Customer Reviews: How to Respond to Positive and Negative Feedback

How to find the right price to maximise your profits and keep customers happy. The importance of appropriately pricing your products cannot be understated. Too high and you could lose out to more affordable competitors, too low and you could struggle to break even. Finding the right pricing strategy is key to boosting your business’s growth trajectory. Whether you’re starting a brand new business or reevaluating your pricing, this article outlines the five essential steps you should be taking to correctly price, or reprice your product or service. From calculating your costs, to understanding your customers, doing market research, monitoring sales and implementing price changes: this article guides you through the art and science of pricing. 1. Calculate your costs The very first thing you need to do when deciding on a price is to calculate how much it costs you to make or deliver your product or service. You need to identify all the direct costs – that is, raw materials or components, labour costs, packaging, shipping and any manufacturing costs. You then need to consider your indirect costs, these include rent and utilities, staff salaries, marketing or advertising, general supplies and insurance and taxes such as GST. Once you have a good idea of what each product or service costs your business, you can use one of the most simple pricing strategies: cost-plus pricing. This strategy involves simply adding a markup to the cost of your product or service. For many retailers that are on-selling pre-made products, this is a common pricing method that works well. However, it does rely on your cost calculations being accurate. So, to ensure you’re not undercutting yourself, it’s important to also factor in market demand and competition. 2. Research your competitors If you’re entering or operating in a crowded market, it’s critical that you understand what the going rate is for your product or service. Do your own market research by looking online, signing up for newsletters, monitoring social media or by discreetly going into your competitors’ stores or speaking to their customer service. If you discover that your proposed pricing is far higher or lower than competing businesses, identify why. Is your product or service lacking something that your competitors are supplying? Are you offering a customer experience or convenience that your competitors are not? If your proposed pricing is in the ballpark of the existing market, then you have a few strategic options. You might choose to adopt penetration pricing, by setting a relatively low price in order to quickly attract customers to try the product, with the view of increasing prices once your business has gained some traction. Or, if your product is new or highly innovative, you may want to initially set your prices higher than your competitors in a strategy that is known as skimming pricing . This capitalises on the willingness of early adopters to pay a premium. Then you can gradually lower your prices to target broader market segments. Or, you could simply opt for competitive pricing, whereby you set your prices close to or just under what your competitors are charging. Whatever you do, it’s important to remember that your competitors’ costs and customers aren’t identical to your own. So, the aforementioned strategies will always work best for your business if you implement them in alignment with your production costs and your customers’ spending capacity. 3. Cater to your customers Getting to know your customers is one of the most important business lessons you’ll ever learn. What they value and what you offer them can make or break your business; so it pays to listen. Talk to your clients and find out what they’re looking for, then bring them more of it. If you don’t have face-to-face interaction with your customers, having a customer contact management solution will help offer insights into their purchasing behaviour. If you’re operating within a demographic that values quality, they’ll likely be prepared to pay a premium for well-made goods or white-glove service. If this is the case, your business could benefit from implementing a value-based pricing strategy , which focuses on the perceived value of the product or service. Consider the benefits, quality, and uniqueness of your offering, and price your product or service accordingly. Or, if you are aiming to create an image of prestige, you could opt for a premium pricing strategy , whereby you purposefully set a high price to position your product or service as luxurious, exclusive, and superior quality. If your customers are searching for a bargain, either you’ll need to find ways to reduce your production costs to ensure your prices stay low, or you could adopt the loss leader pricing strategy. This involves deliberately selling certain products at a loss, in the hope that customers will purchase other, more profitable items as well, making up for the initial loss. For businesses catering to a mix of customers at both ends of this spectrum, having a tiered pricing strategy will help you accommodate the diverse needs of your clientele. By offering a range of prices, you cast a wider net for reaching potential customers. 