Tower Blog

We are hosting a free online business discussion with newsagents at 2:30 next Tuesday, September 2. This will be an interactive discussion around the state of newsagency retail and the ideas which people participating find work for them. We will be start with a discussion around our recently completed Benchmark Study. To book, please email bookings@towersystems.com.au. There are only 15 places available for this discussion. All you will need to participate is access to a computer with broadband and a phone for as toll free call for the audio.

We will be previewing our new repairs software at the JAA trade show in Sydney late next week. While we have engaged with many jewellers as we have designed and developed the new facilities, this will be our first public airing. We are all quite excited to get feedback from existing users and from prospects.

We have turned on the e-commerce facilities from our website this morning. This enables people to purchase almost anything we sell from software modules to hardware to consumables live from our website and to pay for this through our integrated banking solution. Software companies are often like doctors - taking of their needs last. We are using our website to practically demonstrate our point of difference and our commitment to making dong business with us even easier.

Watch for more enhancements to our website soon.

We had a sales meeting today and one of our team, the soon to be married Tim, said we were out of stress balls - though I am not sure of any connection to Tim’s impending nuptials. I figured the best way to show we are not out of stress balls was to dump a box of 300 balls over him. We all had a laugh and talked about the value of the stress balls at trade shows and in demonstrations. We have used these balls at four trade shows now and people love them. They give us several excellent talking points outside of the software. But most of all, they are fun and that’s key to this business, having fun!

In May this year we paid a professional market research firm to survey newsagents to determine what system they used.  This information was important so that we could be accurate in our representations as to our market share and the market share of our seven competitors in the newsagency marketplace.  We have compared the results of this professional research with numbers held by several industry suppliers and found all to agree.

Beyond helping to guide our marketing and support efforts, the market research results are shown, on a confidential basis, to newsagents interested in knowing whether the market share claims of a competitor are true.

Newsagents considering partnering with Tower Systems are welcome to ask to see the results of our market research.  This, coupled with the ANF newsagent software support survey of last year provide an excellent view of the state of newsagent software companies.

A competitor, POS Solutions, has claimed for some that it has been working with ePay in integrating mobile phone recharge into its software for. I know from our own work with ePay that this is untrue. Tower Systems is currently the only newsagent software company offering integrated access to the ePay suite of mobile phone recharge and phonecard product including Optus and Vodafone. For POS Solutions to claim or infer otherwise is false and misleading. Newsagents willsoon receive paerwork necessary to activating access to ePay products.

We are currently arriving five pallet loads of stock for our Sophie Randall businesses. The data part is easy thanks to the supplier providing an electronic invoice formatted to our standards. The real work is allocation and tracking of the stock across the stores and physically moving stock. We are undertaking this process in our offices so we can better research opportunities for streamlining arriving and allocating stock to multiple stores.  With more small business owners owning multiple store, knowledge of the operation is essential for us.

While the work is considerable, the learning gives us a wonderful advantage - we are able to have various team members observe and even participate.

There is no better learning for a software developer or a software trainer than using the software they are responsible for.

We are in the final stages of editing our new employee manual.  With more than 75 people directly employed by Tower and its retail businesses it has been important that we lay out shared obligations, our processes and some important stories of what we believe in.  Documentation like this is a key element to achieving consistency in what we do.

Reviewing some of the content has been interesting.  On the one hand formal information is essential in business.  However, it can come across as impersonal too legal.  So we are walking a fine line as we ensure that we meet our obligations to fully inform on processes yet do so in a way which reinforces the relaxed approach we take to business.

The manual will be ready for release to our entire team by the end of this month.

Our stand at the GNS Market Fair in Sydney today was busy from the opening of the show.  With more than 600 newsagent customers in NSW (more in this one state than our nearest competitor has nationally) we always get plenty dropping by to day hello and catch up with our Sydney based team.  The photo shows our NSW/ACT Sales Manager Nathan Morrison on the left and two of our installation and support team, Peter Nikolaros and Luke Matheson, on the right.

We have been doing the GNS Market Fair for around twenty years.  It has grown considerably over the years.  We embrace the opportunity to be in front of existing customers as much as prospects.  This level of public accountability keeps us focused on delivering the goods.

This is trade show number five is a very busy year of trade shows.

We are planning on offering free online training in the use of our software in Mandarin. This is being announced to our users today, seeking expressions of interest so that we may discuss content and timing. We feel that offering online group training for our users in Mandarin will help improve the benefits gained from the software and bond this group together for mutual support.

We have offered one on one training and telephone based support in Mandarin for four years.

