DirectPayNet

Category: E-COMMERCE

  • Yes, You Can Increase Prices Without Losing Customers to Grow Revenue

    Yes, You Can Increase Prices Without Losing Customers to Grow Revenue

    Increasing prices is a classic way to grow revenue. However, there is often a concern of losing clients when you increase your prices. It’s always tempting to keep your prices the same, especially as a service provider business, but as you probably know, your expenses also increase with time.

    Whether you’re increasing prices out of necessity, testing price points for new markets, or simply just eager to grow your revenue, here are our tips for raising prices without losing customers.

    The Importance of Pricing

    The price you charge for your products is one of the most important and challenging decisions you will make. It’s also one of the most important factors in determining whether you—as a small business owner—will succeed or fail.

    This is true for several reasons, but mostly because prices form the foundation of your customer’s purchasing decision process. As such, they have a tremendous influence on how many products you sell and how much revenue you bring in.

    The key to setting good prices lies in understanding what drives customer decision-making. Customers take into account a number of factors when deciding whether or not to buy from you, including:

    • Payment methods available (cash, credit cards, etc.)
    • Availability of similar products from competitors
    • Brand recognition and trust
    • Product features and quality

    Making your prices more expensive can lead to more sales and less stress.

    Price tags are most often the primary factor a customer base considers when making purchasing decisions. As an entrepreneur, if you are having trouble selling your products at the prices you want to charge—or if your business is bringing in far less than it could be—it may be because your business is suffering from its lower prices. That’s when you need to figure out a method of increasing prices without losing customers that works for your business.

    Why You Should Raise Prices

    There are many reasons why a business might want to raise prices without losing customers or changing their audience. Here are 8 reasons you should consider if you’re on the fence.

    1. Price is an important perceived value.
    2. Price is part of your value proposition.
    3. Price signals better quality.
    4. Price can improve your service or offerings.
    5. Price increases revenue and can increase profits.
    6. Price increases margin and builds working capital reserves.
    7. Price differentiates you from competitors and substitutes.
    8. Price reduces costs by reducing overheads and improving efficiency.
    9. Price increases can signify new features and new products.

    Beyond this, you should also consider raising prices depending on the market you’re operating in (if there are multiple). Trying out different pricing structures can help you determine what price point will yield the most revenue while still being competitive in the market. It’s a great idea to have a good understanding of your competitor’s pricing models as well — this information can help you set your product apart and give you an edge. And testing in new markets outside of your primary one lets affords the space for trial-and-error without losing valuable customers.

    When Is the Right Time to Raise Prices

    The best time to increase prices is when you’re providing an important service that people can’t do without. Obviously, this is a subjective point of view, but it’s undeniable that there are a lot of companies that have managed to raise product prices over the years because they had no choice.

    There’s a time for everything, and it’s not always now. If you’re still in the startup phase, you need to keep your focus on other things besides revenue growth. There are other metrics that are more important to measure in the beginning, such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), conversion, churn rate and lifetime value.

    Trying to optimize revenue too soon can actually hurt your company. You might make a lot of money each month, but if it costs you $20 to acquire a new customer and you only have a 10% conversion rate on your website, then you have to spend $200 for every sale. That could put you out of business pretty fast.

    Once you’ve reached product/market fit, however, there’s a good chance that you’re ready to focus on optimizing revenue from existing customers.

    Analyze your business model.

    You can only raise prices if your business model allows for it. For example, if you have customers who buy from you due to affordability, then raising them may cause some of your customers to buy elsewhere. However, if you have a high profit margin, then raising prices won’t really affect sales either.

    Look at your revenues and costs. Higher revenues mean you can afford to raise prices without losing too many sales but beware of adding too many extras to your products (and their prices) as this may give customers less incentive to buy from you. Consider the competition. If there’s no competition in your niche, then feel free to increase prices a lot. However, if there are similar businesses around with better offers than yours, then it’s best not to raise prices too much as that would put you in danger of losing customers, revenue, and trust.

    How to Inform Your Customers of a Price Hike without Losing Them

    Price increases are never popular. But with the right message and the right timing, you can get customers on board with the idea. Here are some tips to help you make the case for price increases.

    Give customers advanced notice.

