In the present and ever-changing competitive environment, retailers need a way to establish customer loyalty. Additionally, store owners need a way to efficiently accumulate useful customer-based information that will assist them in developing superior marketing strategies for effective merchandising.

It is especially difficult in this era of the "supermarket" for a retailer to cultivate the type of relationship that existed between many and the "Mom and Pop" store owners of the '50s and '60s.

MEI's Frequent Buyer is a feature of SuperPOSS that is designed for use in conjunction with the NCR 2127 and ScanMaster Frequent Buyer feature. Grocery retailers whose registers are programmed to use this feature can offer special discounts and other rewards to customers who are "regular" or frequent buyers in their stores. This helps attract new business to the store and fosters customer loyalty.

Each Frequent Buyer customer is assigned a unique identification number. Whenever he or she makes a purchase, the checker enters his or her number at the very beginning of the transaction, before any items are scanned. The number may be entered by hand, but more commonly the checker scans it off a special bar-coded I.D. card.

When a frequent buyer buys an item on which a Frequent Buyer discount ("electronic coupon") is in effect, the register automatically applies the discount. The register receipt tape shows the item's regular price and the amount of the Frequent Buyer savings. (In the case of a customer who is not a Frequent Buyer, the register prints the amount the customer would have saved on each Frequent Buyer-discounted item if he or she had been registered in the program.)

MEI's Frequent Buyer (FB) greatly expands the utility of your register's Frequent Buyer feature. With FBP, you can use SuperPOSS to maintain a customer file containing each customer's name, number and other pertinent information. SuperPOSS can retrieve customer transaction data during its End of Day Processing routine and use the information to provide a range of reports which you can use in a variety of ways to manage and promote sales at your store.

NOTE: You may sometimes hear the term "frequent shopper" used, instead of "Frequent Buyer."

The Frequent Buyer tracks each customer's purchases in the store. You can collect information about their spending patterns--when and how often they shop and in what store departments. You can track customer activity both individually and by customer type, so you can relate your Frequent Buyer's shopping habits to such characteristics as age, marital status, family size, income level or whatever other information you choose to record in your customer file.

In this way, the program puts you in a unique position to tailor your store's operation to the special needs and desires of your customers. You can use the information it provides as a basis for planning sale strategies, instituting direct-mail and in-store promotions and making sound business decisions.

FREQUENT BUYER FEATURES

Frequent Buyer generates the following data:

Customer file maintenance functions

FBP includes a full range of functions for creating and maintaining a customer file in SuperPOSS. Each customer record contains the customer's name, FB customer number, address, phone number and other vital information. Optional comment fields let you enter unique additional customer information if you wish.

You can group your customer by type, defining each customer type according to your own criteria. (We recommend less than 20 types) A customer type can represent any set of distinguishing characteristics, such as marital status, family size or income level; or whether the customer is an individual, a business or an institution.

Easy application of FB promos

Tracking of FB customer transactions by individual and customer type.

FB transaction reports

Vendor invoices showing sales of "electronic coupons" or "motorized credit" items

Extensive customer listing and mailing label capabilities