Clover Networks, a First Data company (merged with Fiserv July 2019) offers a modular suite of Point of Sale systems (PoS) for restaurant and retail. This modular suite features fixed PoS stations, a customer loyalty program and gift card, an analytics module, as well as a mobile point of sale that Iplugs into the users smartphone and tablet to accept secure credit card swipes, as well as dips and taps like Apple Pay®, Samsung Pay™ and Android Pay™.
$9.95
per month
SessionM
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
SessionM is a customer engagement platform that combines customer data management, loyalty program and offer management, and cross-channel campaign management (SMS, email, push, and in-app messages).
Clover is well suited for high-volume environments where quality and dependability are paramount. The hardware can scale easily and always looks good on the counter. I have even seen Clover hardware used in small mom-and-pop type stores. The ability to swing the monitor around for signature is really nice. Customers appreciate the ease of use. The stations we have to use nice large bright screens. Not familiar enough with the Clover product line to know if the smaller screen sizes are available for applications where space is a concern.
SessionM is ideal for enterprise restaurants, brands, and organizations to build and drive loyal behaviors via technology platforms. They've built their system via robust APIs integrations, but are now diving into a white label app system that allows smaller brands (100 units+) to utilize their incredible technology in their own brand, as opposed to just bigger players. They're the best at what they do.
Using data science to determine guest tendencies and actions: their system is incredibly smart and tracks historical actions to guess/estimate future actions, and creating programs to influence those actions.
Integrated communication platforms to speak to all of our guests within various tactics—email, push notifications, text messages, in-app messages, etc.
Loyalty management & CRM: creating and managing a program that runs consistently across the system.
There are numerous aspects to Clover's usability: the usability of their point of sale systems, the usability of their CRM and web dashboards, and the technical side of integrating with other third-party services. All are top tier. Clover's usability is excellent and I have never had a problem figuring out how to use their services at any level. The POS system has a very low barrier to entry and an easy learning curve for newcomers.
We rarely have problems, but when we do, they are major and the system becomes unusable. While Customer Support does eventually respond and fix the issue, they can take a long time. If a major problem occurs on a weekend during the dinner rush, it can be catastrophic to sales and customer returns.
Clover is great because they have their own equipment, but it would be nice to make it more mobile and use it on an app from anywhere. Sometimes we go to events and have to use Square, which is another great option. For small businesses I would definitely recommend using something like Square because it doesn't have the monthly fees, it is by transaction only.
SessionM was light years ahead of Fishbowl, in the data science tendency assumptions that are built into the system, plus they don't offer an app for your brand to use. You'd have to employ a 3rd vendor to manage that. It's also important to note that SessionM sees ALL guests and POS content in the system, not just loyalty identified transactions.
Clover has positively impacted our finances as we regularly purchase from our local shops for meetings or lunches and now we can save money/earn promotions.
Our work with SessionM has been so incredibly impactful to our brand loyal guests, and the value they bring to our brand. For example, our loyal guests are worth $100+ more than our non-loyalty guests.