LOYALTY VS. THE STATUS QUO

As a company that markets a service our most important objective is to keep a customer happy AFTER the sale. The word all sales companies use is RETENTION, Our particular service has an expiration date, usually referred to as the “term of the agreement”. Our Agreement actually expires within a few years and the customer has the option of renewing the term of the agreement or moving on to another processor.

We are particularly proud of our retention rate. This rate is produced by two of the most important factors that all companies strive for: The cost of our service MUST be exceptionally competitive and our customer service MUST be impeccable. This is accomplished simply by treating each business as an individually owned business.

If you can accomplish this, you can develop a LOYAL customer. Simple, isn’t it?

Then why do so many marketing businesses fail? Or, for that matter, looking at our current political situation, why is there such angst among voters? The answer is simple. Voters are extremely interested in various aspects of life that affect them and do not impact on the lives of other people. They are all diverse individuals. Some people are devoted to one party or the other while others do not care to hold with one group. Some want change, while others are fearful of change and want to remain with the status quo.

There IS a certain comfort with the status quo. There is a feeling of comfort when you get accustomed to by doing things one way or by working with only one company (or one party).

But sometimes that company fails you. They have changed the rates or their customer service (or their candidate). Now you start looking to change, to go elsewhere to shop or to use another service (or to elect someone new and different). But in doing so, you have to rely on their promises that they will be cheaper, or better or their service will be smoother.

Voters are now making choices that we, in marketing, face every day. Sometimes we speak to a campground owner and he or she is ready for a change. Their rates have risen, their service has declined or their processor is nonresponsive. This owner is just the kind of person we are seeking. We KNOW we can help him or her.

Then there is the campground owner who seems to be satisfied with his or her processor.  He feels his rates are OK, his service fine and hasn’t had to call anyone involved in credit cards for some time. This person is our challenge. This is what makes our business fun. We have to convince this person, satisfied with the status quo, that we offer something better. Usually it comes down to savings, but there are other factors such as communication.

The true marketing person enters this conversation (if there is one) feeling like a bullfighter with mustard on his sword. He is full of confidence about how he can help this prospective customer. His experience with the industry, his knowledge of his customers and the pride in his company are his “weapons of mass construction”. He wants to help - to save the customers money, to offer superior service, to establish the long-lasting relationship.

He has rules. He won’t lie. He will treat each business as an individual business although they are members of an industry and most importantly, he will not lose focus on the BIG goal, to establish a lasting relationship – one that inspires a new mutual loyalty.

Let the business begin!

 (Art Lieberman is President of MCPS for Campgrounds, MCPS is a credit card processor sponsored by Woodforest Bank NA.  Art has been in the industry for over 18 years and has been conducting free webinars online and seminars on credit cards in many State and Regional Association Conventions.  He can be contacted at 877-858-9010 or at rvcreditcards@yahoo.com.)

ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS REALLY MAKES SENSE

The benefits of accepting credit and debit cards far outweigh the cost. Various studies show that when people are given more payment options (beyond cash) they are more likely to make impulse purchases, join loyalty programs, and spend more per purchase – and that can only help your business to grow.

Credit and debit cards are almost as common as cash. Nearly everyone in the USA has at least one in their wallet, including business owners. But data show that 55 percent of the nation's 27 million small businesses don’t accept credit cards.

Sixty-six percent of all point-of-sales (POS) transactions are done with plastic – credit, debit, or gift cards. That is a lot of sales for millions of businesses to miss out on. Only 27 percent of purchases are made with cash. In fact, it’s estimated that cash sales will drop to only 23 percent by 2017.

Technology is making it easier for any business to accept and manage credit card transactions. Gone are the days of complicated machinery via dedicated dial-up lines. PayPal, Square, Intuit's GoPayment, WePay, and a host of others are making it simple and relatively affordable to accept cards.

So why do many merchants refuse to accept cards? The common reason is the fees. The argument I hear from most merchants is that it is too expensive to accept credit cards. But with $127 billion being added to the economy between 2008 and 2012 through the use of plastic cards, merchants everywhere are starting to pay attention to accepting credit cards.

In a survey conducted by WePay, which offers an online payment mechanism to accept credit cards (not dramatically different from PayPal), it found that 58 percent of small businesses are regularly asked by their customers to accept credit cards. So that tells me that many are still missing out on potential revenue by not accepting credit cards. Sure, there are fees, but you can account for them in your pricing. Customers seem to understand that the cost of processing plastic is greater than cash and most seem willing to accept that cost from smaller merchants.

Moreover, our company – handling more that $75 million in credit card transactions every year – actually minimizes those costs by giving our customers the absolutely lowest credit card rates. You can check that out by calling us at (570) 966-0080.