This is part 2 of a 3 part series on how to choose a payment gateway. Choosing a Payment Gateway [Part 1] covered the security issues and payment methods you need to be aware of when shopping for a gateway. Check out part 1 before reading on.
Since getting paid is the only way to generate revenue for your online business, payment processing is critical.
In this day and age, problems of all kinds can and do happen. That said, handling problems that arrive when your customer’s credit or debit card is declined is a crucial moment for your company, its revenue, and its ability to reduce customer “churn”, which is the percentage of customers you lose in a given time.
So how much and what kinds of customer support do you need?
Customer Self-Service Portals: These secure webpages allow your customers 24/7 access to their account profile right from your company’s own website. At Member Solutions, our customer portal will allow a customer to pay a past-due balance at 3 am!
Automatic Notices of Declined Payment: In this case, a short series of emails, strategically scheduled, are sent to a customer notifying them of a declined charge. While automated, these emails can be personalized for the customer including their name, account number, a link to a self-service portal if one exists and a balance due amount.
Automatic Payment Reprocessing: In some cases, a quick resolution to a declined charge is to reprocess the payment after a short period of time. This will allow any changes in debit card accounts, for example, to be reflected. The charge may go through after a day or two and your relationship with your customer is retained.
Full-Service Billing: Many of our clients choose Member Solutions because they want to focus on customer retention and acquisition instead of collections. Even better, because our award-winning Customer Care team is “retention focused” versus “collections focused,” they work with your customers to get them back on track and happy to remain associated with your company.
Stay tuned for part 3 where I’ll cover the importance of controlling costs when choosing a payment gateway.
Looking for a secure, reliable payment gateway? We can help. Call 267.287.1035 to learn more.
Rick Ellis is a Business Development Executive with over 20 years’ experience operating a membership-based company. Rick has experienced firsthand the types of unique challenges present when using a recurring billing business model. Rick enjoys working through complex business models to find and leverage every opportunity to optimize profit and reduce risk.