Blog

Offering alternative payment options is a smart move for any business using a subscription billing platform. Providing more than one method of subscription payment is beneficial for a number of reasons. First, it gives customers more choices. Second, it can reduce churn. In addition, as alternative payments begin to increase in popularity, customers will be frustrated when you don't offer their method of choice.

"A growing number of customers prefer alternative payments."

Give customers what they want
Alternative payments are expected to grow significantly over the new few years. According to a survey from WorldPay, by 2017, 59 percent of payments will be made using alternative methods, while traditional card use will dip to 41 percent. Currently, 57 percent of transactions are made with cards. To maximize their potential, companies should work with a subscription billing partner that will allow them to accept alternative payments like PayPal, Amazon Payments and others.

A growing number of customers prefer to use these alternative services rather than enter their credit card information or save their info on each site they frequent. Many consumers believe these services to be safer than traditional methods, and they are often more convenient. Either way, failing to provide customers' preferred payment method could be a quick way to lose them before you even begin to develop a relationship.

Make sure transactions go through
There are other reasons to consider payment alternatives as well. It's always possible that a customer's first choice of payment method won't go through when they're initially signing up for a service. This too can be a frustrating experience, and one that may result in a lost customer. Rather than losing these customers forever, you can encourage them to try a different method such as linking their Google Checkout account. If this second method works, they can be up and running on your platform in no time.

As a follow up to this approach, you can also incorporate re-try logic as a backup in your subscription billing plan. Once customers are using the product, you don't want the unnecessary churn that can result from a declined payment. The right subscription billing platform will provide the ability to run the transaction again to ensure seamless service.

Consider multiple subscription plans
Just as customers want choices when it comes to payment method, they also want options for their payment plan. All customers are unique and have different situations for using your product. Rather than offer a one-size-fits-all plan, it's a good idea to give consumers a few choices for how to engage with your brand. It might be a good idea to offer several tiers of service so users can find a solution that best fits their needs and budget.

To keep subscribers engaged once they've become customers, companies should also send out promotions to encourage users to try out new features and upgrade their accounts. This requires a subscription billing platform that provides insight into user behavior and allows you to quickly and easily create promotions to send out to customers.

Above all, it's crucial to provide options for customers to allow them to work with your brand in a way that's most comfortable to them.