One of the most unpredictable numbers that you will be tasked with tracking is your sales results. Even the most effective sales tracking methods can struggle to address sudden changes in the marketplace or consumer behaviors. There are no guarantees when trying to predict sales numbers, but there are ways to improve the accuracy by adjusting which sales metrics to track in order to yield insights into your business health and performance.
The most effective sales metrics step beyond the monitoring of inventory ebbs and flows and shift the focus into other areas of the business. Innovative POS solutions can help you move away from traditional approaches that offer incomplete sales metrics into better predictive metric reporting options. These will offer you a wider range of analytic tools that can give you an improved, comprehensive view into all of the moving parts your business is built on.
Precision Metrics Equals Integrated Data
The most vital element in modernizing sales metrics is the ability to harness data from every area of your business and then seamlessly put it all together in one, easy-to-access spot. Dynamic POS software will present you with exactly this, and the top solutions will give you secure and accessible cloud-based storage.
A cloud-based POS system acts as a funnel, taking in sales, inventory, staff, and customer information and placing it in one storage repository. Meanwhile, the inner workings of the most capable POS systems work to keep the formatting and integrity of the gathered information consistent so that any created reports present the same values without any need for interpretation. The resulting reports are complete as is, without the manual sorting that was once required.
These advanced data management capabilities are only possible when working with the high-performance data analysis tools built into a top-end POS system. Leveraging all of the tools within a cutting-edge POS solution gives you the precision metrics needed to make proactive changes. Not only does this fully back up your decision making process, but it helps you in making tough judgment calls with confidence.
Reports That Help in Making Tough Marketing Choices
Many POS systems offer users a variety of pre-configured reports. However, a majority of these reports are quite simplistic and only shed a small glimpse into the actual numbers you are really seeking. Tracking performance metrics is simplified when you have a set of POS tools that present you with usable, customizable reports.
One key feature to seek in the reporting capabilities of a POS software solution is its ability to add mixed data sources into your reporting. There are countless examples of what these reports can look like and accomplish, but there are a few options that should be regarded as mandatory in any POS platform you are considering:
- Average lifetime revenue value by customer.
- Generated revenues by product, product category, and department or service type.
- Percentage of cost and expense per sale.
- Percentage of sales of customers by type.
- Sales conversion rate per employee, product, or service.
Using POS technology that either includes this level of reporting or allows you to create it on your own is an invaluable asset. You will obtain the ability to harness all of your data in your efforts to fine-tune your business model, as well as to stay a step ahead of your customers. The boost to both your brand and reputation will be immeasurable when you have POS technology that affords you with these big business data analytic options.
Use Advanced Metrics to Track Staff and Production
A common miss in small businesses is the lack of staff production monitoring. Inventory, sales, and even customers often take a front seat when it comes to building sales performance reports. But monitoring staff performance can be accomplished just as easily as the other metrics stated above through the use of the same data and reporting architecture. It is here that you can close the last of your production and revenue leakage gaps.
There are several metrics that can be used to readily provide insights into staff productivity. Some of the most common that are supported in advanced POS systems include:
- Comparison of tip rate versus peers.
- Net promoter score (NPS).
- Percentage of up-charge revenue versus order error losses.
- Sales conversions in comparison with sales commissions.
- Specified goals, such as boosting sales by 10% or customers serviced by 5%.
Having the visibility provided by these and many other staff performance metrics will be a crucial aid in strengthening the places you are most vulnerable. Every employee has their personal strengths, and the ability to monitor performance gives you a data-aided approach in assigning employees to the roles that are best suited for them. This helps you to evolve as a business, provide better customer support, and continue to build on your reputation.
Sales Metrics to Track Business Performance Have Evolved. Will You?
The metrics and performance reports used in today’s business world are vastly different than those used just ten years ago. As data has become more abundant and highly desired, so have the demands for powerful analytical tools that can be harnessed to access this invaluable information. The right POS system will contain these tools and possess the ability to utilize data from multiple sources without any worry of compatibility or accessibility.
When you partner with talech for your retail technology needs, we devote our time to identifying your business challenges. We use this information to work with you to provide you with an innovative POS solution that levels the playing field by precisely tracking sales productivity metrics.
