Cash really is king when it comes to cutting operational expenses like credit card processing fees. But, can a business really get more cash customers in this digital age? The answer is yes.
The challenge is that customers often prefer to buy online rather than roam around the local shopping mall. In fact, experts anticipate e-commerce growth to continue unabated, with sales nearly doubling to just over half a trillion dollars in recent years, according to a report by eMarketer.
It may seem like credit card processing fees are an unavoidable part of doing business online. But, there are ways to sidestep those fees and boost your bottom line. The key is not causing any inconvenience to your customers while introducing a solution to accept cash for online purchases.
Make cash king
There are 3 key components to driving more cash sales, reducing the fees your businesses is responsible for paying to credit card companies.
1. Establish a physical presence.
You need to have the ability to accept cash in person. That means in addition to your online presence, you need a physical place to conduct the transaction. A walk-in customer convenience center allows your customers to order products online, pick them up the same day, and pay cash for them. Your business avoids credit-card-transaction, gateway-payment (applied to most ecommerce transactions), and chargeback fees — as well as the actual chargebacks if a customer disputes a purchase or says they never received the product.
2. Make cash sales more desirable to customers.
Offer customer incentives for paying cash while shopping with you. For example, offer a discount on cash purchases — a discount that is less than what those credit card processing fees would cost you. You can also offer a small gift at checkout — like a small chocolate candy or a trial-sized product — to make the customer feel special with every cash sale.
3. Provide great customer service that encourages cash purchases.
In the increasingly competitive online environment, it pays to provide great customer service. Small steps — like having bilingual customer service representatives — can be a big bonus for your customers. It also works out for your business: Reps can help communicate the benefits of picking up products at your customer convenience center (e.g. same-day pick-up) and encourage them to pay cash by promoting your above-mentioned incentives.
If your business cannot accept cash — or if credit cards are your customers’ primary payment method — your bottom line will suffer because of the associated fees. Establishing a customer convenience center gives you the ability to accept cash payments and to entice customers with additional benefits, both of which will help your business grow.
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