• Ronan Gallagher, Head of Omnichannel at Trust Payments


• 16.05.2022 11:00 am
#payments

SMEs are part of a fast-changing and an extremely competitive landscape. They constantly need to innovate to stay ahead of the curve and provide a differentiated offering, which can make a significant impact. 

In order to upgrade, digitalisation is essential. Customers are looking for the most seamless and user-friendly experiences when choosing what products or services they pay for. Although payments are the last step in a customer’s journey, it is the most important. 

While digitising payments and transactions are seemingly a small step, it can be the crucial factor that helps SMEs stay relevant and have a competitive advantage.

Budget barriers

With tight constraints around investment, SMEs need to keep in mind that they don’t have to provide every payment option, instead the right mix of choices that suits their business needs and customer preferences is the best practice. 

A unified payment system helps a business understand its sales and inventory, reducing management time. Multiple and integrated payment options drive a smooth, secure and consistent experience that can increase sales as well as improve retention of customers. 

A seamless payment experience

 An omnichannel payment process serves as a point of data collection, helping SMEs better understand their customers,their journeys and recognise their pain points. 

One of the most notable benefits of a seamless and integrated payment system is that it allows for real-time data synchronisation. This helps SMEs track and update changes between systems as they happen. 

Whether it is building better offerings, integrating more cutting-edge tech or offering discounts and coupons based on customer patterns- data enables it all. 

Converged Commerce™ 

The main aim of any commercial tech used by SMEs is to make functions easier and more efficient. SMEs are prone to constant change and so the tech they use needs to be future-proof.

An emerging commerce concept at play here is Converged Commerce™. Born out of the idea that cohesive solutions will improve customer journeys and how business will run in the future. 

By connecting multichannel data, SMEs gain rich insight to deliver memorable, personalised and consistent customer experiences. 

The future of payments for SMEs

Customers are looking for the most efficient and easiest way to complete their purchases. They want integrated payment options and will pay however and whenever they want to. Incorporating these choices are crucial in today’s market that is consumer-driven. 

Investing in the right tech and building the necessary infrastructure can help SMEs build hyper-personalised experiences. If SMEs want greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, they must maximise the technology available or risk being left behind.