Commerce enablement has become an industry-agnostic part of payments jargon, but what exactly does it mean?
It varies across verticals as the journey to purchase differs depending on the types of products and services for which a customer shops. Thanks to AI and machine learning, creating a hyperpersonalized experience for each individual customer — no matter what their journey looks like — has become an automated process. The cherry on top of that sundae has been to offer a frictionless payment experience, which customers have come to expect.
Yet some independent software vendors (ISVs) and their customers are missing out on this last key component. Not only is the payment process an opportunity to deliver on a good customer experience, but it also offers the opportunity to enhance the overall experience. For ISVs, that means they also have an avenue to enhance their merchants’ customer experience strategy via payments.
ISVs that integrate an end-to-end payment solution that delivers on more than simple transaction processing have the opportunity to add value to a merchant’s customer experience strategy. There are several ways this happens.
When it comes to enhancing the payments experience, B2B payments are not exempt. ISVs that offer automated invoicing can help their merchants add speed to their B2B invoicing process — and get paid faster. Merchants are keen on replacing analog processes with digital ones and invoicing presents a big opportunity. One study noted that 51% of accounts payable practitioners think paper invoices will be eliminated in their department this year. This can save merchants time and money by automating the payment process without disrupting the current payables process. It also enables 100% reconciliation, improves data integrity and accuracy, and significantly reduces manual tracking, recording, and reconciliation errors.
On the customer end, they receive payment requests via text message (or email, if they prefer), where they are more likely to engage with the message directly. Clicking on a secure link to a secure site where they can make direct electronic payments sans login is an optimal, easy experience. What’s more, customers remember just how frictionless that payment experience was — and the merchant that enabled this ease of use. The result is that merchants can forego numerous follow-up calls and emails in favor of intelligent, automated messaging that leads to fast, painless payment of unpaid balances.
Imagine a world where merchants can magically see all of a customer’s relevant details in real time whenever they call. It’s not magic, and it doesn’t require imagination. ISVs can implement enhanced communications solutions that optimize the conversations support staff has with customers every day.
This functionality allows the staff to know who is calling, what offers customers have used in the past, upcoming appointments, and any outstanding balances. This allows merchants to personalize conversations around what matters most to customers and the information customers need to know.
Taking it a step further, merchants can keep customers engaged with personalized, post-phone conversation messaging that includes important notes about payment, appointments, and requests for online reviews. Customers can respond to these text memos so merchants can keep the conversation fluid and the customers engaged.
Most merchants understand the importance of analytics, but payments analytics are sometimes glossed over. Yet payment data is useful in presenting a holistic view of what is important and interesting to customers. For example, pairing customer purchasing habits with credit card data can help merchants promote the right products and services, improving the customer experience in the process. According to Accenture, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that can recall critical purchase information and provide relevant offers and recommendations.
ISVs that offer payment analytics tools automatically add value to their merchants via insights into loyalty and retention trends, marketing campaign data, new vs. returning customers, total visits, sales volume, and average tickets. Some analytics suites offer insights into social reputation via comprehensive information about online reviews across platforms and websites. This can help merchants identify areas for improvement as well as features their customers love.
Another important feature for merchants that require appointments is the ability of their customers to book those appointments online. Some merchants may also require deposits before rendering a product or service, so the ability to pay that deposit at the time of online booking is essential.
ISVs can offer a solution that optimizes online appointment booking by providing merchants’ customers with an interactive online scheduler that can be shared on marketing channels across the board. Customers can easily schedule appointments whenever and from whichever device they like while merchants amplify this convenient tool across the website, social channels, and via text and email messages. Customers can schedule and pay in one fell swoop and merchants enjoy hands-off appointment scheduling and payment that minimizes no-shows while increasing cash flows.
Commerce enablement will continue to be a critical part of business for ISVs that work with any types of merchants. As digital commerce continues to soar and convenience remains a top factor for customer satisfaction, ISVs that enable merchants with frictionless, effective ways to engage with customers at every step of the customer journey will be viewed as important partners in customer experience optimization.
