New LightSpeed Mobile POS TV Ads - Meet Your Customer - Fresh In

Here's the first of two new LightSpeed TV Ads introducing LightSpeed Mobile.  

Get moving with LightSpeed Mobile, and introduce a revolutionary new personal retail experience to your store or chain.
Like no other retail system before it, LightSpeed Mobile enables your sales staff to bring the retail experience to your customer. Meet your customer in a whole new way by sparking personal relationships that cultivate customer loyalty. Get to know them in one-on-one interactions, learn best how to meet their needs, and capture their excitement by making purchases a breeze. Meet your customer, decrease transaction times and improve your bottom line with LightSpeed Mobile.

New LightSpeed Mobile POS TV Ads - Meet Your Customer - Sick

We already love LightSpeed Point of Sale for Mac, but here's another reason to love it even more.  Check out the new ads for LightSpeed Mobile. 

Get moving with LightSpeed Mobile, and introduce a revolutionary new personal retail experience to your store or chain.
Like no other retail system before it, LightSpeed Mobile enables your sales staff to bring the retail experience to your customer. Meet your customer in a whole new way by sparking personal relationships that cultivate customer loyalty. Get to know them in one-on-one interactions, learn best how to meet their needs, and capture their excitement by making purchases a breeze. Meet your customer, decrease transaction times and improve your bottom line with LightSpeed Mobile.

Five US trends for Australian retailers

by Inside Retailing Online on May 24, 2010            

David Evans, CEO of the SPOS Group, predicts five North American trends will help Australian retailers to adapt to the economy and customers’ shopping needs.

Customers are informed

Shoppers have permanently moved from impulse buying to information.

They want to find information about the product they are thinking of buying without being ‘annoyed’ by sales assistants. So it’s important to make product data available right next to the product.

Interactive technologies like digital screens and self-service kiosks are great tools to achieve this.

Customers are looking for immersive experiences

Customers tend to shop in many stores before deciding which one to buy from and, in addition to this, they also buy online. They have become omni-channel shoppers.

So a critical factor to success for retailers is to create new levels of loyalty or a reason for customers to come back to their outlet.

One way to do this is by creating an ‘experience’ for the shopper. Interactive merchandising like the MTI Solution allows shoppers to actually try the product before buying it, thus getting a real first-hand experience.

A camera retailer, for example, would be able to keep its cameras safely out on display and powered so shoppers can take photos with them and look at various options the cameras offer.

Self-checkouts are another way to create customer loyalty because they speed up the buying process. Anecdotally, Australia is the country that has adapted more quickly to self-checkouts.

Integrated merchandising

Small and large retailers alike are introducing systems that are fully integrated to their POS system to save management time and ensure consistency of data across the board.

They are looking for a system that can automatically produce the right promotional signage and shelf edge labels in the right media, in the right store, in the right quantity, showing the right price, in the right order and at the right time.

As a result we will hear less and less about customers asking for a huge discount because the label indicated the wrong price. Integrated merchandising ensures that when a product is scanned at checkout, it is the same as the price on the shelf and the same price is also on the website.

IStand is a POS Pole for the iPad

By Charlie Sorrel   September 14, 2010  |  8:42 am  |  Categories: Accessories and Peripherals

It’s a stand for the iPad, and so of course it is called the iStand, but it’s also an elegant piece of furniture. The Danish-designed stand is aimed at POS use (no, not that POS) and holds the iPad at a handy browsing height allowing customers to flip through catalogs, menus or any kind of information. I can imagine these in use both as educational aids in museums and also by clipboard-nazis as they deny you entry to their lame but “exclusive” nightclub.

The iStand has space for a dock-cable and bolts shut around the iPad. It also covers the home button to prevent tinkering, so you’d better be sure you have launched the correct app before you lock it up. It tilts and swivels, too, depending on how you want to use it.

The company behind the iStand, InSilico, also makes companion apps, although these are not listed in the app store. They are pretty self explanatory: They’re called iCatalogue and iMagazine. I’m thinking it would be pretty cool to put a couple of these in Wired’s reception hall showing the iPad version of the mag (or better, tuned to the Gadget Lab page). The only problem there would be in the New York office, where Bureau Chief John C Abell does a lot of his “work” in the comfy reception-area armchairs, and his snoring might scare people off.

Depending on the price of this simple metal pole and mount, the iStand plus iPad combo could be a very cheap way for businesses to get a custom interactive POS system. Knowing what I do about the costs of velvet ropes and stands, though, the iStand is likely to cost more than the iPad itself.

iStand is here [InSilico. Thanks, Kim!]

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/09/istand-is-a-pos-pole-for-the-ipad/#ixzz10MBjEoHc

Richard Branson: Nice Guys Can Finish First - Entrepreneur.com

Richard Branson: Nice Guys Can Finish First

Is aggression necessary for business success? The celebrated entrepreneur talks about making tough calls.

