A lot of effort goes into getting visitors to the payment page

In the e-commerce space, companies are (and should be) continually working on improving conversion rates. Testing the most beneficial Google Advertisements, designing the most frictionless and appealing landing pages, writing compelling and converting content are key tasks of content writers, online marketeers, SEA specialists, among others.

Yet STILL, only 2.81% of visitors take action (purchase) when they arrive on your website through a Google Advertisement. The average cost of a new customer is $109.

The final part of the customer journey frequently is overlooked and under-appreciated. None of those specialists mentioned above is involved in the conversion optimization of the payment page.

The need for optimizing the payment experience

It is a shame that all of this effort to streamline the customer towards the checkout page can get lost at the checkout page itself.

As the conversion ratio from paid advertisements is only 2.81%, there is a lot to be gained by concentrating on a complete frictionless buying-process. If an optimized payment page can help convert 1% more of the advertisement visitors, it accumulates to a 35%+ increase in sales.

How can a payment platform help to sell more?

Your payment partner can and should help with the optimization of your checkout flow. First of all, the basics should be covered. A payment page should be available in a customer’s native language, and customers should be able to pay in their native currency.

Different countries have different popular payment methods. For example, in The Netherlands, iDeal is by far the most popular payment option, but in Belgium, Bancontact is the preferred payment method. Make sure that you offer the preferred payment methods for the countries you operate in.

Other basics are offering a second try when a certain payment method fails, this way the merchant makes sure to offer other payment methods immediately so the customer can continue its purchase. The merchant can install abandoned payment page emails as 20% of these turn into the customer returning to its abandoned shopping cart and finishing the purchase.

People still buy more via desktop. But they are increasingly using mobile and tablet for research and buying. When all payment pages are mobile-friendly the number of people buying via phone or tablet will increase even more.

Innovate payment experiences

Beyond these basal improvements, there are more innovative features that some payment partners offer. The better platforms offer integrated A/B testing features that allow marketers to determine the checkout page that has the highest conversion ratio and drives the most sales.

Another vital element of improving the conversion ratio is offering payment solutions that cater to the clients’ needs. Through a variety of innovative payment products, you allow your customers to pay more swiftly.

1-tap payments allow your returning customers to pay in a single ‘tap.’ Your customers won’t have to fill in all their details again when purchasing goods. Single tap payment enhances customer retention and loyalty.

Split payments can help your customers split the costs of a product over multiple buyers or multiple cards. Split payments can be beneficial on high-value purchases such as plane tickets for the whole family or sharing the purchase of a refrigerator with roommates.

QR codes make it easy to initiate a payment both on- and offline. Scanning a QR code shown on your laptop with your mobile phone is becoming more and more popular thanks to its easiness. The practice of using QR codes is limitless as you can use them online, in print, outdoor advertising, or as a payment method off and on-premise.

Pay-by-links allow for telephone or email orders. The helpdesk can send out a uniquely generated payment link via email, SMS, or WhatsApp, and the customer can pay comfortably with the preferred payment method of its choice. When the customer pays, the merchant receives an immediate notification and can fulfil its part of the transaction.

QR and pay-by-links help manage your business during the coronavirus pandemic. Learn more about these features here.

30% of social media users in the US age 18-34 have bought stuff through social media. When your payment platform is able to facilitate tools that let people buy directly on social media by sending them to a payment page instead of a product page you will encounter fewer dropouts.

Easy to use data for useful actions

Data helps to make better decisions. It helps you to understand where and WHY your customers drop out. These actionable insights are why the importance of having an analytics-integrated payment dashboard needs constant emphasizing.

With a dashboard that showcases all the real-time data, organizations can make informed decisions and drastically improve sales.

Even better is having a dashboard that allows direct action based on real-time data. The probability of selling to a new customer is 5%-20% while the probability of selling to an existing customer is 50%-70%. So you might want to use a customer quadrant that shows which customers are lagging and which ones are your ‘VIP’ customers. With this knowledge, you want to give your laggards an incentive to re-order, and your VIPs a reward for being loyal customers.

Conclusion

There are many tools out there to help drive your conversions up on the payment page, take advantage of them.

Take the whole customer-flow into account and make sure that your payment provider allows you to do that. You miss out on sales and revenue by not looking at the whole picture.

When choosing a solution, make sure that your provider has the tools available for you to make the most out of your online presence. A payment platform that delivers insights, tools to take action, and the best payment experience make sense for anyone looking to improve its payments success ratio.

The Journey Doesn’t Stop at the Payment Page.