If you are selling merchant services online then you should also have a suitable system in place that enables easy tracking and reporting mechanisms. Only then can you make an informed decision on the progress of your business and sales. Here we provide you the top 6 tips on selecting the ideal merchant service for your account.
1. The Service Must Suit Your Product
Ideally the merchant service you select should complement your line of business. If you are into selling digital products like ebooks and software then your merchant service provider should accommodate such products as well. Why? If you want to sell for e.g. ebooks, then you should choose a system that allows merchants to sell digital products and downloads. This way you will have a much greater access to many great features such as download protection, thank-you page protection, etc. that other merchant services doesn’t offer. Such service will be much more suitable for you than any other.
2. You Should Be Able to Track and Monitor Everything About Your Product
Your merchant service provider needs to have suitable mechanisms in place that enable you to easily track and monitor your sales and overall progress made. It should ideally provide you with readily accessible customized reports and online tracking methods where you can track sales, which PPC campaigns are fetching the most sales, which keywords earn you most traffic etc. It should also allow you to easily track the performance of your affiliates – how many visitors they bring, how many sales they make and overall conversion rates for each different affiliate – in case you have an affiliate program for your product set up.
3. Security and Fraud Protection is Vital For Your Online Business
The merchant service provider you select needs to have a high level of protection and security measures in place. SSL certification should be a must and even security measures like merchant rating systems should be in place to protect affiliate interests. But SSL certificates won’t protect you from fraudulent sales. Such system should provide the complete protection from illegal file sharing (if you sell downloads), fake customers and other illegal activity protection. When you have a complete security, only then you will be able to successfully run your online business.
4. Top Customer Support – the Importance
This is one of the most crucial elements of any good merchant service provider. Your prospective merchant service provider needs to have a high level of customer support with ready access to manuals, user guides, forum discussion groups and contact forms and FAQs so that you can get answers to information you need anytime! The last thing you want is for your sales to slacken on account of lack of information and help! So remember… Always ask questions the support team to test the company. If the support is helpful and answers all your questions – you should definitely go for such company.
5. Huge Variety of Payment Options
Your merchant account needs to have suitable provisions for payments through both credit card as well as other means like PayPal, Moneybookers, Authorize.net, Worldpay, Google Checkout etc. Having such a varied set of payment processors and options will stand your business in good stead as you can reach out to a wider customer base and enhance your sales quotient. Make sure you can offer as much payment options as possible. This way you will be able to increase your sales much more!
6. Free Registration – Don’t Pay Any Fees Until You Start Making Sales
This is imperative when you are looking for a merchant services provider. In today’s age you shouldn’t pay for just signing up to sell, registering for services from your merchant support system should be free. If you have to pay for signing up then it is a sheer waste of your time and effort. Make sure that such company only charges a flat fee per transaction, so you pay only when you make a sale.