4. Track your sales Once you’ve decided on a pricing strategy, it’s time to evaluate whether it’s working or not. Having a simple, integrated process that easily shows you what’s coming in, and what’s going out is key in this process. Whether you’re accepting payments via an EFTPOS terminal or through invoicing , Zeller’s all-in-one solution is a great way to evaluate your cash flow. Business expenses can be paid for using the Zeller Debit Card or through a direct debit from the Zeller Transaction Account , and sales can be tracked via an online dashboard and mobile app , giving you an insightful visualisation of your business cash position. Seeing the net balance of your funds over time will quickly tell you if your pricing strategy is working or not, and moreover, it will enable you to identify spending patterns, which can inform whether or not you implement a dynamic pricing strategy . Adjusting your pricing to align with sales peaks or troughs – whether over days, weeks, or seasons – can help bring in customers when business is slow, or capitalise on demand at busier times. Similarly, if your business operates in different locations, being able to compare your sales in different venues can help you implement a geographical pricing strategy if necessary, where you adjust your prices to local market conditions. 5. Adjust your prices (if you need to) After monitoring your sales for a period of time, you might decide you need to change your tack. If this means decreasing your prices, most customers will welcome the change. Just make sure you can reassure them that the quality of your product isn’t also decreasing. If, on the other hand, you need to bump up your prices, there are a number of ways to go about it to ensure you don’t get your customers offside. Soften the blow by offering discounted bundles when several products or services are purchased together as a package. Improving the quality of your product, or adding in extra features, benefits, or improvements can also help to justify the increase in price. Alternatively, consider incremental increases over time to allow customers to adjust to the changes gradually. Or implement psychological pricing by rounding them down from the nearest whole, $9.99 for example. Timing is also an important factor. Generally, the beginning of the financial year (after the sales) is a good time to adjust your prices. Otherwise, identify when your busiest season is, and implement the changes then. If you’re worried about backlash, notify your clients of the price increase either in-store or via email, and clearly explain the reasons. Educating your customers and being transparent with them will help build their trust and loyalty. Finding the right price starts with the right tools. Understanding your costs, customers, positioning, competitors, and ideal profit will help you pinpoint the pricing strategy that’s right for your products. However, it’s important to note that it’s unlikely you’ll ever choose one strategy and stick with it. Your approach will adapt and change over time and in line with the market, which is why it’s important to remain agile. Equipping yourself with the right tools to help you regularly evaluate your pricing will ensure you’re always ahead of the curve. Zeller’s end-to-end solution is your number one ally when it comes to tracking your business cash flow and using sales data to strategically grow your business.

Here's what you need to know about finding the right EFTPOS terminal. Searching for a next-gen EFTPOS machine that accepts modern payment methods, processes payments quickly, settle funds into your business account as fast as possible, and looks good on your countertop? Finding the right terminal for your business is important – you’ll rely on it for secure, fast cashless payments that keep your cash flow looking healthy. Some terminal providers will lock you into long contracts, with expensive termination fees, so knowing what to look out for is key. How much is it to have an EFTPOS machine? The EFTPOS machine you choose will depend on variables such as your budget, sales volumes, Point of Sale (POS) software, and fees associated with your merchant account. It costs $259 to own a Zeller Terminal outright. There are no hidden fees or charges, and no lock-in contracts. When you sign up for Zeller, you also receive a free Zeller Transaction Account (into which funds accepted via Zeller Terminal are settled nightly) and a free Zeller Debit Card — so you can pay suppliers and make business purchases with ease. Keep reading to discover the nine questions you should keep in mind when comparing EFTPOS terminals. 