August 2017 | Page 2 of 3 | The Web Authority

August 16, 2017August 11, 2017

What to Do When You Get a Credit Card Decline for Your Services

Nancy McCord — “Just Nancy” – My Point of View for Today.

Credit card decline! Those are words that any business owner hates to hear, but it happens to all of us. When you get a credit card decline for your services here are some tips to quickly resolve the problem.

Be Nice – Always
I have found that sometimes a credit card decline is due to a security issue. Maybe the card was lost or compromised and the customer did not remember to advise you. Be open to the fact that it may be a very simple issue to resolve.

I always send a nice positive note with a request for a new card for my services. Typically if you hear back from the client within a day it is typically something that will be quickly resolved.

Deal with the Problems – Quickly
It is the clients that will not return a note or phone call that typically has run into a cash flow issue. For my firm, we stop services when we do not get a response, as the debt can grow quickly and end up as a write off. You have the most leverage to resolve a problem when an issue is handled quickly.

Make sure that if you have a contract that you cover what happens when a client does not pay. I have learned from experience that if you continue services on a payment promise that your write off will typically end up much bigger.

Change Terms – For Problem Payers
In our agreement for services, we spell out what happens when a client has a credit card decline, resolves, it and continues buying. We move clients like this to a prepayment basis or retainer. Some services we provide are not impacted significantly with a delay in payment, but other services are hugely impacted. Know your own needs and cover the situations in your agreement that all clients must sign to start your services.

Is It Worth It?
In some cases when you receive multiple declines, and it is clear that there is a cash flow problem, you must take time to evaluate if you would like to continue to work with a client. Each business situation is different. Just know that trying to collect on a debt is very, very difficult. Suing is not a realistic option and using a debt collector will cost a percentage of the debt and may never be collectible.

We all hate to lose a client, but a poor paying or non-paying client is typically more trouble than it is worth in the long run.

August 9, 2017July 21, 2017

Our Google AdWords Tips

We have also found that to just drop your “clickee” on the home page of your website is not effective in creating a good conversion rate and does not get your program a good quality score rating. We have learned to create a landing page for each ad group theme. We include sales content that is short and focused, with a keen call to action. We even include a small online contact form as well as phone numbers. All of these things help to increase your conversion rate — turning prospects into buyers!

The bottom line is if you are paying $300 for each newspaper ad, $500 each month for 20 qualified leads, or simply doing no advertising at all, just hoping that a prospect will stumble across your website, you may want to consider advertising your products and services on Google AdWords.

With AdWords, after set up, your ads show up in several hours to a day or so, you may make unlimited changes, and you may pause an ad or ad group at any time. You can even set up and monitor your own account without professional assistance.

However, if you don’t want to go it alone, see us for pricing on professional set up and management of your campaign. We will research your competition, set up your account, craft your ad text, create your landing pages, monitor your account every day, and report to you about your campaign activity with our recommendations for action.

We can put AdWords to work for you bringing you qualified prospects and sales.

If you would like to know where your AdWords ad will show in the Google content network if you select to show your ads there, view this list from Google of the display network and partner sites.

We think that Google AdWords is a great tool and we use it for our own business promotions. Visit our AdWords Quick Start Plus page for pricing.

August 7, 2017July 21, 2017

Google’s Ad Discounter Explained

We think one of the smartest things that Google AdWords does is use a tool called the “Ad Discounter”.

Everyone wants their ads at the top of the page! To get there, you need to set your maximum cost per click at a reasonable, yet high figure, and your daily budget high enough to place your ad in the top 3 slots.

This is where the Ad Discounter kicks in. You only pay $.01 more than the highest current cost per click. So even if you said you would pay $5 as your maximum cost per click, and the going rate is $2.65, you will pay only $2.66 for your click.

The minimum cost per click is $.05, but be prepared to pay more depending on how popular your keywords are. Be cautious on setting your maximum cost per click too high as Google is able to charge you as much as your maximum figure for each click!

In addition to your cost per click setting Google will also evaluate your ad text, keywords, and landing page to assign a quality score. This score plus your maximum cost per click will determine your ad rank on the search query return page on Google.com.