Shoppers want and need payment flexibility, especially for big-ticket purchases. Helping consumers see the accessible, affordable benefits of consumer financing is a must to increase financing adoption and, ultimately, conversions. Read on to learn how to educate your customers about financing options so you can sell more, increase revenue, and best serve your consumers.
Why Customer Education Matters
Offering consumer financing increases the accessibility and affordability of your products and services, but only if shoppers know their options. Customer education is essential to successfully implement financing that drives conversions. Make financing approachable, transparent, and trustworthy, and you’ll empower consumers to make their purchases sooner and on their timelines without jeopardizing their budgets.
Merchants face many of the same challenges when presenting consumer financing options: confusion around credit terms, hesitancy about interest, and the perceived complexity of paying off installment loans. But when you work with a firm like United Consumer Financial Services, a financing partner that delivers simple, affordable financing, you increase consumer purchasing power with easy, streamlined payment options.
The Most Effective Ways to Educate Customers about Financing
Financing can be an intimidating topic for shoppers, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right approach, businesses can effectively educate customers about payment plans and facilitate an affordable purchase (and a positive customer experience). Below are the most effective ways to teach consumers about their options.
Simplify Credit Messaging
Consumers prefer monthly payment plans, especially younger demographics of shoppers. But for many shoppers, the messaging and terms surrounding installment loans and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options are confusing. Customers need a clear understanding of their needs, the financing options available, and the terms of their contract with your business.
- Drop financial jargon and use plain language to teach consumers about your financing options.
- Demystify APR by explaining it in terms that customers can relate to.
- Use visual aids like charts or side-by-side comparisons of different terms.
- Highlight promotional financing when available, but clearly define the conditions so shoppers aren’t surprised by fees, timelines, or costs.
As you educate customers, focus on the benefits they care about and that drive them to conversion: affordability, predictability, timeliness, and access. Provide helpful examples with payment dollar amounts and monthly terms, so the consumer can make an educated decision.
Simplify credit messaging to make financing more approachable, and shoppers will be much more likely to take advantage of payment plans to empower their purchases.
Train Sellers to Talk About Financing
Your sales team is uniquely positioned to not only inform potential customers but also connect with them on a more personal, emotional level. Big-ticket purchases can feel overwhelming to shoppers, especially those on a budget or those without the cash to make a purchase immediately. Training floor staff to educate –– and reassure –– shoppers with financing helps instill the confidence consumers need to move forward with their purchase.
Educating customers starts with equipping sales associates. Provide talking points and FAQs your team can use to engage with hesitant shoppers. Stress the importance of transparency; helpful guidance will always be more effective than a forceful sales approach. When you partner with UCFS to provide consumer financing, you gain complete access to our training materials and resources, so you can help your team help shoppers take full advantage of our low monthly payment plans.
Leverage Point-of-Sale (POS) Signage and Marketing Materials
Shoppers need to see and hear the same information multiple times to fully understand and trust it –– especially when it comes to financing and committing to a payment plan. Use clear signage in-store and online images that highlight your financing program.
United Consumer Financial Services provides your business with signage for your storefront and graphics for your online channels, so you can clearly communicate financing offers to interested shoppers. In an age where consumers choose retailers based on payment flexibility, making shoppers aware of their options is essential to gain a competitive edge –– regardless of your market. Leverage POS signage and marketing materials to educate potential shoppers and bring them through to purchase, starting with the very first touchpoint.
UCFS provides business customers with personalized flyers showing monthly payment examples. In addition, United Consumer Financial Services will ship signage to business customers to help inform shoppers about payment plan options as they browse in a retail environment. For home improvement businesses, UCFS provides cards with payment option details when in a consumer’s home providing a quote. And for a call center, materials to help an agent discuss consumer financing monthly payment plans with callers.
Deploy Financing FAQs and Online Resources
With the digital shelf at their fingertips, most shoppers are going to thoroughly research products and brands before seriously pursuing a purchase. Create an FAQ page on your website where consumers can read and learn about your financing options. This informational page can include the following to educate shoppers about the ease and convenience afforded by financing their purchase:
- What financing is and how it increases affordability
- Who qualifies
- How applications work
- How interest is calculated
- Timelines for application and approval
- Repayment options
Potential customers can then take this information (and their confidence and excitement) and begin seriously considering moving forward with their purchase.
Provide Real-World Examples and Case Studies
Social proof is one of the most compelling tools when engaging new shoppers. Consumers see themselves in the stories your customers share. Provide real-world examples and relatable case studies that highlight how consumer financing makes purchases faster, easier, and more affordable.
Low monthly payment plans remove financial barriers and increase purchasing power without adding stress or disrupting planned spending. Give shoppers real numbers comparing the upfront cost of a purchase versus the affordable payments made possible by your financing program.
Conclusion
Educating customers about their financing options removes the fear and confusion around committing to a payment plan. Clear messaging, trained staff, and accessible resources increase financing adoption rates, which, in turn, can increase sales, retention, and revenue.
United Consumer Financial Services, a Marmon company, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, has been delivering straightforward, accessible, and affordable financing solutions for over 45 years. We know that client trust isn’t established at the point of sale, but long before the transaction is ever processed. That’s why we strive to make our financing options clear, consistent, and easy to communicate to your customers.
When clarity and fairness come together in consumer financing, shoppers are more likely to not only trust your financing options but also your product and business as a whole. Partnering with UCFS for consumer financing enables you to offer affordable payment solutions that help you increase sales starting today. Becoming a merchant is easy. Contact our team to learn more about how offering consumer financing can help you grow your business starting from day one.
