Various Vending Operators – Planet Antares

Till now we have always been looking at vending machines, products and benefits offered by them. Let us now look at various vending operators. Yes, you have heard it right. Planet Antares Vending machine operators can be broadly classified into:

• Start ups: As the name itself denotes, any entrepreneur who has taken up vending business for the first times comes under this category. Vending is the only business model that is associated with the convenience of being handled from home with the help of family members. Most first time operators prefer to start this business on a small scale from their residence. It is only after he is confident of the business that he will start expanding by adding new machines or by moving to other large establishments.

• Part time seekers: During this economic crisis many of us look for some additional income source to support our family needs and their requirements. For all such people, vending is ideal. Their main source of income would however remain the same. Since vending business has flexible working hours and does not need regular monitoring, this can be taken up on a part time basis. With the number of people starting on a part time basis increasing, several vending programs have been designed for them.

• Specialists: These are people who dedicate themselves to vending business. They always keep themselves updated with changes in market and customers requirements. They keep track of every single opportunity and target locations within the market. Their main aim is to establish themselves in the market by creating a unique identity and thus reap huge profits.

It is advisable that all new entrants to this field should only start on a small scale, gain sufficient experience various aspects and then go ahead with further expansion. It has been proved that vending gives on job experience which helps in exploring new ideas and options along with your growing business.

Understanding Customer Needs- Crucial For Successful Planet Antares Vending Machine Business

Unlike good olden days, modern market has changed drastically. Markets that were once dominated by sellers are now dictated by buyers. Vending is no expectation to this fact. In such a scenario understanding customer’s needs is very vital.

How can you assess the needs and wants of your customers? One way of doing this is by proving the location with a state of art machine that is capable of vending a wide range of products. Another way of identifying their requirements is by adopting the following methods:

• Suggestion box: Place a suggestion box near the machine. Customer feed back related to the products you vend and service you provide can be gathered using this.

• Survey: Random surveys need to be conducted on a timely basis. This helps in understanding changing tastes and preferences of customers.

• Regular monitoring: Regular monitoring of products vended helps you assess the most fast moving one and also the ones with least demand. Slowly you can replace slow moving ones with those that have maximum demand.

What is that which can keep your target customers happy and satisfied? This is most common question that arises in the minds of operators. A typical customer would be drawn towards the below mentioned:

• Modern customer looks for change and most often likes to try out new products that are introduced into the market.

• Vending is an instinct based business; hence it is very important that the machine you use for dispensing products is stylish and capable of drawing the attention of your customers. Always trust vending machines from reputed manufacturers like Planet Antares.

• Nowadays brand consciousness is increasing among customers. Offering branded products not only satisfies customers but also keeps you free from taking up unnecessary advertising expenditure.

• Never restrict or limit yourself to offering particular kind of product. Try to alter these products with those that have latest and attractive features.

• The products that you dispense should be useful, affordable and easy to ready to use by the customers.

• The main reason why customers have switched towards vending is due to the kind of services it offers. So make sure that your machine is in good working condition for offering uninterrupted services to customers.

These changes if implemented can keep your customers happy and thus bring in huge success.

Advertising In Planet Antares Vending Business

Advertising is one of the most common promotional activities taken up by any entrepreneur. With cut throat competition existing in the market, advertising becomes mandatory. To put it in other words, advertising is one of the most important marketing strategies and vending is no exception to this. The main aim of advertising is to create awareness among people about a product. Besides creating awareness, Advertising also instigates a need for the product and persuades customer to purchase one. The main motive of advertisements is to get an affirmative reply from audience.

Irrespective of the kind of business you take up, Advertising has always played a crucial role. In fact it is only because of advertising that brand recognition has become achievable. Today we are able to identify each product or service with a brand or advertisement. Ads create awareness about products in the minds of customers and also zeal to purchase them. With more companies adopting advertising as a marketing strategy, customers and businessmen are getting benefited immensely.

The benefits from advertising are so attractive that companies are prepared to spend huge amounts. There are various modes of advertising. This includes the age old methods of media like news paper and latest options like TV, Websites, Yellow pages, Banners, coupons, posters etc. Growing technology and increased accessibility to internet has made advertising very easy.

The mode of advertising depends on the kind of product you vend. If you are planning to vend a branded product, then you need not worry much as the company would take care of advertising and other related activities. However if you are operating at a local level, then yellow pages are perfect option for you. If you have number of machines placed across the globe, then prefer internet. You can place ads on several websites. Along with details of products you can also mention your business name and address. This creates awareness about your business among several customers.

So utilize this opportunity and reap better results.

Perfect Vending Business Plan – Planet Antares

Vending machines are designed to meet customised needs. Some of these are perfect to keep your food cool while others can keep them warm. As we all know, vending machines dispense variety of products in several ways. Irrespective of the kind of product you dispense or the machine you choose, having a proper business plan is vital for your success.

• Business plan: This is the basis on which a business is built. Devising a business plan may take some time but this is a road map towards your success. A business plan should be designed in such a way that it gives you proper guidance and assists you in running your business successfully. Besides this business plan also helps you to control your costs, allows you to identify the right time for stock refilling and also boost you with confidence necessary for running the business.

