Doing business with a solid foundation of technology is no longer an optional path. The need to conduct business with an innovative, high-tech core in place is being driven by increased consumer expectations. As the level of technology improves in the lives of the consumer, they, in turn, expect the businesses they frequent to be on the same level as they are. And, while modern technology is relatively affordable, many times support comes at a steep price.
Addressing the rising costs surrounding technical support has long vexed many small business owners. Why should you add a Bluetooth receipt printer over the legacy USB equivalent if support for the former is three times higher? But higher levels of technology do not need to mean a bigger hit for your wallet. In fact, you may find yourself saving money by switching to a modern business technology platform.
A Modern POS Solution Saves You from the Inevitable
Introducing a modern and highly capable POS platform provides a wide range of benefits that yield a positive impact to your business. However, many small businesses have been fearful of the expected costs and levels of support required to maintain and use these new solutions. This thinking is both counterproductive and unrealistic, as upgrading technology has been proven to reduce long-term support costs.
Let’s consider the typical legacy POS equipment and software that many businesses are running. Computer hardware and equipment performance degrades over time. Printers become more prone to jamming, and credit card readers are touchier when the weather becomes more humid. Peripherals such as mice and keyboard begin to breakdown, and the insides of your POS terminal become clogged with dust. And, if any of these devices go down, how likely is it that they are covered under warranty?
One the software side of things, the core operating system of your POS system will become unsupported after a determined period of time. This leaves your information, and valuable customer data, highly at risk for a security incident. Also, the supporting software of your POS solution may fall out of support, especially if you are relying on an older operating system, like Windows 7, making technical support of any kind unobtainable.
Updating Technology Reduces Downtime and Support Costs
Which is more reliable; a car with an odometer reading 150,000 miles or one that is recently rolled off of a factory assembly line? This is the exact same thinking that you must adopt when looking at the technology that your business relies upon. The POS technology you rely on for your daily tasks, your customer transactions, and monitoring everything that moves is too mission-critical to leave support to chance.
Implementing a new or upgraded POS platform ensures that the hardware you rely on is under warranty. Also, an updated POS system ensures that your POS software and base operating system are being regularly and automatically patched and updated in response to emerging security risks or functionality improvements. What do you think this does for the level of support you obtain as a part of an updated POS platform?
The technical support that comes with a new POS solution often comes with a service level agreement or SLA. This is a guaranteed contract between you and your POS provider that, in the event of any issue, support will respond and resolve your issue in a specified period of time. This reduces your worry about when and if a response is coming to a logged incident and best of all, is typically included in the price of your new POS system. With a support system like this in your back pocket, you can take on customers with the confidence that you can serve them without fail.
Build Customer Confidence with a Confident Support Team a Call Away
Your customers must feel that they trust you. They must feel comfortable with you possessing some of their personal information. Also, they must feel that the products and services you provide are top quality and are available when the customer desires them. This makes it imperative that your business is operating at optimal efficiency from the moment your doors open until you turn off the lights at night.
You are required to guard against technology-induced mishaps that could cause a transaction to either not take place, or to be handled in an unsecured way. You must also present some level of transparency in your daily interactions with customers, such as posted updated notifications about how system changes have improved the security of their data. In this way, they will feel as if you are investing in them just as much as they have invested their trust with you.
None of this is possible without addressing modern business problems with innovative software solutions. The escalated level of support that comes with newer POS solutions gives you the ability to limit the impact of any technical issues on your customers while obtaining the flexibility to resolve issues after business hours. This improves the uptime of your systems, and keeps you in a state of readiness to serve your customers effectively and securely.
Defining Your Small Business’s Technology Support Strategy Requires Industry Expertise
Designed a clear and concise plan for supporting your business technology is a must, especially when you consider how much you rely on these systems. The complexity of supporting legacy POS systems drastically increases your costs of supporting them, making upgrading to a recent release of POS software the most efficient support decision. But how do you know you are selecting the right combination of functionalities and support?
Just as you would seek advice on a major purchase in your personal life, you must do the same when looking to improve the technology in your business. An industry-leading POS consultant will be well versed in the standards of support in the POS industry and will help you to choose the perfect balance between functionality and supportability. This gives you the valuable uptime you need, but without the headaches of limited support.
Staying in the game in today’s business climate requires cutting-edge POS technology with flexible and effective support. You must have support channel options that can provide 24/7 support options to give you a clear sense of flexibility. Regardless of if you are in need of an entirely new POS solution, or just need to implement updates to your current solution; talech is ready to help ensure that your next-gen POS solution gives you the support you need. Contact us today for a free demo and more information on how to bring cutting-edge technology to your customers.
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