How Offering Financing Helps Your Customers and Your Business

Financing is an excellent tool that opens the possibility of service up to people who could not have used the service beforehand. Consumer financing has sometimes gotten negative reviews from companies that get burned by delayed payments or negligent customers. But with the right tools and with clearly stated conditions you can offer your customers a financing option for your services without regret. Here are two of the main benefits of offering financing to your own customers, followed by some suggestions to reduce risk.

Flexible Solutions For Your Customers

Firstly, your customers have a more flexible way to pay. It can happen to anyone – a forgotten wallet or an unexpected bill, you name it, but sometimes it can be difficult to pay for services or products right away. As the business owner, your offering of credit extends them an option to pay later so they can still use your services and they will really appreciate it.

You Gain Business

If you offer consumer financing when others in your field do not, you may give yourself an edge when it comes to attracting customers. If others in your field do offer financing, it gives you an opportunity to catch up to the competition.

Simple with Mitigated Risk

You can set the terms for how simple you want the payment process to be. Customers like intuitive payment options, so offering a simple consumer financing plan gives you a business advantage. Choosing to hire a third party company mitigates your own risk of a non-paying customer, so if you suspect this could be an issue, going through a third party company may be a good solution for you.

If you are interested in the ways that consumer financing benefits both you and your customer, you may be interested to learn how to go about it. If you choose not to go with a third party company, you could always establish an in-house plan. You would need to be very specific about the payment terms and follow through, should the customer decide to test them. Also, though, be aware that how you collect payment will influence the customer’s perception of your services. I you treat customers with respect and courtesy, thanking them when they call to make a payment and appreciating their business, they will likely be impressed and want to pay off their balance sooner.

In short, financing offers both you, the business owner, and your customers an advantage. Use it carefully, but in doing so, you may be doing a huge favor for your business.