Throughout the years, successful business owners have recognized the need to adjust their business to adapt to consumer trends. Without acknowledging and meeting the needs of your target market, your business will not thrive, regardless of the quality of products or services you provide.
For many small business owners, the question of whether or not to accept credit cards as a method of payment comes down to the cost of credit card processing. Businesses that do not anticipate a high volume of credit card transactions may consider the cost of a merchant account too expensive for the value they will receive in return. While it may be true that certain credit card processing fees are expensive, the potential loss of customers by not accepting credit cards is even more so. Here we look at why your business must accept credit cards in order to remain competitive.
- Online orders- Having an online presence is essential in this day of technology and many businesses benefit by making their products or services available via their website. Anyone who wishes to accept orders for merchandise or services online must accept credit cards. Consumers today expect a convenient and speedy transaction, therefore it is unrealistic to ask them to print an online order form and send their payment via mail. By accepting credit cards on your website, you are able to capture consumers who are shopping for a specific product or service at the moment they are ready to buy.
- Requests from current customers- If you have been asked by existing customers whether or not you accept credit cards, you might already be losing business as a result of accepting cash or checks only. Customers who ask if you accept credit cards are not doing so as part of a study; these customers use credit cards for purchases and are indicating they wish to do so at your establishment. By not acknowledging the needs of your current customers, you risk losing their business and future business of consumers who regularly use plastic as a method of payment.
- Guaranteed payment- Obviously cash payments are guaranteed, as you receive the money directly at the time of purchase. The same cannot always be said about check payments. If you have the type of business that accepts checks there is always the chance that you may find the check is returned at the time of deposit. This not only costs you money when you try to deposit a check from an account that has insufficient funds, you also risk the client not making good on the returned check. When you accept credit cards as a form of payment, you can rest assured the transaction is approved before the client receives the product or service. This also makes it easier if you want to set up automated payments with clients. Instead of waiting for the check to arrive, you can accept payment from the clients credit card account on a automated basis.
It simply makes good business sense to accept credit cards. Credit card processing fees can be reduced by doing your research and finding the best merchant account available. This may include shopping around for a reliable source that charges a flat fee or a per transaction basis. Small businesses can reap the rewards of accepting credit cards without paying exorbitant fees if they take the time to investigate all the options available.
Photo via CHS Inc
