The longest month of the year is upon us. With more month than money, South Africans are smack-bang in the middle of recovering from their festive-spending babbelas, working with budgets tighter than a pair of Levis post-Christmas lunch. Instead of spending with abandon, shoppers tend to approach January spending as one would a cockroach in the middle of the kitchen floor: cautiously, and with their eyes closed.

The odds may not be in your favour, but all hope is not lost. Keeping the sales coming in during the retail doldrums is possible when you’re equipped with the right tools.

The secret to ditching the Rescue Remedy? Giving your customers more ways to pay

By adding additional payment methods into the mix, you’re setting yourself up for sales success in two important ways:

1: You automatically up your customer experience game

The only thing more irritating than chucking some chicken nuggets into the oven just as Eskom has its way with us? A complicated payment process. By enabling customers to pay via their preferred method, you’re giving them the priceless gift of convenience – a crucial aspect of a great customer experience. Happy customers are your BFFs. Cue: (free) marketing via word-of-mouth, glowing reviews, and repeat purchases.

2: More payment methods enable you to diversify your offering

(Trigger warning: we’re flashing back to 2020)

The majority of businesses that survived the C-era owe their success to the fact that they found different ways of selling the same thing. In other words, facilitating a continuous stream of sales in the face of a challenging consumer market boils down to where and how you sell your goods or services. Here’s what we mean: If you trade online, for example, you can tap into a new stream of revenue by holding a physical pop-up store or event by adding a card machine to your payment method mix. Or, if you usually trade in a physical space, you can broaden your offering by selling on Social Media via a payment link. Like Kylie Kardashian’’s selfies – there are endless options – your job is to find your best (sales) angle and capitalise on its potential.  For inspo as to how you can branch out into new markets, take a loer at your competitors, spend a bit of time lurking on social media, and learn about the Yoco payment methods that can complement your existing offering.

The quick and dirty guide to (a few) (free) Yoco payment tools to boost your bottom line... when you don't have your card machine or customer with you.

Yoco Link:

• Send a link and get paid.

• Send Payment Links via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, email, SMS, and more allowing you to cash in on chat and Social Media commerce by selling in any chat.

• Fast and easy to use – access it via the Yoco App.

• Sell online – without a website.

• Accept payments 24/7, wherever you are

Yoco Invoices:

• Send unlimited, customisable invoices – accessed via the Yoco App or Yoco Portal.

• Customers pay via QR code or Payment Link.

• Bye to stacks of paper invoices, and hello to a digital folder for quick and easy reference.

• Consolidate all invoices for easy tracking and reference.

• Use them as quotes – and, if a customer wants to proceed, they can pay immediately.

Yoco Neo Touch:

• Our newest standalone card machine

• For simple, drama-free payments

• Fits in the palm of your hand

• Get paid in under 3 seconds

• Touchscreen

• Create sales notes

• Accept tips

• View sales history

• Send receipts via SMS or email

• Choose your SIM: Included in the box is one free 4G SIM card from Vodacom, and a backup SIM from MTN. After 30 days of transacting, we’ll automatically deactivate whichever SIM you’re not using.

Yoco Instant Payout:

When you need cash like, yesterday – we got you, here's a feature to help get you through a tight month.

• For when you can’t afford to wait for a standard payout

• Get paid out from the sales you make within minutes

• Available through the Yoco app

• Use it for whatever you need: to pay rent, pay staff and buy additional stock

If you haven’t yet, take our Product Finder Quiz to find the payment tools that can help you to do business better this January – and beyond!

Here’s to a new year, and new ways of growing your business with Yoco.