Offering free trials is something that many businesses do not do. They think that it costs money in the long run, and that it is wasteful. However, while not everyone will purchase from you, there are ways that you can make sure that your free trial offers are successful.
First off, make sure that you have adequate contact information for those ordering trial offers. Contact them before the trial offer is up. Personal attention helps keep customers, and this step can be done quickly, with few staff participating in the calls. While most think that email is quicker – and it is – a call is more personable, and can lead to better customer knowledge. Many times, with personal attention, the free trial is prolonged into a paid subscription or product.
Also, you need to make sure that your cancellation plan is clear. Many times, people do not pay attention to the automatic billing dates, and in return, they can call their bank or credit card company and claim it to be a fraudulent charge. These charges can damage your company to the point of bankruptcy, if you are not careful. Fraudulent charges carry high fees, and these fees can lead merchant account providers to close your account.
You need to make sure that your merchant account is handled by someone who is experienced in dealing with free trial merchant accounts. Not all providers are, and many who say they are really are not. This can be complicated to figure out, but your best bet is to locate a “high risk” merchant account provider, such as EMB. With EMB, you get the amenities of traditional merchant accounts, along with the specialization of the “high risk” industry. This specialization does not come at a higher price; in fact, EMB charges industry-standard rates to all of its “high risk” clients, including free trial merchants.