Credit Card Payments Lead To Online Sales Success
Maximize your online sales by learning how to process credit
card payments through your web site
The ability to take credit card payments through your web site
is essential to the success of your business. Nearly all online
purchases are made by credit card payment, and offering your
customers a fast and simple means by which to buy your product
will result in more sales and better word-of-mouth advertising.
However, many people mistakenly believe that all they need to
accept online credit card payments is a "shopping cart" option
on their site. The truth is, a shopping cart is only one small
piece of the puzzle.
"A shopping cart is important in that it creates an order form
and keeps track of your sale, but it doesn't actually put the
money into your bank account," explains Matt Bacak, publisher of
the Powerful Promoter Newsletter and an online marketer who
trains speakers and authors. "The first step to successfully
accepting online payments is to understand the way money gets
from the Internet to your account."
You've probably purchased a number of items on the Web and are
familiar with the way an online shopping cart appears to a
customer. But do you know how your credit card payment, made via
the shopping cart, eventually finds its way into the pocket of
the product's seller? Even if you've been selling products
online for years and experienced a degree of success doing it,
you may not be aware of how credit card payments are processed.
You're also probably unaware of the enormous benefit credit card
payments can have to your bottom line.
"Surveys have shown that as 68% of shopping carts that are
initiated on the Web are abandoned before completion. This
happens because the customer becomes confused about the payment
process or about what he or she is actually buying," says Armin
Morin, an online marketer who has made millions promoting and
selling products on the Web. "Even if you've been successful
accepting PayPal payments, the ability to process credit card
payments will benefit you. PayPal requires a customer to take a
few extra steps, increasing the odds that they'll just decide
it's not worth the effort. If they can just type in their credit
card number and be done with it, they're yours." So how exactly
do online payments work? Well for starters, you will need that
shopping cart option on your site. A number of software programs
including the popular Kickstart Cart are available to help you
achieve that. Next you'll need a bank account. And finally,
you'll need the two key "go betweens" in the journey between
cart to bank - an Internet gateway and a merchant account.
Your Internet gateway takes the information collected by your
shopping cart and keeps a running tally of what's been ordered.
It also collects the information related to payment method, and
"runs" the credit card. That information is sent on to your
merchant account, which receives the payment and in turn pays
you. The money is direct deposited into your bank account.
"A merchant account is really the best way to process credit
card payments through your web site," says Morin. "I would still
have a PayPal account and still offer that to your customers as
a means of payment. Some people do prefer that. But don't be
surprised if only about 10% of your total sales come through
PayPal.
By accepting credit card payments online, your sales will
increase even if your web site traffic doesn't. Customers will
appreciate the ease with which they can purchase items from your
site, and will recommend your product to family and friends. The
key to sales success is and always will be customer service. By
quickly and effortlessly accepting credit card payments, your
web site will automatically be offering a level of customer
service that has come to be expected.