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Merchant Services for Subscription Businesses
Many companies question whether or not they should invest in merchant services. While it is true that there are some remaining situations in which the ability to process credit card transactions is not critical, those are few and far between today. It is especially important that businesses which involve subscriptions or necessitate recurring payments have a reliable merchant account for these purposes. Otherwise, they are setting themselves up for cancellations, lost time, and of course, countless lost revenue.
Just a few organizations that can involve recurrent billing:
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Magazine subscriptions
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Membership and professional organizations
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Website communities and online forums
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Non-profits accepting donations or sponsorships
Magazines
Allowing customers to pay for a magazine subscription and place their credit cards on file for future renewals is a very good way to maintain subscribers and promote repeat sales. Many times, people will sign up for a magazine, start receiving it and enjoy it very much, only to let it expire and disappear. No matter how many notices or solicitations are sent, the best way to guarantee a renewal is to give new customers the option of an automatic one when they first sign up.
Membership Organizations
Trade associations, clubs, and other dues-collecting organizations can easily boost profits and retain members by accepting credit card payments from their associates. Why waste time sending reminders, hoping that your members will pay their dues, and waiting around for those payments to come in? Keeping their cards on file and billing them as needed will keep them active and involved, maximizing the amount of time you can concentrate on the organization's more important pursuits rather than on retention.
Website Communities & Forums
Adult web sites and other online communities often charge visitors either for access to certain areas or for certain privileges on the site (advertising within signatures, custom avatars, etc). These sites can be time consuming to maintain in the first place, and webmasters usually do not have time to comb through expired subscriptions in order to woo members back into the site or community. Being able to set up automatic weekly, monthly, or yearly billing is the most efficient and effective way to keep visitors coming back – and paying for the services you provide.
Non-Profit Organizations
We all know how much non-profits can struggle to keep their finances in the black. Many times, these groups find it best to encourage their supporters to become recurrent donors, pledging a specific amount per month rather than seeking individual donations throughout the year. While it is still common for donors to pay with checks, it can be especially beneficial for non-profits to accept credit cards instead.
Of course, there are other businesses that benefit from credit card processing for subscriptions as well. Regardless of your product, service, or billing method, card acceptance is always a good way to boost sales and retain clients!
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