Cash might not be king in an increasingly digital world, but businesses willing to buy up resources in exchange for cash can teach us a thing or two. We’re not saying this is the only way to run a business. However, consumers typically cite qualities such as immediacy (i.e. wanting something now) as preferable when it comes to choosing a service to fulfil their needs.
Cash-based businesses tap into this desire. Whether it’s a company capable of purchasing a car or property within a few days or one capable of completing loans in a matter of hours, there are plenty of businesses built on cash transactions.
We’re not saying that every business can use the same sort of model, but there are things these companies do well from a marketing and sales funnel perspective that we can learn from. With this in mind, here are three lessons we can learn from cash-based companies.
1. Cash Transactions
Consumers love cash, regardless of whether it’s in banknotes or digital form. Many people have a certain affinity for banknotes, but digital transactions can be just as satisfying because they’re instant. Unless it’s a very large transaction, fast bank transfers mean the money appears in minutes (often seconds). If you’re a company that buys old or unwanted items from consumers, consider having enough cash on hand to offer instant payments.
How much cash you have depends on your needs. Indeed, if you’re not in the business of purchasing old/unwanted items, you might not need a lot of cash. However, let’s assume you offer refunds. The faster you can pay refunds, the more consumers will appreciate it. For example, Amazon offers instant refunds for many purchases. Having adequate cash reserves for situations like this is clearly advantageous.
2. Speed and Efficiency
Linked to the immediacy of cash payments is potential efficiency. Let’s say I want to sell my house for cash. I’m choosing this route to market because likely I want to streamline the process. In line with this, I want the website I’m using to reflect this desire i.e. I should be able to get an instant initial offer by entering a postcode and details about the property.
From there, you want to get a call from an agent, they book an inspection, and a final offer is made. Within approximately four steps, you should be able to agree on a deal, and after that, get your money sorted. When it works, this is an example of an efficient sales funnel we can learn from (basically, you need to boil down your sales process into as few steps as possible).
3. Transparency
The final lesson we can learn from cash-based businesses is transparency. Give consumers all of the information they need to make informed decisions. Explain what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and, importantly, why you’re doing it. That doesn’t mean you need to disclose the finer details of how your business makes money, but you should be honest.
There’s often an air of suspicion when things appear too easy. For example, if you’re selling a car and someone offers to buy it with cash with very few questions asked, you might wonder why. It’s almost too good to be true. Therefore, to quell any concerns, it’s important to be more transparent than the average business.
Provide clear, bullet-point breakdowns of the sales process. Have a comprehensive FAQ and have ways for people to contact support agents whenever they need help. An honest business is a successful one. If you can get this right and create an efficient sales process, your business should be more appealing to consumers. And, as we know, a more appealing business stands a better chance of being a successful business.
