The SHOCKING truth about Accepting Credit Cards!
| Category: Online Payments | Date: 2002-05-13 |
It always amazes me to see how much emphasis business owners spend promoting their websites and how little they spend on their payment solutions.
Lets talk about how you can take payment from your customers. The one thing you have to understand about selling on the Internet is that people buy on emotion and impulse! Think about all the effort and money you invested to get your customer to visit your site, read your classified ad, respond to your autoresponder or whatever other means youve used to promote your company. Suppose youre selling an informational product to teach people how to market on the Internet. They read your initial sales ad and say to themselves "This looks good!," so they visit your website or request more information. After reading your follow-up information theyre excited and ready to make the purchase youve strived for!
The lost sale
Your prospective customers look at your order form and see that you only accept check or money orders. Some may say "I wish they took credit cards because I dont have enough money in my checking account" so they simply dont order. Lets assume theyre really interested in your offer and want to order from you. They print your order form or jot down your mailing address and continue surfing the web. An hour or so goes by, its getting late, so they sign off from their computer, spend some time with their family, perhaps have a late night snack and go to bed.
Wait a minute... What just happened? That prospect that was so interested has gone about their everyday life! Sure they jotted down your information but do you think its as fresh in their head as it was last night? Of course not! If you think about it, you are asking a great deal from your client. Youre asking them to hold on to the impulse and excitement even though you cant support it in the moment. Youre asking them to get out their checkbook and write a check or go to the bank and get a money order, fill out an envelope, stamp it, and go to a mail box...and wait.
How many times have you ever talked to a client on the telephone or over an email who said, "the check is in the mail?" Do you remember how successful you felt about closing the sale and how many trips you took to the mail box looking for the order which never arrived? Thats quite a disappointment especially if you are involved in a start-up business.
How many times have you had your customers ask you the question, "do you take credit cards?" If you dont, what did you say? What did you tell them when they asked "why not?" If you dont accept credit cards, the question can be very uncomfortable. If you are serious about making money online the answer to the question, "do you take credit cards?" Must be YES!
Youre probably saying to yourself, "It probably costs a fortune to accept credit cards and banks wont approve me because Im not a retail business." Not true! In fact with the new evolution of electronic commerce, obtaining a merchant account is easier than ever for home based/internet business. Accepting credit cards makes sense when you consider the average cash or check sale amount is $9 and the average credit card sale is $40, a 450% average sale increase!
Ordering from your website
This is why successful companies accept credit cards on their websites. Credit cards create comfort and trust for your customers and credibility for your company Accepting credit cards at your website is one of the best ways to capture the impulse shopper. You provide an order form at your website so your shopper can fill in their credit card and contact information. The order information is securely sent in seconds to the credit card processor and within minutes to your e-mail box.
You can even have an automated system that will confirm each order, sending the shopper an emailed confirmation receipt. When you offer online ordering you give shoppers the convenience of ordering 24 hours per day seven days a week, you can literally make money in your sleep!
What happens if you dont take credit cards? If you dont accept credit cards at your website, your potential customers may simply choose not to buy from you. If a large enough percentage make that choice you may find yourself out of business!
About the author.
webtranz@smartbot.net
http://www.webtranz.com/
Lets talk about how you can take payment from your customers. The one thing you have to understand about selling on the Internet is that people buy on emotion and impulse! Think about all the effort and money you invested to get your customer to visit your site, read your classified ad, respond to your autoresponder or whatever other means youve used to promote your company. Suppose youre selling an informational product to teach people how to market on the Internet. They read your initial sales ad and say to themselves "This looks good!," so they visit your website or request more information. After reading your follow-up information theyre excited and ready to make the purchase youve strived for!
The lost sale
Your prospective customers look at your order form and see that you only accept check or money orders. Some may say "I wish they took credit cards because I dont have enough money in my checking account" so they simply dont order. Lets assume theyre really interested in your offer and want to order from you. They print your order form or jot down your mailing address and continue surfing the web. An hour or so goes by, its getting late, so they sign off from their computer, spend some time with their family, perhaps have a late night snack and go to bed.
Wait a minute... What just happened? That prospect that was so interested has gone about their everyday life! Sure they jotted down your information but do you think its as fresh in their head as it was last night? Of course not! If you think about it, you are asking a great deal from your client. Youre asking them to hold on to the impulse and excitement even though you cant support it in the moment. Youre asking them to get out their checkbook and write a check or go to the bank and get a money order, fill out an envelope, stamp it, and go to a mail box...and wait.
How many times have you ever talked to a client on the telephone or over an email who said, "the check is in the mail?" Do you remember how successful you felt about closing the sale and how many trips you took to the mail box looking for the order which never arrived? Thats quite a disappointment especially if you are involved in a start-up business.
How many times have you had your customers ask you the question, "do you take credit cards?" If you dont, what did you say? What did you tell them when they asked "why not?" If you dont accept credit cards, the question can be very uncomfortable. If you are serious about making money online the answer to the question, "do you take credit cards?" Must be YES!
Youre probably saying to yourself, "It probably costs a fortune to accept credit cards and banks wont approve me because Im not a retail business." Not true! In fact with the new evolution of electronic commerce, obtaining a merchant account is easier than ever for home based/internet business. Accepting credit cards makes sense when you consider the average cash or check sale amount is $9 and the average credit card sale is $40, a 450% average sale increase!
Ordering from your website
This is why successful companies accept credit cards on their websites. Credit cards create comfort and trust for your customers and credibility for your company Accepting credit cards at your website is one of the best ways to capture the impulse shopper. You provide an order form at your website so your shopper can fill in their credit card and contact information. The order information is securely sent in seconds to the credit card processor and within minutes to your e-mail box.
You can even have an automated system that will confirm each order, sending the shopper an emailed confirmation receipt. When you offer online ordering you give shoppers the convenience of ordering 24 hours per day seven days a week, you can literally make money in your sleep!
What happens if you dont take credit cards? If you dont accept credit cards at your website, your potential customers may simply choose not to buy from you. If a large enough percentage make that choice you may find yourself out of business!
About the author.
webtranz@smartbot.net
http://www.webtranz.com/
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