3 Pillars To Build & Grow Online As A High-Risk Merchant

The business environment is extremely challenging for online businesses and the game gets even more serious for those who fall under the category of high-risk industry. If you are struggling to avail merchant account services in general that ensures success of a high-risk online business then you should follow three basic rules. When you take the right route to success as an online high-risk merchant you are going to certainly reach your destination.

Rule Number 1: Nurture Cordial Relation with Merchant Account Provider —

There is no denying that every modern business in today’s world needs payment processing services but when you are running business exclusively through your website or in simple words you are an e-commerce business you should be even more serious about associating with a secure credit card processor.

This will ensure that every single customer transaction on your website would be easily processed. Or else it might result in slicing off your revenue since your customers are upset. Businesses with a tag of high-risk business need to pay extra attention and work smartly to find out some major bank or processor for their banking requirements. Setting up a merchant account and maintaining it can be really daunting with frequent and high chargebacks.

It is still possible to have your merchant account opened and keep it working for a considerably long period. Take the following steps to increase the likelihood to get banks (or merchant providers) appreciation in the form of their processing services:

Maintain Transparency:

There can be some concerns and stories behind hiding your story but honesty is the best policy when it comes to availing merchant account services. Testing times might never end for high-risk entrepreneurs but they can be better prepared with staying transparent while filing in for merchant account. When you have your financial records, tax documents, licenses and everything else neatly arranged in one file, things will appear to be less of an ordeal.

High Volumes May Not Be Apt:

In the early days of your relationship with payment processor you should go slow on the processing volume. Don’t ruin your relationship at the nascent stage with higher volumes. Going with lower-than-average processing volume is just fine. Besides, you may be provided with less friendly rates when compared to your brick-and-mortar store days. Try and get comfortable with the fact that businesses making online sales are considered to be high-risk and this is why you are getting little leverage, at least in the initial days of your agreement.
If you succeed in getting consistent results for a period of 6 months or so and there have been no major complaints from your end you can push it for higher volumes then. Sooner you will see ball is in your court and the merchant services will be working for you in a better way.

Have Low Chargebacks:

Its positioning on the list has least to do with its importance in cultivating a strong relationship with the card processor. That said, keeping chargeback ratio at an acceptable level is much difficult in practical. Nevertheless, it can be achieved if you manage to provide unparalleled customer service, great product or service, acting honest on your business site and via customer service channels.

Rule Number 2: Professional Chargeback Management —

No matter how particular you remain in keeping up with the aforementioned precautions you can still be caught by chargeback monster. Therefore, it is highly significant to invest resources and time in chargeback management.

Dealing with chargebacks in the professional way is the only way out of this huge challenge. Growth and success are impossible to achieve without keeping a check on chargebacks. Make sure you put some resources into carving an inclusive chargeback management system.

Use Provider Software:

Majority of merchant services are coupled with chargeback management system, especially when it is about high-risk enterprises. If they have not talked about it, take the initiative to confirm for your own good. It is imperative for every business to address chargebacks without any delay. Your processing partner can be really helpful in doing so. At the time of getting into an agreement ensure you understand what they give you in name of chargeback solution so that you are mentally prepared to use them as and when the need arises.

Focus On Customer Service:

There is no alternative to this. A business can foster and have happy customers only if it provides exceptional customer service. It may be interesting to know that some chargebacks happen owing to some simply avoidable clerical errors. This is when competent staff’s role comes into play. Rendering 24X7 support services can be critically important for alleviating chargebacks. It is quite a possibility that you cannot sustain round the clock customer services at this stage. If it is so, then keep it clear when customer service is available at your site in one form or other.

Take Up The Best Practices:

Being the owner of your business you should be well-educated about the best practices to minimize chargebacks because you can be the best source of information and inspiration for your employees. It is possible to:

Fight chargebacks when evidence is in your favor
Ensure that your brand is identifiable both on the credit card bill and customer receipt
Send emails to customers post every single purchase
Address chargeback issues promptly instead of lingering around them

Rule Number 3: Establish Your Business As A Legitimate Entity —

There can be nothing unfortunate than customers doubting your business’s legitimacy. Of course, their negative reviews, blog shellacking etc. can hamper your business but it gets worse when they don’t buy from you.

It is essentially important that you effortlessly prove to everyone including your customers, prospects, website users and their contacts that you are a legitimate business and this is no scam. How can you prove your business operation to be legalized is achievable with:

An Appealing Website:

A glimpse of your website and impression will either be made or broken for your business. Users do not take more than half-a-minute to form an image of your business after they land on your site. Visitors take search engines listings quite seriously when they designate your site as “not secure.’’ They instantly make an exit and may share their experience with their friends too. Moreover, instances such as broken Adobe Flash Player, poor images and uneven use of colors add to the bad experience of visitors.

On the flip side, aesthetically built websites have good navigation, properly organized menus and updated content besides readable text size and color. Their logo also appears authentic and relatable. Driving traffic can be easily done with informative and interesting pieces of content there. These elements establish your business as a professional side and visitors can readily build trust in your website and business.

Enriched Social Media Presence:

Strengthening social media presence is vital for every online business. Having your business’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram can help you get more visibility and you can be a topic of discussion. It will not help you as a magic wand but over time you will be able to strengthen your brand in a huge way. With these social media accounts you can give personal touch to your business. Developing an identity and building a personality of your business happens effortlessly as you make appearances on social media. As most of your users are expected to be using one or more of these social media websites they can better relate to your business and gradually develop a sense of trust.

Be Easily Approachable:

Your customers may want to get in touch with you anytime during the day. Make your contact details easily seen on your website. Be more interested to get in touch with your users than they are. They may need you before, after or while making a purchase. Not being easily approachable can make your customers think negatively about you.

Company’s phone number along with business hours should find place at every stage of checkout process. Similarly, you should spare some space for phone number or/and email address on your website’s footer, on receipts etc. And it goes without saying that your staff should be best trained about your company’s policy and products to attend the customers in need.

These days, more progressive ways of customer interaction are in use like LiveChat. It comes with additional advantage that allows your customer service representatives to instantly send prerecorded responses to users. This is a simple way of saving time and optimal utilization of resources. It typically proves to be useful when attending to repeated queries from the customers.

Bottom Line —

Sustaining in cutthroat competitive world gets feasible for any card-not-present enterprise with these principles discussed above. Every high-risk merchant can count on these rules to get best services and pave their way to success.