    When you tell them your current prices will be going up in a few months, they’ll have time to prepare themselves and save money if necessary. You should also offer them discounts or other incentives to keep them happy in the short term.

    Explain why your costs are increasing.

    If rising costs are because of supply-and-demand issues or some other factor, rather than greediness on your part, make sure customers know about it. They might not like it, but at least they’ll understand what’s happening.

    Offer current customers a discount.

    This will reward people who have been loyal customers and make it more palatable for others to pay higher prices when they sign up for your services.

    Don’t ignore those who criticize it.

    Listen to your critics. Treat any complaints or negative comments regarding your price increase with utmost importance. Respond quickly and professionally to all customer issues, especially those that directly pertain to the new price increase. Customers want to be heard, and you want to keep them on your side.

    Raising Prices Is an Art and a Science

    Raising prices is not a guessing game. With the right framework and the right data, you can approach price changes strategically and systematically to grow revenue.

    Adopting any of the strategies above (or your own version of them) will help you increase prices without losing customers. Each strategy, if executed well, can be a boon to your bottom line. However, what’s important is that you keep in mind these key points: take small steps, do it incrementally, always give customers a chance to opt out, and never make price increases a secret.

    Remember, these strategies work best when applied over time. The magic of increasing prices but not losing customers is that it can gradually grow your revenue without dramatically altering how your business functions. Whether in e-commerce or brick-and-mortar, if you’re looking for ways to grow your business this year, give some of these pricing strategies a shot.

    To ensure outstanding customer experience on your online store and that your business operates smoothly no matter how much you charge, get in touch with DirectPayNet. We provide merchant accounts for businesses in all industries–even the risky ones. Premium prices deserves premium service, and that means premium payment processing. Talk to our customer service reps today to get started.

  • Change Your Business’ Billing Descriptor NOW to Avoid Chargebacks

    Change Your Business’ Billing Descriptor NOW to Avoid Chargebacks

    If you are receiving charge backs on your credit card transactions it could be for a number of reasons. The billing descriptor (Name on Credit Card) is often the most overlooked portion of a transaction. Your business’s billing descriptor can increase or decrease how likely a customer is to dispute their credit card charge.

    Now that the holidays are over and we’ve reached January, the season of post-holiday chargebacks has begun. By changing your credit card bank statement business name (known as the billing descriptor), you can avoid unnecessary chargebacks and raise your chances of winning against any disputes that arise.

    How does changing your billing descriptor help you avoid chargebacks?

    A billing descriptor is a short phrase that accompanies your business’ name on customers’ credit card statements. The descriptor is intended to remind customers who the company is and what they do.

    If your billing descriptor is inaccurate, customers won’t immediately recognize who you are. If they don’t recognize the charge (e.g., if the transaction clears later than the purchase date; your store’s name isn’t included in the description) then they will call up their issuer and ask for a refund. That’s a chargeback for you simply because you didn’t pay attention to this little yet important detail.

    If a customer tries to request a refund and your billing descriptor does reflect your business accurately, then you’ll have a better chance of succeeding in the dispute process. If the name doesn’t match up, then it’s a fair argument for banks to say, “well, how was the customer supposed to know it was you?”

    The best way to fix this problem is to change your billing descriptor. This will make it immediately clear who you are and how to contact you in case there are any issues with your order.

    Are there different types of billing descriptors?

    There are two different billing descriptors: default (or static) and dynamic. Both have their pros and cons, so read further to find out which one fits your business best.

    Default Billing Descriptors

    The default descriptor is one that only displays your merchant name. It can also be assigned to you by your processor and displays a generic string of text like:

    Web Dev by Joe Ltd 126-294-18233

    When it’s assigned to you, it generally doesn’t appear very neatly or clearly on the cardholder’s statement which can lead to customer confusion. However, it’s required by law for a descriptor to be assigned if you don’t provide one. This is another reason why it’s incredibly important for you to manage this as soon as possible.

    Dynamic Billing Descriptors

    A dynamic billing descriptor, or soft descriptor, is a statement of the products and services sold to the customer that specifies what they’ve bought and from whom.

