One of the best ways to bring in more revenue as retail business owner is, in fact, one of the most obvious ones: you have to stand out from your competitors in a big way. But standing out from the competition often requires a lot more than fancy logo, memorable business name, or catchy slogan. To really differentiate yourself from the other retail businesses competing for your customers, you need to be able to demonstrate some solid, fundamental differences between their your business and theirs. You have to be able to show your customers that you are not just another alternative – otherwise, even the smallest factor, including geographic proximity and familiarity, could send potential customers through a competitor’s doors instead of yours.
One of the best ways to stand out from the competition is with a consumer finance program that distinguishes itself from other options in a major way. But it’s not just as simple as declaring that your consumer finance program is better than the rest; you have to show what better looks like through your business priorities and actions.
With that in mind, here are three simple tips to help you differentiate your retail business, and, more specifically, your consumer finance program, from the competition.
Tip #1 – Deliver Better Customer Care
There is simply no substitute for good old-fashioned customer service. By implementing a truly customer-first mindset at your business, and instilling the values of service excellence and complete customer care among your retail team members, you’ll be well on your way to outworking the competition when it comes to customer service.
What does service excellence mean? It means committing to ensuring every customer interaction is a positive one. It means offering consumer financing to every customer, every time, and prioritizing that pitch to the betterment of the customer, rather than making it an afterthought. As for complete customer care, that just means taking care of the customer throughout every step of the financing process, including the application process itself. And that brings us to…
Tip #2 – Make Your Financing Process Smoother
Pitching your consumer finance options up front to your customers is all well and good, but it won’t mean much if the financing process you have in place is laborious and makes your customers feel stressed or embarrassed while they wait for an approval. Make sure that you take some time to evaluate your current consumer financing process.
Talk to your customers and get their feedback on your existing finance process. Few things are as revealing for retail business owners as direct customer feedback. Provide your customers with a survey and ask them specifically about the financing process. You may just find that it’s time to upgrade and streamline a few things.
Tip #3 – Use the Best Tools Available
In retail consumer finance, as in other fields, it pays to use the best tools available. When it comes to consumer financing, what you should be looking for is a comprehensive finance automation solution like FormPiper, which supercharges the application process by eliminating duplicate data entry and bolsters your business by providing the reporting you need to make smart, informed decisions.
If you are using FormPiper to bolster your consumer finance program, and your competitor isn’t, then you already have a distinct, built-in advantage over the competition. Make the most of that advantage and leverage FormPiper’s managed or self-managed services to establish a consumer finance program that satisfies your customers, pleases your employees, and puts your retail business a step ahead of the rest.
