· Should the drawer be mounted under the counter?

· Will the drawer need to have all of the other POS devices located on top of it?

· Should the cables be hidden from view?

 

Hopefully these questions will help you narrow down what drawer will match your retail environment. Knowing the operational expectations will help determine what type of cash drawer is right for your business. Whether you need one cash drawer for infrequent use or several cash drawers that will be used continuously, there is a product solution to meet your needs.

 

Breanna Brown
Marketing Coordinator
APG Cash Drawer, LLC
www.cashdrawer.com

One Step Retail Solutions is ranked as one of the top resellers and service providers for some of the most comprehensive and state of the art retail POS software solutions in the industry. For a free retail technology consultation, click HERE.

iPAD POS Fits this Retailers Environment Perfectly!

For more information on iPad POS, click HERE

Pinterest for Retailers: Text for Pinned Images

Did you know that you can actually predetermine the text that will auto populate in your Pin from a website or blog? Simply highlight the text you wish to appear within the page you are pinning from, pin the image and viola! This works when you are pinning from an outside website, not rePinning.

See image below with our company website being pinned from. I selected our logo (just for this demo) and text, which you can see highlighted on the website itself. The Pinterest window then pops up and you can now see the text included.

NOTE: Hash tags (#) apply in the Pinterest environment. Add a hash tag before key words (no spaces) to increase it's searchability.

 

 

For more information on using Pinterest check out our blog How to Get Sales Through Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

One Step Retail Solutions is ranked as one of the top resellers and service providers for some of the most comprehensive and state of the art retail POS software solutions in the industry. For a free retail technology consultation, click HERE.

Retailers: Emergency Preparedness

About.com retail writer, Barbara Farfan listed some informed statistics in her most recent article regarding Hurricane Sandy's. The article lays how some retailers were affected and includes some projections for the coming months.  
 
One of her statements include:
"Too many - The number of retailers that will use Hurricane Sandy as an excuse for diminished performance in the last quarter of the 2012 calendar year rather than take responsibility for their own retail execution that actually created the results"
 
Thousands of retailers are dealing with destroyed inventory, damaged property and store fronts, slowed supply chain and a good chunk of the East Coast is recovering from the shift in focus from consuming goods to sheer survival...
 

A majority of the world is at least somewhat prone to their own brand of natural catastrophe. From hurricane to earthquake and from tornado to snow storm, modern technology can only do so much to warn of coming threats.

 

What are some of the things a retailer can do to minimize the damage of natural catastrophes? You know many of these things but in the end it always comes down to common sense.

1) Follow the creed of a boyscout and ALWAYS BE PREPARED
 
2) Have an emergency plan. Emergency plans can and should include a robbery or attack protocol. Drill this plan with your staff every so often. Keep that plan simple and logical.
 

3) Create an emergency fund for replacing goods, repairing damage and to cover lost profits.

 

4) Insurance, do have proper insurance for your property and goods. 

 

5) Establish an effective way to keep customers and friends up-to-date on what is going on.
Ensure you have created personal connections to your store. Examples include having an active blog, newsletter and/or social media sites. If you then need to notify them of a late shipment or delay in service due to a natural catastrophe it will be received more compassionately.  



 

Additional resources:

NRF Loss Prevention and Disaster Preparedness (National Retail Federation)
Emergency supply list for a retailers
OSHA evacuation plans and procedures

NRF Active shooter Guidelines (National Retail Federation)

 

In closing, there are no cities that are exempt from natural catastrophes. Being appropriately prepared is the best safeguard for your business.
What have you done to protect your business against catastrophe?

 

 

One Step Retail Solutions is ranked as one of the top resellers and service providers for some of the most comprehensive and state of the art retail POS software solutions in the industry. For a free retail technology consultation, click HERE.  


  

Happy Halloween from our LA Office!!

 

Have a SPOOKtacular Halloween!!

 

Your Friends at One Step Retail Solutions