    For example, if you have subscription-based pricing, then using dynamic billing descriptors is a good way to inform your customers about their subscriptions. You can include information like the number of months or days remaining on the subscription as well as the specific product/package they purchased. For example:

    Amber’s Life Coaching Premium Package – 3 months remaining

    This tells the customer what the store is, what they’re being charged for, and how much longer they have on the subscription. With this information, it would be tough for them to successfully dispute the charge because it’s so detailed. Of course, you should specify the information according to your business. You should also use the information you’ve obtained about your most common chargebacks to help avoid those, specifically, in the future.

    ACH Billing Descriptors

    There is no standard for billing descriptors for ACH transactions, unfortunately. However, some processors do provide this information. There will always be a descriptor present, no transaction comes up blank. But in terms of customization, it really depends on your provider. The easiest way to find answers if you’re concerned about ACH billing descriptors for your account is to contact your financial institution directly.

    How do I change my business’ billing descriptor?

    Each platform and processor have their own way of helping you manipulate the credit card billing statement description.

    Contact Your Merchant Services Provider

    If you have a merchant account, you have a couple of ways you can get this done. If you can, log into your merchant portal. There should be somewhere in your business profile or settings a section for the billing descriptor.

    However, if that’s not possible then all you have to do is contact your merchant services provider. You can use email or phone to get in touch, though email might be better in this case since you’ll want to be specific with your descriptor and avoid any mistakes. Your provider will be able to tell you what’s possible in terms of default/dynamic descriptors. Then, all you have to do is provide the details and you’re good to go.

    Change Your PayPal Billing Descriptor

    If you use PayPal for your business – be careful, it’s not friendly to subscription-based merchants – then first you need to log in. Then in your Selling Tools area, there is a section for Billing Details. You can make the changes you want right here.

    Change Your Stripe Billing Descriptor

    You can set your static descriptor directly from the Stripe Dashboard. Stripe only offers dynamic descriptors for card charges, and you can follow the instructions from the link above to handle it.

    We have noticed a lot of people seeing this for their customer’s bank statement descriptor in EU markets:

    Stripe eea stel aggregation

    This is something you’ll want to change ASAP if you’re doing business in the EU or selling to international customers. “Stripe eea stel aggregation” is the generic Stripe descriptor for the EU and many merchants are seeing this on their statements. It’s best not to wait for Stripe to make any changes and for you to go into your Stripe account and change it yourself. You should do this anyway to ensure the information is tailored to your liking, but this should act as even more of a push.

    Change Your WooCommerce Billing Descriptor

    With so many merchants using WooCommerce and WordPress for their e-commerce stores, we felt it was necessary to include this here as well. Simply go into the Checkout Settings area of your WordPress backend dashboard and you’ll find it.

    What are the billing descriptor best practices?

    Now that you know the importance of your business’ billing descriptor and how to change it, now we’ll share with you some of the best pieces of information to include.

    Use a Separate Descriptor for Each Merchant Account

    Each merchant account should have its own unique number (MID) so that your payment processor knows which merchant to charge for a transaction. You might think that this is unnecessary or restrictive, but there are actually quite a few reasons why every merchant should have their own billing descriptor.

    It’s easier to manage. When you’re just starting out, you may be processing orders for one or two different merchants under the same account. This can make it confusing when trying to find specific charges in the reports. If you’re using a separate billing descriptor for each merchant, then this issue is eliminated.

    It helps identify fraud. If someone is attempting to steal your customers information, they may be using a similar merchant name as one of your customers. A billing descriptor can help you identify which customer is actually at fault and help minimize losses from fraud.

    You don’t want to pay for someone else’s mistakes. If one of your merchants has an issue with chargebacks or refunds, it doesn’t make sense for that to negatively impact your entire business. With separate billing descriptors, merchants cannot negatively impact each other as there are no common accounts between them.

    Use Your T/A Name

    While you might still be using your full legal name as your business name, it’s better to use your “trading as” name in your billing descriptor. This is the name that most customer’s will recognize you as, therefore it’s best to use it as your business’ billing descriptor to avoid chargebacks.

    Include Contact Info

    Don’t just include a company name in your billing descriptor. It’s important to include a phone number or email address in case your customers have questions about the charge. This makes it even easier for them to contact you instead of the issuing bank, which could be the difference between a refund and a chargeback.