By Richard Branson

Q: I’d like to ask a philosophical question: I have been trying to get my business off the ground, and I often feel that I have to get very aggressive with suppliers and service providers. I hate being aggressive, but I hate it more when my success (and survival) is hampered by others who don’t perform as they should.

I have come to believe that only very aggressive people get ahead. Yet I look at you and wonder: Are you aggressive in business or do you have a technique that serves you well while keeping your composure when faced with trying situations? I once met you and found you to be very friendly and relatively soft-spoken. -- Marco, South Africa

A: Thanks, Marco -- a nice set of easy questions to start off with!

Take the one about aggression. There are lots of ways to get your point across and make your business successful without being aggressive. Always remember that you love what you do and your role is to persuade others to love your business, too, and, therefore, to want to work with you.

I hope we are successful at Virgin because we engage with everyone in a positive, inclusive manner rather than in an aggressive, combative or negative way

The tone of your question suggests that not knowing how to deal with under-performing staff causes you a lot of stress. If a member of your team is not performing as you expect, don’t write him or her off immediately. At Virgin if an employee is not doing well in one area, I feel that he or she should be given the opportunity to try out in a different Virgin job.If the companies or individuals you deal with do not respond to a positive approach, ask yourself if they are the companies you should work with. For every supplier out there that is aggressive, there are another five that will want to work with you -- in a way that allows you and your business to be true to a more inclusive and positive partnership.

Firing people should never be your first option. In some cases, when letting people go is your only option, prepare for the conversation with constructive suggestions about why it is not working out and other ideas the employee should pursue. That will help make the process easier for both of you.

I agree that a strong personality is a great asset when starting up your business. So is confidence to follow a vision. But listening to others and the art of delegation are key skills to add to the mix.

It’s often hard to get past your own feelings of frustration when dealing with others. Delegating to a member of your team brings a fresh pair of eyes and often a different approach and perspective.

Xsilva Systems releases LightSpeed 3.2

Enhanced, optimized POS and Multi-Store feature sets among highlights

Montreal, Canada – September 15, 2010 – Xsilva Systems Inc., maker of a comprehensive suite of 

easy-to-use tools for retailers, has released LightSpeed 3.2, providing retailers with significant Point of Sale performance enhancements, improved Multi-Store Pro replication tools, GSX Carry-In Repair for Apple reseller customers, as well as numerous improvements and optimizations.

“Whether operating a small store or a multi-store chain, business owners want fast, solid retail software that meets their growing needs,” said Dax Dasilva, founder and CEO of Xsilva Systems. “Xsilva is continuously evolving LightSpeed and its Multi-Store Pro feature set, and the new 3.2 version demonstrates this pursuit of refinement and enhanced utility
for retail businesses that depend on our system."

Upgrade Information

LightSpeed 3.2 is a free upgrade for all 3.x users. For downloads and release notes, please visit www.xsilva.com/en/downloads.html

Existing users of LightSpeed 2.x can receive upgrade license keys for LightSpeed 3.0 if they had a valid Support and Upgrade Subscription as of Oct. 1, 2009, or can upgrade by renewing their subscription. For more information, please contact your local LightSpeed reseller or email sales@xsilva.com.

For more information on LightSpeed, please visit www.xsilva.com/explore

http://www.xsilva.com/en/news/2524.html

Marketcircle releases Billings Pro

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Aug 30th 2010 at 4:00PM

After some teasing and a closed beta, Marketcircle has finally released Billings Pro 1.0. As the big brother toBillings, the pro version offers multi-user support for small businesses.

I've used Billings and Billings Touch for years, and love them dearly. Of course, I'm a "business of one," so I don't need multi-user support. Many do, however, and Marketcircle intends to bring the great Billings experience to them. Additionally, they're going for ubiquitous access from the Mac, iPhone and the web. 

Billings Pro is a multi-user time tracking and invoicing application. Time tracking is super easy. All you must do is click aspect of the project you're working on, start the timer and you're off. When you're done working, simply stop the timer. All data is synchronized automatically.

This release offers new tools for the manager, like what they're calling "Timecard," which lets users track mileage, project expenses and time spent working via a modern web browser, including Mobile Safari.

There are several payment options. First, users can purchase Billings Pro for a one-time fee of US$199.95 per user. Once that's done, you own it. There are no monthly or annual fees. Additionally, users can upgrade from Billings 3 to Billings Pro for $174.95 per user. Those with more modest needs can take advantage of a monthly, per user "pay as you go" option for $24.95.

Marketcircle is also offering a Billings Pro Starter Bundle which comes preloaded with Billings Pro, Billings Pro Touch, Timecard, Switchboard and a full year of Premium Support, starting at $1,429.50 for up to 5 users.

Of course, that's only the surface of Billings Pro. We're working on a full review and will have that out for you soon. Good luck to the folks at Marketcircle.