Monday, April 12, 2010

Starting Planet Antares Vending Machine Business

Most of us love to start our own vending machine business. But the fear of failure and inability to sustain competition prevents us for taking any further step. In fact the moment you plan to have your own vending machine business, there are hundreds of questions wavering in your mind.

The ideal way of gaining clarity about this business is by consulting experts or others who have been operating this business for quite sometime now. Vending is no doubt a very profitable business, especially if you know the ins and outs of this business. Irrespective of the kind of business you take up, conducting a thorough Market research is mandatory.

An in depth market research would help operator gather wealth of information about various machines in the market, most commonly dispensed vending products, competition, customer tastes, demand for various products and other information crucial for the success of this business.

In case you are completely new to this industry and starting this business without having any contacts, you should be very cautious in every move you make. Since there are lot of fraudsters in the market trying to misguide you by selling poor quality vending machines and products? It is always advisable to browse the net, go through various models of vending machines offered by various companies and choose one at best bid.

Vending is in fact the only business that gives complete freedom to the operator both in terms of the products you dispense and working hours. Operators should be very careful while choosing products to be vended in their machine. It is always advisable to offer more than one variety of products in your machine and try to alter them frequently. This can retain your existing customers and at the same time grab the attention of new customers.

Location and proper service should also be given due priority in vending business as these are the stepping stones to success. Thorough cleaning, prompt servicing and regular repaid can keep your machine in good working condition and thereby boost your sales.

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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Planet Antares Vending Business and Location Strategies

If you are under the perception that you need a lot of capital for starting vending machine business, you are thoroughly mistaken. In fact vending is one of the easiest business models that can be taken up by anyone. If finance is your main concern, you can choose basic model machines instead of going for sophisticated ones.

It has been the general practise of many operators to start with one or two machines initially and gradually expand them over a period of time. This business gives you the complete freedom of even operating these machines from the comfort of your residence. When it comes to choosing products for dispensing in your machine, you can go for standard products that have consistent demand throughout the year. Snacks, beverages, coffee, candy are some of the products that have demand throughout the year.

Another crucial aspect that influences the success of vending machine business is location. Operator needs to take due care while finalising on the location. There are various methods of identifying potential locations. Some of the most popular methods are by using flyers or by advertising. Each of these has its own set of benefits and their choice depends on funds available with operator and his scale of operations.

Flyers are really helpful. They spread across the message quickly and help you in getting contacted by people so that we can place our machines in their locations. This method also helps you gather huge information about various operators in that particular locality, kind of machines used by them, their pricing, services rendered by them and similar information which is vital for your business. You should go on repeating this process until you find few locations.

In case you are willing to spend some money, you can go for advertising. You would definitely expect good return on your investment and a good return would obviously mean good leads and prospective locations. So be careful while choosing. It has been proved that all locations are not the same. You can also take the support of a Planet Antares locator to assist you in your quest for potential locations.

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Monday, March 29, 2010

How Can You Become Successful In Planet Antares Business

Success is the dream of every entrepreneur. But is everyone successful? The answer is straightforward “NO”. Why is it that only few entrepreneurs become successful while other get washed away by the tides of competition. Vending as we all know is a customer dominated business model. Customer decision and behaviour drastically influences the success or failure of this business.

Withstanding this cut throat competition is quite a big challenge for vending operators. How can you become successful? Operators can take success if they bear below mentioned aspects in mind:

• Quality: Modern customers are quality conscious. They are ready to spend more amounts but are unwilling to compromise on the product quality. Ensure that you stock your Planet Antares machine with best quality products.

• Customer service: Vending is a customer oriented business. You exist as long as you are able to satisfy your customer. Once your customer is upset with the kind of service he receives, he will never visit you and at the same time stop others from visiting you. Word of mouth plays a key role in this industry.

• Maintenance: Good looking machines can attract customers. Ensure your machine is clean, regularly serviced and is in proper working condition. In case of breakdown, try to resolve the issue at the earliest. One sec of time wasted leads to break in your revenue.

• Gifts and coupons: Use advertising strategies like special gifts and coupons. These not only draw customers towards you but also advertise the products you sell.

• Inventory: Ensure you machine has sufficient inventory stock in it. Make sure no customer returns empty handed after visiting your machine due to lack of stock.

• Latest products: Customers like to try out new products that have been introduced in the market. Try to introduce such products in your machine. If their demand fades, you can replace them with your previous products

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Competition In Vending Industry – Planet Antares

It is quite obvious that with increase in number of vending operators competition is also very severe in thus industry. Sustaining and surviving in this competitive market is a tough challenge for vending operators. The best way of withstanding this competition is by offering prompt and high quality products and services to its target customers.

Unlike other businesses vending is purely customer oriented business. Hence only those operators who understand the pulse of customers and offer products that meet their requirements survive in this market. Few tips that can help an operator withstand competition are mentioned below:

• A smart operator needs to keep himself updated not only after the market but also of his competitor’s moves.

• Operators need to be specific in what they sell. Never get carried away by profits and take up more than what you can actually handle.

• Never compromise on quality of products you offer.

• Vending has gained huge popularity among people who hardly have time to wait in long queue for billing or purchasing products. This machine provides you with the convenience of pick and go. So ensure that you stock your machine with sufficient quantity of stock. This will help boost your sales.

• Always prefer latest and new machines. Discourage used or refurbished machines. New machines are more reliable and ensure smooth operations. Always make sure you buy machines from trusted and reputed manufacturers like Planet Antares.

