Emerging and Evolving
Trends for 2006 from Hallmark's
Marita Wesely-Clough
2006 Retail Trends and Counter
Trends While attitudes,
perceptions and behavior continually evolve into trends and as
individuals, the nation and the world adjust to change, some
trends become cultural characteristics, observes Hallmark
trends expert, Marita Wesely-Clough.
"A social trend
becomes a part of a culture when it lasts five to eight years
or more - bargain hunting, for example," Wesely-Clough says,
"or Eastern influences. Of course, countertrends surface,
strengthen and eventually can supplant established cultural
trends."
An emerging and strengthening trend is the
search for meaning in a technological, rapidly moving,
pressure-filled society - and the sense of dissonance that
results.
Wesely-Clough keeps abreast of evolving
societal attitudes and behaviors to help product and creative
groups at Hallmark stay "on trend." Her observations add
insight and perspective to quantitative information provided
by the Hallmark Research Department.
Understanding the
consumer is the first step in creating products that are on
target, according to Hallmark, and is essential to developing
relevant products that help people express their emotions and
strengthen relationships.
"It is essential to stay
close to consumers to learn what is influencing the thoughts
and feelings they want to express," Wesely-Clough says.
Over the last
few years, at Advanced Retail Management Systems, we have
expanded our product and services that we offer to retail
businesses, including custom programming, expanded E-commerce
offerings and additional Point of Sale and Inventory Control
software products. As part of this process we are pleased to
announce that we are now a Certified CounterPoint SQL Partner.
In addition to offering Retail Pro and Microsoft Retail
Management System, we now offer CounterPoint SQL for small and
medium sized retailers.
CounterPoint, originally
developed by Synchronics and acquired by Radiant Systems
(NASDAQ:RADS) in Dec 2005, has been on the market for 25 years
and is currently being used in more than 10,000 stores.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Radiant Systems (www.radiantsystems.com ) provides innovative store technology for
the hospitality, convenience retail and entertainment
industries. CounterPoint SQL is a graphical point-of-sale and
inventory management system built on Microsoft's SQL database
designed for single and multi-store businesses.
Our focus with CounterPoint SQL
is on vertical markets not commonly supported by Retail Pro,
such as hardware stores, garden centers, appliance stores,
camera stores, marine supplies and other businesses. In order
to maintain our current business standards, we have put
together a separate team of sales and technical people in our
office that are trained and certified on CounterPoint SQL. We
offer a complete line of Point of Sale hardware, training
programs, support plans, and custom integrations for
CounterPoint SQL.
For more information on
CounterPoint SQL please contact Bob Evans, Director of Sales
and Marketing, at (303) 738-1800 Ext. 303 or E-mail him at
bob.evans@armsys.com.
Tech
Tips
Operating
System support for RMS Microsoft operating system support
changes for RMS 1.3
The following
operating systems are tested and supported by the latest
release of Microsoft Retail Management System, version
1.3: Windows XP Windows Server 2003
The following operating systems
are tested and supported by the Microsoft Retail Management
System, version 1.2: Windows 98/ME Windows 2000
Server Windows
XP
Windows Server 2003
Support
Information:
** Why doesn't RMS 1.3 support
Windows 98/ME/2000?
Windows
XP has now been available for 4 years and is the
deploymentplatform of choice by the wide majority of our
customers. By leveragingtechnological advances in XP we are
able to deliver a more reliable,secure, and high performing
solution.
Referral Program
Receive $250 credit
on account or 2 Client Service hours every time you refer a
new customer that purchases Microsoft Retail Management
System*. Microsoft Retail Management System has grown to be
the premier Inventory Control/POS software for small to
mid-tier retailers.
Whether you know a
single store or a 20-store chain, Microsoft Retail Management
System provides the technology for retailers to
excel.
Call your sales
person today at 800-305-0461 or complete the form below to
refer another retailer and start earning valuable rewards!
Call your sales person
today or press
here to refer another retailer and start earning valuable
rewards!
*Minimum purchase of $10,000 required
.
The Most Demanding Space In Your Store
One of
the most demanding spaces in your store is the last three feet
where you consummate the transaction with the customer. Point
of Sale hardware is often the most overlooked and under
planned component in almost all independent retail businesses.
Your Point of Sale hardware should be rock solid and durable.
For more than 12 years, Radiant Systems been making Point of
Sale Terminals focused on innovation for non-stop sales
reliability. The Radiant P1550 is an all-in-one retail
hardened POS terminal combing Intel's Pentium M Processor,
with Touch Screen and MSR reader. The P1550 is Radiant
Systems' premium Point of Sale Terminal built to with stand
the rigors of Retail.
Retail Hardened
Design The physical strains placed on electronic
devices in a Retail site far exceeds the stresses placed on a
device in an office or home
environment.
Fit-for-Purpose: The
Radiant P1550 has few moving parts with no CPU or power supply
fan and only a backup system fan. The retail hardened design
offers a spill resistant, high impact enclosure that is built
to withstand tough in-store conditions. All this maximizes
system uptime with continuous operation.
