Note
The 25-point program described in this paper touches every key aspect of the customer acquisition process, so you can use it start-to-finish as you establish a complete framework for landing more customers, faster. That said, we are a review and directory site, and that’s where our primary expertise lies. If we seem to lean hard on reviews, it’s because we know inside-and-out how powerful they can be, and we know backwards-and-forwards how to put them to work for you. We thus note every item on this list that can be strengthened or executed by leveraging reviews with an indicator. If you have any further questions about any of these areas, please reach out to us – we’d be happy to share our expertise!
1. Understand the legalities of advertising in financial services.
Organizations that operate within the financial services sector need to understand the regulatory advertising and marketing constraints they face. A patchwork quilt of regulations and regulatory agencies affect what, how, and where financial services companies can promote themselves. In general, the key is to avoid misleading claims and to shy away from murky financial relationships that may affect the authenticity of marketing content. For example, don’t pay or otherwise financially incentivize good reviews. Click here for a concise summary of such regulations from the American Bankers Association. For guidance specific to your situation, contact your legal advisors.
2. Understand Google’s requirements of financial services institutions.
It‘s not just the government that cares about the quality of financial sector marketing content. Google itself has special requirements of any websites that fall into a category called “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL). Google demands a more rigorous degree of quality of information from sites and webpages it categorizes as YMYL. Google is particularly concerned that such content be “created with the necessary authority and expertise.”1 If not, this content can be penalized in search rankings.
3. Set up an effective customer acquisition sales funnel.
Landing clients is a process, not a single action. Thus, savvy payment processors and providers set up end-to-end client acquisition workflows. A typical sales funnel will include four basic stages: awareness (making sure the prospective customer knows you exist), evaluation (demonstrating that you offer the kind of services or products they need), research (satisfying them that you’re the best option for them), and conversion (making the sale).
4. Aim to forge an emotional connection with your customer.
It’s critical to forge a connection with the customer and engage them on an emotional level. Think of it this way: your customer has a pain, and you are a pain reliever. Doing business with you means relief and satisfying business outcomes. One of the best ways to forge an emotional connection is through existing customers. Testimonials, case studies, and customer reviews bring your company and its solutions to vivid, vibrant life for prospective customers, speaking not just to their needs but to their pain.
5. Deploy a search engine optimization program (SEO).
Over half (57%) of marketers say that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative.2 That shouldn’t come as a surprise; after all, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.3 Thus, search engines are critical to getting in front of prospective customers. But here’s the trick: you have to get on the first page of search results for relevant terms, because 75% of people never scroll past the first page.4 The algorithm that ranks websites considers hundreds of factors, but choosing the right keywords, populating your site with high-quality content, and building a ton of good links pointing to your site – in other words, optimizing your site for search engines – will help enormously. So too will reviews: Google considers third-party reviews and ratings as a factor in search ranking.
6. Focus on local SEO, if appropriate.
If your ideal target customer is local to your geographic region, you will definitely want to focus on local SEO. The same basic ranking algorithm is at play for local searches, but Google weighs the various factors a little differently. Reviews, for example, play a much stronger role.
7. Advertise with Google.
An SEO program can take time to reach fruition. In the meantime, businesses can guarantee that they will show up at the top of search results – which is critical for that awareness stage of the customer sales funnel – by paying for placement. This is called “search engine advertising” or “pay per click advertising.” This means that your business bids against others for placement in a top-of-page space whenever a prospective customer searches for a chosen keyword. Search advertising demands a constant influx of money, but it can be a powerful way of getting eyes on your site.
8. Create compelling content.
Content is the foundation upon which online success rests. The quality and extent of content on your site plays a huge role in Google’s ranking algorithm. Thus, content is also the fulcrum in any “inbound marketing” campaign. In other words, instead of putting yourself out there in front of customers, as with advertising, good content exerts its own gravitational force, pulling customers to your website. Content is also a fantastic way to showcase your knowledgeability and the ways in which your merchant services business can help potential customers.
Reviews & User-Generated Content
9. Let your users sell you: encourage user-generated content.
In the modern, cynical world, most customers are wary of the promises they read online. Building trust is critical, and that means your client acquisition strategies need to incorporate trust-building elements. The single best way is to use existing customers to do your selling for you. Through user-generated content (like reviews) prospective clients can gain confidence that the results you have achieved for others, you can also achieve for them.
10. Get listed in directories and review sites.
Directory and third-party review sites play a multilayered role in client acquisition. First, they’re important for SEO. Google looks at third-party “citations” that point back to your website to determine if your site is credible and popular. It similarly considers reviews and review ratings of your business, particularly for local search results. But it’s not just Google who cares; many prospective customers use directories and review sites for both discovery (awareness and evaluation) and due diligence (research) when looking for potential vendors. Note: visibility on these sites is critical. Think of them like mini- Googles. If your listing is too low and they never see you, you might as well be invisible. Additionally, make sure your listing appears under all applicable categories, e.g., not just “Best Credit Card Processing Companies,” but also “Best Point of Sale Systems” or “Best Chargeback Prevention Companies” or any other category that fits your offerings. Fortunately, most of these sites often options for promoting your business listing.
11. Actively manage review process.
Do not leave customer reviews to chance. An unmanaged review process invites more negative reviews, because upset customers are the most likely group to be willing to take the time and energy to leave a review. Instead, proactively solicit reviews from happy and satisfied customers; in fact, set up a request process that’s integrated into your normal workflow where you ask for reviews at specific points (e.g., after they’ve been using your payment processing service for a certain period of time). Then, actively respond to reviews that are left about your service.
