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What Can Your Business Gain with Merchant Services

Posted On : Mar-22-2010 | seen (303) times | Article Word Count : 853 |

In today’s fast-paced society, people are looking for ways to save time while still accomplishing their mounting to-do lists. One of the primary ways to keep your customer experience positive is to accept credit cards as payment for your goods or services. In fact, statistics show merchants who begin offering credit cards as a payment option to their customers see their sales skyrocket virtually overnight.
In today’s fast-paced society, people are looking for ways to save time while still accomplishing their mounting to-do lists. Whenever possible, services that make tasks simpler and more streamlined win out over chores that require more time and effort to complete.

In short, if there’s an easier, faster way to do something, most men and women today will choose that method over a slower, more time-consuming method, even if they’ve been using that slower method for years. Those same men and women who are looking to simplify their everyday tasks are the same ones who patronize your store or business, and if you aren’t prepared to meet the need for a faster, more effective way to do business, chances are, your competitors will.

One of the primary ways to keep your customer experience positive is to accept credit cards as payment for your goods or services. In fact, statistics show merchants who begin offering credit cards as a payment option to their customers see their sales skyrocket virtually overnight. Why the big boost in sales? Because more and more consumers today are turning to credit cards to make purchases of all sizes.

There are many reasons for the increased popularity of credit cards as a means of payment. Unlike cash, which can be stolen or bulky to carry, especially for large purchases or big shopping trips, credit cards make shopping easier and more convenient. For merchants plying their wares on the Internet, accepting credit cards is pretty much a necessity today.

During the early days of the worldwide web when online stores were few and far between, whether or not to accept credit cards was more or less up to the merchant to decide. But as competition has heated up in recent years, the most successful online merchants know, you need to offer credit cards as an option to retain current customers, attract new ones, and grow your business.

Credit cards also allow consumers to make larger purchases than they can make with cash, allowing them to begin enjoying their purchases right away. And because they can make payments on their purchases over time, fitting large purchases into a regular budget is simpler with credit cards than with cash.

Studies show consumers who use credit cards tend to make larger purchases than those who use cash, and they also tend to make purchases more frequently. In addition, customers with credit cards make far more impulse purchases, and those purchases are of a much higher value, than customers who use cash.

Recently, credit cards have added another advantage for their customers who use them regularly. Today, many credit cards offer reward programs, offering customers incentives for using their cards. These incentives can come in many forms, including airline miles, merchandise credits, hotel stays, or good old-fashioned money. Even customers who once operated on a cash-only basis are turning to credit cards for many of their purchases in order to take advantage of these incentive programs and rack up rewards.

Many credit cards also offer their customers coupons and savings deals that make using the card more attractive. Even if your business does not participate in these specific offers, your customers are being trained to reach for their cards more and more often. If you don’t learn to accommodate their behavior, chances are you’ll be losing many of your customers to your competitors.

Credit cards also offer customers added security that just can’t be had with cash. Once cash is lost, it’s lost forever. If a credit card is lost or the number is stolen, customers won’t be liable for purchases made after the card is reported stolen. Many cards offer a different kind of protection by providing extended warranties for goods purchased with the credit card.

All of these are compelling reasons to begin offering credit cards as a payment option, to retain loyal customers, attract new ones, and grow your business. But beyond the bottom line, there are other advantages to opening a merchant services account.

Merchant services offer convenience to your customers, but they also offer convenience to merchants. Consolidated reporting of credit card transactions – as well as debit card and gift card transactions, for some accounts – can help keep your business accounting organized and on track.

Most merchant service providers today have specialists who are trained in helping you manage and even grow your business to new levels. Just as with other businesses, the competition among merchant account service providers has steadily increased, and more and more providers are offering options to make managing your business revenue simple and efficient. Your account will be tailored to suit your business, whether it operates online, offline, or in both venues, and no matter what type of goods or services you offer.

Signing up for a merchant services account can yield big dividends for your business. If you haven’t explored merchant services recently, you owe it to yourself – and your business – to see what they have to offer.

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_What Can Your Business Gain with Merchant Services_14195.aspx

Author Resource :
Karen Zabel is a freelance writer who writes about businesses that offer merchant services.

Keywords : Merchant Services,

Category : Business : Business

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