At PayFrog, we are passionate about providing businesses of all shapes and sizes with affordable and easy-to-use credit card processing systems and POS systems. We want to make sure that your online store, small business, or even franchise business has all of the tools and necessary knowledge to conduct business stress-free. We understand the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and we recognize that between the increased traffic, seasonal employees, and all of your holiday promotions, you should not have to worry about if your credit card system or POS will work properly. Below, you will find a detailed checklist that we have developed to help you navigate the holiday season and implement much-needed payment processing measures.
1. Mobile Payment Processing
In the 21st century, having the ability to charge customers anywhere in your store is extremely beneficial. Ensuring that your payment processing system is mobile will allow your employees to move freely throughout the store and help customers more efficiently and dynamically. Rather than waiting in line, they can be processed throughout the store. This is especially helpful to assist in following Covid-19 guidelines and standards. Having mobile payment processing will allow your employees and customers to spread out and maintain a safe distance.
2. Marketing Plan
Although we are sure that you have already developed a marketing plan, we find it important to note that the marketing plan should be clearly drawn up prior to the season. Ensure that everyone in your organization is clear on the plan and what sales or promotions will support the plan. After doing so, make clear steps on how to integrate the plan with your new payment processing system.
Email Marketing
In addition to your general marketing plan, have a clear email marketing plan that is integrated into your payment processing system. At the end of the day, the holiday season will bring in more foot traffic and a more chaotic atmosphere. If your email marketing plan is already integrated into your system, you will have an easy way to communicate with customers, track purchases and returns, and make transactions efficient.
3. Gift Card Incentives
During the holidays, gift cards are one of the most popular and versatile gifts. Studies show that gift cards actually influence shoppers to spend more i.e. most shoppers will spend more than the value of the gift card. This powerful tool can easily be implemented into your payment processing system. Additionally, any gift card promotion has the potential to boost your post-holiday sales.
4. Online Sales Reports
Data collection is essential and can be used to understand how to better serve your customers. Collect as much data as possible regarding sales trends. For example, if data was collected over a holiday season, you may notice that a specific region or store sells a specific product better than others. After the holidays, you can investigate why and make improvements to other areas.
5. Inventory Tracking Online
In addition to tracking your online sales trends, make sure to integrate a sophisticated inventory tracker. This will alleviate some of the pressure of inventory predictions. Rather than guessing how many widgets to order for next month, you can use data to make an educated decision. Additionally, you can set up alerts to notify you when you need to place an order for a specific item.
6. Cohesive Online And Instore Shopping
One of the most critical things that you can do to ensure a smooth and easy experience for all of your customers is to provide a cohesive payment processing system between your online and brick-and-mortar stores. Having a similar process between these two store types will make the customer’s experience easier overall.
7. How To Use A POS System
Whether you will be installing a brand new system before the holiday or revamping your current one, fully understanding how the system works and its functions will make your life so much easier. Managers may need to provide authorization for certain functions. Most commonly, the owner or manager of the store will not be the one using the POS system, therefore, you will need to train all of your employees and managers to use the system and all of its functions.
8. Employees Schedules
A quintessential portion of your holiday campaign is your employees. Without your employees, you would not be able to run your amazing business. During the busy season, make sure that you have developed a detailed schedule up to eight weeks before. It is also important to consider if you will need extra seasonal help and hire accordingly.
9. Fraud Prevention Credit Card
Fraud prevention is a key factor for protecting you and your business. Learn why fraud is a problem and how to prevent it. Fraud can come in many different types and affect your business in different ways. You could experience chargeback fraud, account takeover, or even inception fraud. Fraud puts you and your customers at risk, making your company less trustworthy. Make sure to implement all fraud preventative measures if possible.
10. Promotion Testing
Testing your promotions, both online and in-store is a great way to make sure all of your promotions run smoothly. Run a test on your website to make sure your promo codes operate as they should and with the specific parameters you have put in place. In the store, have employees test the POS system with the specific promotion parameters and items. Once you know that everything is running smoothly you will be ready for the season.
If you are installing a new system, leave enough time to test the hardware in the store. Make sure normal and promotional transactions are running according to plan.
11. Fail-Safe Plan
A fail-safe or emergency plan will ensure that your business can continue running smoothly. In the event of a power outage or system failure, having a backup system for charging customers will ensure that you can keep your business running and customers happy.
12. PCI & EMV Compliance
Making sure that your business is PCI and EMV compliant is very important. This is typically integrated within a good payment processing system. Essentially, they protect your consumers from credit card theft and you from any liability issues.
Credit Card Processing | PayFrog
At PayFrog we are passionate about providing everyone – both businesses and customers – with a reliable and efficient processing system. We want to make sure that your business runs smoothly and that your customers are happy. If you are interested in a payment processing system that provides all of this and more, call PayFrog today!
