POS

REBRAND REFOCUSES ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

Customers have always been at the centre of a hospitality business and the COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced the importance of businesses having the loyalty and support of its customers, it has also highlighted how vital it is to be able to successfully communicate with them.

When communication is key, having the right technology to facilitate this is vital and each sector of the hospitality industry requires a range of products to do this successfully.

With a complete package of POS tools, customer loyalty, kitchen productivity, business analytics, comprehensive reporting systems, powerful integrations and 24/7 support, recently rebranded POSbiz tailors the technology and tools to support your specific hospitality business needs.

POSbiz is the new face of Christchurch-based POS company, formally known as Menumate.

After new owners took over Menumate in early 2019 the team started on a journey to improve this staple of the New Zealand hospitality scene.

One of the first tasks was to bring all the development home to New Zealand where the company could control the quality of software.

“This has turned out to be the best decision we have ever made,” expressed general manager, Cameron Arney.

“Along with everyone, we were rocked by 2020, but rather than hibernating and waiting out the storm, we were able to take this time and really focus on the core of our POS.

For the Menumate product this was the first time in years that it was looked at for functions and features that affect the everyday users, and not just something needed for the next sale.

As this new focus and direction of putting the customer first was driving our roadmap, we wanted to release the product under a new, refreshed brand. We have taken the wealth of features and ease of use, from 15 years of servicing the hospitality industry and now focusing on those needs of the 21st century.”

With this POSbiz was born.

The rebrand was officially released in March, but there have already been some early adopters using POSbiz since mid-2019, who formed part of a feedback and improvement team. Separating further from Menumate of the past, Arney and his team didn’t want to only rely on the company’s own testing or thoughts to define what works and what doesn’t.

“Venues were using POSbiz on site and providing valuable feedback on improvements we were making, as well as helping prioritise some of the new features we have now added.”

The impacts of the pandemic have meant a growth of innovation in the hospitality industry, businesses have had to pivot their offerings to things they may have never offered before, such as the popular Click & Collect option or online ordering.

Kiwi customers are ahead of the curve for online engagement and transactions. 74 percent of Kiwis search online for products and services and it’s their mobile phones that they are using, not just for a search on the go, but for purchases and ongoing brand loyalty.

POSbiz has partnered with Mobi2Go, who provide a full customer facing platform for ordering via web and app. POS integration takes those orders and processes them through the POS, which has multiple benefits; 1. Orders from the online source print in the kitchen the same as they would if ordered instore 2. This minimises data entry errors and double handling by staff if they must manually enter these orders into the POS, and 3.

All the reporting data on sales is in one place. You can see your sales totals on items separated between instore and online, or across all platforms combined.

“We are proud with where we are at already, and we have more we want to complete. The POS is the centre of a sphere of platforms that are needed to run a successful hospitality business, especially in tough times,” noted Arney.

“Our next project is to bring reporting to the hand of owners/ managers who need it. We know that you cannot be in the business everyday so you should be able to quickly and easily see how sales are tracking whenever or wherever you are.”

For more information, visit www. posbiz.co.nz, email info@posbiz.co.nz, or call (03) 365 7301.

pos Goodbye Coffee Cards, Hello CardLess Loyalty

Loyalty programmes have been a part of cafe culture pretty much since the flat white was invented. Most cafes have traditionally offered coffee cards to customers in a buy nine, receive the 10th free scheme, however, the global pandemic has not only put a financial strain on hospitality businesses who may no longer be able to afford to give products away, it has also put a renewed focus on hygiene and ways in which customers can interact in a contactless way.

TAMAS JANKY, CEO CardLess

Aloyalty programme means more than simply offering a discount or a free coffee. A key component of a successful loyalty programme is that it can provide your business with incredibly useful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) information. It allows you to build a database of customers you can then easily communicate and engage with, whether it be for promotion, to gather feedback, or communicate new features such as online ordering.

There has been a recent influx of mobile apps from the big restaurant chains. McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s Hamburgers all have good apps with some leading for marketing purposes and others driving instore conversion. The old, cardboard coffee card is out, customers want contactless ways that they can engage with your products and services. The great news is that digitalisation is no longer relegated to the big QSRs, there is an enormous range of apps and technology that is available to be integrated seamlessly into what you already offer.

Enter CardLess Loyalty, an exciting new loyalty solution, developed for the New Zealand retail market and supported locally. It’s designed to make loyalty, reward and recognition programs easy, transparent and cardless for retailers and customers.

The original idea of CardLess Loyalty came in 2010 and the first prototype development happened in the following couple of years.

“Unfortunately, the technology was not quite there yet at that time and a key piece was missing from our effortless journey,” explained CardLess CEO, Tamas Janky.

“However, as time passed and the popularity of smartphones surged with more and more technology packed in, the time came to reboot and refresh our approach and work out CardLess Loyalty as you see it now.”