1. Do I understand the fees? Many business owners don’t realise they are agreeing to pay hidden fees, such as expensive terminal fees, until it’s too late. Sign the dotted line and you could be agreeing to pay a lot more than anticipated for your EFTPOS machine — and lock-in contracts usually come with hefty fees for early cancellation. Otherwise cautious business owners fall victim to hidden EFTPOS terminal fees time and time again. However, these fees are required by law to be disclosed somewhere – you just need to know where to look. Make sure to go through the terms and conditions with a fine-tooth comb; never solely rely on a verbal quote. If you’re already using an EFTPOS machine, check your merchant statement as this will tell you the processing fees and other fees you’re currently paying. It’s also important to remember that, in most cases, if you decide to rent your EFTPOS terminal you won’t own it at the end of the payment period. You’re simply paying for the privilege of using it, and will be left empty-handed when the contract ends. Although renting may look like an affordable option at first, it’s a tactic designed to get business owners to pay far more than what the terminal is actually worth. Zeller Terminal is yours to own for one low payment of $259. There’s no lock-in contract or hidden fees; we know you’ll keep using your Zeller Terminal because you love it, not because you have to. Learn more about Zeller Terminal and whether it’s the right solution for your business. 2. Will it be easy to use? Taking payment is usually the last interaction a member of your staff has with a customer. However, time wasted teaching staff the intricacies of a confusing system is time that could be better spent on other parts of the business. The ease with which staff process a payment affects the customer experience at every business. Your EFTPOS payments terminal needs to be easy for all staff to use, with minimal training. This is especially important if you run a retail store that hires casual staff during peak holiday and sales periods, or in another business that regularly hires new workers. When shopping for an EFTPOS terminal, consider whether it has been designed by a team that understands your business. Are the prompts straightforward? Is the user flow intuitive? Your terminal should feel natural and simple to use. If it is, your staff will save time with every transaction – and you’ll save time training them how to use it. 3. Can I customise it to suit my business? Some EFTPOS payment terminal providers will force your business to work their way. This is related to the point above: if you choose a provider who understands your business, you’ll likely find there’s no need to change your internal workflows. An EFTPOS terminal should fit the way you want your business to work. When selecting a terminal provider, consider how well it fits with your established processes. For example, you might want the ability to: restrict the ability to provide a customer with a refund to a small pool of staff, such as managers charge your customers a surcharge enable tipping customise your receipts Choose a provider that gives you the power to customise the way you accept and manage your payments and you’ll save yourself from needing to retrofit your processes to fit the tool. 4. What happens if my internet cuts out? Your business needs to be able to continue processing cashless payments even during periods of internet outage. You don’t want to have to send your customers to the closest ATM, or have them scrambling for cash. Occasionally, small periods of service downtime will be unavoidable. Your internet provider might be down for routine maintenance or there may be a power cut to your area, or another technological issue may impact how your EFTPOS terminal connects to the internet. However, any period of downtime has the potential to negatively affect your business — the impacted customer may never return. That’s why, when you choose Zeller Terminal, you have the option to switch to another network. If you’re experiencing issues with your Wi-Fi provider, it’s simple to connect via 3G to another network and continue processing payments using your SIM card. 5. How often will I need to charge it? These days, many businesses are run on the go — so a mobile EFTPOS terminal is a must. Cafes and restaurants that take payment from the table depend upon a long-lasting battery to get through the day. For a retail store, a long-lasting battery provides the flexibility to take payments from wherever is convenient for the customer. For mobile services such as trades and beauty technicians, having the ability to take payment on the go saves you the hassle of returning to your computer, sending an invoice, then following up until payment is finalised. It’s essential that the EFTPOS terminal you choose has enough battery life to give you peace of mind that you’ll never miss out on crucial transactions. 