At the heart of every business, there’s a customer who needs a product or service. For retail businesses especially, customers are the lifeblood that keeps revenue flowing, and it’s important to serve them well and maintain strong word of mouth among your customer base. No matter what industry your business falls into, you need to ensure customer satisfaction in order to maintain long-term success.
But beyond just ensuring that your customers are satisfied with your products or services, you should be looking to establish lasting relationships with them that result in repeat business for years to come. It’s in your interest from a financial perspective, but it’s also just the right thing to do. After all, you know how you like to be treated when you shop with a business, and you want to treat your customers the same way.
There are plenty of contributing factors when it comes to the customer relationship. One that is often overlooked is consumer financing. Offering financing to your customers can be a great way to build up the relationship and get repeat business. But how does consumer financing contribute to the customer relationship? Here are three ways financing can influence that relationship.
1. Financing Puts Customers’ Minds at Ease
Every customer’s financial situation is different. Some will prefer to finance a purchase as opposed to paying upfront, and these customers will have a variety of reasons for doing so. You want your customers to feel comfortable and capable when they shop with you. You want them to be relaxed throughout their shopping experience, and to feel capable of purchasing the product or service they want. Offering consumer financing creates that feeling of comfort, because customers know they have another option for their purchase rather than paying everything upfront. This puts their minds at ease and helps them focus on whatever it is they want to purchase.
2. Offering Financing Helps Build Trust
Providing your customer with access to financing options helps build mutual trust. It shows that you are providing a range of possible ways for them to pay for their purchase and illustrates your commitment to helping them get the product or service they need. If a customer successfully finances a product or service they purchase from you, they will be able to trust that they can do it in the future. That feeling of trust forms the foundation of the customer relationship.
3. An Easy Financing Process Saves Your Customers’ Time
It’s essential for the finance application process to go as smoothly as possible. Your customers’ time is valuable, and you don’t want to waste it and leave a bad taste in their mouth for the next potential financed purchase. By streamlining the application process with FormPiper, you’ll ensure that the application process isn’t a hassle, and increase your customers’ approval chances by running every lender, every time with ease.
Putting the Customer First
Consumer financing is all about making sure your customers have as many options as possible when it comes time to make a purchase. Offering financing options to your customers shows them that you are putting them first, and that’s a big step towards building a stronger customer relationship. Make consumer financing an integral part of your retail operation and start establishing better relationships with your customers today.