Facebook Advertising

Have you ever tried advertising on Facebook?  Neither had we until a couple weeks ago.  It was an interesting experiment.  I tried two different ads.  The first was to introduce us to people who had not liked out page yet.   That was pretty successful.

The second was website conversions.  That one is a little tougher.  Apparently, it is designed to show the ad and convince people that they should visit your website.  There are a ton of analytics that both Google and Facebook provide.   These analytics show you when and where the customer visited.

The big issue is if these are people clicking because they have a genuine need for information.  After all, that is what the goal is and what you pay for.

I'll be tracking this in the next couple weeks to see what happens.

New Mobile Ready Website for SelbySoft

Well, we finally did it!  The guys here spent the last month or so putting a new website together for SelbySoft.  Part of the primary reason for a new site was to meet the new standards that Google is pushing for mobile ready websites.

Google is now really looking to see if your website is Mobile Ready.   They even have a cool tool that is available to test your site with.

Test your site here:  https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Go check out the new site and let us know what you think! 

SP-1 for Coffee

One of the things we promote is a Zero Training interface.  Graphics make things easier!  

Did you know you can customize the pictures?

Coffee Fest Chicago Passes

Coming to Chicago for Coffee Fest in June?

So are we!  We will be in booth 500 June 5th-7th.  Come see us at Navy Pier.

If you need a pass,  give us a call or email and we can get you a discounted pass.

We will also be the Official Point of Sale system for America's Best Coffeehouse Competition.

Come and see Mike give his speech on tracking sales with technology on Saturday as well.

SCAA Show in Seattle

Jordan and I recently finished the SCAA show in Seattle. 

Even though it is my eighth or ninth SCAA, it still amazes me how large it is. . This show brought about 8,500 attendees and over 2,000 exhibitors to Seattle. 

Social media

What do you use for social media?  There are a ton of different sites out there. 

Do you prefer picture oriented sites such as instagram and pinterest or forum oriented sites like Facebook and Twitter?

SelbySoft Integration

I just finished talking with a potential customer of ours about integrating a point of sale into a location.   One of the questions they asked about was the process.

A proper setup of the point of sale system is one of the most important pieces in the process.

• The first step is to make sure the equipment configuration is done. Even with a single station system it is important to make sure that everyone understands where the customer receipts will print and if we need a remote barista or food printer.  If we have multiple stations, it's even more important.  

• Menu.  We then need as much menu information as you can get us!  It is amazing how many items are not listed on your paper menu or the menu board.  For the POS to be effective, we have to know all your up charges, flavor and food choices and more.  

• Menu review.  Once we have your menu, we need to review it.  This step happens about 80% of the way through our menu design in the POS.  We then want you (and any staff) to review the menu with one of our technicians.    This step is crucial as it allows us to alter the design and button placements if needed. 

• Training is usually performed at this step.  We really want to train on the employee level, management and then owner level.  This allows us to get you familiar with the system. 

• Credit Card setup.  If possible, we love to get the credit card information from you before the system ships.  That way we can perform test transactions and ensure it all works.  Some credit card companies can take 1-3 weeks to get us that information!  

• Gift Card design and setup.  If you are ordering gift cards with the system then we need to get a copy of your artwork.  That allows our team to make sure the gift card will be designed properly. Additionally, if you are using an existing company for gift cards, then you will need to allow for time to convert those into our system.  

• Shipping and installation.  The system is then boxed and shipped to you.  In most cases you will call SelbySoft and have us walk you through the exact setup.  All that is left is to determine a 'go live' date! 

Tracking Labor and Costs

Do you track your cost of Goods Sold or labor cost? If not,  you should. 

Labor costs are easy to track, just put the employees into SP-1 and then add their wage and overtime wage.  You can even add a a daily salary amount for those employees that you don't pay hourly.  SP-1 will then calculate an on the fly labor percent for you.

Cost of Goods is a little more difficult. In order to track this,  you need to enter the inventory items and then link them to the menu items.  That way SP-1 knows your portions and weights.  From there it is just a matter of receiving inventory and performing physical counts. This will give you an on the fly COG's number.

