Is Your Customer Payment Setup a Winner?

Any customer who comes to you to buy any good or service you offer wants as painstakingly-free an experience as possible.

That said the biggest point of issue oftentimes comes up when it is time for the customer to pay.

Whether he or she is making a transaction in-person or online, they want their experience to go off without a hitch.

Meantime, you as the business owner are also looking for an experience whereby you do not have any problems to deal with in this process.

So, is your customer payment setup a winner in that those buying from you don’t miss out on payments?

Review and Research Regularly

No matter what form of payment setup your business presently offers consumers, it is important that you regularly review it, looking for any glitches in the system.

As an example, does your business have an online store?

If you do, there are always potential landmines for consumers wanting to browse and purchase goods and services from you.

For starters, it takes something as simple as the checkout portion of the system not working to easily lose a sale, perhaps a long-term customer in the making too.

One example would be if you run an eatery.

Let’s say that someone wants to order food-to-go.

They go through the numerous steps to place their order, only to have difficulty when they get to checkout process. Despite trying the process several times, it is to no avail. In the end, not only have they not been able to place their meal order, but they now have done a Google search for your competition in town. The next thing you know, they have a much smoother time placing a similar order on their site. As a result of this, you have now not only lost a sale, but there is potential to lose that customer (maybe even his or her family and friends too) for good. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?

By regularly reviewing your online store’s system from start to finish, you can avert many such hassles and ultimately problems along the way.

Another example would be if you or a member or members of your team are traveling for business.

You could very well run into consumers looking to want to do business with you at trade shows, fairs and other such events.

In the event consumers want to make a purchase from your company at such events, you can’t very well tell them that they can only visit your store in-person or make a purchase via your online store. Well, you could tell them that, but not all of them will follow through.

By accepting credit card payments out in the field, you increase your revenue stream, along with showing consumers that you are up to speed on technology.

With a quick run of your credit card through a handheld machine, the customer has his or her purchase, not having to wait for another time and/or place to buy from you.

Finally, tout your company’s ability to service customer payments anywhere and anytime through your blog and social media initiatives.

By doing this, you tell the world that you are embracing much of what today’s technology has to offer.

Yes, some mom and pop shops still stick to only accepting cash (perhaps checks), turning their backs on modern technology. If that works for them that is fine, but do you think such outdated modes of customer payments will undoubtedly work for your business over the long haul?

If your way or ways of accepting customer payments needs a little tweaking here and there, the upcoming summertime is a great time to put those changes in play.

Typically, many businesses see a jump in their business over the summertime, especially with more consumers hitting the road for travel.

If your business wants to record more sales, make sure the means by which you accept payments are as updated as they possibly can be.

Otherwise, you run the risk of missing out on your fair share of business.

Remember, that is business that ultimately can make or break your decision to stick around as a business owner.