Offering finance for customers of small businesses can quickly yield numerous tangible advantages in a crowded and competitive marketplace. In this quick guide from the Duologi team, we’ll summarise the most immediate and impactful benefits of giving small business customers access to a range of flexible payment solutions.

The benefits of offering finance options to customers of small businesses

Hassle-free consumer finance can be a very powerful tool for small business growth – and, once you understand its main benefits, it’s easy to see the obvious impact of versatile payment solutions on both buyers and sellers alike.

1. Increased sales

How exactly does offering finance for customers of small businesses help drive increased sales? In a nutshell, by empowering the buyer.

First and foremost, giving buyers the option to spread repayments over a longer period can make certain ‘big ticket’ purchases feasible, when they might otherwise have seemed out of reach as an intimidating one-off expense.

Moreover, the option to buy on finance can quickly help increase your customers’ AOV, or average order value. Buyers with the ability to defer full payment will typically be much more confident in terms of making multiple purchases at once, as well as more open to consideration of upselling options or additional combination deals.

One of the most immediate effects of offering consumer finance is a significantly reduced rate of basket abandonment, at both online and physical points of sale. Again, this is all about buyer confidence – finance empowers customers to make bolder purchasing decisions, knowing they’re doing so with the full backing of a robust and practical payment plan.

2. Better rates of customer retention

Attracting new buyers is absolutely fundamental to long-term growth, of course. However, as all small business owners know, an existing loyal customer base is one of the single greatest assets for a growing brand to build on. Offering a range of no-fuss financing solutions is a very effective way to keep valued clients coming back to your company.

Again, knowing they have the option to stagger larger payments will immediately empower your buyers in ways that one-off charges often don’t – it instills a genuine sense of confidence in the customer, helping them feel more at ease and in control when deciding to spend money with your small business.

Giving your customers a positive experience of consumer finance is arguably the most powerful driver in encouraging them to make use of similar facilities in future. Simply put, if buying from you makes them feel good, they’re very likely to want to do it again.

3. Improved perception of your business/brand

It goes without saying that, for any small business, image is crucially important. Customer finance packages can help boost perception of your brand in various powerful ways.

Being able to offer flexible payment options helps build an image of your company as a highly professional and well-run operation from a buyer’s perspective. Many customers automatically associate financing options with bigger high street names – as a small business, providing similar services can immediately boost buyer confidence at the consideration stage, making them far more likely to choose you over a competitor.

Helping customers feel empowered and confident during more ambitious purchases tends to leave a lasting impression: one of high quality service, and a positive overall buyer experience. This is highly likely to result in repeat business, enabling you to build lasting relationships with loyal clients, while also steering new customers to you through word-of-mouth recommendation.

4. Ease of setup and no impact on cash flow

Duologi is a tech-savvy, people-first team of financial experts, software developers and marketing specialists that aims to make life as easy as possible for our business clients and their customers. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

We handle all ongoing customer payment agreements directly on your behalf, while your company continues to receive payment for products or services upfront and in full.

This means that normal cash flow into your small business isn’t affected at all when you choose to offer finance through us, and you’re not lumbered with any additional admin as a result.

Whether your growing company primarily deals in retail goods or client services, our versatile range of consumer finance solutions are custom designed to fit seamlessly in with your existing business models and point-of-sale platforms.

Moreover, we’re here to fully support your company’s move into flexible customer finance, backing you up with effective online and point-of-sale marketing materials to help you highlight the benefits of your offer for both current and prospective buyers.

If you’d like to learn more about Duologi customer finance options for small businesses, please feel free to get in touch for a chat about your goals, your brand, and the needs of your buyers.

Alternatively, click through to our downloadable Think Forward article for a fuller introduction to the Duologi team, our unique philosophies towards enabling small business growth, and our firm belief that planning ahead should always be at the forefront of any sensible consumer finance approach.