By Pedro Dias Marques, Product Marketing Analyst
When dealing with e-commerce businesses, you will have to train your prospective client about your product/service as well as about your checkout page, as it is here that visitors become shoppers. In order to increase the conversions and sales, it is essential is to clarify the payment process for online customers.
Marketing can be an important ally in this clarification process by showcasing/promoting the available local payments during your checkout. This will help you to build more confidence with your customer base and reach previously untapped clients such as the unbanked population in LATAM.
When you start to accept local payments within your checkout, it is important that you communicate this piece of news to your target audience (existing client base and potential newcomers). Therefore, Marketing plays a key role in the assurance of a successful acknowledgment of such initiatives.
Besides a simple news update on your corporate website regarding the inclusion of alternative payments, your company should also consider sending a press release to inform the respective market and/or an e-mail/newsletter to notify the current consumer base. According to the “The Future of Digital Communication“, 74% of the people choose the email as their preferred communication method for companies to interact with, therefore, this kind of B2C communication strategy should be considered.
Another solution is to use your B2C social networks (such as Facebook and Instagram) to your advantage, publishing advertising banners which also mention the most popular local payment options available during your checkout. In the case of the game industry you can also try to reach out a YouTube influencer in order to educate your audience about the matter. If you have a forum or a Reddit page, make sure that the subject is being well discussed among the users and, with the help of a community manager, try to clarify any questions which may arise.
Local alternative payments are connected with e-commerce and take into consideration the respective domestic economy. As it is stated by the Cross-border eCommerce Community, these type of payments “are operated by local banks and processed in local currencies, have their own unique application and settlement following country regulations”.
Considering the low level of penetration of bank accounts and credit/debit cards in the LATAM market, the success of your international enterprise will hinge on the availability of local payment methods, such as Boleto Bancário in Brazil, PagoEfectivo in Peru and Redpagos in Uruguay.
There are also two other major problems: the majority of credit cards cannot process international payments in Latin America and in some countries (such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile or Uruguay) it is expected the payment in installments when choosing online credit/debit card options.
Considering all these factors and the fact that LATAM is still an unbanked territory, it is therefore important to make sure that your online checkout showcases all of your customers’ favorite payment methods, especially the so called alternative options. Partnering with a payment provider such as BoaCompra allows companies to access expanding markets through monetization systems that cover the most popular local payments.
“Alternative Payments”. Copyright. December 10, 2018.
<http://www.crossborder-ecommerce.com/alternative-payments/>
Mann, Jr., Joseph. “Reaching the Unbanked”. Copyright. December 10, 2018.
<http://latintrade.com/reaching-the-unbanked-400-million-potential-customers-are-still-waiting-for-a-bank-to-find-them/>
Patel, Neil. “9 Ways to Make the Payment Process Easy for Online Customers”. Copyright. December 10, 2018.
<https://neilpatel.com/blog/easy-payment-process/>
Stadille, Ashley. “Why Consumers Prefer B2C Emails Over Other B2C Digital Communications”. Copyright 2017. December 10, 2018.
<https://sendgrid.com/blog/why-consumers-prefer-b2c-emails-over-other-b2c-digital-communications/>
Vazquez, Fernando. “How alternative payment methods can help your business in LATAM”. Copyright 2018. December 10, 2018.
<https://boacompra.com/en/blog/how-alternative-payment-methods-can-help-your-business-in-latam>
Vazquez, Fernando. “The Future of Payments in Latin America”. Copyright 2018. December 10, 2018.
<https://boacompra.com/en/blog/the-future-of-payments-in-latin-america>