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Scaling Your Business with Recurring Billing

Scaling Your Business with Recurring Billing
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Scaling Your Business with Recurring Billing

There is no better news than a fast-expanding customer base for a business owner. However, with the good news comes a new challenge – how to effectively tackle the large number of payments from your growing list of customers.

One of the best ways to do that is to use the recurring billing model. This will not only help you automate and simplify the business model while assuring a fixed revenue stream, it will also help your customers by offering them regular payment options, fewer late fees, greater convenience and faster payment methods.

Let us take a deep-dive into how you can take advantage of the recurring billing system and scale your business.

Benefits of Recurring Billing Model

  1. Pricing as per Service Offerings

Recurring payments generally deal with software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. However, there are no predefined norms when it comes to the type of products and services. You can take payments online for a bunch of services, offered in a package. Create suitable packages comprising of products and services, and allow users to purchase subscription packages. The recurring subscription system is a secure payment processor that takes care of all the billing cycles, maintains client records, and ensures encryption of sensitive information like credit card details.

  1. Inter-linked and Automated Process

While installing a recurring payment model, customer acquisition should be a priority. When we talk about customer acquisition, harnessing multiple channels like online, mobile, and affiliates should be considered. The inter-linking of channels and payment mediums depict the seamless functionality of recurring billing software.

Raising invoices, linking payment gateways, managing accounts, scheduling periodic reports, and adapting to changes – a perfect recurring payment system automates all these processes for a simplified functioning. Scaling your business becomes easier as you can focus on other peripherals other than billing.

  1. Enhanced Customer Relationship

Do you know that the probability of selling to a new customer is 5-20% whereas it fluctuates between 60-70% for an existing customer? When you have a subscription model in place, you should ensure customer satisfaction. Furnishing facilities like automated payments, usage metrics, timely notifications and updates, and prompt support services are necessary to develop fruitful customer relationship. Moreover, the recurring billing model can assist you with subscription chores like renewals, terminations, customization, upgrades, and so on.

  1. Accurate Analysis & Growth Prediction

Data is the key to your success. As subscription services are constantly evolving, you should be agile enough to adapt to the latest methodologies. Data metrics and customer behavior analysis play a crucial role in determining your next move. An efficient recurring system will emphasize data metrics such as retention rate, subscription patterns, customer acquisition, cost analysis, and much more. This will ensure a stable cash flow and growth in your business.

Integrate Recurring Billing Software

There are various online payment platforms that offer reliable and scalable recurring billing system, along with various payment features. Considering the aforementioned benefits and your requirements, you can integrate a payment gateway on your website. Most of the payment gateways, like PayTabs, offer hassle-free solutions for collecting recurring payments.

You can expect complete or partial automation, as per your convenience. From generating periodic invoices to upgrading subscription plans, the payment gateway takes care of all the aspects. In addition to automation, customization is also an influencing factor. There is a wide scope of customization involved such as designing invoice and email templates, updating subscription packages, setting up notification alerts, and much more.

Payments can get complex in a recurring model. For example, if a credit card expires and the payment is due, there could be a possible decline. Generally, recurring payment software is capable of managing card details and client information, thus, reducing the possibility of declines at the time of payment. And since the recurring model deals with a client’s personal information, it is advisable to rely on secure online payment systems that vouch for encrypted payment processes.

There is no doubt that recurring billing system assists you in scaling your business. At the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility of complex mechanisms, which may hamper your business growth. An automated and reliable recurring payment system lets you focus on other organizational aspects, without compromising sales and customer relationships.

7 years ago
Payment Gateway Providers 101 – Why and How They Matter in Online Payment Processing
Mohab Ecommerce 0

Payment Gateway Providers 101 – Why and How They Matter in Online Payment Processing

The stiff competition in the online ecosystem calls for innovative strategies to stay ahead of your competition. One of the easiest ways to do this is by offering a seamless customer experience.  A payment gateway comes in handy in helping you offer a smooth user experience by allowing easier processing of payments on your ecommerce store. If you plan to set up an online business or if you have problems with billing, it is crucial to learn how to get these payment gateways working for you. Here are the main points you need to know about payment gateways. Keep reading.
How the Payment Gateway Works

To make things clearer, you need to understand what a payment gateway does. Now, in an online payment transaction, there is the merchant/business, the online customer, and the technology. In the part of the technology, you have the payment gateway (linking your site’s shopping cart to the card processor) and the payment processor.