Give it a try... I'm sure you will see that you have better control over your location.

Advertising

I just had a conversation about advertising with a customer of mine.  I think we all agree that advertising can be frustrating.  We spend the money but have a hard time knowing if there is a playoff. There is an old joke that we know 50% of our advertising works... Just not which 50%.

One of the things we can do is help you track which specials and discounts are working.  More importantly which are not working.  Once we start tracking this, it gets easier to see what is working.  This allows you to know what customers are responding to.

Have some questions?  Call us!

Specialty Coffee Association of America

In April we will be headed to the SCAA show in Seattle.  This is a very different show than the Coffee Fest shows we attend three times a year.

Frankly,  for us this show is usually not as profitable as some of the others. That does not mean it is not important however. 

What I like about SCAA is that the show has a variety of roasters, green importers,  equipment providers and other unique items to the coffee industry.  This a great time for us to see where the industry is headed. Taking advantage of the various speeches and seminars can be incredibly valuable as well.

If you make it to the show in April come say Hi!

Going Green

The Specialty Coffee Association of America trade show is coming up.  This year SelbySoft took the pledge to so what we can to cut down on paper waste.

At these trade shows,  we got through a ton of paper receipts.  We are bringing a blue recycle bin for all that paper!

Additionally,  we will be asking our potential customers if they would rather have their information sent electronically as opposed to taking a paper package with them. 

Thoughts on theft

Employee Theft.  In my opinion, it is one of the most  devastating things that can happen. Especially to a small business owner.  

I'm not talking about missing pencils or an occasional soda.  I'm talking about when an employee deliberately steals cash or product from you.

If you have been in business for a while, usually know the feeling. If you are new to your business, you will eventually have it happen.  What is both sad and funny is that many owners refuse to believe that it is happening. Worse, many don't know what to do about it.

Just the other day, an owner called us because some employees are leaving the cash drawers open and working directly out of the cash in the drawer.  When we hear this, we figure the employee is not ringing in transactions and then pocketing the cash. I've discussed many ways to help stop this in the past- multiple cash drawers,  assigning employees to drawers, fingerprint id, pole displays and more. 

The bottom line is you have to have a firm policy that includes verbal and written reprimands with the ultimate penalty being that the offender is fired. 

It will be hard,  but in most cases, you will find that the rest of the crew knew it was happening and is glad the offending person is gone. 

SelbySoft Trade Show Booth

I thought it would be fun to show our last booth!

On the left you have an All in One computer with a small, four drawer cash drawer, receipt printer and a kitchen / barista monitor above it.  

The podium to the right has an All in One with a receipt printer, finger print id and barcode scanner. 

To the right of that is a docked tablet system with a network printer for wireless ticket printing.

Finally, on the far right is another tablet system mounted to the truss.  It prints to the wireless ticket printer. 

Coffee Shop Managers

I talk to a lot of Coffee shop owners. I also talk to a lot of Coffee shop managers.  The two of them sometimes have different needs. 

Owners often focus on the big picture - Theft, inventory control, gift & loyalty systems and employee management.  

Managers are more concerned with actual day to day issues.  Things like reliability, speed,  customer service and ease of use.

What's amazing is how many owners never  ask their manager or head barista to look things over.  I say amazing because sometimes the owners take a couple orders a week. The coffee shop manager can take thousands of orders a week!  

Next time you shop for a point of sale system, ask your manager as well! 

Coffee Fest Atlanta review

I'm back from Coffee Fest Atlanta and finally able to think about the show. 

As the first big coffee show of the year, this is the one that I feel sets the trend for how coffee shops will approach us for the rest of the year.  

Based on this show - the coffee industry is strong! 

Some of the trends I'm seeing from the show are:

• Beer & Wine:  More people are looking at adding this as an option in their shops. I heard from multiple owners that they have a drop on coffee sales after four in the afternoon.  Beer and wine sales help keep the revenues up after that time. 
• Food:  A number of shops explained that they were adding more food options to the menu.  I hear this every couple years but this was a little different.  I heard more about food that focuses on fresh, local and healthy options than just your usual sandwiches. 
• Coffee & Not Syrup:  I heard from a number of attendees that they were limiting the syrup options in drinks. 

