All businesses want it to be as easy as possible for their customers to pay for goods and services, but not every business understands how to optimise the processes they have in place. If you’re trying to grow your venture and address customer complaints, payments are one of the best places to begin. This blog has lots of tips on how you can make both online and in-store payments a hassle-free process for everyone.
Accept card payments in-store
If you have a physical store, then it’s important to make sure customers can pay by both card and cash. With fewer and fewer people carrying cash these days, not having a card reader will alienate a huge amount of the foot traffic you’re getting. Using a solution like Ingenico payment API will allow all customers to pay by card in your store, allowing them to make bigger purchases more comfortably. Make sure that the solution you choose is compatible with multiple types of cards as well as Apple Pay and other mobile payments. The last thing you want is to turn away a customer from the till because they have a Mastercard not a Visa.
Consider pay-later schemes for online orders
Businesses that sell higher-ticket items often partner with buy-now-pay-later services like Klarna or even PayPal. There’s a misconception amongst some entrepreneurs that they will have to bear the cost until the customer pays, but that’s not the case. These providers will still pay you as normal for any products you sell and collect the money from the customer later. This means you can still maintain a healthy cashflow and not have to worry about chasing up payments.
Allow customers to create accounts
It can take a long time for customers to input their card details and address, which is why it’s a good idea to allow them to create an account where all these details can be saved. Not only will this make the checkout process much quicker, but it will encourage customers to come back and buy more products from you. You’ll then be able to send them marketing communications as well if they opt in to your newsletter.
Hire a UX expert
Sometimes we think our websites are easy to use because we were the ones who designed them. However, just because your website looks good doesn’t mean your customers are able to navigate it easily. If you’ve noticed a lot of people dropping out of the checkout process halfway through, there could be something wrong with your process or design.
A UX designer can carry out in-depth research to determine the best ways for your customers to pay. They’ll be able to identify whether your checkout process is too long, doesn’t have clear instructions, or loads too slowly. You might be surprised to find out which factor is making a huge difference to your sales.
Don’t underestimate the importance of the payment process. Start accepting more payment options and improving your online portals today.
