Now that you’ve got your online payment processing set up and you’re selling securely online, you are ready to put your foot on the gas and accelerate those sales. Whether you’re a global brand looking to expand into more countries, a medium-sized business wanting to improve your checkout conversion rate or a small business newly launching, these six ideas will help you optimize your online payments strategy to scale your business.
1. Accept a Variety of Payment Methods and Currencies
Only accepting credit card payments is no longer the best practice. Methods of payment are diversifying and your customers are using them all. Credit and debit cards are still popular, but alternative payment methods like PayPal, WeChat Pay and Alipay are on the rise. And don’t forget about gift cards and loyalty points as payment as well.
For example, Gen Z, born between 1996 and 2010, are using digital methods of payment far more than other generations. A study from ContentSquare, which analyzed over 8 million user sessions, found that Gen Z converts via mobile twice as much as other generations. Therefore, if you don’t offer mobile payment options, you’re less likely to get the sale.
When you’re looking to scale, don’t forget to think globally. Your ecommerce business probably already attracts global customers. But there could be a disconnect in getting the sale if you’re not offering their local payment methods and currencies. Doing so expands your market — and revenue potential — immediately. In our report, “Is U.S. Ecommerce Ready to Take on the World,” you may be surprised to learn that over one-third of Americans shop with online merchants based in other countries. That figure increases to 38% for UK consumers and 40% for French consumers. We live in a globalized world where your customers are doing business in countries other than where you are locally-based. Accepting many forms of payment as well as currencies will help you reach more customers to scale your business.
2. Offer Favorable Purchasing Terms
Deferred billing, recurring billing and subscription-based payments are strategies to attract and retain your customers. Think about what favorable purchasing terms you can offer to your customers to help them pay for your products and/or services, and provide them that option through your online checkout.
3. Build In Customer Service
Have you ever had to fill out both the ship-to and billing address fields even when they are the exact same? Customers appreciate the businesses that auto-fill those fields? Or even better when you have a one-click checkout process because the business already has your card details stored from a prior purchase. Having this payment convenience, often called card storage, is another feather in your cap. Your customers will adore your brand and come back again and again when you can make their checkout experience fast and easy.
4. Ensure Accuracy
It’s bound to happen; in fact, more frequently than you may think. Your customers’ payment details will change which will interrupt any automated payments they have set up with you. To prevent this from happening, we advise our customers’ to take advantage of card updater services which automatically refresh your customers’ account information when it changes. Having this payment service in place means there’s no disruption to their service reinforcing that seamless customer experience and shields you from the hassle of chasing down payments to ensure you get paid on time.
“You can be at the forefront of leveraging online commerce to scale your business”
5. Brand the Payment Experience
It’s proven that the less friction you have in your checkout process, the better your checkout conversion rate will be. It used to be the case that when merchants hosted their payment gateway with a third-party, customers making a purchase would be redirected to another webpage owned by the payment processor to accept their card information. This was an obvious disruption to the seamless customer experience that hinders sales. That was then.
Now you can create a cohesive brand experience throughout the checkout process. Make sure your logo is marked on each page and that your brand colors and design elements are a part of the payment experience as well. This will give your customers confidence that they are buying from you, a trusted business, while in the background, the data is being collected by the payment processor’s system and routed appropriately to deliver a positive purchase confirmation to your customer.
6. Analyze Data to Help You Optimize
All of these front-end payment strategies will lead to increased efficiencies and more revenue for your business, but don’t forget to consider what valuable information you have at your fingertips on the back-end. Reporting tools provide important insights to help you optimize checkout conversion. Imagine knowing the reasons behind declined transactions, chargebacks and disputes. You can use this intelligence to optimize your business. You can also analyze sales trends to better plan for any number of situations like seasonal boosts. Data is power and these are the KPIs to help you manage and grow your business.
Online retail sales are anticipated to climb to $4.8 trillion in 2021, representing over 105% growth in just four years. You can be at the forefront of leveraging online commerce to scale your business. Start with these six ideas to find the right online payment solutions, strategies and resources that will take your business to the next level.