In Tough Times, You Have to Out-Think, Out-Innovate, Out-Compete. POS Technology Can Help!
If your business has been affected by the economy, you're not alone. According to PizzaMarketplace.com, pizza operators are facing "flat" sales in 2009, minimum wage increases, and a trend toward "aggressive pricing."*
So how do you get your own slice of the economic pie in tough times? With the right POS system and a little know-how, you can turn the downturn into a positive for your business.
1 – Jump into online ordering!
Tip: Online ordering can increase your ticket average and order volume without increasing your staff. Integrate your POS system with an online ordering service to create a seamless order flow from the computer to the makeline. Your POS provider should have a list of reputable companies, or have the capability to work with the company of your choice.
Real-life benefit: "We've done nearly $10,000 in online orders in the past three months. Plus, the ticket averages are considerably higher for online orders than for phone orders for delivery (nearly $8 higher) and pick-up (up to $10 higher)." – James King, Owner, Big Island Pizza, Hilo, Hawaii
Dan from TakeOut Technologies, FireFly Online Ordering Partner
2 – Save on labor and boost customer service with one-number ordering.
Tip: From 2 stores to 200, improve your marketing and customer service by advertisting a single phone number. The Phoenix POS system makes it easy to route orders to the proper store.
Real-life benefit: One pizza operator cut 40 to 50 physical hours a week that their stores were open. They closed the slower locations earlier in the evening, but the call center let them keep consistent delivery hours across the city by funneling orders to the open locations.
Kelly Knudson, DaVinci's, the Italian Sidewalk Caffe and Phoenix POS Call Center User
3 – Respond instantly to changing conditions for maximum control.
Tip: Use the Internet to remotely monitor your store's operations from home, office, or elsewhere. Get text alerts, even check on your system from your mobile phone!
Real-life benefit: "With my Phoenix system, I can log in to all six locations from offsite. I could run the whole store from my computer. I can text message to my managers that Johnny, a minor, needs to take a five-minute break. Or say Phoenix gives me a sales forecast of $5,000 for the day. The system will tell me the prep work that needs to be done. Phoenix manages for the managers. It's cutting-edge stuff." – Matt Ulrey, Flyer's Pizza, Ohio
Mark & Steve Ulrey, Flyer's Pizza, Phoenix POS Users
4 – Build customer loyalty to build your business.
Tip: Create targeted marketing based on customers' spending habits, birthdays, order history, and more. The customer database in your POS system should enable simple, customizable queries.
Real-life benefit: "[Because we're a college town,] a lot of people leave because of graduation or summer vacation. So we did a Customer Appreciation Week, in which we did great specials on boxtops. Those who responded were our regular customers for the summer. We used that database of names to do our summer mailings.
"For the Super Bowl, we queried those who had ordered 50 or 100 wings on Auburn [University's] football game days and sent them a special offer. We got a huge–about a 33%–response." – Julie McGowin, Brand X Pizza, Auburn, Alabama
Tom, Nauna's Bella Casa, Phoenix POS User
5 – Pinch those food pennies!
Tip: Use your POS system to track one or two key ingredients, such as your dough balls, cheese, and bottled drinks for immediate impact on your bottom-line food costs.
Real-life benefit: "We use the inventory module [in Phoenix] to track inventory on 10 key ingredients. The inventory module is relatively economical, and it has reduced food costs by 5%. I do a food-cost analysis twice a day: at the halfway point and end of day. I can either praise my staff for doing well on portion control, or I can remind them to be more careful." – Brian Banick, co-owner, Solos Pizza Cafe, Minnesota
* "Top pizza trends for 2009," Richard Slawsky, Dec. 30, 2008, PizzaMarketplace.com