Mike. 

SelbySoft's Future

I often think of our future as a company.  Consequently, I think of our past as well. One of the things that stands out in my mind is how difficult the point of sale industry can be.

We don't get an opportunity to talk about it much but SelbySoft has always been an innovator. Our first point of sale product,  Take 1, was a video rental software.  

SelbySoft introduced features such as multiple window ordering,  was one of the first to tie into rental profit sharing sites, game trading, and more. In fact, that software is still being used after 25 years.

With SP-1 for Coffee & Pizza, we released one of the earliest fully graphical systems, a delivery system that offered mapping, an inventory control that allowed for extensive recipe control,  a free gift and loyalty card system that includes multiple features and more.

That's great but it's all in the past.  SelbySoft now has to move toward the future.  We have plans for a number of new items in the future.  Think more mobile solutions for your customers to order on,  mobile ordering in store by staff, comprehensive reporting from any device and so on. But we will not stop there...We will be looking at reporting through watches, using beacons and geo-fencing to market and more.

The future is coming and it will be great!

SelbySoft Inventory

I talk about inventory control often at shows and with customers over the phone.

Some people are excited about it and get what the benefits of tracking inventory can bring. 

Not everyone however.  We hope to change that through training and education.   You see,  we know that if our customers track what they sell  and track what they receive,  they will make more money. 

Cost of Goods Sold s one of the most important things you can track on a regular basis.  Even more important is tracking the variance between what you actually used and what you should have used.   Really,  this is incredibly important.  The two biggest reasons are to ensure that the staff is using the correct portions when making drinks or food.   Even better is that you can make sure that you are cutting waste.  

Cutting waste is the easiest way to increase your bottom line.   Think about it,  every dollar of waste you stop is a dollar you put in your pocket!

Take off

I love taking off in an airplane. I'm not a pilot and I don't have any friends with planes that I know of. My only real experience is being on a commercial flight and talking off

In fact I'm typing this on my way to Coffee Fest Atlanta and sitting on the runway waiting for the plane to get going (proof in the picture).

This thrill of taking off reminds me of the same thrill I get when we figure out that one off solution to an obscure technical issue for a customer and the thrill we get when a new prospect chooses to invest their money, time and confidence in us.

PS Ask me about landings sometime.  I like those too!

Thinking about Point of Sale

How much thought do you give to Point of Sale?  Probably not a lot.  Maybe only when there is a problem.

We obviously think about it a lot - like whole a lot.  It's one of those things that makes you look to see what register or POS terminal a store is using when you first enter.  If someone has a picture of their shop on Facebook, we immediately try to figure out what system they have.

It's a good thing we do - we see features (good and bad), ergonomics and more by keeping our eyes open.  When you take a look at our system, you will find features that are inspired by what we have found in the marketplace.  A good percentage of features you see in SP-1 by SelbySoft are suggestions from customers.

Next time you see something cool or useful in a point of sale system, don't keep it to yourself!

Mike.

Practice, Practice, Practice

If you follow me on on Facebook,  then you know I have a daughter in Soccer.  Not just the "kids like soccer" way but the "year round, don't care if it is raining or 20 degrees outside" soccer

Watching practices for the last 10 months (twice a week plus games) has reminded me that practice really works.  It's not about getting to be the best either.  It's about doing better and learning what you can improve on.

This is applied to our business as well.  When we lose a sale,  goof a shipment or  forget a switch in a hardware configuration it's because we need to do a better job.  Doing a better job is what gets you too perfect in my opinion.  Practicing and learning from your mistakes is what makes a difference. 

Ok,  I'm going to watch soccer practice now.

Mike

Can't wait for SUMMER

I was walking through our back storage at the office and ran across this:

Anyone else looking forward to summer?

Coffee Fest Atlanta

This week Jordan and I head to a Coffee Fest trade show.  This one is in Atlanta Georgia. 

