For any business looking to successfully sell their products or services online, an effective payment processing system is definitely a must. Many of today’s online shoppers prefer to use digital payment options such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and QR codes when making their purchases because of the convenience these methods afford them.
Of course, your business also benefits greatly from this arrangement. Good payment processing systems not only improve the way money is exchanged between you and your customers—they can even provide you insights into customers’ shopping habits and how to market your business more effectively.
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Here are some ways in which your business can make use of data gathered from your online payment processing system when coming up with more effective marketing strategies. These should help you win back your return on investment for the best online payment solutions, like that of the Philippines’ Maya Business:
1) Finding out customer shopping preferences
For each online payment processing in your system, you’ll get to see a breakdown of which items or services your customer procured from your store. Having information on which products are commonly bought, which items are frequently purchased together, and in what quantities can all help you get a better handle on your customers’ shopping preferences. In turn, you can use that information to tweak your current marketing strategy to better align with those preferences.
For example, imagine your business specializes in selling books online. You’ve started to notice that there’s been a rise in customers buying the classics lately compared to other genres. You can then choose to ride on this trend by launching a marketing campaign centred around classic literature—perhaps use your business social media for a “love advice” column that takes quotes from Jane Austen works, or post lines from famous books and issue a prize for the customer who guesses which title a phrase came from. This way, you can improve your chances for a positive reception for your marketing strategy, knowing that there’s data to back it up.
2) Checking customer payment patterns
In addition to insights about your customer’s shopping preferences, you can also learn about their payment patterns from your payment processing system as well. This includes knowing which payment method customers most often use based on their purchases. For instance, they may prefer to pay with their e-wallets when making small purchases but use their credit cards for more high-value items. The data may clue you in on where to direct your marketing efforts when it comes to promoting certain products and promotions tied to particular methods of payment.
There’s also a metric called average order value (AOV) that pertains to the average amount a customer spends when they check out from your store. For example, if your store in the Philippines has earned PHP 10,000 this week from 50 customers, then your AOV is PHP 200.
Your goal as an online store should be to increase your AOV to boost your revenues. Knowing that, as part of your survey about whether a recent marketing campaign has been effective, you may also choose to monitor your AOV through data gathered from your payment processing system.
3) Improving customer experience
Your payment data can also help you improve your customers’ overall shopping experience. Knowing what a particular customer often buys will allow you to suggest other items that they may also like, which will make shopping in your store a more personalized experience for them.
As they’re checking out their usual purchase, you can take that opportunity to show them a related product or even offer a discount to convince them to try it out. This way, you’re not just randomly pushing any product onto them but, rather, suggesting one that is relevant to their tastes.
Improving customer experience also means having a payment processing system that is easy to use to begin with. Invest in an up-to-the-minute solution like Maya Checkout so that your customers can easily pay using their preferred payment method, making the checkout process seamless and thus adding to the convenience and excellent service that you want to market to them.
4) Making transactions more secure
Given the constant threats of scams and cyberattacks online, security remains a top concern among online shoppers. Your payment processing system can gather and sift through data that may be indicative of fraudulent transactions, analyzing suspicious purchases and transaction patterns. This will better equip your business to ward off potential losses caused by fraudulent purchases and protect both its finances and its reputation.
In line with this, highlight the fact that your store has a secure payment system in your marketing `campaigns to help bring in customers who may be apprehensive about online shopping. Your efforts to do so will put their minds at ease as they shop with you, and it may also bring them to your store more often.
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5) Timing your sales and promotions
Flash sales, discounts, and other forms of promotions are great marketing strategies that can encourage both new and existing customers to spend more with each shopping experience. Use your payments data to learn about which seasons and which times your customers are likely to be doing their shopping. Your knowledge will help you choose the optimal time to launch each promo campaign.
For example, what if your payment processing data reveals that the majority of your customers make their purchases during weekends? You can then time special weekend sales and entice customers to shop more to take advantage of the promo.
The smart e-commerce entrepreneur knows that their online payment processing system isn’t just there to facilitate the exchange of money; it can also be a powerful tool to devise marketing strategies that provide more value to customers. Let the points above clue you in on how you can use your payments data the next time you feel stumped about planning a new marketing campaign—without you knowing, your data may afford you the inspiration you need to come closer to your revenue potential.