West Virginia parents are online (typically on mobile devices), they’re in-person and you’ll win them over with convenient, trustworthy payment options.
Believe it or not, businesses need to collect payment from their customers to survive. I know, surprising; but in a world of digital payments, state-funded virtual wallets, and thousands of options to choose from it can be a bit of a headache to do it right. For education service providers (ESPs), you’ll need to design your business to accept payments that West Virginia parents want to use. West Virginia parents are online, on their phone, and in-person. You’ll win them over with convenient, trustworthy payment options that work for them.
Banks offer business owners a merchant service account which allows them to accept debit and credit card payments, but this might not be right for you. Gone are the days where every business relied on brick-and-mortar banks to handle customer payments. You’ll still want a business account with a bank and you should consider their merchant service account offer, but only as an option alongside payment processing companies like Omella, Square, or Stripe that offer a more robust offering than simply credit and debit card payments.
Register your ESP with MyScholarShop! Did you know that over 6,300 students are benefiting from West Virginia’s Education Savings Account (ESA), the Hope Scholarship? Further, West Virginia Department of Education prefers that every ESP that wants to offer services to these families register with MyScholarShop (register here if a school).
How to invoice payments for Hope Scholarship students:
Forms, signatures, and payments are all frustration points for your customers. How often have you lost interest in a product or decided to not purchase a service because the paperwork slowed you down or the payment system didn’t fit your needs? We don’t want West Virginia parents to feel the same way about your business. Here’s a few things to consider when you’re deciding how to manage paperwork and payments:
- Your customers need to feel confident that when they pay for a product, it’ll be delivered and their information will be secure. Customers judge a book by its cover, so make sure yours shines. An aesthetically pleasing form on a website asking for a customer’s information won’t seal the deal on its own, but a cobbled mess will ruin new leads.
- Every minute your customer is working on forms, signatures, or payments has the potential to be your last with them. The more time they need to work to get to your product, the more likely they’re going to get distracted, second-guess a good thing, and not follow through. We recommend using well-designed, cohesive systems like Omella for signature collection, forms, and payment processing — especially for ESPs in West Virginia.
Have another question or need help deciding between services? Leave a comment below, request a free call from an Innovation Hub expert, or reach out to us here. We want to hear from you and help West Virginia ESPs launch better and connect with West Virginia families.