BY MARCI GAGNON
Energy Marketers understand the importance of maintaining and receiving exceptional service , starting with excellent customer service , which creates value to your company while helping to retain customers . An essential part of enabling customers to receive the best initial first impression is not only offering payment methods they are familiar and comfortable with , but also having those methods work seamlessly . That ' s why you need to choose the right payments service provider for your business . In other words , it means selecting a provider that delivers an effective and efficient service to support you , so in turn , you support your customers ' wants and demands .
YOU DESERVE THE SAME CUSTOMER SUPPORT YOU GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS .
With new available technology and industry consolidation make sure you select a payment partner with a fully-staffed support team of technical experts who can answer all your questions and fulfill requests . It would help if you also didn ' t have to talk to a robot . Nor should you have to hold for too long to speak to a customer service representative . Do you know who to contact should you have a question or how to get in touch with them ? Your inquiries and concerns should be met with a high degree of urgency and resolved quickly and painlessly . Because your business matters .
GO WITH A PAYMENTS PROVIDER WHO IS KNOWLEDGE- ABLE IN ENERGY .
Energy Marketers qualify for specific programs and rates from the Card Brands . The Heat Curve and changing product prices are challenging to Marketers themselves AND also to the companies that accept your payments . This means that large prebuys , higher than normal ACH amounts , and any fluctuation in your business could cause problems for payment companies unfamiliar with the Energy space .
You deserve a payments provider who is willing to demonstrate right from the very beginning that they are familiar with Energy payments and are 100 % prepared to do what they can to help you and your business . That starts with the application process itself . Make sure your needs are addressed first and foremost as soon as you sign-up for an account . Request a statement analysis to discover exactly what you are paying and for what . This analysis should be free and come with no obligations . It may entail a cost comparison using your current statements and an audit of the interchange rates you are paying . But through this process , you
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Customer Support : Dealers Deserve It , Too
should be able to learn not only what you will be paying but also that you are qualifying for the best rate possible for your business .
The attention and care you receive at the very beginning of your relationship with your payments provider often says a lot about how you will be conducting business in the months and , hopefully , years to come . This is the exact time to find out whether the payments provider you select has what it takes to meet your specific business requirements both now and in the future .
LOOK FOR A FULLY-INTEGRATED PAYMENTS PROVIDER .
It takes many moving parts to make credit card purchases possible . One of the significant advantages of using a payments provider that integrates most aspects of the payments process is quickly pinpointing an issue or problem and then developing and implementing a solution . This not only saves you time , but it also helps save potential lost sales . What ' s more , it reduces the extra cost of involving multiple vendors in analyzing what may be wrong and fixing it . A payments provider who is there for you with fast answers is an essential aspect of the quality customer service you want .
KEEPING YOU INFORMED AND UP-TO-DATE IS GOOD SER- VICE TOO .
Your payment provider should offer you valuable resources to help you get the most out of your payments system . This includes email updates from the provider about improvements to their platform or the introduction of new rules from the credit card industry that will affect how you process payments and the fees you may pay . See too if the payments provider has an online resource center to look up and answer questions you have about payments . Your payment partner should be going above and beyond for you so you can go above and beyond for your customers .
In the end , you want a payments partner that is totally in your corner . That gives you the time and energy to be totally in your customer ' s corner . l FON
Marci Gagnon is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Qualpay and has been in the payments industry for over 15 years with a concentration on recurring billing and the Energy space . Qualpay provides processing solutions to fuel delivery and service businesses with tools designed to provide real-time reconciliation and cost reduction . For additional information contact Marci Gagnon at marci @ qualpay . com or visit https :// www . qualpay . com / industry / utility-and-energy