Efficient online payment portals are essential within the construction industry. One bad customer experience (CX) can seriously impact your bottom line and your brand’s reputation. This is why seamless digital payment options have become integral to the modern customer journey. But how can you improve them?
What is CX?
It’s important to understand that CX and UX are different. Although they share various similarities, User Experience (UX) concentrates on customers’ interactions and experiences with a specific product or service. Customer Experience (CX) covers the customer journey and the user’s relationship with the brand.
From customer service calls to observing ads to paying invoices (and more!), CX goes beyond usability. It delves deep into customer interactions with customer support, marketing, and construction sales teams to make the process as easy as possible for everyone involved.
Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, should be considered when optimizing the payment process alongside desktop and tablet. Typically faster than traditional websites, mobile applications streamline the process for quicker transactions for your customers. Even better, you retain more loyal customers, increase referrals and sales, and remain competitive in the marketplace. More on this later.
Improving CX Through Construction Payment Process Optimization
Here are ten effective ways to unify and enhance the payment cycle for contractors and clients.
Transparent Communication
We’re all aware of the many financial pitfalls that can occur within construction. Regular, honest communication with customers shows a proactive approach that will keep your customers engaged and happy throughout the customer journey and beyond.
Maintaining transparency throughout the payment process is critical to closing the sale, avoiding cart abandonment, and staying compliant with contractual agreements.
By clearly outlining your payment terms and deadlines and employing active listening skills, you can avoid any misunderstandings and provide a better overall customer experience.
Automated construction payment systems can also connect to email and text, helping customers see urgent messages like payment reminders more quickly. More on automated payment systems later.
Despite the increasing use of digital services, over half of consumers still prefer speaking to someone over the phone for assistance. Quite clearly, there is still a real need for small business phone services, which shouldn’t be ignored. An omnichannel approach makes it easier for customers and clients to reach out and helps retain existing customers, too. More on this later.
Online Invoicing & Documentation
Going digital with your documentation and invoicing will streamline the payment process and help cut time spent on paperwork. Digital invoicing construction software lowers transaction fees and offers merchants higher approval rates, considerably reducing the potential for data entry errors. This means fewer supply chain invoice rejections and prompt processing options.
Construction software for your cash flow effectively tracks the life cycle of construction payments and makes sharing payment-related files much more straightforward.
Automatic Payment Systems
Another way to speed up the payment process and reduce the margin of error is to integrate automated payment systems. It can enhance cash flow, credit history, payment safety, and payment cycle times.
Finance departments that manually process invoices also risk fraud, double payments, tainted supplier relationships, and severe payment backlogs. Automatic invoicing is helping construction businesses thrive in several ways, including reducing the stress of handling late payments and considerably cutting costs.
Organized Approval Processes
Establishing effective approval processes for invoices and change orders, such as Progress Payment Approval, Subcontractor Payment Approval, Equipment Rental Approval, or Insurance and Compliance Approval, will prevent bottlenecks in the payment cycle.
For maximum advantage with minimal effort, an invoice approval workflow will also help maintain successful relationships with construction suppliers and prevent any discrepancies.
Real-Time Project Tracking
One of the biggest headaches in construction project management is ensuring everything runs like clockwork and schedule. Real-time project tracking has revolutionized how the construction sector communicates and makes decisions.
Flexible Payment Opportunities
With good CX, there is “no one size fits all,” and the same goes for online payment options. Whether it’s an ACH transfer, credit card payments, multi-currency transactions, or flexible Buy Now Pay Later options, offering a wide choice of payment options can widen your net and meet a wide range of client preferences.
The latest research indicates that over 55% of all online traffic is sourced from mobile phones. With so many consumers switching to mobile shopping, a strong website domain name that’s memorable, short, and easy to spell can also positively impact the customer experience.
It’s also wise to research available domain names with mobile-friendliness in mind. Moreover, Google states that mobile-friendly websites are a ranking factor in its search algorithm. If you haven’t optimized for mobile, you’ll likely rank lower in their search results.
Payment Process Training
Educating clients on the payment process, invoicing requirements, and project milestones will confirm that they fully comprehend their role in facilitating smooth payment practices.
Promoting continuous learning and collaboration within payment processing teams is essential for maintaining high team motivation, productivity, and a collaborative atmosphere. This approach fosters a culture of cooperation and knowledge sharing.
Routine Performance Reviews
Conducting regular performance reviews will help gauge the efficiency of the payment process. Collecting client and contractor feedback will also pinpoint areas that need improvement.
The best payment performance internal checklists cover crucial elements, help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current payment processes, and ensure compliance.
- Obligations To Pay Controls
- Data Entry Controls
- Payment Controls
- Fraud Controls
Robust Security Measures
With the number of mobile users worldwide set to reach 7.49 billion by 2025, keeping sensitive financial data private is another way to build trust and confidence in your offering. Secure payment processes demonstrate your unwavering commitment to protecting client privacy, speaking volumes among tech-savvy construction professionals prioritizing enhanced security.
One of the simplest ways for construction professionals to balance CX with online security is to embrace construction payment solutions that prioritize security. These days, customers expect an integrated, consistent experience at every touchpoint. This is where omnichannel payments come into play. Omni-channel payment processing enables seamless customer experience while boosting valuable data insights, sales, and loyalty.
Dispute Resolution Plan
Unfortunately, not all transactions run as smoothly as we’d like! Disputes and chargebacks can cause severe financial, operational, and reputational damage without proper handling. After all, transaction disputes typically have the highest servicing costs and present the most significant risk to reputational harm and regulatory investigations.
By implementing a solid dispute resolution plan, you can reduce the chance of having to go to court, reduce costs, and (more often than not) quicken the path to a clear resolution.
The five most common methods of resolving online transaction disputes are:
- Negotiation
- Mediation
- Conciliation
- Arbitration
- Expert Insight
Verdict
With numerous tasks, deadlines, and stakeholders to manage, you never know what the dynamic (yet challenging!) world of construction will offer next. Focusing on developing flexible online payment methods is crucial in improving CX.
The best customer experiences strive to create a happy and smooth customer experience by cultivating customer loyalty. Start with the above points, and you’ll be well on your way to building a streamlined payment cycle that keeps customers informed, satisfied, and (above all) loyal.