6. How fast can I put my funds to work? Depending on which payment services provider you choose to use, you could access your funds the same day you earn them – or you could be waiting upwards of three business days. The speed of settlement can have a big impact on your cash flow. Choose a provider that’s slow to settle, and you may find yourself in the frustrating situation of needing a business loan to tide you over until your funds are released. When you use your Zeller Terminal in combination with your free Zeller Transaction Account , you’ll get same-day settlement for your funds so you can spend using your Zeller Debit Card . Or, if you want to use your existing business bank account , your funds will settle the next business day. 7. Is there setup and ongoing support? Painful setup, hard-to-follow instructions, and uncontactable customer service representatives are headaches you simply don’t need. Some EFTPOS terminal providers are intuitive enough to use out of the box, whereas others come with a booklet of instructions you’ll need to follow. Or, you may be asked to book a technician to manage the setup on-site. Once you’re up and running, having multiple ways to ask for help – whenever you need it — is important. If your business operates in the evening and on weekends, look for a provider that offers extended support hours. If something goes wrong and you need answers fast, you need to feel confident that someone will pick up the phone on the other end. 8. Will it protect my business? Fraud is a risk for businesses of any size. Recurring chargeback fraud , in particular, can be costly for a business. When considering any financial services provider, it’s important to check whether it's backed by a team of security experts. You’re trusting this business to handle your money. Zeller’s Support team monitors transactions round the clock — 24 hours, 7 days a week — to prevent fraud before it happens. Backed up by intelligent machine monitoring, our team works to identify and respond to fraudulent attacks in real-time. 9. How soon can I get it? If you’re ready to start selling your products or services now, choosing an EFTPOS terminal that takes weeks to be delivered is an unnecessary setback. Why eat into valuable time you could be turning a profit? Ideally, your EFTPOS terminal will be available for delivery quickly. Even if you’re not ready to start accepting payments at your business, getting your EFTPOS payment terminal as soon as possible will give you extra time to get up to speed with its features and options for customisation. We offer fast, free shipping anywhere in Australia, for all Zeller purchases. Sign up for Zeller in minutes. Zeller Terminal and accessories can be purchased online from the Zeller Shop with free express shipping and same-day dispatch. Once you’ve considered these 9 questions, you should have a good idea of the non-negotiables you need from your EFTPOS terminal provider. Remember to always read the fine print and understand what you’re really paying for when you sign the dotted line.

Discover how to pass on your cost of acceptance with Zeller. In Australia, businesses are legally entitled to charge customers a fee for processing an electronic transaction. This fee is called a surcharge. The purpose of this fee is to cover the costs associated with accepting the customer’s chosen payment method — yet some merchants choose to absorb this cost themselves. Zeller Terminal makes it simple to pass on your entire transaction fee, or a percentage of your transaction fee, with the toggle of a switch. When you surcharge the transaction fee in full, your business is getting zero cost EFTPOS . Keep reading to discover more about credit card surcharges, the legalities around passing on your cost of acceptance, and how to set your EFTPOS surcharge on Zeller Terminal. What is a surcharge? Different payment methods have varying costs and benefits to both businesses and their customers. A surcharge is an extra charge you can pass onto your customers who choose to pay with a credit or debit card, or smart device. Every time your business processes a cashless transaction with an EFTPOS terminal , you are charged a small fee to cover the checks and balances that must occur in order to safely move funds from a customer’s bank account into your own. Zeller makes it easy for you to pass that cost — either in its entirety or in part — onto your customers as a surcharge. Having the ability to set a custom surcharge means you can choose what suits your business, and your customers. Why businesses surcharge their customers The prices that merchants set for their goods and services incorporate the general costs of running the business — such as rent and electricity, among other things. Yet an important distinction between other business costs and the costs associated with transactions is that it is the customer that chooses the method of payment, which then determines the cost of the transaction. Cards are the most frequently used method of payment in Australia. As cash use continues to decline, the more electronic transactions your business processes. You will need to make fewer trips to the bank to deposit your takings, spend less time counting cash drawers, and benefit from the increased security that solutions such as Zeller Terminal offers. For more information about the shift away from cash and how this impacts your business, read our blog: Why Accepting Credit Cards is Critical for Business . It typically costs just a few cents to process an electronic transaction. However, many merchants look for ways to grow their business. For some businesses, passing on transaction fees via surcharging is a way to achieve this. The downside of surcharging Surcharging is relatively common in Australia — you’ve undoubtedly paid a surcharge as a consumer, whether at your local coffee shop, hairdresser, or high street store. Businesses of all shapes and sizes choose