You Can’t Sell Through A Closed Door

Posted on by ccsretail

If you’re arguing for short hours, you’re arguing for failure!

Early this year I wanted to reach a business that I had been told about. The problem? There never seemed to be anyone there when I called. Finally I drove to their location. This is what I found.

Welcome to [name deleted]

     Current Store Hours
  Monday                     closed
  Tuesday                    11:30 – 2
  Wednesday              closed
  Thursday                  11:30 – 2
  Friday                      11:30 – 5:30
  Saturday                  11:30 – 5:30   
  Sunday                    closed

        Gift Certificates
        available here !

Guess what, you cannot sell your products and services if you are not open for business! You don’t have to be an Einstein to know this store will not be competitive. Would you buy a gift certificate from them? (My personal question: why did my friend recommend them?)

Yes, this is an extreme example, but too many independent retailers keep lousy hours. Closed early in the evenings? Closed part of the weekend? How are people with jobs supposed to spend money at this store?

I know there are all types of excuses: "I stayed open late last week and no one came in". "I’m the only one who works in my store".

I also know that they’ll never get any more foot traffic – any extra money to hire employees – any customer loyalty if they’re closed when the customer wants to buy.

The Bottom Line: If you’re arguing for short hours, you’re arguing for failure!

Talk to you soon.  ~Norma

But That Isn’t What You Said!

Posted on by ccsretail

Put It In Writing

You had a meeting planned for this morning to go over procedures for the day with your staff. But you got a call that a delivery was delayed and then two clerks called in sick on this bright sunny day – not to mention what the dog did to your carefully planned out agenda notes.

So you hurriedly give your managers instructions on what you want accomplished while dialing the delivery company and racking your brain to figure out who can be called in on such short notice. You’ve already dealt with the dog.

By late afternoon when things have settled, you take a look around the store. Where are the new sales signs you told the staff to put out? Why hasn’t that slow moving inventory been moved from its prime location at the front of the store to make room for that "delayed delivery" that arrived at lunchtime?

"You didn’t tell us it was urgent". "We’ve been busy since only one replacement showed up". Clearly there has been a failure in communication.

Resolution? Put It In Writing.

You can ask, request, demand and command, but until you write down exactly what you want your people to do, there’s a good chance it won’t get done. Prioritize the days activities – what MUST be done, what HAS to be done (only slightly less urgent than MUST), what you WANT to get done. Post it in the employee break room or whatever private place the public doesn’t access. Require that each employee reads and understands the priorities and knows that they are responsible to help make them happen.

This doesn’t have to be heavy-handed (and it shouldn’t be). After all, good employees want to be proud of their work environment. And when everyone works together, it can and will be a team building experience. And you, Mr/Ms Owner, don’t forget the pat on the back to your employees for a job well done.

You’ll give the dog a treat when you get home tonight!

Talk to you soon.  ~Norma

Interfacing to other than CPONLINE

Posted on by ccsretail

Integrating Web Technology With CPSQL

If you have Counterpoint CP-SQL, and an E-commerce website, you can bring you orders from the web, into CP-SQL automatically, and then process them as you normally would.

The procedure to bring you orders down from the web, and into CP-SQL will, of course, vary with every setup.  This means that it may require custom work.  However, the time saved in the long run, and the elimination of possible errors from re-entering data, will pay for the customizations in short order.

We are just finishing up work for a customer to do just that.  Customers enter their orders on the companies web page.  These orders are then automatically brought into CP-SQL at scheduled times.  Once in CP-SQL, the orders are then processed the same as if they had been manually entered.  They are picked, verified, packed, and shipped.

This customer has chosen to pair this with Order Management, so they can process a large number of orders through CP-SQL in a short amount of time. 

You may also want to consider our CPOnline Software solution.  It is hosted by Radiant and fully integrated into CPSQL.  It contains a templating and source editing system to create your own designs rapidly.  It is easily added to your existing site to function as a shopping cart for you.

If you need help leveraging your CPSQL system with Website technology or desktop technology contact our technical services group.

Its Summer Time Again – Kinda

Posted on by ccsretail

Preventing A Computer Meltdown.

Well its Summer time again, or at least that’s what they are saying, so what does that mean?  Time to clean out your PC of dust bunnies. With the warmer temperatures, your computer will run a little warmer.  Dust can clog the fan and  ventilation flow,  this can amplify the impact of higher external temperature on the internal components.   Any electronic device has an operating temperature range.   If this is exceeded, what it does is undefined.   It just gets lost and hangs or crashes.

