As a member of the retail industry, you have likely heard the terms “Software as a Service” (SaaS) and “Cloud Computing” (or what I like to call “Cloud Retailing”) more and more frequently over recent months. Maybe you’ve heard one side of the argument (SaaS and cloud computing are the future of retail technology!) or the other (this is just a trend, it will surely pass) but either way, SaaS has grown too prevalent in the retail sector to be ignored.
Disclaimer: I’ll tell you right now this is a biased blog- Because I believe in SaaS.
When software is described as a SaaS application this means that the software is deployed across the internet. So when a POS company says that they offer a web-based point of sale application, that generally means that their software program is downloaded through the internet and backed by a central server (NOT the standard backroom server).
It’s this elimination of the backroom server that makes for one of the most compelling arguments for cloud retailing: With installation and maintenance, the typical cost of the back office server runs close to $12,000. With a SaaS application, there is no big back office box to install and maintain, meaning that you only pay your standard subscription fee to gain access to the central server.
There’s a (really big) elephant in the room and it’s the economy. There’s no need to hammer in the dire state of the economic doldrums because every business (with the exception of Walmart) has been impacted in some way. Maybe you are suffering from low customer volume, or you’ve cut back on labor costs, or at the very least had to re-examine the allocation of your resources.
Whether sales are down or you’re just concerned with your business expenditure, you should consider the cost of your context tasks.
My WHAT?!
Core tasks refer to the main functions of a company (in retail- making sales!), while context tasks refer to any other task within that business (in retail-inventory management, CRM ,etc.). In an ideal world, all of your money and resources would be directed solely to your core tasks. Unfortunately, too often businesses spend far more on their context tasks than is financially feasible.
Once upon a time, businesses had it easy. Doors would open and money would come pouring in while everything else faded to the background. As the fictional rendition of Che Guevara says in Evita: "When the money keeps rolling in, you don’t ask how."
But the current state of the economy has brought us out of the fairytale and into the harsh spotlight of reality: Times are hard. Sales will no longer come rushing in as they once did, which means the steel fist of fiscal management must come crashing down.
It’s time to get re-acquainted with your business. It’s time to examine each and every aspect of your business with a shrewd eye and decide what changes must be made.
All the drama going on in the world economy has thrown a whole heap of debate of what will happen next. Some of the dialogue has been confusing. Politicians and the media have not made it any easier with their fear campaigns, spin or just general lack of understanding of economic fundamentals.
I am here to give you an understanding of what has happened, and how all of this massive change will affect consumer spending – you know the people who shop in your stores.
Shaun Mooney Retailers spend money on marketing in the same way as stockbrokers speculate on the market.
During good times they spend money on any new fad or idea that they hope will rapidly grow their business. In dark times, like what we are experiencing at present in certain economies, they go into their shell cursing all of those supposed great ideas.
Cutting back drastically on marketing is a bad idea. When times become good again, the market will only remember those who were always present. Stopping spending on marketing altogether is the ultimate sin a retailer can make.
With the ongoing economic crisis, strong customer relationships have gone from playing an incredibly important role in the success of retailers to playing an absolutely vital one.
Consumer confidence is at the lowest point it has been in years. In September, retail sales fell 1.2%, the deepest drop they had experienced in over three years. So how do you keep customers buying at your location when they could easily be spending their money elsewhere, or even worse, not spending it at all?
Welcome to Customer Evangelism 101. The key to keeping up sales during rough times as these is not to focus on luring more fresh customers into the store, but rather on keeping your satisfied customers loyal and willing & waiting to return.