to pass on their cost of acceptance this way. Yet, for some customers, surcharging can be a turn-off that impacts their likelihood to return to your business and purchase again. It may even impact their perception of your business. Research from Finder shows the majority of Australians don’t believe they should be charged for choosing to pay with a card or smart device. Now that cash payments are becoming less and less common, the practice of charging an additional fee for card payments has even been called “ redundant ”. Should your business surcharge customers? In determining whether or not to utilise the Zeller surcharging functionality to recoup your cost of acceptance from customers, consider: the customer perception of surcharging. how common (or uncommon) surcharging is in your specific industry. whether your nearby competitors impose a surcharge. Surcharging is more commonly accepted in some industries than others. For example, 23% of Zeller merchants who run retail stores surcharge their customers, compared to just 2% of those who operate a beauty salon — which indicates that consumers are likely accustomed to paying a surcharge when tapping their card to pay for a new shirt, but less accustomed to paying a surcharge for a manicure. On the other hand, 12.7% of Zeller merchants who run a bar, restaurant, cafe, or other hospitality business surcharge customers. It’s also important to pay attention to what your competitors are doing — especially if you run a business that is reliant on a steady stream of local customers, such as a coffee shop. If locals know they can purchase their daily cup of coffee from a competitor across the street without paying a surcharge, you may risk losing their business. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to surcharge is yours alone; no one knows your customers better than you. If you decide not to toggle on surcharging, either in full or in part, you could look for other ways to reduce your business expenses — such as by increasing the price of your products or services. Zeller Terminal makes it as simple as possible for those who wish to surcharge their customers to recoup their cost of acceptance, either in full or in part. Keep reading to discover how much you can surcharge, and how to set up your Zeller Terminal for surcharging. Surcharging rules in Australia The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 prohibits businesses from charging customers an “excessive” surcharge. However, there is no set rule regarding what is deemed an excessive charge. Legally, businesses are entitled to recoup the cost of accepting a customer’s method of payment — no more. The Reserve Bank of Australia outlines the costs that can be covered in a surcharge, including: Merchant service fees Terminal rental fees Costs to maintain a credit card terminal Other fees including switching fees, fraud-related chargeback fees, and more. How much can Zeller merchants surcharge? In setting your surcharge, it’s important to remember that Zeller Terminal is yours to own outright. That means businesses that use Zeller do not incur terminal rental fees. Transactions processed through Zeller Terminal, where the customer and their card are both present, typically cost 1.4% of the total transaction amount. Card-not-present transactions (whether over the phone or via post) typically cost 1.7%, to reflect the increased security measures required to verify the transaction. The maximum surcharge you can set is equal to your transaction fee. How to set your surcharge with Zeller Setting your custom surcharge takes just a few moments, and can be done via Zeller Dashboard or Zeller Terminal. Simply follow the steps below, and every transaction processed through Zeller Terminal will have a surcharge applied automatically. Setting your surcharge on Zeller Dashboard Surcharging functionality can be accessed via the Payments settings for each individual Zeller Terminal. Follow the below steps to set your surcharge on Zeller Dashboard for in-person payments. Expand the Payments menu and then click Sites . Select the Site you would like to manage. Click the Payments tab at the top of the screen. From here, you can either: Toggle on Surcharge my total fees , or Surcharge a percentage and enter a custom card surcharge that is no more than 1.4%, or Click Save to confirm your changes. Electing to pass on your total fees means you will recoup your costs for the full transaction amount, including any tips, every time. As MOTO transactions incur a higher fee, you need to toggle on surcharging for card-not-present payments separately. The maximum surcharge you can set for MOTO transactions is 1.7%. Setting your surcharge on Zeller Terminal Setting and updating your surcharge on Zeller Terminal is just as simple — however, you must be logged in as an Account Administrator. This is to protect your business from staff accidentally toggling surcharging on or off. For more information about surcharging with Zeller Terminal, visit the Support Centre . Providing Zeller merchants with the ability to pass on transaction fees in full or in part is just one way Zeller supports merchants to run their business the way that suits them.