Adding financing to your business empowers you to grow while providing affordable payment options to your customers. Therefore, knowing how to implement a financing program is vital.
Below, we give you a step-by-step guide to adding financing to your business to help you attract customers, drive sales, speed, and grow.
1. Make Sure Consumer Financing Is Right for Your Business
The first step in adding financing options to your business is determining if consumer financing is right for your company.
These are just a few of the many myths about consumer financing you’ll find out there. Yet, offering consumer financing benefits both the business and the customer for many companies.
Consumer financing allows shoppers to bring home big-ticket items the same day while paying for them over time with affordable, scheduled monthly payments. These “Buy Now, Pay Later” services are ideal for high-value goods or services businesses. With financing options, patrons are more likely to purchase a big-ticket item since they aren’t obligated to pay for the item in one, up-front lump sum.
Additionally, consumer financing is an effective tool for retailers aiming to upsell their consumers. When a large sum is broken down into small monthly payments, buyers feel confident in their ability to cover the cost. This increases the likelihood that they’ll upgrade their purchases. One study found that nearly half of surveyed shoppers will spend more with an installment loan program than with a credit card.
When buyers have financing options, they’re more prone to making a positive purchase decision, increasing their purchase value, and remaining loyal customers to you in the future.
2. Choose the Type of Financing You Will Offer
Once you’ve decided to offer consumer financing, now you must choose the type of financing you’ll provide. Most retailers’ decisions on the matter come down to whether they want the financing done in-house or by a third-party firm.
Third-party financing is almost always better for the company. When you partner with a financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services to oversee customer financing, you reap the benefits of working with a proven, professional, trusted source.
UCFS brings over 40 years of experience to work for retailers, call centers, service providers, and distributors just like you. Partnering with a third party to offer consumer financing helps you avoid the pitfalls of an in-house financing program:
- Negative effects on your cashflow
- Risks of consumer missed payments
- Additional employee costs to handle collections
- Time and resource consumption
- Legal risks
Trusting UCFS with your financing gives you peace of mind that your financing is done right, allowing you to use your energies to pour yourself and your resources back into your business.
3. Partner with a Financing Provider
The benefits of working with a third-party financing partner cannot be overstated. But choosing the right firm to handle your consumer financing might feel intimidating. Your financing provider will be responsible for ensuring you receive payment promptly. They’ll interact with your customers after the sale and service are complete. You want to make sure your financing provider reflects positively on your brand and business and gives you the attention you deserve.
United Consumer Financial Services knows the importance of excellent quality and service at every step for both the merchant and the end-user. Our team has four decades of financing service experience to provide you with the tools and resources you need to make the most of your consumer financing.
Your financing program can add significant value to your business when executed well without draining your team’s resources. A financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services collects payment through your customer’s loan life. In the meantime, you’re paid just days after the shopper signs their contract.
Partnering with UCFS provides affordable shopping options to your clients, and you benefit from more predictable payment and accessible customer care from our U.S.-based customer support team.
4. Integrate Financing
Once you’ve chosen a financing provider, you need to integrate your financing tools across all channels. Today’s retailers, service providers, and call centers work within an omnichannel market. Your customers come to you in-store and online, so you must make financing available everywhere your audience shops.
Research shows that 81 percent of consumers research products and services before shopping. That means shoppers are price-checking before committing to a purchase decision. Additionally, listing financing payment options online gives shoppers a realistic idea of their monthly financial commitment. When they see the low monthly payment, they are more likely to shop with you over a business that only takes lump-sum payments.
When you integrate your financing solutions in-store, salespeople when talking with shoppers, and on your site, you empower buyers with the knowledge they need to know that they can make affordable payments for the big-ticket items and services they want from your business.
In-store, a point-of-sale financing option allows customers to bring home their items same-day, incentivizing purchase and capitalizing on the excitement they feel when shopping for goods in-person. Your shoppers don’t have to wait to take home the goods that catch their eye, nor do they have to forego purchases because of a lack of cash on hand or access to a credit card. POS financing through UCFS offers quick application and notice of approval that takes just minutes, allowing your customers to buy the things they want with the ease of affordable scheduled payment plans.
Integrated financing empowers the consumer with greater purchase power, and you can increase sales with simple financing options from UCFS.
5. Advertise Your Financing Options
The final step in adding financing to your business is making shoppers aware of their options. Prominently advertising financing by your company is vital. When using an integrated marketing plan, displaying your financing solutions in-store, on your website, on social media, and by email or direct mail, your customers know you provide them with payment options, and you empower buyers. With the knowledge they need to know that they can make affordable payments for the big-ticket items and services, they are more likely to be able to purchase your business.
As you structure your marketing strategy, promote your financing options. Advertising your financing provider can also encourage shoppers to consider you, especially if your provider is professional, proven, and has a good reputation.
Incorporating your financing into your marketing and advertising strategies can incentivize shoppers to choose you over your competition because they know from the outset that you provide affordable payment options for high-value items.
UCFS will provide a customize marketing brochure (PDF and 25 printed flyers) and other consumer marketing materials at no cost to your business. So whether it’s a brochure, a table tent where consumers walk in your door, or website content to help you promote low monthly payments, UCFS supports your business.
Conclusion
As we’ve explored above, adding financing to your business is ideal for serving your customers and helping you hit your targets. You get more conversions and bigger sales, and your customers have access to the products or services.
Choosing the right provider is paramount to your financing success. United Consumer Financial Services delivers professional financing that businesses and merchants like you have relied on for more than 40 years.
Contact our team today to learn how financing through UCFS can help your business grow starting today.