Data is the most valuable asset in the world
You can be busy every single day, ringing in solid sales on a consistent basis. If you can’t show clean customer data, potential buyers will quickly lose interest. They usually pay less and sometimes they completely walk from the deal, according to Harvard Business Review.
The hard lesson from jeweler
A jeweler was in business for 20 years and decided they want to sell the business. The cases were full of product and the showed decent sales. However, any time they performed a repair or put items on layaway, they used paper slips. This resulted in no clean list of names, no emails, no phone numbers, and no customer history. Rather than seeing it as a business, buyers saw it as a showcase and passed.
Why buyers care so much about data
- It shows proof of repeat revenue
- Banks like to see predictable cash flow
- Advisors want reports they can trust
Comprehensive customer data from a POS lowers risk for buyers and banks, which means stronger offers.
The data your POS should capture every day
Customer profile at checkout
Train your team to ask customers for name, email, mobile number, and consent for email and text. Offer a small bonus for customers who join your list.
Purchase history by customer
Attach a customer profile to every sale, service, or order with no exceptions.
Loyalty and gift cards
Run a loyalty program within your POS that rewards your customers. Keep gift card records inside your POS and make sure balances transfer in a sale.
Notes and preferences
Notate your customers’ sizes, favorites, wish lists, etc. These details allow you to improve customer experience and create repeat visits.
The reports that defend your price
- Sales by customer for the last 2 years
- Sales by category and item
- Top 20 customers and total spend
- Repeat visit rate and average order value
- Active loyalty members
- Gift card liability and unredeemed balances
- Email and text consent status
These reports will immediately answer most questions that a buyer will have.
Move from paper to POS in 3 steps
Step 1. Choose the right POS
No matter what kind of business you have, be sure to choose a POS with features like customer profiles, loyalty, gift cards, and simple email and texting capabilities. If you need restaurant features, learn more about our restaurant POS. For contractors and service businesses, check out our commercial POS. If you run a retail store, learn more about our retail POS. A POS with these features prevents disorganized and vulnerable data, avoiding separate spreadsheets that live on one just one computer.
Step 2. Systematize the checkout
Create a short process and script that your staff can follow during every checkout. Make it a part of training and be sure they collect the same fields every time.
Step 3. Secure and back up
Set up automatic backups and periodically check to make sure they are running on schedule. Use job roles and permissions to limit access to customer data. A data breach can seriously hurt any deals and customer trust.
What to stop doing now
- Handwritten slips that never go into your system
- Generic transactions with no name attached
- Time clocks that can’t be exported or viewed from anywhere
- Staff skipping or forgetting the customer profile step
Make data capture easy for your staff
Keep the ask simple
Use a script along the lines of “Can I add your email and mobile so we can track your warranty and send repair updates?”
Give a clear reason to share
People are more likely to agree when the reason is clear. The reasons could be warranty tracking, repair alerts, early access to sales, or purchase history tracking.
Speed matters at checkout
Use barcodes for products and data fields. Use tap-to-pay for quicker, easier payments. Offer online invoices for repairs and deposits. Short lines mean less skipped profiles.
Ready to maximize your business’s value?
Book a demo with us today to see customer profiles, loyalty, gift cards, and reports in action. We offer Florida-based, 24/7 local support; plus 0% + $0.00 processing fees with next-day funding.
