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Greetings!
Is your information safe in the event your server computer crashes, or even if there is a breakin and it is stolen?
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Backup Services
It is absolutely vital that you make regular backups of your store database, and that you take those from your computer. While we recommend use of a flash drive or an external drive for this, there are a number of services you can use that either make full system backups online, or synchronize your backup folders to cloud services.
We would still recommend making occasional physical databases; it's always possible that a cloud service could go out of business or be discontinued, after all.
Some of the more popular services include:
Dropbox: A folder synchronization service, Dropbox offers up to 2 GB free, with more space if needed available for purchase.
Carbonite: A full backup service, Carbonite can be set to automatically back up your files, including your database backups and program files.
Mozy: Similar to Carbonite, but generally slightly cheaper.
There are dozens of other services available in the same mold, but the most important thing is simply to make certain that your records are safe from a crash. Remember: While a new computer costs in the hundreds of dollars, the losses from losing your inventory records, customer records, and sales history could be literally incalculable. |
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OneNote and EverNote
These somewhat similar services allow for the easy saving and sharing of small documents, links, and other information. They can be used to build out a knowledge base for your employees, allowing for easier training.
You can also both share notes and have private notes, and limit some to read only for your employees.
OneNote is somewhat less robust, with less availability for different platforms. It's a Microsoft product, and is available with their Office 365 line, which also allows similar sharing and generation of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents.
Evernote was in the news in February due to a security breach, but they have generally treated this the way that companies are supposed to. Available for an extremely wide array of mobile and desktop platforms, Evernote currently has 50 million users.
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Advertising
While it's easy to focus solely on trying to spread the news of your store through word of mouth or social media, do not underestimate the power of paid advertising.
There are two main venues for this that a small local store should use: Local media, such as radio, newspapers, and perhaps television, and online advertising. In the latter category, by far the most prominent is Google Adwords. Showing up for certain when locals search for book store or game store can be invaluable.
For local media, consider splashy coupons or specials. Remember that even if you do not make a great margin on these initial sales, once a customer has come to your store once, they are far more likely to come in for a second visit, particularly if they were happy with the pricing on the first.
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You may view an archive of our emails here!
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Sincerely,
Jeremy Spencer
Support Manager
Extreme Point Of Sale Inc
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