Design Validation:
Radiant's extensive design validation process includes stress
testing, accelerated life testing, thermal analysis, agency
certifications and alpha and beta test programs.
Integration Testing:
Radiant conducts full
software
integration testing with its hardware
products
Experience: Radiant
Systems has designed over two hundred boards in the
development of its Terminals.
Radiant Systems offers a compact,
functional integration tray that combines the P1550 with
keyboard, printer and cash drawer in an attractive package for
space utilization. The P1550 also comes with an optional
integrated Order Confirmation Display or Standard Pole
Display.
The
Radiant P1550 Point-of-Sale Terminal offers the ultimate in
quality and reliability for the most demanding space in your
store. The P1550 is tested and approved to work with Retail
Pro Version 8. Contact Bob Evans today to learn more at (303)
738-1800 Ext. 303 or at bob.evans@armsys.com.
Meet Our Staff
Brandon Pierce, Hardware
Service Technician.
Brandon is one of the newest
members of the ARMS family. He joined the Technical Services
Team in March of this year. As a Hardware Technician with ARMS
his responsibilities involve the bench set ups of the various
hardware that ARMS sells, this includes computers, receipt
printers, scanners, touch screen monitors and hand held
devices. He is responsible for testing and initial set up of
the software programs prepping them for the trainers. Brandon
is currently working on his the Microsoft Small Business
Server certification as part of his responsibilities at ARMS.
Prior to ARMS, Brandon worked for
CompUSA. He is enrolled in Metro State University in Denver
pursuing his bachelor's degree. Brandon is a native of
Colorado and comes from a musical family. He himself plays a
number of instruments and is involved in sound and music
production.
5 Principles to Cement Customer
Trust from Anne M.
Obarski
Retail Customer Service
and Loyalty
Have you ever second-guessed
yourself, on purpose? I imagine all of us have from time to
time. Sometimes it is about a decision we have made or those
we fail to make. Frequently, in our minds, we hold ourselves
accountable. There are times, I am sure, that every single one
of us have said, "If I only had it to do all over again", I
would have done such and such differently.
But life
does not allow us that option. I believe that everything
happens for a reason to allow us to grow and become the person
we are to be, with our faults and assets, failures as well as
accomplishments. We are here "on purpose!"
My purpose
in my business is to encourage organizations and people to
find a way to trust again. "Trust is probably the most basic
human value," says Fred Rogers, better known as Mr Rogers
does, from the children's show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood.
Nothing is harder to regain, than lost trust.
I
believe people do business with people they trust. I believe
people do business with people who are knowledgeable,
efficient and will deliver what they promise.
As the
holiday season approaches, I am already hearing retailers
questioning what type of season it will be. The downfall of
large corporations looms large and the stock market is the
fastest roller coaster ride I have ever seen. And even Martha
Stewart is starting to look a little tarnished. So the
question is, who will the consumer plan to spend their
carefully allocated holiday dollars with this year. I
believe it will be with those businesses that have earned the
customers trust.
How did those companies develop and
cement that trust? They promised and delivered the following
principles of building and maintaining trust.
T -
Truth
Trust and solid relationships are
built on telling the truth. Companies must maintain this
principle both with internal and external customers. It is
imperative that this value is represented in everything a
company does. We have seen how the lack of solid ethics can
crumble even the largest of companies.
R -
Responsibility
Trust is built when everyone
within an organization realizes what their responsibilities
are and that they are held accountable for them. Choose to
schedule reviews quarterly for every member of the company to
make sure they are aware of their responsibilities. Take
ownership of mistakes and be diligent to find ways to make
corrections.
U -
Unselfishness
Trust is built when employees
give of their time and talent in the workplace and do it,
unselfishly. Customers appreciate the employee who goes out of
their way to satisfy the customer. Customers don't appreciate
hearing how badly the employee wants to go home, or how they
didn't get a break, or how awful their schedule is.
S -
Security
Trust is built on a feeling of
security. Good lighting in the parking lot and store entrance,
fitting rooms with doors that lock, employees that handle
ringing up a sale with accuracy, and alarm systems that are
visible are all ways to make the customer feel safe in your
place of business. Employees want to feel a sense of job
security and that they are appreciated for the job they do.
T -
Teamwork
Trust is built when everyone
within the organization feels a sense of ownership. How well
do your employees work together? Are they willing to go out of
their way to help each other out? Do the managers roll up
their sleeves to help when the workload is overwhelming? Is
there a reward system in place that encourages employees to
want to excel? Most importantly, are there cheerleaders within
the organization to keep the momentum going when times are
tough?
We are at
a time when gaining a customers' trust is critical. It is a
daily process, on purpose. It is a time to maximize potential,
ethically and to deal with conflict and problems, with
credibility.
It is a time not to look back but look
forward. It is a time not to say, "if only", but to daily say,
"I am proud of what we did". And we achieved it, on purpose!
This email was
sent by: Advanced Retail Management Systems 8100 Southpark Way,
Unit A-10 , Littleton , CO, 80120 ,
