Small businesses are reeling. After being hit hard by the pandemic, global supply chain issues, and uncertainty due to global conflict, SMBs are struggling to stay afloat. Making matters worse, large enterprises have seized the opportunity to expand and encroach further on small businesses. You need every advantage you can get in today’s market. Before you invest a fortune into a desperate marketing campaign or slash staff to save money, look for merchant services for small businesses.

Merchant services may not be flashy, but they’re the backbone of your business. Choosing the wrong merchant services provider can cost you thousands over the course of a fiscal year. Leave no stone unturned as you look for ways to keep your company in the black. Here’s how merchant services for small business customers can help your company in these dire times.

How Merchant Services for Small Businesses Can Save Your Company

The Current State of Affairs

Small businesses, especially those that relied on in-person sales or visits to a shop, were severely affected by lockdowns and forced closures in 2020. Despite government loans, rent relief, and stimulus for citizens, businesses are still healing from the damage done in 2020. If only it had stopped there. Supply chain issues quickly arose due to global shutdowns, and these same issues persist into 2022. Further complicating matters is the fact that many people have chosen to quit their jobs.

Now, raw materials and human resources are in short supply. The current conflict in Europe is only destabilizing the situation further. The increase in oil prices and the cost of essential food staples has led to increasing operating costs for all kinds of businesses. Inflation is the highest it has been in decades. All of these problems squeeze small businesses harder than anyone else. To stay alive, companies are forced to cut costs wherever possible.

The Need to Cut Costs

When your operating margins have been whittled down by a number of external factors, what options do you have? Raising prices might seem like a good short-term solution, but that can also cause customers to balk. Hiking prices by 10% doesn’t help if you lose 10% of your business as a result. To stay competitive, you need to keep your prices below those of your competitors. That means the only option is to cut costs without killing your company’s productivity.  

Given today’s labor environment, cutting staff is a risky maneuver. The cost of producing goods and services isn’t going to get any cheaper any time soon. That leaves precious few opportunities to save money on your operations. Take a closer look at your business operations. Where can you save money without sacrificing quality?

Spend Smarter, Save More

Certain services are essential for any business. They’re costs inherent to having a modern company. While you can’t usually shop around for a better electricity provider or run your own internet lines, other services may have more competitive options. For example, you could look to VoIP phones instead of sticking with your traditional phone company. However, one of the best ways to save money is to focus on where you get your money.

Every transaction made with your company comes at a cost. Better merchant services can alleviate that burden by charging lower fees and making it easier to sell more. So, not only do you increase sales, but you also keep more of your income. You have to spend something on merchant services, so put your money towards a smarter service that benefits your business more.

Merchant Services for Small Business

So, what exactly does a business get when they hire a merchant services provider? If you don’t have one yet, then you absolutely need to start shopping around. If you’ve been working with the same merchant services provider for a while, it might be time to make a change. Fees creep up over time and many providers assume you won’t switch because you’re used to working with the same company. Don’t fall for this trap.

Always keep your options open. A merchant services provider for small businesses will help you process payments, facilitate online shopping, and even help you deal with claims and scammers. You can optimize your inventory with merchant services and improve your marketing as well. All of these features help you sell your products and services more effectively.

Payment Processing

How much does your current payment processor charge for every transaction? Although credit card payments are subject to fees imposed by companies like Visa and Mastercard, your payment processor also adds a fee on top of that. Pay attention to this number. Some processors, like PayPal, charge an exorbitant 5.4% in addition to a flat-rate fee for every transaction! Even Visa’s most expensive fees cap out at 2.7%, which means that PayPal is charging over double what they should.

Furthermore, does your payment processor open up other opportunities to receive payments? These days, more people are using apps to send money directly from their bank accounts. A processor that gives you more freedom and flexibility to choose how you get paid is better for your business. Even though 1 or 2% might not seem like a lot, it adds up very quickly. And that’s not the only way you can save.

Error-free Credit Card Payments

Few things are more frustrating (and costly) than dealing with fraudulent purchases. What you think is a sale is actually a scam. You might even have shipped a product out the door only to find out later that the card used was stolen. Not only are you down merchandise, but you’re stuck paying expensive chargeback fees. Some payment processors gouge businesses for these fees, even though it costs them almost nothing to get their money back.

However, better merchant services can help you avoid these issues. More advanced payment processors can spot fraudulent activity or insist on additional security measures to ensure that you don’t get hit with costly chargebacks. If a customer tries to scam your company by claiming they didn’t mean to pay or they didn’t receive your products, you’ll have support from professionals instead of headaches. This alone can offset losses and improve your bottom line significantly.

Online Shopping

Increased payment processing security opens up other possibilities as well. Can customers buy your products directly from your website? Although you might get more exposure by listing products on popular websites like Amazon, the amount you lose for simply being on another platform isn’t always worth it. With the right merchant services, you can sell without the help of others and profit more. Build your online shopping experience while you still list elsewhere, then transition when you’re ready.

Companies that provide services should also look into online contracts. While there are some jobs that will always require a quote or in-person visit, you can streamline your sales process considerably by putting your prices out in the open and inviting people to hire you. Consider making a free trial option for subscription-based services, create an estimate calculator for complex jobs, or just let people book free consultations online. Merchant services will help you manage the new influx of clients.

Inventory Management

Keeping track of sales is vital, but it can also be time consuming. With inventory management tools, you’ll know exactly what you have on hand and what you need to order next. Especially with today’s supply chain issues, you need to have a clear understanding of your stock and when it’s time to reorder. Stay ahead of the curve with merchant services for small businesses.

Services also need to keep track of “inventory” in a sense. What’s the maximum number of clients your staff can support? When will you need to hire more? Tracking sales through merchant services will help you keep an eye on your team’s capacity. Between hiring difficulties and the time it takes to onboard new staff, you don’t want to be caught with a flood of demand that you can’t satisfy. Merchant services will help you plan ahead.

Marketing Support

Merchant services make it easier to run sales or promotional offers, which might be a great way to attract some new clients if your business is struggling. Whether you want to create coupon codes or apply a site-wide discount, you can do so quickly with merchant services. Doing it yourself means adjusting prices manually and making sure your sales reps know the rules. On your own, it might be more trouble than it’s worth.

Expert merchant services can even put you in touch with other services. So if you need a second opinion about your marketing campaign, reach out to your merchant services provider!

Merchant Services That Puts You First

Too many merchant services providers these days are focused on extracting as much value from their clients as possible. However, a smart provider knows that the better the client does, the better the provider does. Main Street Backoffice wants to help your company succeed.