We have heard a lot lately about consumers tightening purse strings, saving more and spending less.  This means more competition for each dollar.  While finding new customers is important, you may find significant value in retaining those you already have.  Promotions and price cuts erode profitability, so here are some other ways to enhance the customer experience and entice customers back.

 Reach Out.

Let customers know their business is appreciated and you would like to see them again.  An easy way to do this is through a small business email marketing service.  Keep the communication brief, relevant and not too frequent.  You might also send a physical card to announce an event or a hand-written note to tell a customer thank you.

 Interact.

Open a dialogue with your customers.  Let them know you are listening and that their feedback is important.  In his recent book, The Thank You Economy, Gary Vaynerchuk argues that getting involved in the social media discussion in particular with your customers is critical to a business’s success.  It allows a business to discover ways to improve and builds relationships, which drives customer loyalty.

 Incentivize.

Finding ways to give more benefits without cutting costs can give you an edge on the competition. Some insurance companies provide time-based extra benefits for loyal customers, making them think twice about switching.  Likewise, some credit card companies can charge higher fees because of the extra benefits they offer cardholders. 

 Be Extraordinary.

Happy employees help make happy customers.  Do you know people who will drive past several other mechanic shops to go to the one they like because the service is outstanding and the experience enjoyable?    Creating trust and having above-average customer service keeps people coming back and can generate a healthy stream of referrals.

 Make Buying Easy.

Encouraging repeat business may be as simple as offering gift cards, bounce back coupons, or scheduling the next appointment right away.  You might consider securely storing their payment information so they don’t have to provide it next time.  Enabling your website to accept payments allows your customers to buy whenever they want.  If it fits your business, offering a monthly subscription or auto-ship makes repeat buying a breeze.

 For more ideas, check out www.customerloyalty.org, an informative resource for keeping your customers coming back.

With the celebration of freedom upon us, please join ProPay in saying thank you to all the service men and women for their efforts in making this a great country in which to work and live.  Each of us are blessed to enjoy our freedoms. 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” ~The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson.

Happy 4th of July from ProPay.

Travis Allen

Selecting a password for any account can be frustrating when confronted with the parameters required to create one.  However these “pesky” requirements are not there to annoy, rather they are there to protect and insure that “pesky” hackers cannot access sensitive information.

When choosing a password it is important to remember that the more unique, personal and specific a password is, the better it protects the information it’s guarding.  Including different characters, spaces, symbols, case sensitive letters and numbers increase that security.  Simple passwords can be cracked and if used for more than one account, it can prove detrimental to the account holders.  Using one’s first or last name, company name or generally known personal information decreases security and makes you more susceptible to hackers breaching that information.  ProPay maintains specific password requirements to avoid any risk in accessing secure information.   Choosing or changing a ProPay password is a seamless process.  If a merchant forgets or mistypes their password, ProPay has the ability to help the merchant (and only the merchant) log in safely and successfully.

ProPay holds a long standing commitment and responsibility to insure that each experience using ProPay’s services are secure and simple to understand.   Assisting merchants in selecting a secure personal password is part of ProPay’s overall pledge to secure payment solutions.

Small business owners, particularly those who sell online, often struggle to reduce operational costs while maintaining profit margins.  A major cost factor for online sellers is shipping, and those costs seem to keep increasing.  Isha Dandavate at BusinessNewsDaily.com, reports that many online sellers are feeling the impact of rising fuel prices and cost increases from major shipping carriers.[1]  As those costs increase, it is critical for small business owners to find simple, inexpensive ways to deliver their products.

In addition to the ‘hard costs’ of shipping, small business owners should be aware of the ‘soft costs’. These might include the time to pick up supplies, pack and transport packages and wait in line at a shipping center.  Simplifying your processes and reducing the time and effort involved can make a significant difference.

To answer the present challenges facing small businesses, ProPay has partnered with Express 1 to help businesses save time and money on their shipping.  With an Express 1 account, you can use the following USPS products and services:

• Priority Mail flat rate products (Small, Medium and Large Flat Rate Boxes, and the Flat Rate Envelope).
• Priority and Express Mail packages 1-70 pounds (Including International)

The risings cost of shipping often means that small businesses must offer discounts to keep customers ordering.  Higher costs and lower margins squeeze small businesses particularly hard.  Choosing partners that can help reduce hard and soft costs can help small businesses weather difficult economic times. 

[1] Isha Dandavate, “Stamping Out Small Business? Rising Shipping Costs Prove Challenge” 2 May 2011, http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/shipping-cost-small-business-1239/ . Accessed 23 May 2011.

Last week, ProPay’s SVP of Market Strategy, Dr. Heather Mark, PhD, was interviewed by The Paypers.  Following is an excerpt from the interview.

The Paypers: Please provide our readers with a brief insight into your company’s vision.

Dr. Mark: Since 1997, ProPay has provided simple, secure, and affordable payment solutions for organizations ranging from the small, home-based entrepreneur to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. ProPay is a leading provider of complete End-to-End Payment Security solutions that reduce, and may even eliminate, an organization’s risk of having sensitive payment data compromised. ProPay’s vision has always been to enable businesses, large or small, with the latest and most secure payment technologies.

The Paypers:  How does the Zumogo platform work?

Dr. Mark: Zumogo (pronounced “Zoo-MOE-go”) is a social mobile payment (social m-payment) platform that enables a new connection between the merchant and the consumer. It is a mobile payment technology allowing Smartphones to be used, not only as a payment device, but also as a social technology allowing merchants and consumers to communicate with each other in real-time. Merchants can highlight events, specials, and other information that consumers can easily find. Since the platform uses geo-location data, Zumogo can connect merchants and consumers that are in proximity to one another. This helps merchants convert foot traffic and helps consumers find the types of merchants that they prefer. Additionally, the social m-payment platform allows the consumer to find merchants, contact them for information, and make payment all from the same device. Zumogo also eliminates sensitive information from the transaction process, meaning no payment data is passed through the merchant’s system or stored on the consumer’s Smartphone.

The Paypers: What does the merchant need to integrate with the system?

Dr. Mark: Merchants can begin using Zumogo immediately. There is no additional equipment necessary. As long as the merchant can access a web browser, then they can use Zumogo.

To read the full interview, subscribe to The Paypers using this link.