Online payment processing can be a little tricky for some businesses thanks to the variety of ways for you to accept a payment. Despite some complexities, you should consider how easy (or how difficult) it is for your customers to do business with you. For starters, consider your checkout page, the last place your customers will visit on your site before completing a purchase. Before you settle on accepting payments via an online money transfer service like PayPal, consider taking control of your checkout process with these 4 online payment processing tips:
1. Make Room for User Error.
When shopping online, I sometimes neglect a checkbox or forget to fill in my zip code. These errors are usually pretty small in the grand scheme of my purchases, but when I receive an error message that erases all of my information due to one tiny mistake, I grow frustrated and lose all hope of making a purchase in a timely manner.
Dramatics aside, as more consumers make purchases on mobile sites, it’s important that your checkout process allows for simple user errors to be corrected without all other information being erased. Keep your error message near the purchase button so that the customer doesn’t have to scroll or hit the back button to fix an error. And, don’t leave your customers guessing. Tell them the error of their checkout ways to avoid them abandoning their items in your cart.
2. Offer a “Be Our Guest” Option.
Not everyone who shops at your business will be a returning customer, and that’s okay. The trick to convincing them to become a repeat customer is to allow the shopper to check out as a guest and then ask them to create an account on your site after they’ve made a purchase. You are more likely to gain a repeat customer by keeping the payment process short and simple.
3. Keep the Entire Process on Your Site.
You want your business to leave a lasting, positive impression on your customers, so it makes the most sense to keep payment services on your page. Online money transfer services like PayPal will redirect your customers to their site, away from your checkout page. Here, you have no control over page appearances, and if your brand means anything to you, you will want to avoid sending your customers somewhere else to make a payment. Consider these online payment processing tips for a solution that will allow for a shopping cart integration that you can display directly on your page.
4. Provide Variety.
Is your site equipped to take payments from customers who use different credit card brands? Do you accept debit payments or direct bank transfers? These are important questions to consider if you want to appeal to more than just major card brand consumers who visit your site. Consider your target audience when you create your checkout process.
If you are already accepting online payments, that’s great! We hope that these online payment processing tips prompt you to take control of your business processes to increase your sales and improve your customer experience with your brand. If you’re feeling like you need to shop around for an online payment processing solution, get in touch with us today. We are here to guide you through the process and help you save money on your business costs.