We are not big on the traditional business lunch.  This is probably due to me, I am not a huge fan of spending two hours eating and drinking and discussing something which can be discussed in less time without the meal.  I do, however, know people with better social skills than me who successfully run their businesses around breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

With several new team members joining us in new rolls recently we are organising a series of lunches to help people better connect across departments.  I am embracing the opportunity and looking forward to helping some of our long term Tower team get better acquainted with recent arrivals.

A key benefit of owning a newsagency and a software company has been evident this week in two separate meetings with two major newsagent suppliers.  Both suppliers wanted a behind the scenes look at how their businesses interacts with a newsagency.

In separate meetings we have taken the suppliers through the operational implications for newsagents of data issues - both incoming and outgoing - to demonstrate the value of tighter processes at their end to improve outcomes for newsagents.

It is good to be able to participate in a discussion about options they are considering and workshop these options from a newsagent perspective.

Usually, software companies are brought to the table once standards are set and that makes sense.  Over twelve years owning a newsagency helps us bring additional perspective to discussions which can precede the usual software company discussion.

I wonder how many calls are recorded by banks, insurance companies and other businesses.  How many times have you heard “this call may be recorded for quality and training purposes”?

Thousands of calls a day must be recorded across Australia.  Since this started years ago I have not noticed any improvement in call handling by the businesses which record call.

The cynic in me says the recording is so they have a record of the call for later should you query anything and not for training or quality.

When I hear the message at the start of a call it is another reminder of how impersonal some businesses have become and how easily one copies another.  Someone suggested to me that the announcement about recording was meant to suggest that the company was concerned about quality and training. 

If you want a laugh next time you receive a call from someone who advises that the call may be recorded for quality or training purposes advise that you do not wish it to be recorded.  It will stop them in their tracks.  They have become so used to this tool that they expect you to say yes without thinking.

At Tower Systems we do not record calls.  Our Help Desk team works in an open environment and people can easily coach each other.  If we are training someone new we will have two people in on a call live to ensure the best advice is given.

Slow food is popular in Melbourne and, I am sure, other cities around the world. It is based on a movement which encourages us to take our time. Care is taken with preparation and cooking time. There is no rush. The best outcome is pursued with passion.

The same is true with our approach to training new team members. The best training is hands-on, dealing with real issues which guide you to learning opportunities and at the pace dictated by the person learning.

I am happy for our new team members to take as long as they need to learn our software and support processes. Extra time taken now will save time later with better outcomes for our customers.

We pride ourselves on providing a support service where our team members provide real advice on each user’s specific situation. This is why taking time to learn how to support the software is crucial. Beyond the knowledge it builds, there is the context which helps ensure that the advice provided is genuinely relevant.

As with the slow food movement, haste with training does not mean the best outcome.

How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill could easily be one of those syrupy feel-good quasi-business books you finish in the blink of an eye. I bought it through Amazon when buying some other books and left it on the shelf for too long. I read yesterday How Starbucks Saved My Life when I sent eight hours flying. I couldn’t put it down. Michael’s very personal and honest story touched me. His story of what he learnt in his first year at Starbucks is inspirational. Buried Michael’s personal story in an excellent business book about business processes, communication and leadership. I highly recommend this book to any business owner.

When the temporary Crown Casino first opened in Melbourne in 1994, we provided time based pricing options in our software which enabled the newsagent operator to increase the price of cigarettes between certain times according the the rules under which he traded. Our software would automatically adjust prices according to his preset rules, maximising return. We showed this around and soon other users wanted the same facilities. We added these to our catalogue management tools which manage catalogue offers.

Today, these time and date based pricing options are a standard part of our software. They are used in each marketplace in which we serve. It work particularly well in newsagencies where items like copy paper are priced aggressively like many FMCG goods. Using our software, newsagents who want to compete on price are able to pre-program their pricing requirements and have the software manage this - thereby helping newsagents position themselves are more price sensitive.

The same facilities are being used by some non newsagent users in tourist areas where evening prices vary from daytime prices. This is where we beat MYOB and similar basic point of sale products.

We have many facilities in our software which were developed for one person around a specific need and which have been implemented in a way which serves the broader user community.

I have been in Cairns today speaking at a regional meeting of newsagents. It was good to see so many newsagents give up a Sunday to get together and discuss ways they can improve their businesses. We were a sponsor of the day, one of four.  I appreciate the opportunity to provide such practical assistance newsagents - helping fund the day so there is no cost for attendance.

Suppliers in small business retail channels have an obligation to support those channels. Unfortunately, it is the usual companies providing financial support. While I am happy that Tower Systems the only software supporting newsagents in this way, I would welcome any of our competitors joining in and demonstrating practical support for the channel. It is a way they can prove their commitment.