An example of what can happen reminds me of a support call I recently received.  The PC in question is used remotely, by a user not in the office.  The PC does not have a monitor attached to it.  The user tried logging into the PC and could not.  It was shutdown due to an overheating condition.  Unfortunately, the overheating was a little too much for this older PC.  We could save the CPU but not other parts of the motherboard..  Imagine if this were a Server. Not a pretty picture if you ask me.

This PC could have had a longer life if it was cleaned out of dust bunnies with compressed air at least once.  From what I was told, this was never done.  All it takes is about 10 minutes and a can of compressed air to help your PC last through summer no matter where you reside. Remember, do not use a vacuum it could suck up important pieces like jumper covers that you may never know existed.  Definitely do not use an air compressor.  The condensation that builds up could cause other electrical issues.

I remember an incident that another tech experienced with a customer who owned a factory.   The customer decided to save time on cleaning his server.   He took the case off and walked into the factory to use the air hose that cleans motors.  There was a loud air flow sound.  He came back pleased with himself and put the case back on.  When he hit the power button nothing happened.   He had blown several jumpers off on the factory floor.  We had no idea what was missing,, where they had landed, and how to add the jumpers back.   It was an old clone with limited documentation.   Don’t repeat that mistake at you premise.

If you need help cleaning your PC, give the CCS Retail Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email us for an appointment.

-Bryan

Securing your site

Posted on by ccsretail

Site Security

With all of the buzz lately on having a secure site for your business, you are aware that there are many areas of your computers and network that need to be checked.  Very likely, you do not know just how to go about checking them.

Since there are so many facets to this issue, from operating systems, to installed packages, to your routers and firewall, it is best to have someone that is trained in site security to do this for you.  The time that it would take to research all of your various components, then evaluate all of these to determine what to check, and finally locating all of the tools to test them, can be quite high.

It is more time and cost effective to have someone who already has the tools and the knowledge, to come in and evaluate your system, then perform the relevant tests.  The overall time and expense will be reduced, as will the probability that important checks will not be run.  This is one of the things that you are much better off having someone come in and perform for you, than trying to do it on your own.

This can become very critical if you use Credit Card Processors to authorize your payment transactions.   Recently the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) have been strictly enforced.  Some Retailers have been find 10’s of thousands of dollars for infarctions.   The Processors and Financial Institutions have used legal resources to try to recover their losses when criminals steal from their customers accounts.

At CCS Retail we have a formal site inspection program that can help your reduce your vulnerability and confirm your PCI-DSS compliance.   Contact your sales consultant for more information.

 

Check your report parameters

Posted on by ccsretail

Asking For Your Report Correctly.

If you run a report, or any another function, in your software, and the results are not what you expect, do not automatically assume that "it is not working".  Instead, check the specific parameters that were chosen.

For example, we have a customer who runs a report which recalculates the minimum and maximum figures for inventory.  Many times personnel at there stores complain that "it is not working" correctly.  In every case, upon checking specific item, or items, that they are questioning, the result has been that the parameters used caused the item in question to be excluded.  In the majority of the cases, one of there BIN locations has a value in it, and their report parameters specify that the BIN location must be empty.  So, the report did exactly what it was requested to do, and excluded that item.

There are cases where a piece of software is truly not working properly.  By checking that the parameters that you are using are not what is causing a problem, will greatly reduce your frustration level.

There are also cases, where a combination of parameters is the underlying reason that something is not working as expected.  This is not immediately obvious.  There have been times I have had to take a copy of the data, and add the parameters one at a time, to determine which is causing the unexpected results.  Then, evaluate the data to determine exactly what the combination is that gives the results found.

In summary, checking the obvious parameters and data will many times help you address what are perceived to be problems with your software, that are in fact your software doing what it was told to do.  If that does not clear things up, then of course pass it on to your support vendor, who has the tools to look inside the program and data to determine exactly what is causing the results you are getting.  Whether it is due to parameter selection and interaction, or is truly an error in the program can then be determined, and a satisfactory resolution can be obtained.

If you are struggling with a report, contact CCS Retail Systems Support.   We have lots of experience resolving these kinds of problems.

Frequent Email Marketing Mistakes

Posted on by ccsretail

Follow These Tips To Increase Your Email Marketing Success

Long and Boring Subject Line
 ~ Be short and concise (maximum length of 45 characters including spaces)
 ~ Ask yourself:
    – Does the subject line create urgency?
    – Does it correctly explain what’s in the email?
    – Does it tell the customer what’s in it for them?
 ~ Set expectations in the subject line and fulfill them in the body to increase click rates.

Unrecognizable From Address
 ~ Consumers look at the From line when deciding whether or not to open an email.
    – Identify yourself and your business in a way your customers will recognize.
    – Use a name (name@example.com – not sales@example.com)

Too Much Information
~ Make the body short and concise (this is an attention grabber – not a thesis).
~ Keep important information at the top of the email.
    – Can the customer get all the information needed from the first section of the email?
    – Remember the purpose in sending this email.

