Township entrepreneurs: here’s what you need to know about never missing a sale again
By Nkanyiso Khumalo
Whether you run a tavern, lounge, hair salon or general dealer we understand what you want from your business:
- You want to make money
- You want to be competitive
- You want to move your goods quickly
- Most importantly, you never want to miss a sale
So, how do you ensure that your business has all these ingredients for success? You need to know your customers. They want convenience, especially when it comes to the products or services they’re looking for and how they can pay for them. This means that you need to be able to take payment in as many ways as possible, not just cash.
With 77% of all South African adults now owners of a bank account, the need to pay by card is on the rise. By allowing your customers to pay by card, you will never lose a sale. They won’t have to leave to withdraw cash, and not come back. In addition, you will attract more customers because they know that they can pay you in the way that best suits their needs. By introducing a card machine in your business and taking payment by debit or credit card, research has shown that you could increase your turnover by as much as 50%.
All card payments are settled into your bank account within 24 to 48 hours of the payment so you will access to your funds quickly. Not having cash on hand also reduces the time and cost of cash deposits at the bank. The fee that you pay to accept a card payment is low – and the same percentage, no matter the amount your customer is paying you. Your customer does not pay any extra fee for paying by card which is why they prefer it to paying with cash.
Another important consideration is safety. No one wants to lose their hard-earned cash to criminals. Customers prefer not to carry too much cash, and less cash in your business makes it less tempting for would-be robbers – there’s also the risk of your own staff stealing your money. Paying by card offers both customers and business owners greater security.
There’s nothing worse than losing a sale because you can’t accept payment from a customer. You not only lose the sale but you potentially lose the customer for life because they know that doing business with you is not always convenient. This is where card machines can make all the difference to sales. A user-friendly and easy-to-use card machine enables you to accept every debit and credit card payment, whenever your customers want to use their plastic.
Consider EFTPOS’s range of payment solutions, it’s their mission to connect people to their money and businesses to their customers. With over 6 000 POS terminals that accept both Mastercard and Visa cards, they are a supplier you can trust.