What’s a merchant to do with myriad new competitors multiplying at a rapid pace? Maximizing efficiencies at every corner of the business will be critical for making room for growth.
To accomplish this, it is necessary to find a point of sale solution equipped with a business management software that understands perfectly just how your business runs. Hyper-specialized applications provide business owners with the efficiencies they need by automating many business functions right at the point of sale. That means beyond accepting payments from customers, these POS systems with intelligent software applications can assist with important components like staffing, scheduling, accounting and customer incentive programs. Applications like these do wonders for creating a better bottom line, building customer loyalty, and so much more.
In the upcoming year, we will see an increased use of B2B software providers by merchants who can leverage various technologies to make difficult business processes easier, measure the impact of many business activities and drive more efficient spending and communication.
According to Forrester’s Jay Bain, there are about 100,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) in business and by 2027, there’s estimated to be one million. Looking ahead to next year, merchants will lean on their software vendor more than ever as their single resource to build a digital environment and point of sale that is open, connected and able to evolve. With so many new B2B software providers entering the market in the coming years, it will particularly important to pay attention to what makes a provider the best fit for a particular business.
Merchants are looking to maximize their integrations with the digital world but want to minimize their time getting up and running. This will be done with POS or B2B software application providers who have become one-stop shops, streamlining business functions for owners. Merchants don’t want to sign up for a POS company, a shopping cart, a gateway and then choose a payment provider separately, for example. Software companies that offer an integrated payment solution take those several business components and allow the merchant to manage them all with just one solution.
Businesses are looking for a single access point to their point of sale to process payments, track purchases and returns, secure credit card data, schedule appointments and book online for services and much more, depending on the type of industry the business is in. Businesses are also placing more value on securing customer loyalty. Perhaps texting the client a day before their salon appointment to remind them, or if you are a retailer, emailing private sales with extra discounts every so often. A B2B software solution is typically tailored to the merchant’s vertical and adaptable to meet the needs of its customers.
Adding these efficiencies early can save time and money and equip the merchant with the information he or she needs to gain some competitive advantages. It’s crucial for a merchant to have a business software partner or POS provider that can evolve to meet the growing needs of business.
As technology innovation shifts to being more open, connected and scalable, merchants don’t have to do it all on their own. The point of sale that an ISV can help build and streamline has come a long way. It has evolved to hold everything a merchant needs. The point of sale is more than just a machine to swipe a credit card to pay for goods, it’s a launch pad for growing business.
Working with a software provider with an integrated payment solution can grow business faster and lower research and development costs as well as hardware and infrastructure costs. The more efficiently the business is run, the more opportunity there is to make money and create a niche.
