May 8, 2023

Leverage your Payment Data to Excel at Customer Experience

Check out this blog post if you're interested in learning how payment data can be a game changer for improving customer experience!

Leveraging payment data can be a game changer when it comes to taking your customer success to the next level. In our last blog, we highlighted 5 reasons you should build customer profiles. Spoiler - they’re all tied to bettering your customer experience. If you’re already convinced that knowing your customers leads to great customer success and ready to learn how payment data can help you, keep reading!  

As a SaaS processing transactions, you have a unique advantage because you can analyze the end-user payment data to create a better software experience and to educate/add value  to your direct customer base. 

By analyzing data related to your customers' average transaction size, preferred payment methods, most used features and cross-referencing  those findings with territories and verticals, you will gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and behavior.

Payment Methods

There are a wide range of payment methods available from traditional methods like cash and check, to modern methods such as mobile payments, digital wallets and peer-to-peer. The availability of payment methods will vary depending on the type of business, its location, as well as end-user preference. For example, most countries in Europe process 80% of their online payments using debit cards; whereas in North America it’s the opposite and 80% is credit cards. This means that if you’re expanding to new markets, you’ll need to revise pricing strategies to fit each territory. 

Similarly, demographics have a significant influence on payment methods, such as age, income, education, cultural background and again location. The ability to collect and understand payment method data will ensure that you're offering the right payment features to your customers. It will also allow you to create data-driven pricing strategies and provide additional tools to your customer success team.

Payment amounts

Average transaction size is arguably one of the most important payment metrics; it can be an indicator of business performance, as well as provide insights into customer behavior and spending power. If you’re tracking both online and offline transactions, then this is THE METRIC you want to look at to understand differences in behavior and determine conversion strategies. For instance, if your offline transaction size is significantly higher than your online transaction size, you may want to investigate product features such as installment plans or less expensive online payment methods such as ACH and bank transfer.

By understanding your end-user's average transaction size you can develop more effective strategies to improve customer experience by tailoring your products and services to meet their needs and therefore drive growth on all levels.

Payment disputes/refunds: 

If you’re in an industry with a high percentage of disputes and refunds, monitoring this metric is crucial for fraud protection, compliance and business reputation. Even if your industry has a lower percentage of disputes and refunds, handling them properly will impact customer satisfaction. We’ve all experienced a time when a refund was an absolute disaster and I can guarantee that we remember those over all the times we experienced an easy purchase. By understanding the reasons and processes to follow for disputes and refunds, your customers can take the appropriate actions to resolve the issue and ensure their customers are happy.

Payment acceptance rate: 

This metric measures the percentage of payment transactions that are successfully processed. Payment acceptance rates can vary depending on the industry, payment methods and business model. For e-commerce the average payment acceptance rate is 85% - compared to in-store transactions which are closer to 97%. Having a low payment acceptance rate can translate into a poor checkout experience, frustrated end-users, an increase in churn and a loss of revenue. 

Ideally, you should track your payment acceptance rate over time and benchmark it against industry standards to identify areas of improvement and optimize payment processes. If you find your acceptance rates are declining or not where they should be, here are a few things you can do: 

  • Automated card updating services
  • Automated instant retries
  • Optimize fraud prevention measures
  • Monitor declined transactions

Understanding payment data is an essential aspect of improving customer experience for B2B SaaS. By analyzing these payment metrics you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ needs, preferences and behavior. You can use this information to develop more effective strategies to improve customer experience, drive growth and optimize payment processes. 

Ready to unlock your payment potential? Start your analysis today!

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