    Test the Billing Descriptor

    Send out test transactions to familiarize yourself with how your online business appears on a customer’s credit card statement. From here, you can adjust as needed to make sure all of the information you want displayed actually shows up properly.

    Update Your Billing Descriptor with DirectPayNet

    As a high-risk merchant services provider, DirectPayNet allows you to update and adjust your business’ billing descriptor as needed to avoid chargebacks and increase visibility.

    Our experience with payment processing companies and acquiring banks is your ticket to success, whether you’re selling subscriptions, pre-sale products, or other high-risk items. Our expert team will get you set up with an account that accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, ACH, and even more.

    Don’t risk your business using 3rd-party processors or low-risk providers. Get in touch with us today to get a merchant account you can customize from billing descriptor to transactions rates.

  • The TRUTH About Payment Gateways – Are You Using the Right One?

    The TRUTH About Payment Gateways – Are You Using the Right One?

    There are many payment gateways, payment processors and merchant services for business owners to choose from. Not all are equal and it can be difficult to tell the difference between them. It can even be difficult to differentiate what separates a payment processor from a payment gateway from a merchant account. These terms are often tossed around interchangeably or incorrectly, which can promote misinformation that leads to less-than-stellar conversions or confusion about which piece you need to change.

    We’ll uncover the truth about payment gateways, giving you all the information you need to make informed decisions and boost your conversion rates. Understand what each of these three pieces do (payment gateway, merchant account, payment processor) is more important than you might currently realize. To uncover the truth, you can read along below or listen to our podcast on the topic by clicking here.

    What Is It and How Does a Payment Gateway Work?

    A payment gateway is the software that connects your checkout page to your merchant account and allows you to accept credit cards on your site.

    It’s as simple as that. But even though its such a simple element to your e-commerce store, it carries a lot of weight. Your payment gateway is also where customer information is passed through and stored. You need to make sure the payment gateway you’re working with is PCI-compliant and has high levels of security so you can minimize leaks of information and potential lawsuits.

    These gateways work in the following way:

    > The customer enters their credit card information on your checkout page.

    > That data is captured by your payment gateway.

    > Then, it’s transferred to your payment processor where they do what they need to accept the funds.

    > The process is then reversed, where data goes back to the gateway and to your checkout page where it displays confirmation.

    As you can see, the gateway is literally a gateway between your store and the processor.

    Another fact you need to know is: you cannot create your own payment gateway, nor can you bypass it. It is an integral part of any checkout system.

    What’s the Difference Between a Gateway, a Payment Processor, and a Merchant Account?

    One of the most important reasons why you should understand the difference between a payment gateway, a payment processor, and a merchant account is in the case that you want to change one of them. A lot of people come to us with statements like, “I need a new payment gateway,” when in fact their business needs a new merchant account or processor, they just didn’t know the purpose or the difference.

    Now, you might be thinking, “when should I change my payment gateway? Or payment processor? Or merchant account?” The answer is dependent on your needs as a business. Maybe you want to add a new product and your current merchant account doesn’t support it, or a new payment method but your current credit card processing company doesn’t support it, or switch up your CRM but your gateway isn’t supported.

    It’s important to know the impact each of these have on your business currently and the business you want to have in the future.

    Gateways vs. Processors

    Payment gateways and payment processors are both used to collect and process payments, but they have some key differences.  Payment processing companies act as a third party between your customers and your company. They handle payment processing from things like credit cards (MasterCard, Visa, American Express), debit cards, ACH, and other payment options, but you must still store cardholder data, fulfill orders, and manage cancellations.  That’s where payment gateways come in.

    A payment gateway acts like an extension of your website or e-commerce platform. All customer payment information, like card numbers, issuing bank info, and other card details, is stored with the gateway, you don’t need to manage anything yourself.

    So the gateway stores, sends, and receives customer data while the processor takes care of depositing the payment.

    Gateways vs. Merchant Accounts

    While merchant service providers can set up a gateway for you, they don’t necessarily come with one or set you up with one. So that’s our first point: merchant accounts aren’t payment gateways and they don’t have to come with one, either.

    The difference between the two is much more apparent than with a processor. A merchant account is a bank account that your merchant account provider opens with a financial institution for your business. Or you can open one directly with your bank. It allows you to accept credit card payments from customers. However, it doesn’t process those credit card transactions, it just allows you to accept it.

