Accepting Payment Online - 7 Steps to Improve your Customers Buying Experience
By
John
Tedeschi,
The Founder of Acceptiva, Inc.,
Snoqualmie, WA, U.S.A.
tedeschi[at]inbox.com
http://www.acceptiva.com
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Copyright
© 2006 John Tedeschi
Of
course, the number one way you can improve your client's
online purchasing experience is to accept credit cards
on your site, because most of your clients will prefer
to use their debit or credit card, rather than send
checks through the mail. Credit and debit card purchases
are immediate and secure; paper checks are the least
secure method of making a purchase from an online
seller.
Accepting
payments online will also make it far less likely
that customers will forget about your site or its
address, decide to buy from a competitor who accepts
online payments, or put off making a buying decision.
Once
you're accepting credit cards online, there are several
other ways that you can improve the buying experience,
particularly for those who are new to the Internet
and may be apprehensive about completing a transaction
online.
#1
- Explain what will happen during checkout and keep
the customer informed during the buying process.
Giving
a brief description of the process, reassures the
customer that they're on the right track to a successful
purchase and let them know when the transaction is
complete. For many people, buying online is something
they do with great hesitancy; anything you can do
to lessen their concerns will be appreciated by your
customers.
#2
- Let your customers know that their information is
protected and their transaction is taking place on
a secure server.
Ensure
that your payment page can be clearly identified as
a secure site. The components of a secure site include
a web address that starts with https; that indicates
that the payment page is located on a secure server,
and the display of a padlock symbol or logo that can
be ‘clicked on’ to confirm that there is a valid secure
certificate associated with the secure server.
It
can also help if your secure page starts with the
word "secure" as the first part of the web
address.
#3
- Send automated Thank You Notes and Personal Receipts
to your customers
The
transaction isn't necessarily over when your customer
has paid their money and collected their goods. One
of the ways you can follow up with your client is
to send them an automated note thanking them for their
business, as well as a means to contact you after
the sale. This also allows you to mention other services
and products that you sell, that your customer may
be interested in at a later date. Many merchants don't
do this - going the extra mile sets you apart from
the crowd.
Subsequent
to the thank you note, give your clients another indication
that you've received their order, by sending a personalized
receipt once the order is complete. That way, they
have an immediate record of what they've bought and
can print it for their records.
#4
- Brand your Payment Pages
Having
a branded payment page not only makes you look more
professional, it will increase your ‘conversion rate’
and reduce your ‘abandonment rate’. Customers will
be more trusting and therefore more likely to complete
a purchase online if your payment page has the look
and feel of your web site. This is especially true
of individuals buying online for the first time and
those who are buying from you for the first time.
Trust, comfort and confidence play a major role in
the buying decision of all online customers.
A
branded payment page will also allow you to determine
what information your customer must provide to complete
a purchase rather than having to provide account numbers
and other extraneous information that generic payment
services require. The simpler and more intuitive your
checkout process is, the less likely it is that a
potential customer will ‘abandon’ a purchase mid sale
because they were confused or didn’t understand what
was required to complete a purchase.
#5
- Place your Logo on your Payment Pages
A
generic payment page can imply a generic company.
You want your company to stand out in your customer's
mind so that they will remember you and buy from you
again. There are millions of generic payment pages
online; no-one remembers them. Take every opportunity
to brand yourself and your business. Generic is grey
in a colored world; branded done right, gets noticed
and remembered.
#6
– Put your business name on your customer’s credit
card receipt
An
important part of accepting online payments is ensuring
that your customers can tell to whom they made a payment
when they receive their credit card or bank statement.
Ensure that your payment services provider can put
your business name on your client’s credit card or
bank statement. This will save you from dealing with
chargebacks and provide you with another way to reinforce
your brand and keep it in the mind’s of your customers.
#7
- Make Checkout Simple
The
easier it is to take an order from you, the less likely
it is that the customer will abandon the sale at the
ordering page. Simple is best; simple and branded
is better.
Keeping
those guidelines in mind will enhance the purchasing
experience at your site. All that remains is finding
your next customer.
John Tedeschi is the founder of Acceptiva,
a company that provides branded payment pages for
online professionals and non-profits to enable them
to accept credit cards and debit cards without a merchant
account. Call Acceptiva at 800.507.3871 to find out
how we can help you create an easier, more personal
buying experience for your clients, or http://www.acceptiva.com
for more information.
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