Digital Payments: Building Customer Loyalty In The Digitalisation Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the narrative on digitisation – what many businesses and merchants thought of as an alternative option has quickly become a major necessity. While the pandemic has made it clear that a digital presence is no longer negotiable, it has also revealed that it isn’t enough. 

Digitisation is merely the name of the game and it’s slowly becoming apparent that the companies that will rise to the top are the ones that will manage to fine-tune and optimise their digital presence. 

Now, more than ever, companies need to pay close attention to their retention strategies and build customer loyalty. Why? Here are some numbers highlighting the power of customer loyalty. 

• 61% of loyal customers will come back for more purchases from the same brand instead of migrating to competitors. (InMoment)
• Increasing customer retention by just 5% causes a minimum of 25% increase in profit. (Bain & Company)
• Returning customers spend an average of 33% more per order than new customers. (Bain & Company)

In an era where uncertainty is the only certainty in business, making the most of customer loyalty can prove to be the differentiating factor between success and failure.  

How do you win the customer loyalty game, though? How do you go about it? From website design, user experience, page speed, and customer service to product quality and all the way through to checkout, there are so many components merchants need to consider. 

The reality is that there might be a component that is not as obvious or flashy as things like marketing campaigns, loyalty programs or memorable branding. An underutilized, high-ceiling component that could make customers come back for more. Its name? Digital payments. 

Building Customer Loyalty By Optimizing The Payments Experience

Let’s start with the payment journey. We are all very accustomed to customer product journeys but nobody really takes notice or spends the time in optimizing the payment process.

When we refer to the payment process we do not necessarily talk about the mechanics. It’s more about the customer experience and how it can be improved. 

Challenges such as returns, fraud prevention and chargeback management is where merchants can set themselves apart from competition. Personalized push notifications, timely reminders, engaging chat support, meaningful emails and an attitude to help clients resolve payment-related problems could prove to be pure gold. 

Finding The Right Payment Provider

The coronavirus was the ultimate stress-test for eCommerce businesses. Unclear return, refund and delivery policies were exposed and businesses took a hit on their brand name and customer loyalty. Having clear policies backed by the right payment solution provider and tech can be the foundation of a long-lasting relationship between business and customer. 

Talking of tech, we can’t stress enough the importance of security as part of the payment process. According to The Ascent, as of August 31, 2020, Americans have reported over 184,000 cases of fraud and losses exceeding $124 million. Before getting to loyalty, you need to build trust and the way to do that is care about the details. Want an example? Ensuring that your payment provider is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, is a good starting point. 

Another layer of help you can get from your payment provider is the power of data. Implementing the right payment solution will give you the depth and quality of data to understand consumer patterns, track behaviours and tendencies and identify new opportunities to grow revenue. 

Good providers should also act as your consultant. From developing and effectively communicating a return policy, to helping your map out the payment user journey and overall experience, your provider should be your partner. An entity that cares about customer loyalty as much as you do. 

Customers Need Options

Bulletproof payment policies, top-of-the-range tech, unshakable security should be enough to build the necessary customer loyalty, right? Actually, there’s more you can do. New eCommerce payment models such as the ability to extend credit to customers and offering payment flexibility are becoming more and more prominent. 

Flexibility could be the bridge between payments and loyalty. What customers appreciate more than anything when choosing one business over another, is personalization. According to Epsilon, 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.

Taking a formerly stiff payment process and turning it into a diverse, multi-faceted offering can prove to be a winning move. 

Recap

The digital payments landscape is evolving and those that understand the nuance between digitisation and payments will be the true winners. The team at BigWPay is always available for a chat. Do not hesitate to reach out and explore the ways in which we can build your customer loyalty.