25% Increase In Sales, Guaranteed (Receipt Printing)

Customer Tracking and Loyalty (Increase Sales by 25%)

Please Contribute To My Charity

Contacting pcAmerica

25% Increase In Sales, Guaranteed (Receipt Printing)

So given the recession, it’s nice to increase sales by 25%. Here’s one great idea for increasing sales. OK. I am not sure what the guarantee is, but if you follow this tip, you can increase sales substantially.

Cash Register Express (CRE) and Restaurant Pro Express (RPE) allow you to add messages to your cash register receipts.

You can go to Staples or somewhere else to purchase an 8 by 10 see through plastic display that you can mount by your cash register. Use your word processor or some type of simple desktop publishing software to create a sign that says, “READ YOUR RECEIPT.”

Train your cash register people to remind customers that they should retain and read their receipts.

Now, use CRE or RPE to create a great message to your customers on their receipts. Here are some examples:

25% off your next purchase with this receipt on Wednesday, January 7th.

FREE Newspaper with this receipt and the purchase of coffee or any beverage.

10% off your total purchase with this receipt on your next purchase.

25% off any purchase made on a Tuesday with this receipt.

FREE surprise gift with your next purchase.

Two free movie tickets with your next purchase over $25 purchase with this receipt. (Be creative. Movie tickets may sell for $10 each or $20 for two. In quantity, you can buy these tickets at 50% off. So, although it appears that you are giving your customers $20 in value, your cost is only about $10).

Do joint giveaways with other retailers and restaurants. If you own a retail store, place a $10 off coupon on your receipts for a local restaurant. Get your local restaurant to offer $10 off coupons at your clothing store.

Use your cash register receipt to get customers back into your store or restaurant as soon as possible. Don’t worry so much about losing money on your offer. Let’s say you own a restaurant and your receipt offers 25% off on your customer’s next meal. Next week, you find too long a line in your restaurant. Using CRE and RPE, you can simply change your receipts in minutes and change the offer to 20% or 15%.

Get customers to read their receipts all the time. Hey. You can spend thousands of dollars advertising in your local paper (to people who probably never go into  your store). Or, you can advertise on your cash register receipt. Your best customers are those who have already made a purchase in your store. People who have actually made a purchase are actually paying for your advertisement.

There is no reason why you can’t get 25% of your customers into your retail store or restaurant redeeming whatever offer you may have made on your receipt.

Don’t be afraid to try outrageous things. You know your retail store or restaurant. If you give away a free meal with every receipt, you are likely to lose money on the deal. However, if you offer a free napkin with every meal, you are likely to get a 0% response (unless the napkin is signed by James Bond or Britney Spears).

Your receipt can be changed or modified in seconds. I can write a book of innovative offers you can use on your receipt.

A clothing store can offer a special designer or makeover expert. A hardware store can offer free estimates or services. A car dealership can offer free entrance to the local luxury golf course. You can be humorous. Offer a free certificate to become a U.S. Senator. Give away free books to children. Give away special chocolates.

It’s especially good to do co-marketing with other non-competitive retailers. You get customers into their store. They get customers into your store.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR A RECEIPT? Write to me at hgosman@pcamerica.com.  Please include your store name, city and state. Selected ideas will be placed on the pcAmerica web site.

Customer Tracking & Loyalty  (Increase Sales by 25%)

Speaking of Email Newsletters, they work for us.

As a retailer, your best customers are your current customers. It may sound funny, but it is true.

It is those customers who walk through your doors that will keep your business going.

You can advertise in the newspaper. You can do those joint advertising mailings. Neither will bring in revenues anywhere as high as those generated by contacting  your present customers.

Keeping in touch with your present customers and potential customers is the best form of advertising. Creating and sending out emails is fairly easy to do and far less expensive than newspaper advertising or joint mailings.

If you need help in starting an email campaign, use one of your employees. You are likely to find an email savvy employee working for you.

Cash Register Express (CRE) and Restaurant Pro Express (RPE) have customer tracking built into the software. Should you not be using CRE or RPE, at least collect customer information on paper.

