A new leaf, just turned over. A blank page. An open road. The possibilities are right in front of you, and you want to make the absolute most of them for your retail business. It's a new year, and that means a fresh start and a chance to look back on your successes and failures from last year, and build on them. You have the chance to do something great this year, and it all starts with evaluating where you can improve on your business model.
One area you may wish to give strong consideration to is consumer financing. A robust consumer financing program could be the difference between surpassing last year's high water marks or settling for similar, or even worse, results this year. The reason for that is simple: a strong consumer finance program provides a big boost to your bottom line.
It's basic math: the more customers you offer financing to, as a core part of your sales pitch, the more customers will hear about financing, the more will apply, and, ideally the more will be approved. That last step depends a fair bit on the finance process itself; if it's laborious, slow, and potentially embarrassing for the customer if they are declined and have to go through the whole application process again, then your finance program may end up being more a hindrance than a help.
With all of that in mind, here a few easy tips to help you bolster your consumer finance program and get this year started off right.
Tip #1 – Emphasize the Importance of Consumer Financing to Your Team
Your sales team wants to close deals and earn more revenue for your business. That's what they're trained to do, and that's how they earn their bread. You want them to do their jobs effectively, and that means equipping them with all of the tools they need to succeed.
One key tool in their sales toolbox is a strong consumer financing program. You can build your program to be a stronger one by emphasizing to your sales team the importance of offering financing to every customer, every time. They are the key piece in the process here. If they are not enthusiastically using financing as a means of selling and ultimately leveraging it to close sales, your consumer finance program is going to be sub-optimal. Invest in the right training, provide remedial training as needed, and push that emphasis on offering financing hard to every member of your sales team.
Tip #2 – Focus On the Customer Relationship
Every customer matters. Their opinions matter, and their opinions of your business matter greatly. Retail businesses often live or die by word of mouth and reviews. What may seem like an insignificant issue can be amplified greatly depending on a customer's network. But the customer relationship is so much more than just a thumbs up or a thumbs down by your customer. It's about getting to know real people in a real way, and building trust and understanding with them that will last for years to come.
To put it in the clearest way possible, the customer relationship is the heart and soul of your business. It is the core driver behind your success and the key element that will make or break your business. Everything you do to improve your retail business, from investing in better technology to providing more in-depth training for your employees, should be focused on facilitating better building of relationships with your customers. Customers that have a strong relationship with a business are more likely to make repeat purchases, recommend the business to others in person or via digital reviews, and are more likely to make purchases with your business as opposed to a competitor, even if they offer greater value in some areas. The relationship is everything.
Tip #3 – Make the Most of the FormPiper Solution
A better customer relationship starts with a better customer experience, and that's where FormPiper comes in. FormPiper is the perfect choice when you need a solution that helps you streamline and automate your consumer finance process. FormPiper makes it easy for customers to securely fill out a finance application from a personal or in-store device, and allows your team members to fill multiple application forms with a single click of a button, so you can easily transmit application data to multiple lenders, increasing the customer's chance of a rapid approval.
As the new year begins, now is the perfect time to evaluate your tools and technology, and FormPiper can be a key upgrade piece in this area. Explore all that FormPiper has to offer by scheduling a demo today, and make 2023 the best year yet for your retail business.