    So, where the payment gateway is the link between your store and a payment processor, the merchant account is the link between your customer’s credit card and your merchant bank account. Neither of them actually processes funds, they just allow for the transfer of data to happen.

    Merchant Accounts vs. Processors

    Payment processors facilitate payments from your customers to you. Merchant accounts are the accounts you use to accept payments for goods and services.

    You need a merchant account, a payment processor, and a payment gateway (as well as a CRM or shopping cart) to run an online store smoothly.

    Why There’s Confusion Around Each of These Element

    Some of the confusion around what a gateway does versus what a processor does and so on actually stems from companies that try to simplify it for business owners.

    Let’s take Stripe as an example. They are a processor and a gateway and a “merchant account” (sort of) all wrapped in one, which simplifies the experience for any e-commerce store owner that wants to open up shop. However, they don’t make a point to separate what each aspect of their account does.

    Stripe is also not a merchant account provider, they are a payment aggregator. Stripe has its own merchant account and leases out sub-merchant accounts to you. So, with Stripe or PayPal or any other aggregator, you don’t actually own a merchant account and therefore cannot switch to a better processor or a better gateway. You’re stuck with what they give you. And sometimes, that’s a good thing. A lot of low-risk, small business owners who are just starting out can benefit from the simplicity. The trouble comes when you want to start changing things up, like finding lower rates/transaction fees, allowing other currencies, or accepting payment methods that aren’t current available.

    The solution is to get your own merchant account, which you would actually own and can make decisions about. Your own merchant account lets you better negotiate terms with acquiring banks and processors as well as link to a payment gateway of your choice.

    And then some payment gateways have more functionality than others, which can also add to confusion. It’s important that you shop around between payment gateway service providers that fits your store best, meaning understanding what works and what doesn’t according to your needs.

    Customizing Your Payments Setup

    Having said that, your main focus should be on finding a merchant account provider that gets your good rates and service without causing too many bottlenecks. As we said earlier, a lot of people come to us saying they need a new gateway when they really need a new processor or merchant account.

    You can get your own merchant account that is not tied to a specific gateway. So, for example, you can get a merchant account through DirectPayNet but use a payment gateway from Authorize.net or NMI or somewhere else.

    Even with your own merchant account, a lot of merchant service providers just tell you which gateway to use and it’s usually one of the more well-known ones. That’s not a problem since you know that merchant account is compatible with that gateway, however it might not be the right gateway for you.

    Let’s say you work with Sticky or Connective or WooCommerce—one of the big CRMs. You have to check which gateways that CRM can be integrated with. And even though you can use other gateways with a CRM, it won’t be as seamless and might require some backend work or a ton of plugins/APIs to work the way you want.

    This is when you need to decide which is the most important player in your business.

    The Most Important Element for Your Business May Not Be the Payment Gateway

    Before making any changes to your online payments setup, this is step one: deciding which element carries the most weight.

    Is It Your CRM?

    If it’s your CRM, shopping cart, or software you’re using to manage your site and customer payment data, then you need to get the list of compatible payment gateway providers from your provider/developer. That’s the only way to know with 100% certainly which gateways can be used seamlessly. After that, you can find a compatible payment processor that works with that gateway.

    Is It Your Merchant Account?

    For a lot of online business owners, the merchant account should be the top priority. This is especially true for high-risk businesses–those that use subscription pricing or sell CBD or something else that’s considered high-risk. Being high-risk makes can make it difficult to get a merchant account, so you value you the one you have. If this is the case, find out which PCI compliance-friendly gateways are supported by the payment processor you have linked to your merchant account and which software/CRM supports that gateway, in this order.

    DirectPayNet Can Help You Understand The Payments Aspect of Your Business

    We’re here to help. Contact our expert customer support team and we’ll get you set up with the right merchant account, payment processor, your shopping cart, and your PCI DSS-compliant gateway.

  • Is Trustly’s Open Banking Service a Merchant Account Killer?

    Is Trustly’s Open Banking Service a Merchant Account Killer?

    There are few payment methods today that offer merchants a seamless checkout experience. But Sweden-based open banking startup Trustly is a new player that’s already making waves in payments solutions and fintech, not least because they’re pushing boundaries across the Pacific. Having entered the Asian market in 2017 and taking the European market by storm, they’ve had a great start in this emerging region by offering local businesses a faster, cheaper, and more secure way to accept online payments.

