Quickly adapt your business to sell remotely

Last summer, experts predicted that global ecommerce sales would increase by 16% in 2020. Of course, they were not able to predict COVID-19 crisis and the impact it would have on consumer behaviour. A new stay at home economy has emerged as businesses embrace digital sales channels to meet evolving consumer needs.

Months after many countries implemented social distancing measures to curb the spread of the virus, COVID-19 is still creating new challenges for businesses on an almost daily basis. Adapting quickly is the key to success. There are some best practices for serving customers remotely while keeping your employees safe and payments secure.  These will help businesses thrive during these uncertain times as businesses determine how to reopen, and consumers decide whether they feel comfortable going to brick and mortar stores.  

Create payment links for easy online payments

A Pay by Link system enables you to create online payment links easily, ensuring payments are carried out securely. Managing payments from customers becomes incredibly simple and these links can be implemented with very little development and integration work.

There are different Pay by Link capabilities to be aware of. You can either set up links manually to create one-off payment pages for specific transactions or you can create links automatically where your system pings a Checkout API with payment details. These can include country, currency, amount, and link expiration date. Once you have a payment link it can be embedded in whichever communication channel you choose.

Creating one-off links, can help to limit mistakes as well as track and reward sales teams if you have a commissions-based reward system. Multi-use links can be shared to multiple customers via a newsletter or social media post for easier distribution.

With the Pay by Link system it’s possible to turn your existing website into a webshop quickly through a hosted checkout page. This is a fast way to accept payments if you do not want to host your own payment platform. The page is branded to match your site and has all the functionality you need including built-in risk checks and secure authentication. You can also display a targeted mix of payment methods based on the customer’s location.

Sell directly via email or chat

If you previously relied on the personal touch, you could use email or live chat to continue to deliver personalised assistance to your customers, helping to build and maintain loyal relationships. From there, payments can be carried out securely with a payment link that's pasted into the email or chat thread.

Keep your call centre running remotely

While a call can be taken from anywhere, payments require a secure environment to capture details in a compliant way. It’s important to bear in mind that fraudsters may target remote call centres where unsupervised transactions can be vulnerable. But, by issuing the customer with a payment link, the payment becomes an ecommerce transaction, protecting it through your online risk settings, which should include secure customer authentication where necessary.

Notes on fraud and security

To eliminate any worry from the customer it is always a good idea to inform customers that they'll be directed to an externally hosted page at the earliest appropriate stage, this external host should display a secure padlock in the URL. Also, be clear with customers that you will never issue a payment link without advising them first. This will help protect them and your business from phishing attempts. If a customer is unsure about a payment link, they should call you before continuing.

Final Thought

Technology is a powerful tool as you adjust to the new way of shopping. Solutions like Pay by Link allow you to pivot fast, opening new sales channels with very little integration work. And, during these unpredictable times, technology will keep you agile, helping you adapt as market conditions and consumer needs change.

But it’s important to remember that, although change is happening fast, we’re not seeing anything new, simply an acceleration of existing trends. Shoppers expect to be able to buy online, via an app and, increasingly, directly from their social feed. Each channel plays a critical role in the buyer journey and, in fact, the more channels a shopper uses, the higher value they are to your business. The current upheaval presents a golden opportunity for businesses to establish themselves as unified commerce brands. And the right tech partners will be critical to ensuring you’re always one step ahead.