During a transaction, a payment gateway encrypts credit/debit card data and keeps it private before sending it to the payment processor. The processor then sends this encrypted information to the issuing bank which accepts or declines depending on availability of funds and other factors.

In the simplest understanding, the payment gateway is a software integrated into your ecommerce website to send all of your credit card transactions to your credit card processors. At the same time, it also sends a message back from your credit card processor letting you know if a particular transaction has been authorized.

The Crucial Role of Payment Gateways

To fully understand the reason as to why you need the best payment gateway for your ecommerce store, consider the following:

  1. Serves as the middleman: The payment gateway reduces the temporal distance and makes payment possible in a matter of seconds. This software connects the customer’s bank, your bank, the acquiring bank, and the issuing bank.
  2. Authentication: Online transactions are fraught with risks and many businesses lose billions each year. An efficient payment gateway authenticates the card information and Okays the transaction to continue. There are no fears about losing money on your end.
  3. Security/Minimizing risk: In an ecommerce environment where risks are high, you need a system that mitigates such risks through encryption. You don’t want to lose your customers’ sensitive data when processing payment as this can ruin your business. The east payment gateway ensures compliance with security standards including Payment Card Data Security Standard among others.
  4. Hassle-free payment transactions: When you have an effective payment gateway, your payment transactions will flow smoothly and this boosts customer retention. The software makes the process hassle-free for both the merchant and the buyer.
  5. Reporting tool: All information collected during a transaction is crucial for your business and as such the payment gateway shares this to the parties concerned.

In essence, payment gateways are convenient, user-friendly and they have low commissions. They reduce the risk of theft and loss, which could tarnish your company’s reputation. Whatever the industry you are in, a good payment gateway is a handy tool in providing a seamless customer experience.

When shopping for a payment gateway, consider your business needs first. Look for multiple features such as encryption, recurring billing, virtual terminal, PCI Compliance and ease of integration with other tools such as Quickbooks. Payment gateway charges also vary and include setup fees, monthly fees, registration fees, payment processing fees, transaction fees, refund fees, and chargeback fees, limit fees, batch processing fee, termination fees and fund transfer fee among others.

You must also consider data security among other features. The gateway should be easy to set up and user-friendly. You should also compare the benefits of hosted vs. integrated gateways before picking one of them. Using this information, go ahead and leverage the best payment gateway to stay ahead of the pack in your industry.

7 years ago
How to Set the Right Price for your Product or Service
Mohab Ecommerce 0

How to Set the Right Price for your Product or Service

Placing an appropriate price tag on a product or service is a sensitive task. To generate sufficient profit, you have to set the right price. At the same time, you cannot exaggerate it because this will keep buyers away from your store. The following set of recommendations will help you in optimizing the pricing strategy for your e-commerce business.

Cost Analysis

Right from manufacturing to the delivery of the product, everything is driven by money. There are various costs involved in a business, directly or indirectly associated with the product or service. The market price depends on the costs and expenses incurred. The profit is what you get after deducting costs from the market price.

The direct costs are associated with the manufacturing the product or conceptualizing a service. The overhead costs include fixed and variable costs like rent, salaries, administrative expenses, warehouse maintenance, advertising costs, payment gateway charges, and so on. After considering all these aspects, you can determine the right selling price.

Market Evaluation

You should be aware of the consumer behavior and industry trends to accomplish the task of market evaluation. Identify and segregate your customers on the basis of demographics, buying trends, and so on. Work on determining the amount of money they are willing to pay for your product or service. You can conduct surveys to gather complete information.

