AA Blog 08
Customer Counting Systems:  5
Door Counting Sensor:  4
Customer Counting Systems:  An Innovative Way to Identify Customer Trends, Manage labor and Increase Profit
In my position I have to travel rather frequently to various locations throughout the United States and Canada to deal with security related issues.  As you can expect my travel often comes with some interesting stories and experiences, some of which can be rather humorous.  It also provides me with the opportunity to frequent different hotels, restaurants, and other businesses during the course of my travel.  Although some experiences are better than others, it often gives me a different perspective regarding how businesses operate.  On a recent trip I decided to eat dinner at a popular chain restaurant that was close to my hotel.  It was rather early in the day for dinner, but I was dealing with a time change situation.  When I walked in I noticed the place was pretty empty, which didn’t surprise me.  After deciding what I wanted, I waited for an extended period of time for my server to come take my order, which began to irritate me.  As I was waiting and looking around I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of employees working considering the time of day.  I use the word working liberally, as most of them were standing around having personal conversations, and doing nothing in the way of customer service.  I counted 12 employees as I sat there waiting and I couldn’t help but think, what a waste of money and resources, for poor service.  Maybe those large chains can afford to waste money by poorly scheduling resources, but what about those small businesses that are working hard to reduce their overhead costs, in order to increase their profit margin?  This made me think about customer counting systems and how they could help this restaurant work more efficiently.  
Although, most people might think customer counting systems are primarily used in the retail industry; they can be a great resource for any business that wants to track customer activity.  It is important for any type of business to know how many people are frequenting their establishment and when.  A door counting sensor can be extremely beneficial because it can provide real time data to eliminate labor issues.  It can also provide other information that can be used to improve business or evaluate current or future promotional opportunities.   A door counting sensor provides customer information, which is reported by the hour each day.  Therefore, a manager or owner can utilize this information for scheduling purposes to ensure they have the appropriate staff working during the peak times of the day.  Customer counting systems can also help you determine whether a promotional sale or event was successful.  A door counting sensor can also be used to identify opportunities for growth and development.  If a business can identify lulls in service, they can better direct their efforts on promotions during those time frames.  For example, if a restaurant is slowest between 4pm-6pm, maybe you could improve sales by adding happy hour specials during those times.  Customer counting systems can be received in a reporting format or incorporated into your sales data so that you can easily and quickly see trends without having to conduct a lengthy analysis based on sales and other factors.  
Customer counting systems are easily installed and are a cost-efficient means to help you monitor your customer traffic in order to reduce overhead cost, while improving sales and customer satisfaction.  Although I know that each business is operated differently, thus resulting in a different experience each time, I do know that poor service will ultimately impact my future consumer choices.  So if you are a business manager or business owner make balancing your budget and increasing sales a priority through easy and efficient trend analysis.  I would strongly recommend getting a door counting sensor, so you can better track and respond to your customers’ needs.  
Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it.  Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.  

In my position I have to travel rather frequently to various locations throughout the United States and Canada to deal with security related issues. As you can expect my travel often comes with some interesting stories and experiences, some of which can be rather humorous. It also provides me with the opportunity to frequent different hotels, restaurants, and other businesses during the course of my travel. Although some experiences are better than others, it often gives me a different perspective regarding how businesses operate. On a recent trip I decided to eat dinner at a popular chain restaurant that was close to my hotel. It was rather early in the day for dinner, but I was dealing with a time change situation. When I walked in I noticed the place was pretty empty, which didn’t surprise me. After deciding what I wanted, I waited for an extended period of time for my server to come take my order, which began to irritate me. As I was waiting and looking around I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of employees working considering the time of day. I use the word working liberally, as most of them were standing around having personal conversations, and doing nothing in the way of customer service. I counted 12 employees as I sat there waiting and I couldn’t help but think, what a waste of money and resources, for poor service. Maybe those large chains can afford to waste money by poorly scheduling resources, but what about those small businesses that are working hard to reduce their overhead costs, in order to increase their profit margin? This made me think about customer counting systems and how they could help this restaurant work more efficiently.  

Although, most people might think customer counting systems are primarily used in the retail industry; they can be a great resource for any business that wants to track customer activity. It is important for any type of business to know how many people are frequenting their establishment and when. A door counting sensor can be extremely beneficial because it can provide real time data to eliminate labor issues. It can also provide other information that can be used to improve business or evaluate current or future promotional opportunities. A door counting sensor provides customer information, which is reported by the hour each day. Therefore, a manager or owner can utilize this information for scheduling purposes to ensure they have the appropriate staff working during the peak times of the day. Customer counting systems can also help you determine whether a promotional sale or event was successful. A door counting sensor can also be used to identify opportunities for growth and development. If a business can identify lulls in service, they can better direct their efforts on promotions during those time frames. For example, if a restaurant is slowest between 4pm-6pm, maybe you could improve sales by adding happy hour specials during those times. Customer counting systems can be received in a reporting format or incorporated into your sales data so that you can easily and quickly see trends without having to conduct a lengthy analysis based on sales and other factors.  

Customer counting systems are easily installed and are a cost-efficient means to help you monitor your customer traffic in order to reduce overhead cost, while improving sales and customer satisfaction. Although I know that each business is operated differently, thus resulting in a different experience each time, I do know that poor service will ultimately impact my future consumer choices. So if you are a business manager or business owner make balancing your budget and increasing sales a priority through easy and efficient trend analysis. I would strongly recommend getting a door counting sensor, so you can better track and respond to your customers’ needs.  

 

Customer counting systems are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.