Over the years technology has lightened the load for many business operators. Technology has made us very efficient, more accurate in our business, and more predictable. At Data Age, our flagship product PawnMaster, is a great example of how technology can positively impact a business. When we started out, we were helping pawn shops process transactions, manage inventory and keep track of loans. Today we are able to do so much more than that. Through technological advancements and feedback from our customers, we have evolved into the most widely used pawn software in the world.
Even as technology continues to evolve and get ever slicker, a human element is still required to make sure the data is being entered properly. There are still many environments when the end user can’t solely rely on technology. We experience this a lot in our industry and it is one of the main reasons we push education and training so much.
Businesses vary region-to-region, city-to-city and town-to-town. Business operators also have their own unique methods of operation. An example of this would pricing situations. While geograpical targeting of data is important, it is also important for your employees to understand the trends within your own shop to make the best decisions, quickly, at the counter. PawnMaster understands that there are multiple factors in a pricing. While two customers may bring in the exact same model of an item in good condition, you need more than one nationwide statistic to tell you how much to loan or buy the item for. Your business is more dynamic than that. Your shop may have a higher or lower demand for that item than the rest of the United States on average. Those two customers may also have very different histories with your business. One may be a loyal customer who has always paid on time and another could be a newer customer who has defaulted on half their loans. PawnMaster gives you data that is relevant to your business, and your customers so that your employees can make better decisions that make you more money in the long run.
Technology should help the business owner by affording the operator all the intel they can use to help them do what is right for a particular situation. In the big business environment there is no flexibility around a transaction, however; for most small business owners their businesses still live by the interaction at the counter. Technology is a tool and if used correctly can give the business owner a huge competitive advantage in their market. The business owner and the operator will inevitably be the deciding factor.
One of the real charms of our industry is the variation and uniqueness our clients deliver to the market. PawnMaster has been built to allow the flexibility that empowers our customers in their shop.