The main goals for Janky and his team when working on the new product included:

• Effortless customer journey, single

touch authentication, no searching for cards • Environmentally friendly, saving trees and avoiding the creation of plastic waste. • Support for Customers without a smartphone. • Single touch customer handling on the store side. • Secure and contactless technology. • No barcodes or camera-based scanning. • Provide a branded experience to stores and chains/franchises and flexible loyalty program definition. • A foundational customer management target of “The store rep sees what the customer sees” related to point balance and transaction history for all branded stores on the App.

“Kiwis’ current experience with Loyalty at stores can be quite different,” noted Janky.

“Some stores use paper cards stored in a box or handed out to customers, other stores ask identification verbally from the customers like phone number, name or email address. The bigger players have their own plastic cards or apps and use barcode scanners or card readers to identify customers.

But we wanted something different, something new and effortless. We developed a patent pending Bluetooth bearer-based, secure, one touch authentication process, which is unique on the market. It makes it possible for the customer to beam the ID to the store terminal with one touch in a certain proximity and bring up the customer details on the store app/system, stamping points with one touch.”

CardLess Loyalty wants to help small/medium New Zealand retail businesses with an affordable loyalty solution option where they can keep their brand features and set up any loyalty programs in a flexible way.

“Kiwis would love to break free from the cards clogging up their wallet or the multiple apps that may be used for managing loyalty. There are a wide range of good Loyalty apps available on the market, however CardLess Loyalty’s effortless authentication and tracking points for all branded stores is not a feature you often come across.”

The pandemic has accelerated the need for technology solutions and New Zealand based companies have responded to this demand. It is vital that this technology is used by large and small businesses to widen understanding and knowledge of customers, to communicate and engage, to reward them for their loyalty and drive new habits around visiting venues. For more information, visit www.cardlessloyalty.com

HOW DOES CARDLESS LOYALTY WORK?

• When instore, the customer’s identity is shared from the mobile app to the store.

• The store app detects the customer and lets the store know they’re inside.

• The store can stamp and acknowledge when customers are purchasing loyalty products

• Points are automatically updated on the customers app. • CardLess Loyalty can help migrate your existing customers to CardLess Loyalty for free.

Delivering Industry Leading EPOS, Integrations and Enterprise Solutions

Tevalis are an industry leading technology solutions provider to the hospitality, leisure and gaming industries, with over 1600 sites and 7500+ Epos technology systems installed and growing throughout the UK and Europe, with a presence in the UAE, America, China, Australia and New Zealand

Tevalis Asia Pacific opened in New Zealand in late 2019 and quickly found receptive clients with over 200+ EPOS technology systems installed.

Intuitive, powerful and reliable Epos solution.

The Tevalis Point of Sale is a fast and powerful system, developed through consultation with our clients and industry professionals to ensure the features and functionalities available to meet the demands and evolving requirements of the hospitality, leisure and gaming industries.

Tevalis APAC 0800 838 254 +64 29 4369 588 a.mcclurg@tevalis.com

Creating a Competitive Edge with Online Ordering

The global pandemic has seen a record rise in signups to online ordering platforms as more foodservice businesses focus on takeaway, delivery, and pre-order channels. This upsurge in online order functionality has also been driven by a demand for contactless payment methods and the need for customers and operators alike to access dining reservations, meal orders and payment options via mobile apps even when dining in.

here are many options for online

Tordering platforms, the downside to signing on with one of the major online services is that it is they, and not you, who gathers and controls the data relating to customer orders. In the current climate this information can make the difference between a business that survives and even thrives, and one that must close its doors.

It is important to consider the benefits of using new generation online order platforms and apps which, instead of capturing orders under their own brand, are designed to seamlessly integrate with your point-of-sale system/website and thereby enable you to capture the customer data it gathers on your behalf. With this information you can then market your business via email or SMS. Set up the condition that by using the order platform, customers agree to their captured data being used by you to send them information and offers.

Once you have their mobile numbers and/or email addresses, you can set about creating your own marketing campaigns to give your business a competitive edge, including:

• Publicise specials, meal deals and new offers. • Send text messages with discount codes to encourage orders during quiet periods. • Utilise Push notifications (pop-up messages). • Take advantage of set-and-forget automation. For example, you could send a welcome message to customers when they place their first order or a thank you message once they have ordered a certain number of times.

As previously mentioned, new generation online order apps make it easy to create and run customer loyalty programmes, which can be used both when ordering remotely via the app as well as in-person at your venue.

Another way captured customer data can help your competitive edge is by making it easier for you to identify the biggest sellers on the menu, the most in-demand times for orders, and which items aren’t moving. Reports generated by the online order app provide all these statistics, enabling you to adjust your menu and staffing levels accordingly to operate at maximum efficiency.