Using Payment Methods in Addition to Paypal is Important!
image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono
Hey Photographers – how many of you are offering your images up for sale on your website? If not you should be! One thing we have noticed over the years for many of you who do offer online proofing, is that often only 1 payment method is offered. Also, this one method often ends up being Paypal. Our experience has been that limiting yourself in this way can really reduce your online sales numbers. But why? There are a few reasons.
1) People like options. Limiting yourself to only 1 or 2 can greatly reduce your sales & increase the chance of a high shopping cart abandonment rate. Case in point: I have a small side business in specialty foods called Just Good Chocolate that was launched in September of 2011. When I look at my Google analytics I see that my choice to initially only offer Paypal was a poor one. There are many site visitors that are getting to the checkout stage but not completing the transaction – my assumption is that this is because they are limited in their payment methods. We are launching a new cart with credit card integration in late February.
2) People don’t want to have to set up a new account. One of the issues with only offering the basic version of Paypal checkout is that you must set up a new account in order to check out. The same can be said for Google Checkout. Now don’t get me wrong – having both of these as available options is fantastic. Certainly do it if you can. People that prefer either one will thank you. In addition though, make sure that you also offer Visa & MasterCard transactions through a secure payment gateway.
3) Multiple options make you seem “bigger”. When is the last time you were on the website of a major retailer or national company and only had one payment method option at checkout? The answer is never. Bigger companies are naturally trusted more. Consumers need to know that their information is safe & secure and the bigger you look, the more confident they will feel. Offering muliple payment methods and a “clean cart” is just one way to give off that “bigger” look & feel.
How can we help? MorePhotos recently started offering the Authorize.Net payment gateway and merchant services package. Now you can sign up with someone you trust who can support this secure online payment processor for integration right into your MorePhotos shopping cart.
How to get started: We make it simple.
For current MorePhotos clients, from your online manager, click Cart Setup, then Real Time Processing, then click the link that says Authorize.Net. Follow the prompts and set up your own account. Of course feel free to call us with any questions.
For Non-MorePhotos Clients, you can still take advantage of this service – simply Click Here and follow the same set up instructions. And don’t forget to give us a call if you need help with a new website, shopping cart, or online marketing services!
I hope this helps. Thanks for reading!
Drew Warner | MorePhotos Sales & Marketing