Without talking the market down, IanTomlinson of Cybertill is convinced that, in boardrooms across the land,retailers - irrespective of business size and product type - are preparing themselves to cope with a deepening of the current retail slow-down.


Whilst theres no easy solution tothe challenges that lie ahead, the situation calls for strong nerves and thecreativity to go against traditional thinking. A part of the answer has to be notto cut back on technology spend but rather to invest more heavily in it.


If this seems to fly in the face ofcommon sense, its because technology alone can help retailers to truly knowtheir business and know their customers. Its this knowledge whichwill help them to do more than survive; to thrive, in a difficult tradingclimate.


So precisely what can IT contribute?Regardless of scale, a retailer equipped with the right armoury of technologytools gains three business-saving advantages:


  • A constantly up-to-date snapshot of performance
  • The ability to proactively manage customer relationships
  • The means to manage multiple channels in the way that customers want


Managing Trading Performance


Whilst the complexity of todaysretail operations makes it impossible to truly know your business without thesupport of IT, the modern EPoS system can shine a spotlight on yourperformance. These systems enable you to access and manipulate trading datafrom any location, any device, at any time of the day or night, and indicate precisely what is selling and what isnt.


This gives you confidence to makedecisions about stock, promotions and pricing. You can react to footfallinstore to run promotions that are tailored to local events or the weather. Infact, we recommend that retailers set up a portfolio of promotions which can beturned on and off quickly as trading performance changes. Managementintelligence from across the business, plus an analysis of till-by-tilltakings, gives a level of detail that makes you hyper-alert to the world youreoperating in.


Managing Customer Relationships


Todays EPoS and e-commerce systemsare strong on CRM. They capture customer address and purchase information. Bytelling you who your customers are and what theyre buying, you can build arelationship with them. That means the chance to up-sell by proposing products that match their buying history. Interrogating customer databases means youcan issue targeted promotions, and setting up accounts and operating loyaltyschemes helps to tie in your customers.


In the same way, managementreporting capabilities help you to maximise your product estate because yourstock is visible at any time and from anywhere. Because of this, you shouldeffectively never lose a sale, never over-commit and never disappoint acustomer.


Managing Multiple Channels


A well-managed multi-channelbusiness has more resilience and more opportunity to build loyalty in itscustomers than a single channel operation, but only if it has the IT to do thiswell.


The best multi-channel systems takeinto account buying psychology and have been built around a universal databasewhich gives a unified view of stock and customer data. By running as a singleapplication across multiple channels, these systems store each product on the database once and once only, so theres just one, real-time version of thetruth.


That means customers can check andreserve stock, make special orders or buy online or at a till point, and thetransaction is deducted from a single source of stock. The same logic appliesto collecting and returning goods instore that may have been purchased via acall centre or a web site. Similarly, loyalty cards and vouchers can be used,and gift cards charged up and used in any channel.


Knowing your business, knowing yourcustomers and managing your multiple channels as one are tools that no retailercan afford to be without. The same tools that have helped retailers to thrivewill help them to survive in difficult times if they have the courage to spendtheir money wisely.


About the Author:


Ian Tomlinson is Managing Directorof EPoS and e-commerce solution provider Cybertill.


Please visit www.cybertill.co.uk


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