Subscription billing software can offer value based solutions to the SME sector. Subscription billing, when executed with efficiency can be a source of competitive advantage. Small businesses find it particularly difficult to handle receivables management. Sustaining in cut throat competition requires a business model that shall generate recurring revenue. Moreover, there is also a constant threat of revenue churn. Revenue churn may occur due to many reasons. Customer loyalty, customer interface and complexity in billing are some of the foremost reasons behind revenue churn. Recurring revenue in the hindsight means recurring billing. The objective then is to have a solution for subscription plan management. Effective subscription plan management kills many birds with one stone
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Build traffic with trial pricing and coupons
As new kids on the block, the first hurdle that small businesses have to cross is traffic building. Beyond doubt, a competitive price point is a great traffic building measure to start with. Small enterprises, though need to reflect on the risks of using a low price point as a traffic building measure. Making the consumer price conscious in the first instance will provoke the consumer to cross the street and look for the best price offering.
Instead, you can start with a more aggressive pricing policy. Offer trial plans to your customers and then prorate them with the passage of time. Use a subscription billing software with dashboards. The dashboards enable you to compare purchase volumes from the billing amounts. Track the products and services that have been high on demand in the recent past. Simple billing analytics can be a great tool to fulfill the KYC (know your customer) norm. Coupon and discount billing should be used right from the word “Go”. It does not make sense to drain away crucial revenue in offering generic discounts to all customers. Track customer loyalty and retain data on customer orders in the subscription billing software itself. Track customer purchase and billing history and then reward customers for their loyalty. Business invoicing software with features for coupon and discount billing is a potent weapon in this case. Hosted billing software like Netfunda OneClickBill has tremendous functionality for this purpose.
Eliminate issues of outstanding payments
Many small and medium businesses get over obsessed with sales and marketing. A resource crunch rules out hiring a full proof team for payment collection. Not receiving payment on the due date for billing affects revenue stream, cash management and costs time value of money. Here many may believe that the standard email reminder can be a solution. The truth is otherwise. Billing, sales and customer relationship are related yet very distinct activities. The tip here is:
“Never use the generic email service for all business functions. Decentralize email correspondence according to departments for clarity.”
When you use the same email directory for billing correspondence, newsletter and email marketing, managing campaigns and other activities you create a trail of clutter behind you. Your mailbox becomes a store room of redundant communication. Think smart and use invoicing software with functionality of automatic invoice communication. Set the due date of billing and the hosted billing system sends an invoice email to the consumer. Again, use invoice templates that are aesthetically designed and simple. It is the smart way of handling metered usage and subscription billing. Usage of automatic invoice emails can be of particular importance to software -as -a -service enterprise. Cloud services billing can be greatly overhauled this way.
Have multiple enrollment points for cash inflow
The SME sector today regularly engages with a global audience. Managing a business in the global economy poses challenges. These challenges are best summarized in the following question:
“How do I localize the face of my business while being a global player?”
An automatic billing system will fragment the answer to this question in three parts. The answer is as follows:
Use a subscription billing software that supports:
- Multiple languages
- Multiple currencies
- Multiple payment gateways
The thumb rule of online subscription management is to pluralize languages. When the invoice template speaks the language of the consumer, personalization is accomplished. When the hosted billing system accepts the currency of the consumer personalization is accomplished. The logic behind multiple payment gateways is to open all doors for cash to flow in.
In the final diagnosis, subscription billing software can produce great results for the SME sector. Netfunda OneClickBill is a glittering example of such hosted billing system. It offers value based solutions discussed here, at a highly affordable price."