12. Turn reviews into testimonials and case studies.
To squeeze more value out of customer reviews and similar user-generated content and make them do double duty, turn them into other forms of content – with customer permission, of course! Your strongest reviews and most enthusiastic customer statements can serve as the basis of formal testimonials and potentially even full on case studies. This content creates a portfolio of experience and achievement and certifies that your business can generate positive business outcomes.
13. Turn customer feedback into service improvements.
Don’t be afraid to face critical comments head on. Negative feedback from customers can fuel service or process improvements that can help you do better business down the road. That will mean happier customers, better reviews, and better overall outcomes.
14. Deploy other trust factors too.
We mentioned in #9 above that reviews serve as a “trust factor” that can make potential clients more confident about doing business with you, but reviews aren’t the only form of “social proof.” If you want prospective clients to trust you, lay out all the proof you can: endorsements, awards, certifications, badges, client lists, milestones, association memberships, etc.
Conversion Optimization
15. Optimize your website and marketing campaigns for conversions.
Don’t neglect the final stage of your customer sales funnel: conversion. Specifically, you want to optimize your conversion rates. For example, a poorly designed website – maybe it’s not clear how to get in touch with you – will see fewer conversions than a website that makes everything easy and simple for the customer. Fixing such problems “optimizes” your ability to convert leads into customers. Trust factors (see the “Reviews and User-Generated Content” section above) can have a huge impact on conversions. For example, improving your review rating by even just 0.2 stars (i.e., from 3.5 to 3.7 stars) can increase conversions by 120%!5
16. Use micro-conversions to facilitate bigger conversions.
The final conversion – signing on the dotted line – is a big ask. You can ease customers into it, and simultaneously get them more invested in your services, by using “micro- conversions.” These are incremental steps that create a flow that carries the customer from the start of the process to the end. They also help the customer feel more comfortable. If they’ve already said “yes” to a small request, they’re more likely to agree to bigger requests. So, start the customer acquisition process with micro-conversions that are easy (e.g., downloading a document).
17. Improve lead quality.
Another way to make lead acquisition easier is to improve the quality of the leads gained in the first place. By weeding out leads that are not a good fit, your organization can reduce the time, effort, and expense wasted on leads that were never going to go anywhere anyways. For example, use very targeted keywords in your search engine optimization campaign that can capture “buying intent,” so you can weed out the tire- kickers not interested in actually signing up.
18. Make everything mobile friendly.
Over half of people use mobile devices for online searches now. As a result, Google considers the mobile friendliness of a website in its search ranking algorithm. Mobile friendliness can also help you to increase online conversions rate by 5% or more.6 Indeed, because so many people access web content today on mobile devices, if you are not mobile friendly, you will almost certainly lose conversions. To check how mobile friendly your site is, visit Google’s mobile-friendly test. Mobile friendliness also applies to reviews: customers are simply more likely to leave reviews, if they can do so from their mobile devices.
19. Test everything constantly.
The best way to generate continuous improvements over time in your lead acquisition and conversion process is to test every element through A/B testing. Here, you present two variations – different headlines, different images, different content, different colors, different layout, etc. – and identify which variation performs better. You then test the winner against a new variation. Over time, this A/B testing pushes success rates higher and higher. Your review management process should also be subject to ongoing testing, from the way that you ask for reviews to the way that you respond to them. This is the best way to drive higher review scores.
Other Tactics
20. Follow up with leads.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many organizations let leads go stale. This imposes a major opportunity cost, because most likely you will never see those leads again. Letting leads fall off will immediately reduce your overall client acquisition success rate. Instead, make sure you use a system or process that flags every lead for future action.
21. Cultivate referrals and set up a referral request process.
A particular challenge for payment processors and merchant services vendors is that many customers who would be a good fit won’t actually go looking for you unless they are actively unhappy with their current provider. Asking for referrals can bypass that problem by getting happy customers to put you in touch with peers and colleagues.
22. Use email marketing.
Email marketing is an extremely effective way of getting in front of customers, particularly when using “drip” campaigns that include a series of sequential emails sent out over a period of time. With multiple touchpoints, the response rate increases over time. If you deliver useful information that supports sales claims, email marketing can further bolster customer confidence in you.
23. Build a reputable, recognizable brand.
Over time, your firm will develop a reputation in the marketplace. That’s great as long as it’s the right reputation. Put some effort into your branding, and tailor your branding to your ideal target audience. For example, if you want to work with high-end retailers, you might want to develop a different image than if you’re focusing on mom-and-pop shops.
24. Always emphasize benefits, not features.
Almost any organization can describe what they do, but many of them falter at describing what they do for the customers. Often, financial services business don’t even have a clear idea of how their customer benefits. They can report performance numbers, but they don’t know how those numbers translate into better results for the customer. That’s the question to answer.
25. Ask for help: all kinds of third-party resources stand ready to assist.
Last, but definitely not least, here’s the good news: you’re not in this alone! All sorts of services, tools, and vendors stand ready to help facilitate your success as a payment processor. A lot of the steps described in this paper require their own expertise to execute effectively. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Whether you’re just seeking guidance and advice or a service to handle the whole process for you, organizations and people who really know what they’re doing can make all the difference. Topcreditcardprocessors. com, for example, knows reviews inside and out; just reach out for help!
References
1 https://searchengineland.com/quality-raters-handbook-your-money-or-your-life-177663
2 https://research.hubspot.com/reports/the-future-of-content-marketing
3 https://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-stats-to-justify-seo/36762/
4 https://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/inbound-marketing-stats
5 https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2019/10/23/roi-of-improving-online-reviews-0-1-stars-can-boostconversion-25/
6 https://neilpatel.com/blog/the-anatomy-of-a-mobile-landing-page-that-converts-like-crazy/
