Wouldn’t it be great if we could just eliminate our competition? What would happen if customers simply had absolutely no other options than to shop at your store and your store alone?
In order to have credit card processing, you need to have a merchant account. But did you know that your merchant account can do more for you than just allow your customers to charge their purchases? The term “merchant services” can encompass many different features, like
* Credit and debit card payment processing
* ACH check drafting and processing services
* Check guarantee and check conversion services, and
* Gift and loyalty card programs.
Most notable from the list, in terms of excluding the competition and gaining new customers and further revenue, would be gift and loyalty card programs.
If you haven’t yet signed up for a gift card or loyalty program for your business because you’re concerned about cost, consider taking the plunge during the busier holiday season. This time of the year is not only attractive to business owners as being known as the time of year where everyone is looking to spend, but is also attractive to merchant services providers for those same reasons. Knowing that you may be anticipating high sales, a merchant company may offer a free trial on gift cards or loyalty programs; and what better way to find out just how much money your business can make than by accepting them and seeing for yourself?
Another positive aspect to be taken into consideration is that most credit card processing terminals come standard equipped with the capabilities to maintain these programs with little to no extra programming involved. Oftentimes, no extra hardware is required at all.
* Increase in overall sales and cash flow, customers will generally spend more than what they have on their gift cards, or will spend more to compensate with what they’re saving with their loyalty cards
* Ease of use and faster transactions, less time at the checkout counter for your customers, making their shopping experience a positive one
* Enabling regular customers to spread-the-word and introduce your business to new, uninformed potential customers
* Gift card programs don’t come with a cash back option; customers on average leave 10-20% unspent on their gift cards, meaning more profit for you
* Average of a 3-month “float” on funds, which is helpful during busy holiday seasons which can lead to periods of sales lulls.
With gift card processing done electronically right through your credit card terminal, the days of hand-writing paper gift certificates are long gone. Along with them are the worries of fraud; of problems with duplication and misuse of paper gift certificates, and customers re-using certificates that have already been used. Gift cards eliminate all the risk and handle the dirty work for you. There is no need to re-issue a new certificate if there is a remaining balance, there is no need to check a gift certificate coming in for redemption against a sales ledger.
Recent surveys have shown that over 90% of consumers would like to receive gift cards, and that over 60% of consumers plan on giving gift cards during the holiday seasons. With numbers like that, what have you got to lose?
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In order to have credit card processing, you need to have a merchant account. But did you know that your merchant account can do more for you than just allow your customers to charge their purchases? The term “merchant services” can encompass many different features, like
* Credit and debit card payment processing
* ACH check drafting and processing services
* Check guarantee and check conversion services, and
* Gift and loyalty card programs.
Most notable from the list, in terms of excluding the competition and gaining new customers and further revenue, would be gift and loyalty card programs.
If you haven’t yet signed up for a gift card or loyalty program for your business because you’re concerned about cost, consider taking the plunge during the busier holiday season. This time of the year is not only attractive to business owners as being known as the time of year where everyone is looking to spend, but is also attractive to merchant services providers for those same reasons. Knowing that you may be anticipating high sales, a merchant company may offer a free trial on gift cards or loyalty programs; and what better way to find out just how much money your business can make than by accepting them and seeing for yourself?
Another positive aspect to be taken into consideration is that most credit card processing terminals come standard equipped with the capabilities to maintain these programs with little to no extra programming involved. Oftentimes, no extra hardware is required at all.
* Increase in overall sales and cash flow, customers will generally spend more than what they have on their gift cards, or will spend more to compensate with what they’re saving with their loyalty cards
* Ease of use and faster transactions, less time at the checkout counter for your customers, making their shopping experience a positive one
* Enabling regular customers to spread-the-word and introduce your business to new, uninformed potential customers
* Gift card programs don’t come with a cash back option; customers on average leave 10-20% unspent on their gift cards, meaning more profit for you
* Average of a 3-month “float” on funds, which is helpful during busy holiday seasons which can lead to periods of sales lulls.
With gift card processing done electronically right through your credit card terminal, the days of hand-writing paper gift certificates are long gone. Along with them are the worries of fraud; of problems with duplication and misuse of paper gift certificates, and customers re-using certificates that have already been used. Gift cards eliminate all the risk and handle the dirty work for you. There is no need to re-issue a new certificate if there is a remaining balance, there is no need to check a gift certificate coming in for redemption against a sales ledger.
Recent surveys have shown that over 90% of consumers would like to receive gift cards, and that over 60% of consumers plan on giving gift cards during the holiday seasons. With numbers like that, what have you got to lose?
Discuss
Add this link to...
Tell a friend
Bury
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