How to secure more revenue from existing customers

Acquiring a new customer can be anywhere between five and 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, depending on which study you believe and what industry you’re in[1]. So, maximising customer retention and minimising attrition and churn is essential.

Card payments are strong in this regard. Regular or recurring payments on debit or credit cards are easy to set up through various channels (face-to-face in-store or remotely via the internet, telephone or post). They then become a hassle-free, set-and-forget way to pay.

Payers have peace-of-mind that the biller will get paid as agreed and on time, giving them uninterrupted service or coverage. Billers secure repeat revenues and reduce the costs of payment collection.

But wait, there’s more…

The biggest challenge with recurring payments is that cards expire or get replaced. If a merchant has stored a customers card details then this will lead to a declined transaction and potentially an awkward phone call to update them.

Using the CashFlows' account updater service means that card details can be validated or refreshed ahead of a regular transaction being presented. That means a higher success rate, less awkward conversations, less opportunities for a customer to cancel an agreement, and a streamlining of your business processes.

Recurring card payments for your industry

• Charities - you don’t have to trade from a shop or be a traditional retailer to accept card payments and boost regular monthly donations.

• Insurance - automating the payment and renewals process for card-paying customers increases renewal rates and decreases in- and out-bound calls around missed premium payments.

• Lending - Cheques bounce. Direct debits get rejected. Regular card payments are easy to set up via various channels. And once a card payment is authorised, there’s peace-of-mind that the funds are on their way.

• Local authorities - Cards are not just for one-off payments. They’re also suitable for regular council tax and business rate payments. Which means local authorities can take payment, on time, as agreed with no need to chase late payment.

How CashFlows can help

We’re direct members of all major card schemes so can set up and process regular cards payments. This means you can take payment without taking card details each time.

CashFlows is also able to support recurring billing through a number of third-party gateways that offer this functionality. To find out more about recurring card acceptance with CashFlows, get in touch today.

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[1] Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers