For many people in today’s economy, budgets are tight and getting tighter. Inflation and world events have led to increases in the price of everyday essentials such as groceries and gas. When you pay more for food and fuel, it makes it harder to justify larger purchases, especially ones that can be regarded as non-essential.
But non-essential purchases are often still important. Whether it’s buying a new piece of furniture, getting a gift to show a loved one you care, or upgrading your wardrobe, just because a purchase isn’t strictly essential doesn’t mean it’s not important.
Across the retail landscape, consumers are looking for more and better options when it comes to making all kinds of purchases. That’s why customer financing is more important than ever.
Who Is Interested In Financing?
There are many traditional ideas about consumer financing that are simply no longer accurate. Let’s consider the following stereotypical scenario: Two customers walk into a store. One is clearly affluent, and the retail employee assumes that they will make a cash purchase. The other appears nervous about their purchase, isn’t obviously wealthy, and will likely go for the financing option.
These are outdated, biased, and misguided assumptions. In truth, customers across an enormous financial spectrum are interested in consumer financing when making purchases from retailers. Financing offers flexibility, helps customers build or strengthen credit, and provides a much-wanted payment structure for those who wish to keep track of their spending.
Teach your team members not to make assumptions about which customers will be interested in financing. They should offer financing as an option to every customer.
The Benefit to the Retailer
By offering financing to every customer, retailers will create a number of benefits for themselves, along with their customers. First of all, they will establish trust and strengthen their customer relationships. Helping the customer make their purchase the way they want to is a great way to establish a relationship with a new customer or strengthen an existing relationship.
Secondly, offering financing every time will boost revenue over time, period. If you gain even one or two extra customers a week because your employees offered financing in every sale interaction, that’s a net gain.
Finally, offering financing differentiates retailers from their competitors. If the financing process is smoothly integrated with a complete automation solution like FormPiper, that differentiating factor becomes even more notable.
Consumer financing is only going to grow in popularity. Retailers owe it to themselves to establish a strong consumer finance program and optimize it to meet their customers’ needs. It’s a revenue-boosting, customer-satisfying, win-win scenario.