Hero Points 3.0 for Dynamics RMS was made available for purchase on October 1, 2009. If you haven’t heard of it yet, check out the refresher page for more details. In short, Hero Points is a dollars-spent based loyalty program in which customers collect points for every purchase they make and they can then redeem these points for discounts and freebies. Version 3.0 has several improvements:

• Now you can set a variable number of points to be collected for every category or item
• In-depth program management: exclude customer categories, enable welcome points and have greater control over how points are awarded
• Two new reports available at the RMS store manager
• Migrate from Hero Points 1.x or 2.x with the push of a button
• New visual interface is easy on the eyes
• Faster than any previous Hero Points
• Now you can print the number of points the customer accumulated on the receipt

If that didn’t entice you to learn more and upgrade, perhaps we should throw in a promotion as well? All current users of Hero Points are eligible for an upgrade at half-cost, and all new customers will get 10% off their Hero Points 3 purchase until the end of Thanksgiving weekend (U.S.)

Contact sales@retailhero.com for an upgrade of your current hero points setup or a free trial
or info@retailhero.com for additional information

There is a new dog in town. Microsoft’s long-awaited and finally released POS 2009 has arrived, and the verdict is in: POS 2009 is a blast to use. Retail Hero is introducing Microsoft Dynamics POS 2009, and we’re adding it to our menu right next to Dynamics RMS 2.0.

Dynamics POS 2009 was built to replace the aging Dynamics POS 2.0 software that has been around since 2007 (with little success), and it does a fantastic job of it – more than anyone could have asked for. We had a chance to test out the software, and we like it: It’s an impressive software with an intuitive, easy to learn interface (even more so than Dynamics RMS), it has more useful features than the original and works as more than just a derivative. Dynamics POS 2009 is the next-generation system not just in word – it looks and acts the part too.

Notable Improvements:

• A new, customizable interface with easy access to “search by category” functions
• The platform now allows to be extended with third-party add-ins (like Dynamics RMS)
• New retail management and reporting tools
• Supports RMS 2.0 migration
• Context-sensitive menus and sale suggestions
• Increased performance – the system operates faster
• Integrated gift card and electronic check processing (US only)
• Completely PCI DSS compliant (read about what this means for you in the next article)

As a continuing support for the Microsoft platform, Retail Hero will continue to develop add-ons for both POS 2009 and RMS 2.0, and we are in the process of migrating our most popular add-ons to POS 2009.

To learn more, contact us at sales@retailhero.com with all your questions and we will send you more info on this new system. Retail Hero will not only install this system, but we will also migrate your current RMS 2.0 system where applicable.

Learn more about this system here

Are you sure you aren't liable for a $500,000 fine? If not, then you should know about PCI-DSS. Payment card industry data security standards, or PCI DSS are a set of guidelines proposed by the PCI Security Standards Council back in 2004 to maintain payment card safety and fight fraud. In order for a retail system to be classified as PCI compliant, and thus authorized to process payment cards, it must follow the guidelines outlined in PCI DSS. There are two versions of DSS, and the latest one, 1.2 comes into full effect in 2010. The requirements are the same across North America.

Merchants must be fully compliant to PCI DSS 1.2 standards by January 1, 2010. However, assessments done in version 1.1 are still valid until that day. From that point on, an annual self assessment quiz is required and a quarterly vulnerability test is recommended to be performed by a supplier. If a failure to comply is detected when a case of credit card fraud occurs, the merchant will be subject to the $500,000 fine.

Microsoft Dynamics RMS is only compliant from version 2.0 SP2, so if you're still running RMS 1.2, now's a great time to upgrade.

PCI compliance goes further than just the software that is installed on the computer, as outlined in the 12 points of PCI compliance (listed below). Your entire store must be secure from hijacking, and both physical and digital data must be properly secured. This includes such basic security measures as setting up a firewall, encrypting data and safely storing forms containing credit card numbers in a locked cabinet.

The push for PCI standards is a response to an increase in credit card fraud. When a credit card is swiped, all of the data that can be found on the face (such as cardholder name, card number and expiration date) turn up as a string of raw, unencrypted text. These strings of information are extremely vulnerable, and can be copied from a hard drive if poorly stored on the disk, stolen at break-in or even condensed from a wireless network.

To prevent this, The PCI announced 12 requirements for business and software that must be followed in order to use payment cards:

Build and Maintain a Secure Network
Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Protect Cardholder Data
Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data
Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software
Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

Implement Strong Access Control Measures
Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data

Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes

Maintain an Information Security Policy
Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security

These guidelines and other useful PCI DSS compliance information can be found on the PCI website:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_dss_supporting_docs.shtml

The best way to get started with following the DSS guidelines is by renewing your RMS license to version 2.0. Send us an email to info@retailhero.com for more details.

Many retailers go to a lot of trouble making their customers feel like "guests." Their ideal goal however, should be to treat them as “friends”.

Treating your customer as a guest isn't a bad idea, it's just short sighted. A guest may be pleased and satisfied with a particular visit, but it doesn't translate into the same affinity and desire to return again and again, that is felt when visiting a good friend.

Friendships are special things. You go out of your way to see friends. You care about their health, what they need, and you enjoy their company. Guests are frequently unwelcome and sometimes they know it. Friends are rarely unwelcome.

It takes two to create a friendship. Retailers have to get to know their customers and listen to their concerns in order to establish the trust necessary for a strong, loyal, long-lived friendship.

At this moment, hundreds of retailers are trying to capture loyalty. Retailers understand the concept of repeat business and want to do what they can to get it. Both online and offline stores, from Amazon.com to Wal-Mart, use a variety of tactics to get to know their customers' habits.

Statistics indicate that profits can be increased by 25-125 percent just by retaining 5 percent more customers. With that in mind, it's no wonder that loyalty, guest, and personalized programs are becoming big business. They all share the same basic goal of capturing market share and gaining repeat business. Smart retailers should be looking at these programs as a way to turn their customers into friends.

It takes patience. It takes more than one visit. However, as friendships develop, great things start to happen. The increased loyalty brings referrals (new friendships). It makes marketing efforts more efficient and effective. It can help a retailer gain co-op advertising from vendors designed to meet their friends' needs. Friends visit more and spend more because they know that this retailer is a friend who cares about they want.

Retail Hero has the Loyalty solution you need. Check out our loyalty programs for RMS:

• Q-Rewards allows rewarding loyal customers who continuously buy in the same families of products. Ideal for a "Buy 10 Bags Get 1 Free" program for pet food stores, coffee shops, ice cream stands and many other retail verticals.
• Hero Points is an effective program that is based on the "dollar value" that the customer spends at the store and automates the process of rewarding the buyer through discounts according to a customizable redemption schedule.
• Happy Checks is a unique customer loyalty add-on that prints redeemable coupons and mails them to customers once they spend a threshold amount.

To learn more, send an email to sales@retailhero.com. We'll address any questions you have and send you additional information.