Why Your Business Needs a Payment Strategy

When expanding globally, one of the most overlooked elements is understanding which payment strategy to employ and avoid overcomplicating your checkout with too many or too little payment options. Optimize your checkout by employing an intentional payment strategy.

Having a well-thought-out payment strategy can streamline your checkout so customers experience the least amount of friction possible. This ultimately helps you increase sales, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

How to Create a Payment Strategy

Navigating global ecommerce involves plenty of nuance, especially when it comes to understanding your customers’ needs. A big part of this comes down to how your payment strategy is executed. There are a few key factors to keep in mind when building that strategy:

The types of payment methods you offer.

You’ll want to offer a variety of payment methods to your customers, so they can choose the one that’s most convenient for them. Some popular payment methods include credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) services.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Klarna and PayPal’s BNPL feature are becoming increasingly popular, especially during the holiday season. These services allow customers to split their purchases into smaller, more manageable payments, which can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. These services offer several benefits to merchants, including increased customer acquisition and higher average ticket values. By offering customers the option to pay over time, businesses can make their products more accessible and appealing, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.

The way you process payments.

You’ll need to choose a payments partner that can handle your transaction volume, cross-border processing, and meet your needs. Being able to communicate between banks in different regions can be nuanced and challenging. Especially when those banks don’t already have a relationship. When customers and sellers are in different countries, the different steps in routing payments can become barred with unnecessary complications, resulting in false declines or high fees adding up.

Partnering with the right payments team can ensure your payments are routed in the most effective way.

Conclusion

Building a strong payment strategy is key to long-term growth and earning customer loyalty. By offering a variety of payment options, you make it easier for more customers to buy, ultimately boosting your sales.

Simultaneously, meticulous selection of payment processors and methods can significantly curtail processing costs, contributing to improved financial efficiency. Beyond the fiscal advantages, a well-crafted payment strategy elevates customer satisfaction by streamlining the checkout experience. To achieve this, thorough research into available payment options and their associated fees is essential, alongside a deep understanding of your target market’s preferences. Selecting a payment processor that aligns with your specific needs and optimizing the checkout process for user-friendliness are crucial steps.

Finally, continuous monitoring of your payment strategy’s performance, including tracking costs and customer feedback, allows for necessary adjustments, ensuring it remains effective and aligned with your business objectives. Ultimately, a carefully constructed and consistently refined payment strategy serves as a powerful tool for driving sales, reducing expenses, and fostering positive customer relationships.

Want to learn more? Check out our podcast with Melissa Pottenger, VP Payment Ops, about how to avoid the ‘payments buffet’.

With Reach, you can easily optimize your payment strategy with top experts. Discover how our global experts and Merchant of Record model can maximize your international potential today and in the future here.