    At least, that’s what Trustly wants us to think. But is open banking and services like Trustly a merchant account killer?

    What is open banking?

    Open banking is a term that has been used to describe the movement of banks towards a more open and transparent system. This can be achieved with the help of APIs as well as third party services that are built on top of them. The idea behind this initiative is to allow more collaboration between financial institutions, startups, and even customers.

    How does open banking work for merchants?

    As a merchant, it’s in your best interest to offer multiple payment methods for customers to use so you can maximize the potentials that a customer will complete their purchase. The trouble is that a lot of payment methods require their own integrations. Want to offer PayPal? you need to add their API to your site. Visa Secure? Install the API. Credit card input? Install an API.

    These APIs are the only secure way to ensure your customers’ data is safe when they enter it on your site, but it can be hassle. Open banking with companies like Trustly are trying to change that. With them, merchants can connect their ecommerce store to any bank and offer essentially an unlimited number of ways to pay without all the integrations.

    How does open banking work for customers?

    When a customer chooses their preferred payment method and enters their payment details, they’ll be securely transferred to the appropriate payment service provider’s (PSP) website to complete the transaction safely and securely.

    This usually involves logging into their bank, as Trustly (and Plaid, another popular open banking service) promotes ACH payments most.

    What are the benefits of open banking to merchants?

    Open banking payments is a futuristic form of payment processing that promotes transparency and user-controlled data.

    Automated Marketing

    With open banking, merchants can create a truly personalized user experience and engage with their customers on an individual level. Data exchange between customer and merchant will happen automatically, giving businesses access to an unprecedented level of information so they can tailor their services accordingly.This will result in a tailored shopping experience for each customer that makes it easier for them to buy products or use services from that company.

    Customers Gain More Access to Their Own Data

    With open banking, customers will have more access to their own data. They can decide who gets to see it and how they want to share it. This is a big change from the current “closed bank” model, where only banks have access to spending data and can use it for marketing purposes.

    Open banking means that it’s up to customers how much of their data is shared, with whom and for what purpose. This will change the way we think about marketing and advertising in the future. A customer might want to share their spending data with a specific store or brand in exchange for rewards or other benefits.

    Fewer Chargebacks

    The bane of any merchant: chargebacks. One of the most significant benefits of open banking for merchants is the reduction in chargebacks. The main reason for this is that open banking requires a unique identifier for each and every transaction, which makes it nearly impossible for the customer to dispute or reverse the transaction if they decide they don’t want to pay for it later. This creates less work for both you and your bank to do, which is always a good thing.

    What are the drawbacks of open banking?

    There are always consequences. Open banking’s, and Trustly’s by extension, may be more significant than you would initially believe.

    Less Visibility

    Merchants will have less visibility into their transactions because they’ll be decoupled from the issuing bank.

    Open Banking is going to remove the ability of merchants to see their transaction data directly from their banks. This is a double-edged sword. Being able to see transaction details directly from the issuing bank has many convenience benefits, but it also gives the merchant a lot of control over the transaction. This can create many issues in disputes due to the merchant being able to modify the data in order to support their claim. With open banking, there will be a lot less visibility into transactions and disputes will have to be handled by the two parties that were involved: the customer and the bank.

    Higher Risk of Fraud

    Because open banking services lend themselves to peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, there is potential for fraud. Criminals could use this system to take money directly from bank accounts without the customer or the bank knowing about it.

    Open banking will make it easier for criminals to gain access to sensitive information. In particular, identity fraud is likely to increase. This is because information about a customer’s transactions will not only be available to their bank but also to any organization they choose to share their data with.

    It also makes it possible for hackers to steal information from multiple merchants at once. Obviously, this isn’t a problem with legitimate merchants who aren’t using open banking. However, criminals can use open banking APIs to create fake payment apps that are indistinguishable from the real thing.