We have signed an agreement for the exclusive introduction of a new method of payment for account customers of businesses using our retail management software.  The full details will be announced with the update about to shop.   The software enhabncements to enable use of the new method of payment will be provided free to all supported users (in all marketplaces) with the update.

The method of payment enables fast and efficient processing of regular accounts for customers.  This is ideal for lay-by payments, special order payments and newspaper home delivery customer account payments.  beyond the time saving of the new payment method, we have also reduced paperwork and made tracking payments easier.

We are committed to cutting the cost of running a business using our software and this latest exclusive facility helps deliver on that promise.

We are adding a user meeting in Auckland to our planned trip in early October for the Gift Fair.  We will announce details when we announce details of our next Australian user meeting tour - we should have the details finalised by the end of this month.

Yesterday, we released our latest newsagent sales benchmark report. While the report is about data from the newsagent channel, the process we undertake in gathering and analysing the data benefits our entire user community.

The sales benchmark research process enables us to help our users identify trends locally and more widely.  Each study also guides further enhancements we can make in the software to facilitate this local and channel wide analysis.

Coupled with the data presented in the report are my suggestions for how newsagents can address the trends.  I draw here on my own experience in my newsagencies as well as experience from the opportunity of working with so many other newsagents.

Here are the headlines from the report we released yesterday:

• Overall retail sales in newsagencies up, on average, 2%.
• Newspaper sales fell 4.8% in the city and 2.3% in the country.
• Magazine sales fell 4.5% in the city and rose 2.2% in the country.
• Card sales increased 3.3% in the city and 2.3% in the country.
• Stationery sales fell by 7.8% in the city, and 2% in the country.

The benchmark study provides more evidence of consumers migrating from the newsagency channel and migrating from traditional paper based news and information sources to online.

The study also grouped newsagencies by size of magazine sales. In this analysis of newsagencies with $200,000 a year in magazine sales and higher, the year on year results showed the top performing store achieving magazine unit sales growth of 5% and the bottom performing store achieving a decline of 7%.

In the group of newsagencies with less than $200,000 in sales, the range was between 12% growth and 8% decline.

Undertaking these benchmark studies is is a free service we have offered through Tower Systems for close to eight years.

Below is a list of some of the changes to be delivered in the next update to our software. I stress some because we are not about to details here changes which others will copy. It has happened and is a reason we are more careful what we publish here.

These changes directly serve needs as put to us by our user community:

• Bulk Price Change – this feature allow users to change the price by using keyword for description. Allow change of Cost, Retail Price, RRP and Trade.
• Sales Report – Allow agency departmentalize grouping. And if department sales only will calculate the GP based on Markup
• Automatic archive end of shift and Return form report into PDF.
• NDD Category File – On every Wednesday, a report will get generate after the End of Shift and BE send direct to NDD for newsagents participating in this important project.
• Wilson Integration – Integration with Wilson Stationers, this feature allow users to send order direct to Wilson and receive invoice when goods arrive.
• Bill Pay Point for Distribution centre newsagents.
• Setup Touch screen – allow widescreen users to configure the touch screen layout
• Security Enhancement – this allow users to activate staff initial when amend customer orders.

The TV campaign for newsagents which I announced here last week has gained considerable attention. Two major suppliers to newsagents have approached us to participate. Their respective contributions, details of which we will announce next week, will significantly increase the reach of this campaign and enhance the opportunity for newsagents.

Given their popularity we have scheduled more free online workshops for the following dates. Please book by emailing bookings@towersystems.com.au.

• Magazine management: Tuesday August 19 at 11am and 2pm.
• New user training: Thursday August 21 at 11am.

Each of these sessions is hands on. You can follow the live training in your own system using your data as we go - there is no better way to learn than with your own business data. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions during each session.

We have completed the year on year same store sales benchmark study for newsagents. This has been the most comprehensive study we have undertaken as we analysed data from the 2007/08 financial year and compared that with the 2006/07 financial year for over 60 newsagencies. The analysis was at the department and category levels.

The report outlining the results of this study and suggested actions will be released to our customers later this week and the broader community shortly thereafter. We are supporting this release with an offer of help for newsagents who want to change their businesses based on the findings.

Benchmark studies are important in our small business markets as they provide practical guidance fo how your business is going and often can unlock growth opportunities.

Our transparency, beyond our own user community, helps the broader newsagency community by providing the only current sales data benchmark against which they can compare their businesses It also drives feedback which helps us further refine our processes.

We are adding a fifth location to our own multi-store retail network. The Sophie Randall business is about to open a location in Toorak. This will run off the same network already supporting three stores and a head office operation. This hands-on experience helps us develop better multi store software, particularly in the area of common management across the network and through providing stock availability visibility for all store at all stores. The new Toorak store will be open late next week.