Whatever you’re selling, one question your prospective customer will be asking is: how do I pay for this?
This could range from wondering if payment plans are available through to which credit cards you take.
Face the facts…
The reality of modern life is that many people don’t carry cash or use chequebooks. That’s especially important to realise if your customers are the general public. If you don’t have card facilities you could be missing out on a huge swathe of potential customers.
If you have an e-commerce website then make sure you have a wide range of payment options that you accept. For instance, take Paypal as well as credit cards.
What about the costs?
Some payment options will carry more charges for you. But consider this…
Which costs you more…
- A slightly lower margin on an actual sale made?
- Or losing the customer altogether because they don’t have the right payment type?
Would a small charge cover it?
And don’t dismiss the idea of adding a small amount for using certain payment types. Customers will often accept that one source of payment costs more than another, but still be happy to use it because of the advantages or convenience for them.
In other words, don’t let what’s really a pricing issue lead you into losing customers.
By accepting payment in as many forms as possible you make it easier for that prospective customer to turn into an actual one.