    High Fees

    Merchants may find that the fees associated with offering these services are more than they’d like. It will allow consumers to move their money from one bank to another with ease and much more quickly than before. If a consumer becomes frustrated or dissatisfied with their bank and wants to switch, they can do so in a matter of hours instead of days. This could cause a drop in customer loyalty and lead to reduced profits for banks and other financial institutions. Banks that provide open, online banking payment platforms may have to charge higher fees to recoup the lost revenue from clients who are moving their money elsewhere, creating additional costs for businesses.

    Security and Compliance

    A standardized API that allows merchants to access data from customers’ bank account makes things much more convenient, but at a price. Customers can feel far less secure entering their sensitive bank login information into a third-party service. That’s direct access to highly sensitive data. Customers just don’t always feel comfortable with a store having their personal data.

    Also, if something goes awry, the blame will come down to the merchant, not Trustly. And in order to retrieve personal data from a customer’s online bank account a business will require full PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance. As you can see, there are a lot of compliance and security issues.

    Fragmentation

    Open banking isn’t a single standard for all banks. Instead, it’s an umbrella term for any number of different standards that banks are using to give customers visibility into their own finances. The result is a fragmented industry where the products and services offered by different banks can vary dramatically from one another.

    And if not all banks offer open banking, then customers who use those banks won’t be able to use the 3rd-party applications (or 1st-party, if you decide to make your own) to make payments and will default to the traditional payment experience they’re already used to, like credit card and debit cards.

    Trustly isn’t a merchant account killer, yet. To mitigate the risk of fraud and prevent chargebacks, get a merchant account that works for your business.

    Trustly may be growing in popularity across Europe, due in large to the EU’s PSD2 legislation towards open banking, but it hasn’t yet reached North America in the same way.

    A good merchant services provider, like DirectPayNet, will offer you a merchant account that helps you avoid fraudulent charges and keeps your chargeback ratio low while allowing you to process global payments with full security authentication measures. With security implementations that already exist, we don’t need to look too far into the future to see your business scaling they way you want. We can make that happen right now.

    Get in touch with our industry experts by calling or writing to us. We’ll set you up with a high-risk merchant account and payment processor that your customers prefer.

  • Transform a New Year’s Resolution Client into One for a Lifetime

    Transform a New Year’s Resolution Client into One for a Lifetime

    Landing new year’s resolution clients is a great way to kick off the new year. But what do you do once they come in the door? How can you turn that client into a long-term relationship or even one for a lifetime?

    The new year presents a unique opportunity for us to step outside of those patterns that have held us back and set new intentions, goals, and habits. Think about how much your business could grow by keeping your clients past their new year’s resolution.

    Here’s how you can convert those temporary New Year’s resolution clients into long-term revenue streams for your business.

    What is a New Year’s resolution client?

    There’s no question that the new year’s resolution has lots of staying power. They’re easy to remember, they’re pretty concrete (you don’t have to guess if you met your goal), and they’re not a huge time commitment. Yet, the majority of people who set a new year’s resolution give up by February.

    This is what we call a “New Year’s resolution client”. They’re the ones who talk big but fall right through the cracks as soon as Feb 1 comes around.

    Why do clients’ New Year’s resolutions fail?

    New Year’s resolutions are typically centered around a desire to improve oneself. Most people make resolutions to be healthier, wealthier, or wiser, and will do so within the first few weeks of the year. By February, however, most of these resolutions have fallen by the wayside and are replaced with a new set for the coming year.

    Resolutions fail due to lack of commitment and support. Only 8% of people actually achieve their goals every single year. The trick to transforming your client’s resolutions into something permanent. If you can help your clients achieve even one of their resolutions, they will be loyal to you for life.

    How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution Clients for Life

    Here are some of our tips and tricks to keeping those clients to their word, capitalizing on their resolution, and converting them into a life-long revenue stream.

    Determine Their Biggest Issue

    Sometimes clients come in saying they want one thing but needing another. Progress is a step-by-step process and identifying what their biggest issue is as well as the steps to eliminate it is your first goal. Ask questions and listen carefully.

    That will give you a starting point for helping them make the changes they want. Then tell them why change is good for them in a way that’s relevant to their lives and goal setting. If they’re worried about getting in shape, talk about their health and how it will improve if they lose weight or exercise more. If they’re concerned about losing weight, don’t just focus on the number on the scale; talk about how good they’ll feel when taking hikes with the family and how you can help them change their routine to incorporate weight loss supplements easily.

