9 Ways to Make it Easier for Customers to Spend More

When money's tight, nothing should stop a customer making a purchase.

But there can be small ways that we make it harder for them to spend - they may have made sense in boom times, but they don't now.

The sales term is 'grease the slide' - removing any friction that stops a customer completing a sale. Check this list for possible bumps or roadblocks:

Take more Credit cards: If you are taking them, do you accept the whole range? Sure, Amex fees are high, but 'no Amex' rules get some people offside - now's not the time for that. Still avoiding cards? Don't make it hard for people who don't have enough ready cash in their pocket.

Accept Debit or EFT card payments: They're welcomed by many retailers but less often by restaurants, cafes and bars - why? There are a quite a few people who don't have a 'credit' card, maybe because of their credit history or income level. But they do have money in the bank and want to access it with a card - be nice to them.




Fax-through Order or Confirmation Forms: if you're in catering or events, make it easy for people to fill out an order and fax it through with their credit card details. Keep refining the format if mistakes are made when people fill out the form.

Allow Ordering online: Setting up e-commerce online is an investment that may be worth considering - talk to your bank about costs. If you handle standard catering products, it's almost essential these days. PayPal is an easy way to get started - it's widely used by the public, driven by the popularity of Ebay. Setting yourself up with a PayPal business account is straightforward.

Accept Event Payments Online: if you're promoting entertainment or special events and don't have e-commerce, set up another payment option with a service such as EventBrite. It's available in multiple currencies and is widely used - the service fee isn't much different to your credit card merchant charge, and you save on paperwork and lots of phonecalls.

Sell Gift Cards and Vouchers: - join up with one of the services that manage the payments and administration for you, or set up your own. At the simplest, have a fax-back form that can be returned with credit card details. A restaurant experience is perfect for the person 'who has everything'.

Sell Food & Drink in Advance: Here's a typical deal offered by clever cafes: 'buy 10 coffees now for the price of 8' - the customer hands over $20 and gets 10 coffees normally worth $25. And you have a nice boost for the cashflow. Large groups like Starbucks will load up a card with any prepaid amount - this is the small business version.

Explore options for Mobile Payments: there are a host of services now offering payment 'wallets' and text ordering - ideal for casual venues and fast service. Here's how Angela does it at busy Cafe Vivo. It's worth a try!

Upgrade your Phone Message: if people ring out of hours, is there a cheerful message that promises you will ring back promptly and reminds people of Gift Certificates and merchandise? Or have a diversion in place to an answering service that has replies for common questions - these services cost a little more than standard 'name and number' answering, but can be very effective.

Finally, review the Credit you offer: If you offer accounts to customers, now's the time to check what's outstanding. Are accounts backed up by a valid credit card and being paid on time? Use the Customer Credit Application in the Download Library.