One of the most frustrating things for any small pharmacy today is seeing that your sales are lagging, but you aren’t sure what you need to do to get your business up and running again. You could spend a lot of money on brand equipment, like a retail pharmacy POS system, for example, but how can you be sure that this is really what your business needs?
It’s true that new POS systems can be a bit of an investment, but it’s important to realize that they truly are investments and your business will benefit in the long run. If you need some additional help deciding whether or not you’re ready to make the purchase, here are a few signs that your pharmacy really does need a new POS system:
- Your customers are leaving your store and going to a chain store with a rewards program. It’s unreasonable to expect a small business to have the sort of rewards program that chain stores have, but customers are increasingly deciding where to shop based on which stores provide the best customer loyalty programs. With a good POS system, you’ll be able to provide a basic loyalty program to please your customers without costing your business too much money.
- Lines are starting to get too long. If you’re using a really old POS system, it’s probably a long time to process transactions — meaning that customers will be spending more time in line, which no one wants to do. With newer POS software, your payment processing system will be very quick and customers won’t feel like they’re wasting time.
- The shelves are emptying out. Maybe this is a sign that your business is actually doing really well and sales are picking up, or maybe it’s just a sign that you aren’t ordering and reordering popular items soon enough. Either way, small pharmacies don’t have a lot of shelf space, so it’s imperative to keep the shelves stocked with as many items as possible. Good POS systems will help you manage this and will even alert you when inventory is getting low.
So now the decision is entirely up to you — does your pharmacy deserve a new POS system?
