So – you’re a business owner, and things are going pretty well. You’re happy with your customer base, revenue is growing steadily, and although things could always be better, they could certainly be worse. But, as with all things, you’re looking to expand – and might be unsure about the next move for your company.
And suddenly, everyone’s talking about text invoices and SMS payments… but surely that’s just another fad, right?
Well, it might be worth taking a second look. Using text invoices as a payment channel for your business could be a choice that improves your operations and customer satisfaction in a manner that outsizes a simple change in the deliverance of invoices. With a simple text, you’re able to send invoices to your customers’ smartphones directly, promising rapid payment, a saving on resources and expenditure, and happier clients.
If you’re still unsure about the move, though, check out these tell-tale signs that your business could be ready for text invoices.
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Sign #1: You’re Frequently Chasing Late Payments
Having to chase late payments is a bugbear for any business owner – and the more late payments you have, the more time and money you have to devote towards trying to acquire them.
So, if you’re finding that late payments are becoming a common issue for your business, text invoices may be the way forward. With text invoices, both payment information and reminders about late payment can be sent directly to a customer’s phone via SMS message, scheduled from your business’ virtual terminal. The customer then simply has to access the information in the text to make a payment, which can take a matter of seconds – particularly if their payment information is already stored in the system, saving time on entering data.
In doing this you circumvent the need for endless phone calls, paper invoices, or even missed emails – with 98% of text messages opened, it’s almost definite that the customer is receiving the information.
Sign #2: You’re Catering To – Or Looking To Cater To – An International Audience
Strategizing about the expansion of your customer base is a cornerstone of any successful business plan – but you may find that, particularly if you’re relying on analog payment solutions, you’re limited to domestic clients.
Although email is a rapid way to reach international customers to receive payment, text invoices are also capable of being sent to the billions of phones worldwide that can receive text messages. With around 6 billion people predicted to be able to receive text messages by 2025, the market for SMS-based payment solutions is growing exponentially.
Of course, this all depends on your business’ capacity to offer services globally; but if you’re in a position to expand in an international direction, text invoices could help enormously.
Sign #3: Your Expenditure On Customer Service Is Too High
With the speed and automation of text invoices, you could stand to not only close the gap between payment notification and reception but also save valuable expenses on labor. If your business offers payment via phone call, you’ll know how long these conversations can take and can be a frustrating experience for both customer and service representative – before even taking into account the risks of inputting incorrect data through human error or fraud.
Text invoices, on the other hand, can be automated simply and quickly via a virtual terminal – and as your customers can make payment via the SMS channel, your customer service reps are no longer occupied with taking payment, freeing up a valuable resource and saving money for you.
Sign #4: You’re Worried Your Business Feels Impersonal Or Distant To Your Customers
We all want our businesses to feel approachable to our customers – but sometimes we can forget that one of the things our customers value most highly is communication and an understanding of growing priorities. With the unstoppable rise of text messaging, offering text invoices is not only a way to communicate with your customers directly to their pocket, but to communicate that you’re aware of their changing needs from businesses.
Furthermore, with convenience high on the list of the things that customers value most, creating solutions for them that makes their lives easier is a must. With text invoices, there’s no need for customers to trudge to their laptop to make payment through a browser – it can be done in a few taps.
The Bottom Line
Shifting to offer text invoices offers a wealth of positives for your business – and if you’re still on the fence about integrating text payments to your company, if you recognize any of these signs, it may be time for you to incorporate them into your model.
If you’d like to further discuss payment integration, contact Agile Payments today. With almost 20 years of experience in offering payment solutions, we’re confident we can help.