Competition Analysis

There is a rare chance that you don’t have competition in your niche, and therefore, you should be prepared to perform competition analysis. The procedure involves evaluating their business process, analyzing products or services, identifying their tie-ups, and understanding their pricing strategy. You have to offer a superior product or service, at a competitive price, to gain prominence in the market.

Value Proposition

The value proposition is an art, and if you can master this, you can reap maximum benefits. Finalizing a price depends on the value of your offering. If you are dealing in premium products or expert services, you cannot set a low price. You have to maintain a suitable price to maintain its value proposition.

In addition to these, you can also work on user experience. For example, you can install a payment gateway for smooth and swift online payments. Customers are sensitive, and they are willing to pay more if you enhance their shopping experience.

Marketing and Promotions

Understand buyer’s psychology to mark the correct price of your product or service. During marketing stints, utilize tactics that will attract the buyers. For example, when a buyer sees a “SALE” tag, he or she develops an urge to check out the product. Similarly, odd numbers in the price tag can rake in more sales. Instead of a boring 500, simply mark the price as 499. Although there is no significant change in the price, it will definitely attract more onlookers.

Paid promotions can add up to the overhead costs. Whether you opt for social media promotions, search engine promotions, influencer marketing, or affiliate marketing; prepare an estimate and consider it at the time of pricing.

Pricing Options

Some of the pricing methods that you can adopt include:

  • Penetration pricing – This is suitable when you plan to acquire a market share in the initial stage. Initially, you can offer a low price and increase it later when you have established your presence.
  • Pre-emptive pricing – You have numerous competitors in your niche. To disrupt their monopoly, you can offer similar products or services at lesser prices.
  • Premium decoy pricing – When you plan to boost sales of a particular product, simply increase the price of other products so that customer opts for the product with the lowest price.
  • Price Leadership – When you established your brand and customers vouch for your product or services, you can set up a convenient price, without worrying about market trends and competitors’ presence.

You can deploy any or all of the aforementioned suggestions to finalize the product or service price. Your ultimate aim should be to maximize revenue and minimize expenditure. You can also innovate and apply pricing strategies or experiment with different combinations of pricing methods to obtain best results.

7 years ago
Five Tips to Increase Customer Retention
Mohab Customer Experience 0

Five Tips to Increase Customer Retention

If your company’s focus is solely on customer acquisition, you need to pause and reconsider your strategy. A study by Bain & Company in collaboration with Earl Sasser of the Harvard Business School shows that a 5% increase in customer retention rates increases profits by 25% to 95%. That should be enough motivation to focus on customer retention for your business.

Let’s first understand the “why” of Customer Retention –  

Some of the reasons to invest more in customer retention include:

  • Customer retention is cheaper than acquisition.
  • Loyal customers are more profitable than new customers.
  • Long-term customer relations boost your brand reputation
  • Repeat purchases from repeat customers translate to repeat profit especially when you accept payments online
  • Loyal customers are less price-conscious than new customers
  • Loyal customers stand by your brand even in tough times
  • Loyal customers offer free word-of-mouth advertising
  • Retained customers offer valuable feedback

Now that we have established why you must have a customer retention strategy, here are some tips which can help you build that plan.

Tips to increase customer retention

Like with any other business strategy, you have to be proactive and innovative to increase customer retention. The following are customer retention ideas you can implement for your business:

  1. Create a VIP program for your customers

The status an individual achieves in life can motivate them to act in a particular way.  When you accord your loyal customers an elevated status and give them exclusive offers, they become motivated to stick with your brand. They feel honored and their new status creates a sense of belonging and they will continue shopping with you.

  1. Target customers with special offers

The best CRM tools will also provide a lot of data about your customers. A customer’s purchase history comes in handy when you want to create specially targeted offers for them. Targeted marketing not only increases conversion but also builds a strong bond between your brand and the customer.

