Customer loyalty is something that many businesses spend thousands of dollars, copious amounts of hours, and try many different campaigns in order to try and achieve it, and yet it somehow manages to slip away from most businesses. Why is customer loyalty so important in today's economic climate? It is because with so much competition, outsourcing, small companies with minimal overhead, and simply consumers are able to get anything that they want online by simply typing it into a search engine. Long gone are the days where a customer or client only does business with one store, location, or business provider.
As mentioned above, there are many ways to try and garner customer loyalty, and marketing campaigns, expensive promotions, and gimmicks may drive some revenue to your business, but it will fade once the promotions are done because customers are simply always looking for the best deal, regardless of where it is. However, you can change that by providing simple, easy ways to allow your customers to pay for your products or services.
Accepting credit cards online provides that simple, easy and secure way that your customers want in order to buy your product or service. The following 3 ways will show you how to grow your business through accepting credit cards online, while increasing your customer loyalty.
1 - Provide choice
Consumers in today's market want a few key important things in order to make a purchase. They need, simple, cost effective, and secure processes in order to choose your business over the competition. If you can provide the fastest way to pay, the easiest way to pay, the most convenient way to pay, and at a good price, you will win the business of consumers alike, and surpass your competition in no time.
Accepting credit cards online, you are providing your customers, and future customers an easy, convenient, secure way to pay for your goods or services without having to worry about your locations staying open on holidays, or late night etc. By simply providing choice to your customers on when they can pay, how they can pay, and making it easy, you will soon see that your customer loyalty will begin to grow.
2 - Information Hub
Now that you are accepting credit cards online through your business website, you can begin to start educating your customers on your industry. Use your website as an information hub which will provide valuable information about your business, your industry, and how your customers can benefit from buying products or services from your business. This is a very cost effective way to promote your business, without having to spend thousands and thousands of dollars of different online campaigns or gimmicky promotions.
With the information that you can provide through your website, customers will get to know your business, and feel comfortable coming back to your website, or making their way to your brick and mortar location. Never underestimate the amount of information that your business can generate for your customers. Anything from a history of the business, to new deals and upcoming products and services will show you care about your customers.
3 - Simple and Easy
When it comes to accepting credit cards online, make sure that your shopping experience and checkout experience is simple and easy. Do not get caught up in shopping cart solutions that are complicated, have too many windows, and require multiple fields that are simply irrelevant.
Customers want to show up to your website, find what they are looking for, get a handle on your business if they prefer, and then pay. Accepting credit cards online must be secure, simple, easy and clear. Provide an emailed receipt with the total amount, reference number, account number etc. Your customers will feel comfortable every time that they come to your online store, and your customer loyalty will continue to increase generating more revenue, and growing your business.
