The general retail experience has evolved so much in recent years that companies have to meet a lot of expectations to keep customers coming back, and that is especially true in the cannabis world. One bad experience with your dispensary or delivery service and your customers will vanish faster than those $1 prerolls.
Excellent service starts with your public-facing employees like budtenders, delivery drivers, and front desk personnel. It’s essential to equip them with a point-of-sale (POS) system that does more than just process transactions, and you want the technology to be designed specifically for cannabis businesses.
A great POS platform is secure and reliable because it processes sensitive information about your customers, products, and whether you’re operating the business properly, reporting directly into your state’s compliance tracking system. It must integrate with other business software, particularly software built for cannabis companies. It must gather data on your customers and make that information easy to utilize. And it must keep accurate tabs on inventory and sales.
Ideally your POS system operates on tablets and smartphones so you don’t have to purchase extra equipment. Even better if it tracks mileage for your drivers and makes all records, like customer/member agreements and manifests, digitally available. And offline access is crucial so you can process sales when the lights are out.
When all of this stuff works together seamlessly, your employees have much more time to focus on what matters most: customers.
And speaking of customers, every time they do business with you they leave behind valuable information about their buying habits and what is and is not popular among your offerings. But these datasets are often complicated and difficult to access, making a POS platform with built-in data analytics all the more important so you know when to offer discounts and coupons, how to structure a loyalty program, or when to rotate out or promote products that aren’t selling well or are extremely popular.
Do you have multiple locations across several states? A comprehensive POS system can also act as a window into your entire operation, managing compliance and taxes and giving you pinpoint inventory accuracy no matter where the product is located.
BLAZE Retail was designed to do all of this and more. For instance, our POS technology can turn your website into an online storefront in a matter of minutes, giving your customers the option of ordering before they ever set foot into your dispensary. BLAZE Retail also allows for SMS communication about order statuses, and it integrates with all websites (WordPress, SquareSpace, GoDaddy, HTML5, and others).