  1. Be where your customers are

If you want to compete in your industry, you have to keep up-to-date with consumer behavior and be present where they are available. If your data shows most customers are on social media, make sure you invest in a social media strategy and interact with your customers here. You have to provide a consistent and seamless experience on all channels if you expect to retain customers.

  1. Go big on feedback and act on the information

If you don’t understand your customers, there is no way you will improve customer retention. If for instance, you have installed a new feature on your site, you need to get reactions from your loyal customers and act fast on the information. Don’t believe your team alone but ask for regular customer feedback and leverage it to increase customer retention.

  1. Build a consistent customer experience

To build trust with your customers, you need to provide a consistent user experience.  For this reason, map out a consistent customer experience such that your customers can rely on you to always come through. Don’t offer nasty surprises thinking that it is a revolutionary move.

In essence, customer retention requires a clear-cut strategy touching all areas of your business. From your free payment gateway for website to the customer service support, use these tips to increase customer retention.

 

7 years ago
9 ways To Earn a Customer’s Trust
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

9 ways To Earn a Customer’s Trust

Online shopping is the norm today, rather than the exception, owing to the convenience and flexibility it offers. However, remember that before you can start to take payments online, you need to earn your customers’ trust. If you are an online merchant, those who wish to shop for your products, cannot see you or meet you physically. All they can see is how you present your online store, how securely you enable transactions and how transparent your processes are. Wondering if this is going to be difficult?

Contrary to what you might think, it is quite easy to build your customers’ trust in your business if you follow certain rules. Here are the rules if you want to win at earning the trust of your customers:

  1. Be yourself

Everyone living on this planet has had scenarios where they had undesirable experiences with sales people. Needless to say, many of us have also felt manipulated by salespersons and hence walked away. So, it is suggested that rather than acting like someone trying to sell, just try to act the way you would when you are meeting a colleague. In simpler terms, try to be yourself and you will be headed to a good start.

  1. Value the relationships

If you want the customers to trust you and value you, it is important that you first believe that building relationships with your customers is important. Try and understand what is it that they need or what their problems are, and come up with products that solve such problems accordingly. This way, you will be adding value to the association you have with the shopper.

  1. Be curious about your customers

Online shoppers in general are drawn to those who show a keen interest in knowing them more. So, if you are curious, you will be able to build a better relationship. A great way to go about this is by asking questions or requesting your customers to participate in polls. This will give you greater insight about their purchase behaviour too.

  1. Be consistent

A customer will trust you only when he/she know that your behaviour is not temporary. Building trust is not an overnight task, it takes time. So, it is important that you show consistency and persistence over time. When the customer is able to predict your behaviour, he/she is more likely to trust you and your product.

  1. Always choose to be true

Trust is built when you approach your selling as a means to help the customer – so, try to find out the real areas where you can work together. This makes it more important for you to spend time in actually knowing your customers. Also, never be shy of pointing out that your company or product may not be the right choice for a particular customer.

  1. Open-mindedness is important

If you are excessively convinced that the customer needs only your product and nothing else, you might come across as a close-minded business. So, avoid pushing your products too much on social media or blogs, and rather incorporate them subtly into the solutions that you present to your customers in answer to their problems. This way, they will know that you are open-minded and that you realise that the customer might shop from somewhere else if that suits them better. If your customers know that you have their best interests at heart, they will trust you more.

  1. Go for a real dialog

It is important that your meeting is not just a sales pitch but a real conversation. So spend more time listening rather than speaking. While you do that, also make sure than the conversation is not just chit chat but related to your business.

  1. Think and act professionally

People tend to trust people who are serious and professional in their attitude. So, take time to learn more about your company, your customers, their challenges and their respective industry.

  1. Express genuine integrity

It is important that you take a stand when required. You should have the ability to make decision based on your understanding of what is right. The stand may not be a common norm, but it’s ok. While we are at it, it is also important that you refrain from making false promises or committing something that you cannot deliver.

Always remember, gaining the trust of your customers is only a fraction of the entire equation. It is also important that you have a product that the customer wants and needs and you possess an ability to add value and solve problems.

7 years ago