Customer relationships aren’t like romantic ones. When one ends, it’s not them, it’s you.

Something about the way you’re doing business or something you’re not doing is what caused that customer to look elsewhere for products like yours. So what’s behind those lost customer relationships? Here are six reasons shoppers look to other retailers and how you can address the associated problems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

You’re Making Them Play the Waiting Game.

Now that a customer can buy anything they want online in seconds, they’re much less willing to stand in a line in any store to get things they want and need. A lengthy line at the checkout ends a customer’s shopping experience on a sour note that they’ll remember when they leave. Point of sale software can expedite transactions to keep the line turning at an increased pace. Cloud-based POS systems can even eliminate lines entirely and allow your sales associates to complete transactions on the sales floor with iPads.

There Are Not Enough Hands on Deck

A ship without a crew is one that is bound to sink, and a store without the proper staffing might suffer the same fate. If you don’t have enough employees on hand to answer questions and retrieve merchandise when you’re busy, customers are likely to see if your competitors offer better service. Hourly sales reporting stats from your point of sale system can give you insight into when you need more people on the floor and when you can afford to have a skeleton crew.

You’re Not Staying Fresh in Their Minds

How often are you staying in touch with your customers via social media and email? If you’re slacking with your Internet marketing methods, you’re giving your competitors a chance to capture your customers’ attention and steal them. Today, point of sale systems can help you market across a number of channels quickly, so staying fresh in customers’ minds doesn’t have to mean taking tons of time away from other focuses.

You Don’t Have What They Came Into Buy

This one is simple–if you don’t have it in stock, your customer will go somewhere else to buy it. Point of sale software with inventory functionality can help you avoid selling out of your most popular merchandise and allow your associates to save sales by quickly determining what items are in your storeroom waiting to be stocked.

Someone Else Is Rewarding Their Loyalty

Wouldn’t you rather be earning discounts and free merchandise when you shop than not? Stores have loyalty programs because they really do work and offer a competitive advantage. POS systems make it easy to implement and manage one, so that you can stay on pace with competitors.

You’re Not Letting Them Pay the Way They Want

If you don’t accept credit cards yet, you can be sure you’re losing customers to companies that do, but now you may be losing customers even if you’re accepting cards. People who use contactless payment systems like Apple Pay will often choose businesses that allow them to pay the way they wish. Using a point of sale system that is set up for the newest payment methods can help you avoid losing these tech-savvy customers.

All graphics provided by Softwareadvice.com via Retailer Guide

Yamarie Grullon

Yamarie Grullon has years of experience creating helpful & engaging content for small business owners. As Director of Content Strategy at ShopKeep, a leading iPad Point of Sale System, Yamarie provides merchants with practical advice on all things related to business or point of sale.