Receipt Marketing

Receipts provide an advertising and branding opportunity that reaches every customer of your store with little to   no overhead cost.  In an economy where it is crucial to ensure your business is maximizing every outreach tool, there is no better time than now to revisit the content of your store’s receipts.

After seeing the same receipt messages day after day, it’s easy to overlook the potential for promotion and increased store efficiency that receipts can offer. Consider the following when reviewing your current printouts:

·       Are customers aware of any online presence or promotions your store has to offer?

·       Is the store offering new products or enhancements that could be highlighted?

·       Do loyalty program customers see the savings and benefits they have received with every purchase?

·       Has your business marketed a consistent message through other venues that can be added to the receipts?

·       Is the store using excessive staff resources on store returns when a written policy on receipts would make the process more efficient?

You may identify any number of reasons to change or update your receipts.  Given the fact that receipts continually reach your most loyal customers and drive business to your store, it is worth the time investment to focus on your message.

PCI Update

What may happen as the result of not being PCI? If cardholder data is stolen you could incur fines, penalties and even termination of the right to accept payment cards! Find out more on the web at: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/why_comply.php

Who do these requirements apply to?

Merchants and service providers that accept, capture, store, transmit or process credit or debit card data. If you are reading this it most likely applies to you.

There are 6 goals or categories with 12 requirements each having several sub-requirements listed in the PCI documentation. Below you will find the 6 categories and the 12 main requirements. This information can also be located at the website for the PCI Security Standards Council which was formed to promote PCI compliance. The council does not enforce the standards; the enforcement is done by the card brands. The requirements outline a minimum level of protection for payment card data and should be recognized as such.

Build and Maintain a Secure Network

Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data

Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data
Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program

Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software or programs
Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures

Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need to know
Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks

Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes.

Maintain an Information Security Policy

Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security for all personnel.

Being compliant with the PA-DSS guidelines is an ongoing process and grocers need to be ever vigilant. You can find up-to-date PA-DSS and PinPad information at http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org.

Small Business Strategies

The technology innovation trend we saw it the past year will continue in the retail industry, with mobile payment as one of the emerging technology.  Shoppers can now compare prices of any item online or in brick-and-mortar stores with a smart phone.  Retail analytics can predict shoppers’ life styles and target them with promotions to increase margins.  So how does a small business compete with large retail boxes that have the ability to afford the cutting edge technology?  This is not an easy task but here are three strategies that could help.

 First, a small business should look to diversify its revenue stream.  A small business could not compete on price along with the larger retail box.  One advantage the small business has over chain stores is that it knows its customers on a personal level.  Offer customers the experiences that they normally wouldn’t get from a chain store.  For example, local grocery stores could offer healthy eating and cooking events.

We all know that small business is the backbone of our economy.  Local businesses can take advantage of their connection to the local community and enlist support from within the community.  One example is to partner with local schools and charities to offer support to these organizations.  By doing so, local businesses increase their role in the well-being of the community and therefore could increase the support and loyalty of the community.

Another strategy is to garner support from its vendors.  Vendors who sell to large retail boxes are usually forced in negotiation to provide products at a deep discount.  Small businesses could take advantage of this fact to create mutually beneficial relationships with their vendors and suppliers.

Finally, small businesses need to look at the technology and how they could adapt and utilize what they can afford to compete with large retail chain.  Small businesses could do that by choosing scalable POS and back-office systems that provides them with the same functions and capabilities as the large retailers.

Investing In Training is Profitable

The most successful companies have long recognized the value of a well trained staff.  Some of the many reasons savvy business owners realize how investing in training will impact the bottom line are:  increased job satisfaction and morale among employees; increased employee motivation; increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain; increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods; increased innovation in strategies and products; reduced employee turnover; enhanced company image.  These are just some of the compelling arguments to make ongoing training an organizational goal.

Staff training can be on the job where more experienced employees are assigned to train new employees.  Cross-training existing employees various tasks handled by other employees is also important.  This ensures operations are not disrupted when employees leave the company either temporarily or permanently.  Sometimes a company does not have the knowledge internally to train staff for various reasons: key person left the company, company acquired new technology or simply wants to learn how to leverage more features/functions from their current technology.  Regardless of the reason, a prudent owner will recognize the investment value of developing their human resource to actualize increased efficiencies that will ultimately impact the bottom line.

These same principles hold true for independent grocers in this competitive market.  As a solutions provider for independent grocers we understand these needs and have developed training programs to assist our customers in this ongoing effort.  If you want to make the investment to improve your operation, contact STCR at (607) 757-0181.