Timely review of business plan is also mandatory. This helps you identify your current position in comparison with what you have planned. Deviations if any can be identified in the initial stage itself and necessary corrective actions can also be taken.

Purchase of a vending machine is the first step in establishing a vending business. To begin with, operators should contact the company from which they would like to purchase a machine. Operators should always buy vending machines from reputed companies like Planet Antares.

Location: An ideal vending location is one that has maximum foot fall of your target customers. For instance: if teenagers are your target audience, then restaurants, bowling alleys, skating rings, shopping malls, colleges, markets and coffee shops are ideal. Always be on the look out for more locations that could prove to be really favourable.

Right machine with right product in a right location is a sure way to success.

Start A New Vending Business

How to start the business? There is a lot of ambiguity in minds of lot of people when it comes to starting a vending business. A thorough market research is very important as it helps you to understand the demand, various models of vending machines available in the market, latest products, and customer needs and competitors strategies.

Vending is a unique business which is nothing but all about places, people and products. So, starting a vending business needs some creativity. Thorough knowledge and proper planning can make this business a huge success. Few additional skills that can help you in becoming successful are:

• Establish contacts: It is very helpful if you have some contacts with existing vending operators. These contacts will help you start quickly and make money at a faster pace.

• Basic knowledge about fixing vending machines comes handy in case of any emergency. This technical knowledge not only saves your time but also helps keep your costs under control

Once you are confident of starting a vending business, you would need vending machines. There are several varieties of machines available in the market. Some of the popular ones being:

• Soda dispensers
• Gumball dispensers
• Snack dispensers
• Toy dispensers

If you are taking up this business for the first time, it is advisable to start on a small scale with one or two machines. You also need to gather relevant information that helps in making your business a huge success. You also need to keep a few things in mind before starting this business:

• The reason for taking up this business. The pros and cons of operating a vending business.
• Conduct a small market survey in order to understand the marketing scenario and scope for new entrants.
• Estimate the start up cost.
• Ensure if you are financially self sufficient.
• Choose the right location. If required take the help of professionals in identifying prime localities.
• Create a business name
• Develop a logo and use a business card. Your logo and card act as silent sale man for your business.
• Understand customers changing needs, tastes and preferences.

For more information on getting started, Planet Antares staff can be of great help.

Identification of New Vending Location

“Too many running after too few”, this is the present vending market scenario. This industry has been in existence for quite sometime now and ever since its inception, it has given life and employment opportunities to several young, enthusiastic and upcoming entrepreneurs.

Some of the unique features of vending industry are- there are no set boundary restrictions for operations and being an open market, operator is free to install his machine anywhere and everywhere he wants. Although the capital requirement is pretty low and there is no specific skill set required, this business is quite challenging when it comes to finalizing a location.

Operator’s choice of location is influenced by several factors like financial ability, kind of product and target audience. Hence it becomes imperative for the operator to consider few aspects like visibility and accessibility. Visibility and accessibility are vital for generating business. Some of the most common vending locations include schools, hospitals, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks, restaurants, parks, gyms and other places where people need to wait for considerable time.

By this time you might have understood how tough it is to identify a perfect vending location. However, there are several methods that help you in choosing the right location. To begin with you can opt for one of the traditional methods of distributing flyers. These flyers include information about various services offered and contact details of vending machine.

Another way of identifying new locations is by advertising. With the prospects of success being very high, several operators are spending huge money on various modes of advertising. However, operators need to be choosy when it comes to investing their hard earned money and be very cautious so that they do not get carried away by any misleading information.

In case you have no time to do all this by yourself, you can hire a vending locator. Planet Antares can assist you with true professionals who can assist you in finding the perfect location suitable for your kind of business.

Why Is Purchase of Used Vending Machines Discouraged

Unlike other business models, vending is purely a customer oriented business. The success or failure of this business is greatly influenced by the extent to which customers are satisfied. Since the inception of these machines, customers have preferred them only due to the convenience and instant services these machines have been able to offer.

Modern lifestyle and eating habits have changed drastically. People are preoccupied with their professional and personal engagements that they hardly have any time to spare for themselves. To overcome stress and hunger while at work, customers are taking rescue of vending machines. Thus making it part of their daily life.

In few instances these machines rather than providing convenience are causing a lot of inconvenience to customers. How? Let us look at a instance in which customer deposits money into a vending machine in order to make a purchase but he never gets back the change. This would make him wait for endless number of hours before the machine not knowing what to do. What is the reason behind such instances? Improper maintenance and irregular servicing is the main cause for malfunctioning of vending machines.

Can operators avoid these issues? Yes, as every problem has a solution so does this. These issues can be avoided with proper maintenance of machines. Negligence or lack of proper maintenance can not only drop your sales but also spread ill will both among customers and market as a whole.

Another main reason behind low efficiency of these machines is purchase of used or refurbished machines. Few operators with the intention of saving money opt for used machines which often break down. Most of the operators get attracted by their low cost and end up spending more and more money on its repairs. Hence it is always advisable to purchase new machines of reputed brands from established and standard companies.

Another reason why operators are asked not to purchase a used machine is because this machine must have been subjected to a lot of wear and tear by the previous operator and have been sold due to some major problem with it. Hence operators should always go for new machines of reputed companies. These come with warranty and are far more efficient than the used ones.