I'm excited for the show. 

I believe that good trade shows are one of the best things we do.  At the coffee shows it is great to be surrounded by a few thousand like minded people. 

The excitement of being able to meet and talk to people that are just starting their businesses is so cool it's hard to explain.  Some of these people will never get off the ground, some will close in their first year or two,  some will come to dread owning their own business.  All, however, are 1,000% excited to be trying. 

And just to leave you with something positive... Some will open, have a fantastic time and be happily successful!

I dare you to come to Coffee Fest and not have your batteries re-charged. 

Mike

Friday's at SelbySoft!

Eric, our Customer Service Manager, and I were talking earlier today.  Eric mentioned that Friday's are one of those days that are busy for him.  On Friday, Eric starts prepping the plan for next week as well as going through the SelbySoft call logs for the previous week.

Believe it or not, Eric actually reads all the comments that you, our customers, leave on the LogMeIn session logs.  He then covers them, good and bad, with the support staff.

So next time you are leaving a comment (hopefully good!) about one of our technicians, know that someone out there is hearing you!

Mike.

SelbySoft Supporting the Seahwaks!

In honor of the Seattle Seahawks making it to their 2nd Superbowl in a row, we are changing our Facebook logo a little. 

See the new logo below or on our Facebook page here!

SelbySoft Development

Development in today's world sounds so easy. Everyone has a friend that is a 'hacker'  or is really 'a genius at programming'. My experience is that most of these people have some basic skills that impress their friends. 

Then you have the thought that you should be able to outsource everything. It seems easy -  pay the lowest bidder to write the code for you. 

The reality?  It works better if you have a dedicated programming staff in house. Does it cost more?  Yes.  Is it worth it?  A million times. Want an example?

My business partner and head of development has been coding for 30 years. He has written hundreds of thousands of lines of code. . Most of it with SelbySoft.  You can't find an outsourced coding firm that will have that level of knowledge, dedication and (it seems weird) love of every line.

Mike

How lucky we are

Today we consider ourselves pretty fortunate. Right now,  New York city is being hammered by snow storms.

For the last couple years Coffee Fest has taken place in NYC.  This year?  They moved the show to Atlanta Georgia! Our sales team leaves next week for the show.

This is fortunate for not just us,  but for anyone exhibiting or attending the show.  Trade shows are not only great ways to communicate with potential customers, but also our customers only time to get out at an industry event.

Here's hoping that our friends on the East Coast don't have too hard a time this week. 

SelbySoft YouTube Channel

Do you know that we have a YouTube channel?   You can  find it here.
We post videos about new features, how to videos and more over there.

Here is an example showing off our new scheduling program!

Head over and check it out if you have a second.
Mike
www.SelbySoft.com

How SelbySoft gets ready

How does your company get ready for the day?  Policies and procedures can be an important part of the business day, and I thought I'd share a little of our plans.

Usually our day in support starts with Eric reviewing the calls from the day before and the emergency support calls. He gets with the team and focuses first on what is still open and unresolved and then on what we could have done better.  They then come up with a plan of attack.

Our hardware department does an inventory and also consider what state of build the new systems are in. 

In sales,  we make sure weekly that we have followed up with every new prospect, go through emails and look at our social media.  We skip the "pump you up"  sales meeting stuff.

Mike

Support at SelbySoft

I was talking to Eric,  our Customer Service Manager, about our support department the other day.  The topic of longevity came up and he surprised me by letting me know that our newest technician has been here almost two years!

Like any other company, we value longevity - especially in our support department.  Knowledgeable technicians solve problems faster, make customers happier and work better together. 

I really can't tell you how happy I am with our crew. It takes a reminder every once in a while to make us say "Thanks!"  to the guys

SelbySoft getting ready

What did we do last week? We started getting things ready for the Coffee Fest show in Atlanta.

Packing? Sales literature? Top secret updates? Nope. We spent time analyzing the food and drink scene near the Cobb Center!

Mike Spence President SelbySoft, Inc 800.454.4534 Sent from my mobile