Not Optimizing for Mobile
~ People are relying on mobile devices to view email more and more. Optimize it for mobile.
    – Shorter content.
    – Earlier call to action.
    – Include full URLs in plain text.
    – Include your phone number and address at the top of the page.

"Click Here" links
~ Use words as links instead of "Click Here" text.
    – Register now to earn….
    – Shop now to save on….
    – Get 3 additional….
~ Links should be above the fold, meaning they should be visible without scrolling.

Useful Report Information

Posted on by ccsretail

CounterPoint Sales Analysis

Your bottom line is in many ways influenced by your ability to stay informed about the daily, even hourly, activity of your business.  By using reports, you are able to record and review such information as peak sales times of the day, profit, profit percentage, discounts, who your best customers are, and when and how they buy.  With this information in hand, better decisions can be made about your business based on past results.

CounterPoint’s Sales Analysis by Hour of Day report allows you to see peak times of the day for the date range selected. This allows you to plan, for example, when extra help may be needed during certain hours of the day and at what times reduced staff would be appropriate.  Decisions such as these could greatly reduce labor costs.

CounterPoint’s Sales Analysis by Group report allows you to view historical ticket sales information, including optional pie charts.  More than 120 different groupings are possible, allowing analysis of sales activity at the category level.  Even “theoretical” sales can be shown—as if all goods had been sold at the retail price.

Reports make it easier to plan for the future.  CounterPoint POS Software has the reports that you need to increase your profits.  Call us today at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

Being Proactive, Not Complacent, For Success

Posted on by ccsretail

Maintain that large base of shoppers
 

I heard on the news recently about the demise of Borders, and like many others who loved shopping there, wondered how such a great retail business could go under.   My curiosity led me to an article by ghoffer for RetailingToday.com.

His explanation was that Borders, like so many other failed retailers, no longer had a sufficiently large enough base of shoppers to achieve an acceptable rate of return.  Maintaining and growing that base is essential for survival.  Also, retailers who prosper over a long period of time are those who recognize that even the most seemingly insignificant competitor can be a powerful adversary, especially if that competitor keeps up with current trends.

When a company is proactive in implementing change and experimentation, that company becomes the model for “survival of the fittest.”  Waiting for change to be forced upon it by new competitors and deteriorating conditions, a company becomes vulnerable to the competitor who is forward-minded.

Is your business keeping up with competitors?  At CCS, we can show you how to maintain that large base of shoppers with CounterPoint‘s CustomerConnect  and CPMobile features.  Call us today at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

CP 7.5.19 New Feature Highlights – Customers and Purchasing

Posted on by ccsretail

CP 7.5.19 New Feature Highlights – Customer and Purchasing.

1.  Customers – Transaction log for A/R open item maintenance.

You can now log and track new open items and changes made to open items for A/R customers.  You enable the corresponding settings on the new Transaction Log screen in Setup/Customers/Control. With these settings enabled, a log file is kept in your  company directory that tracks new and/or changed open items for your A/R customers.

This log can help you identify potential problems or patterns of abuse that would not be discernible in other views or reports that are available through CounterPoint.

Each entry in the A/R open item transaction log file includes the following information:

  • Date

  • Time

  • User ID

  • Type of transaction (Add or Change)

  • Field changed

  • Customer #

  • Document type

  • Customer number

2.  Purchasing – Sending purchase orders and RTVs to vendors via e-mail. 

In 7.5.19, when you post a purchase request or a receiving, you can send the corresponding purchase order to the appropriate vendor via e-mail. Similarly, you can send RTVs to vendors via e-mail when you post individual return to vendor documents.

NOTE: This feature is supported in both Windows and Unix/Linux.

3.  Purchasing – Alternate purchasing units for vendor items

In previous versions of CounterPoint, each vendor-item record could only have a single purchasing unit  (i.e., the Vendor’s unit) assigned to it.  In 7.5.19, you can define up to (3) three alternate purchasing units for a vendor-item record.  Each can have a different minimum order quantity and unit cost.

This new feature  allows you to purchase, receive, and return an individual item in multiple  units on a single Purchase Order, Receiving, or RTV.

For example, a vendor might sell an item by the Gross at a cost of $110, by the dozen at a cost of $10, or individually at a cost of $1. By predefining alternate purchasing units such as GRS and DOZ, in addition to the Vendor’s unit of EACH, you can purchase exactly the  quantity you want to match your needs and cash flow.

If you need assistance with installing CP 7.5.19 and/or configuring these new features, please contact the CCS Retail Systems Support Department.