• Appropriate marketing strategies. Provide discounts and special offers that can increase your sales.

• Prefer glass front vending machines when compared to closed ones. These machines enable customers to see the products which they would be purchasing. Not only this, glass front machines help you in identifying outdated stock which can be easily removed.

• Ability to offer at lower or reasonable prices: Since the establishment and running costs of vending business is low in comparison to other business models. This business also does not require you to hire sales personnel and being a complete cash business, there is no scope for bad debts. These benefits allow you to price products at lesser price when compared to other shopping malls or retail outlets.

These simple tips if followed can give you huge returns.

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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tips While Starting New Planet Antares Vending Business

Just like any other business opportunity, vending business also requires you to take up thorough market analysis. This detailed analysis would provide you with vital information that is crucial for the success of your business. Vending as we are aware is one of the most popular and simple business opportunities. However, this fact alone would not guarantee you success. Just like most other business opportunities, vending also requires a lot of hard work and strategies.

Few tips that can help you in becoming successful in your venture are mentioned below:

• Whenever you start a business, it is advantageous to have some contacts with people in the same field. This will help you in starting your business quickly and also get some valuable suggestions related to the business.

• These days we have a lot of combo machines available in the market. These machines are capable of selling two products at a time. For instance: one section of the machine can sell drinks while the other section sells snacks. The main problem with these machines is their maintenance. These machines break down continuously thus leading to customer dissatisfaction. Instead, purchase full size machines from Planet Antares with electronic eye. These machines come with a latest feature that detect if a product has been vended or not when a purchase is made.

• This is one of the marketing strategies that helps create awareness about the product among customers and creates zeal to purchase it. If you just have a few machines, then advertising is yellow pages is ideal. On the contrary, if you have several machines located across several places, then you can resort to advertising over the internet.

• If you a novice who has just started vending business with just one or two machines, then you may not need any employees as you can do the servicing and refilling yourself. But once you start expanding your business by adding more and more machines, then you may need to hire people to make things easier for you.

• Try to purchase new machines of reputed and established brands. While choosing a product you would like to vend, make sure that the product is fast moving with longer expiry period.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Criteria For Choosing Right Product In Your Vending Machine

The success of your business is influenced by several factors. Products you dispense, machine you use, location you install, your target audience and the kind of services you render. All these factors impact the success of your business in their own unique way.

With success of vending business, hundreds of varieties of vending products are introduced into the market. Choosing one or two among them is quite confusing and challenging. Since vending is a customer related business, an operator needs to give due priority to customer requirements and their expectations. One common mistake committed by operators is to fill their machines with almost any item that is available. These operators are under the assumption that customers have no other option but to purchase the products offered by you.

This is absolutely wrong notion as modern customers are pretty smart and are particular about their requirements. Hence operators need to keep few things in mind before selecting a product to be dispensed in their machine.

Customer tastes: Since vending is a hundred percent customer oriented business, it is imperative that operators understand the needs, tastes and preferences of their target customers before finalising on the product. Another thing which operators need to consider is that customer requirements are not static; they keep changing with changing times. Hence operators need to keep pace with changing market trends. This helps them in offering products with maximum demand and thus boosts their sales.

Pricing: The price of the product you are about to vend is also vital. For instance: if you are targeting middle class customers and are pricing your product very high, the chances of success are limited. Depending on your target audience, locality in which you are installing your machine and competitors pricing, you need to price your product.

Quality: Modern day customers are quality conscious. They are prepared to spare additional money in order to get the best. If you would like to become a successful vending operator, make sure you do not compromise on the quality of products. Ensure you maintain fresh stock in your machine. Check for the expiry date on the products regularly and replace out dated products on a timely basis. This will not only create good will among customers but also increase sales by increasing the number of repeat customers.

These things if borne in mind by the operator can guarantee him success.

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Monday, March 8, 2010

Maintenance Vital For Success of Planet Antares Vending Business

Most operators give maximum priority to products they dispense, machine they purchase, location and in this process almost ignore maintenance and servicing aspects. Both maintenance and repairs are highly crucial for efficient and effective performance of a vending machine.

Vending is a instinct based business. Most of the times, customers do not visit these machines with a prior intention of purchasing products. The attractive looks of the machine and the appeal of the products create an instinct to purchase the product. Hence maintenance is all the more important in this business.

None of us would like to go and purchase products from a machine that is not clean and properly maintained. Hygiene or maintenance is crucial in case an operator is dispensing food items or medicines. In either of these cases, operators need to check their stock regularly, identify outdated stock and remove them on a timely basis. This if not done on time, can not only affect the health of customers but also spread bad reputation in the market. Thus ruin your business in the long run.

Success of this business is largely dependent on how well the machine is maintained. Thorough cleaning alone does not ensure good maintenance. However, it is a part of entire maintenance process. Servicing vending machine does not mean restocking them or making money from them. Servicing a vending machine means cleaning of all four corners of the machine.

Maintenance is not just limited to the machine; the place where you have installed your machine should also be maintained properly. Another important thing to be noted here is that vending machines should be free of insects and rodents. This will help in keeping the machine free from dust, dirt and vermin. It is the prime responsibility of a vending operator to ensure that only quality food is being vended from their machines. This will keep your customers happy and healthy at all times. And satisfied customers can boost your sales thereby making vending a successful business.

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