Shopping behavior is picking up just in time for the holiday season and many executives are pushing to get B2B transactions in before the new year. Yes, the tail end of Q4 is can be chaotic, so you need to be prepared and stay organized.
Along with the increase in shopping behavior, there’s unfortunately, an increase in chargebacks. As a smart business owner, you don’t want to allow your finances to falter during the craziness of the holiday season. You’ll want to spend some time away from the office with your friends and family, so it’s crucial you prepare.
Of course, if you’re ever too busy to take on a new project or are feeling unsure of yourself, I recommend seeking expert help. At my company, Richmond Financial Services, I help business owners in the home heating and fuels industry drive down payment processing costs. I’ve helped hundreds of business owners like you save time and money.
Here are some things to be mindful of this holiday season:
1) Be aware of fraud
Fraudsters are out and about more than ever this holiday season, so it’s important to stay on high alert. If you do suspect a transaction with a customer is fraudulent, we suggest running a verification checklist.
Don’t be afraid to ask the customer for identification, and verify that their signature looks the same as it does on their credit card. When in doubt, get on the phone and make sure an actual customer picks up instead of a robot.
2) Enhance your customer service offerings
Customers tend to be more emotional during the holiday season, especially for those trying to make quotas in the ever-stressful home heating and fuels industry. That’s why it’s so important to enhance your customer service offerings during this stressful time.
If you have a customer service team, I recommend training them in how to talk to customers about chargebacks during this time. That way if you’re out of the office, you won’t have to worry about fraudulent activity.
3) Double-check that AVS is installed
AVS (address verification services) automatically check to make sure a customer is who they say they are. It automatically pulls the customer’s credit card brand and the issuing bank, and compares the address stored on file. You’ll never have to do this tedious work again! The issuer then sends an authorization status and gives a transaction the green light.
We hope you found this article helpful! Don’t forget to reach out to the Richmond Financial Services team for more help.