The customer tracking feature within CRE and RPE lets you track name, address, telephone number, birthday, email address and other information. Depending on your type of business and your goals, you don’t need to obtain all of the information.

At a minimum,  you should be getting a name and email address. Having a complete address and birthday is also nice and enables you to send out (via U.S. Mail or email) a birthday greeting.

Once you have accumulated 25 or more email addresses, start sending out your weekly, biweekly, or monthly newsletter. Your newsletters don’t need to be complicated. You can take pictures of your employees, make them famous, and get your customers familiar with your staff. You may want to offer discounts on a weekly basis to get customers into your store. You may want to educate customers about your products.

Have fun with your email newsletter. Write about things that are interesting or fun for your customers. Use your employees to help.

Hundreds of pcAmerica customers have started up periodic newsletters. Communicating with your customers is the best way to increase business.

The Customer Tracking & Loyalty features found within CRE and RPE are great for increasing business.

· Record details of each customer (name, address, birthday, telephone #, etc.).

· Send promotional e-mails and mailings to advertise sales and specials.

· Loyalty programs include bonus points, frequent visitor discounts and birthday rewards

· Retain detailed purchase history of customer.

· Customer tracking includes accounts receivable with balance tracking, payment history and printed statements.

· Increase repeat business by offering rewards to your customers.

· Use loyalty cards to easily track your customers. 

Please Contribute to My Charity!

As the owner or manager of a retail store, you are constantly being asked to contribute to various charities and other types of organizations.

Giving to charities and helping out is a good thing. I am not advocating ending your charitable contributions, but here’s an idea that one of my favorite restaurants, The Dog House, shared with me.  The idea will work with any type of retail store (restaurant or non-restaurant).

When a local organization such as a school asks for a contribution, you can turn it around. The Dog House organized a Dog House week for the school. They distributed menus to the entire school. Anyone who made a purchase at The Dog House during the week referred from the school filled out a short form. At the end of the week, The Dog House contributed 10% of their total referral sales to the school.

Better yet, you can have referral customers give their email addresses on the form and be included in future mailings.

The police, firemen, local churches, cancer, heart, and other health related charities, ASPCA, schools, baseball teams, GM (just making sure your reading this) and others are all asking for money. Most of the these causes are good causes, but many retailers just can’t keep giving. Now you have a way to turn it around. Make many of these charities into customers.

Give each charity its own week. Make up some specials, especially for members of the organization. Collect those email addresses and give back enough to make it worthwhile for the organization you are working with.

Purchases may be tax deductible. You would have to ask the proposed new Secretary of the Treasury about that.  

Contacting pcAmerica

pcAmerica

One Blue Hill Plaza

Second Floor

Box 1546

Pearl River NY 10965

Toll Free 1-800-PC-AMERICA or 1-800-722-6374

Local Number 1-845-920-0800

Fax Number 1-845-920-0880

Tech Support Number 1-845-920-0888

C.E.O. David J. Gosman (djg@pcamerica.com)

President Richard F. Rotbard (rotbard@pcamerica.com)

Newsletter Editor Howard Y. Gosman (hgosman@optonline.net)

Your PC America Account Managers: 

Ken May X226 (kensmay@pcamerica.com)

Martin Sheridan X227 (msheridan@pcamerica.com)

Ralph Frascone X279 (rfrascone@pcamerica.com)

Robert Purdy X280 (rpurdy@pcamerica.com)

Ryan Christman X225 (ryan@pcamerica.com)

Sam Kahan X223 (skahan@pcamerica.com)

Tony Scarpa X224 (tscarpa@pcamerica.com)

For more information on Cash Register Express, Asset Management Software, Portable and Wireless Point of Sale, barcode readers, cash drawers and receipt printers, call PC America at 1-800-PC-AMERICA or 1-800-722-6374 or 1-845-920-0800. You may also purchase directly on the internet at www.pcamerica.com or email PC America at newsletter@pcamerica.com.

You are receiving this email because you either own Cash Register Express or you have contacted PC America and requested information about Cash Register Express. If you wish to be removed from our email newsletter list, please email your removal request to newsletter@pcamerica.com or write to PC America, One Blue Hill Plaza, Second Floor, Box 1546, Pearl River NY 10965.

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