How To Sell More Value Added Services

Transcription

1 BRIEFING PAPER Want to sell more value-add services? You need to solve two key merchant problems With the rapid proliferation of new channels and partners, how do merchants engage with existing and prospective customers cost effectively and without losing control? READ MORE >

2 Value-add services solve merchant problems. However, all too often they are positioned as financial products when they would be better understood by merchants if they were positioned in the context of the problem the merchant can use them to solve. Merchants have two key problems that value-add services can help solve. Firstly, how do I engage with my existing and prospective customers across so many channels and partners? Secondly, how do I manage this engagement cost effectively and without losing control? The Merchant s Dilemma Let us look at the customer engagement problem first. How do I engage with my existing and prospective customers across so many channels and partners? Retail is now multi-channel. Multi-channel requires merchants to create a seamless approach across every brand experience for the consumer. That is a seamless experience across in-store, mobile, online and 3rd-party channels, including gift-card malls and B2B resellers. The driving force behind the need for a seamless experience is today s connected consumer. This seamless experience extends to the products and services that merchants use to engage customers pre-purchase, during purchase and post-purchase, a selection of which are detailed in the table below. Gift cards Savings cards DCC MPayments QR codes SKU based cards Daily Deals NFC esavings Refund cards ECoupons Wallets EVouchers B2B cards Reward cards Social gifting ERefunds ereceipts Gift card malls MPOS B2B coupons Location based marketing Mobile barcode scanning Promotional cards Today, acquirers and value-add service providers all too often productise and pitch these products and services individually when they should be sold collectively, and they are presented as financial products when they would be better packaged as tools to help merchants recruit and retain customers in today s connected consumer world. Instead of thinking of them as valueadd services, acquirers and value-add service providers need to think of them in the context of a Customer Engagement Toolbox. He wants to sell gift cards in-store, on his website and in gift card malls. He also wants to send coupons to customers smart phones and promotions via social media and . That s a lot of partnerships, systems and technology to run, manage and report on.

3 The Starbucks effect Starbucks have the most successful retail card programme in the world today. It is growing at 20% year-on- year. It now accounts for 25% of in-store transactions and $3 billion of card loads were completed in Starbucks didn t start with the question how do we develop a mobile POS strategy? Starbucks had a very clear and articulate customer engagement strategy and all of these products and tools coordinate to support the higher objective; recruiting and retaining customers more effectively for less. Starbucks had a very clear and articulate customer engagement strategy. Source: Adam Brotman, Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Card acquirers and payment processors need to move from the traditional transaction centric valueadded services model to a more consumer centric model. This is not a marketing exercise; it needs to be organisation wide. From the executive level, to research and development, through product management and out to sales and marketing. Acquiring is a utility for most merchants. How do I accept card payments is not a difficult question to answer. Customer engagement is a key merchant differentiator. Effective selling requires more of a consultative skill set than traditional acquiring. You need to place yourself in the mindset of the merchant. They are not asking how do I roll out NFC? or how can I launch a gift card utilising my existing technology? They want to know how to engage with their existing and prospective customers across so many channels and partners. Once the merchant has a customer engagement strategy prepared, their next question will be how do I manage the programme cost effectively and without losing control? The explosion in digital customer engagement over the past three years has given multichannel merchants a new set of opportunities, but also brings with it some problems. Problems that acquirers and some value-add service providers are uniquely positioned to solve. The vast majority of players in the digital customer engagement space are new players. They bring excellent products and services designed to open up new sales channels and markets for merchants. There is social gifting, mobile gifting, mobile couponing, social marketing and more. There are a lot of buzz words, a lot of potential customers and a lot of players. Each player is competing for the merchant s attention and the merchants marketing dollars. Each provider has a standalone solution covering issuance and broadcast, but to a lesser extent redemption.

4 Where does that leave the multi-channel retailer? With a pretty complex customer engagement eco-system with multiple providers across their in-store, digital and third-party sales channels, all operating on independent systems, with no thought given to the centralised reconciliation and reporting across the merchants customer engagement programme. This eco-system is characterised by an increase in data volume, velocity, variety and variability. Data becomes plentiful but insight is rare. Insight is critical to successful customer engagement. Data becomes plentiful but insight is rare. Insight is critical to successful customer engagement. Rather than compete, they need to embrace each other. The traditional acquiring business revolves around secure and simple transaction management aligned with comprehensive reporting and control. The new digital world-order still needs this. Most participants in the digital space are focused on consumer sales (voucher and coupon distribution or broadcast) with little regard for a coordinated issuance, processing and redemption function. There are many distributors, but all too few processors. A centralised processer provides the multi-channel retailer with control. Acquirers are uniquely positioned to simplify the process of interfacing innovative digital services with the traditional POS payment environment, in the process staying relevant and central to the merchant s customer engagement strategy. Acquirers and traditional value-add service providers cannot stop the march towards digital customer engagement. Equally they cannot keep pace with the level of innovation. Every month a new start-up backed by $10m of tech-savvy investment is being announced. In summary; to sell more value-add services, acquirers and traditional value-add providers need to: > Think of value-add services in the context of the problem the merchant is looking to solve how do they recruit and retain customers? > Take a more holistic perspective on value-add services. They are not stand-alone financial products. Collectively they provide multi-channel retailers with a customer engagement toolbox. > Support the migration from card to digital. Digital customer engagement is cheaper for the merchant. > Don t try and compete with the new providers, embrace them. Acquirers and traditional valueadd providers cannot keep up, simple as that. By the time traditionally structured and funded organisations bring a competing product to market it is already out of date. > Focus on what they do best. Secure transaction processing, strong reconciliation and reporting and centralised compliance and control. This will drive operational efficiencies for the merchant and significantly lower the overall programme cost while allowing the merchant remain in control of their customer engagement programme giving them the ability to respond quickly to market needs. This approach will allow acquirers and traditional value-add service providers retain their competitive edge against the many newcomers looking to disrupt the payment space, defending margins and protecting against attrition. And of course, help sell more value-add services!

5 STORE24, our proprietary, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platform has been operational since 2006 and now supports nearly 400 programmes in Ireland, the UK, and Europe. In order to suit the varied requirements of our diverse partner and client base, STORE24 is also available as a standalone managed platform (PaaS) or a self-hosted platform (Enterprise Technology). Our products and services are available through our reseller channels, including Barclaycard and Elavon Merchant Services, as well as via our direct sales channel. Our UK customer base includes the 2nd largest University, the largest pub & restaurant chain, the largest independent coffee house chain, the largest specialty retail jeweller in the UK, and one of the largest independently owned restaurant operators. Some of the brands we work with include: MacNean House and Restaurant Savvy helps you talk to your customers. We turn transactions into conversations that build long lasting and profitable relationships. There are four elements to our business: Savvy Consulting We help you understand the customer engagement landscape and work together to design and cost an appropriate customer engagement model for your journey. Our expertise provides insight into multi-channel approaches throughout in-store, digital & mobile, social media and third party channels. Savvy Projects We help you implement your customer engagement strategy, working with your chosen vendors or introducing you to relevant cost effective solutions. Our project experience applies to many platforms including EPOS, ecom, , CRM and mobile. Savvy Technology A technology offer, where our platform STORE24 provides a centralised exchange to manage issuance, redemption and reconciliation. Products supported range from ecoupon and evoucher to gift card and rewards. Savvy Promotions We help you design and execute innovative campaigns to recruit and retain customers. For more please hello@talktosavvy.com or call (UK) or (RoI)