    Make It Personal

    Not only does this provide value for your business but making your client’s resolution guide personal makes them feel it more. It’s easy to throw a generic step-by-step guide out the window. There’s nothing that speaks to the client with that. Instead, add a personal touch to how you’ll help your clients achieve their New Year’s goals.

    Yes, you will have to offer some valuable advice. A lot of business owners don’t like the idea of giving away free content. Don’t let the ball drop on this one. That initial freebie is what draws them in and makes them want to pay for your service. You’ve proven your expertise and now they want more.

    Set the Right Expectations

    We’re all guilty of making grandiose claims about what we’re going to accomplish in the next year, but if your clients are new to setting goals, you have to take it slow. If you’re working with someone who has never set a goal before, advise them to start small. Set a goal they can easily achieve that will lead them toward something bigger. Make sure they understand that there will be some setbacks along the way; just because they haven’t done something in the past doesn’t mean they won’t succeed this time around.

    Track Progress

    Giving clients a way to track their progress will help them maintain their goal. When they’re aware of how far they’ve come, they’re more likely to continue with their new year’s resolution for 2022. In fact, making progress tracking a regular part of their journey and filling it with micro-achievements will help them feel accomplished. Measure their progress and provide relevant, motivating metrics to keep new client’s past their new year’s eve promises.

    If you’re promoting a gym, weight loss diet plan, or even upping a client’s social engagement, a progress tracker is one of the best investments you can make towards maintaining a consistent stream of revenue from each client.

    Transform a Short-Term Goal into a Long-Term Habit

    Again, start out small. If a customer comes in with fitness goals saying they want to gain 50 pounds of muscle or lose 150lb, you need to make sure they know that’s a long-term goal. Instead, start of slow and transform that short-term goal into a long-term habit.

    Maybe your client can readily lose 10lb in the next month. That’s a great short-term goal. Then expand on it. This strategy can work for every New Year’s client, no matter the industry.

    Stay in Constant Contact

    Take advantage of your customers’ ability to spread their concerns across multiple platforms such as social media, email, and phone calls. Maintain communication throughout the process and remind them of their progress along the way. Once they feel as though they’ve accomplished something, walk them through how they can achieve their next goal.

    Consistency is key when you are building a relationship with someone. Build a routine where you follow up with your new year’s resolution clients every week, every month, or every quarter. Unless you have a very high-value service like plastic surgery, you will not be able to charge much for these follow-ups because they are so frequent, but the value of these relationships will be priceless when you need them in the future.

    You don’t want to lose momentum when it comes to keeping these people engaged, so use the gaps between appointments as a time to ask questions that give you insight into their lives and their goals. Ask them about their progress with their resolutions or if they are still interested in pursuing them at all. This will give you the opportunity to adjust your offering accordingly and stay on top of their needs as they evolve over time.

    Provide Multiple Membership Options

    If you’re looking to retain your new year’s resolution clients, you have to provide them with multiple options.

    What are your pricing options? You can offer a Basic Membership that grants unlimited access to the gym, monthly supply of supplements, or two training sessions per month if you’re a wellness coach/personal trainer/mental health advisor. Then there’s the mid-tier package that includes everything in Basic put with a few perks, like discounts on your other products or more coaching sessions per month or bringing a friend to the gym with you. And then there’s the top-tier membership, where you include everything possible for your client. Or maybe your customers enjoy a simpler pay-as-you-go payment method.

    Treat each member individually and determine what type of membership will suit them best. Create perks for each plan that will make them feel special about their decision to commit to your product. The more personalization you can add, the more likely your client is going to stick with you.

    Your Customers’ Goals Are for the Long-Term. Get Your Business Prepped to Convert Those New Year’s Resolution Clients into Steady Revenue.

    Clients set expectations on an ideal world, not a real world. That can be a punch in the gut if revealed too abruptly. Instead, follow our tips above to keep your new year’s resolution client retention high for the entire year of 2022 and beyond.

    With multiple membership options and subscriptions, you’ll need a high-risk merchant account to stay on top of demand from both customers and payment processors. DirectPayNet will connect you with the right processor and acquiring bank to give you all the tools you need to make a big difference in 2022–your year of growth.

    Contact us today to get started.