As church communicator, you know getting buy-in to online giving can be a difficult task. Even though you know about all the perks online giving has to offer, it can be hard to convince others. This is especially true for those who are resistant to change.
One of your best bets is to choose the online giving platform that is best suited for your church. This can be extremely helpful when trying to alleviate certain worries.
As you try to persuade others to make the switch to online giving, you will most likely run into some resistance. Here are 5 of the most common push backs that we hear and some practical steps you can take to solve them.
1. The Big Concern About Security
When it comes to online giving, it's no surprise that many people have concerns about security. This is completely understandable, considering in the year 2016, over 15 million consumers in the United States were the victims of identity theft. Through the years, however, consumers and providers have learned to better protect themselves from identity theft. Because of this, the losses in terms of dollars have decreased significantly.
So while church members are concerned about security and may be hesitant to give their credit card information online, most of today’s online giving tools are secure.
Choosing an online giving platform that is Level 1 PCI compliant provides assurance of security.
Add your PCI compliant security stamp on your online portal. This will let your members know their information is safe.
Also be sure to make the branding on your your online portal match your website. If your online portal opens in a new window and doesn’t match your website, it could cause skepticism about the validity of the giving portal. By matching your portal and website, you increase your online giving portal’s credibility and trust.
2. A Strong Dislike of Poor Customer Service
Not only do people dislike being inconvenienced by a problem, they especially dislike having to deal with poor customer service.
Some common customer service complaints include:
- Not being able to talk to a human over the phone
- Being transferred to a representative that can't help or gives incorrect information
- The company doesn't provide a way to reach customer service
- There is nobody available after normal business hours
With online giving, if someone is having trouble with a transaction, they usually want help right away. This is why choosing a tool that offers personal support is essential. For instance, e360 Giving offers a dedicated service and support team with after-hours emergency access.
3. Nobody Likes Hidden Fees
If your church members have it in their budget to contribute a certain amount of money a month, hidden fees will most likely be cause for complaint. These hidden fees usually show up as an added charge to their transaction - after the transaction has been made. There may also be instances where a member thinks they are donating $100 without knowing that a certain percentage of their donation goes toward processing fees.
Thankfully, this problem can be easily solved by being upfront about any extra charges that may be incurred when giving online.
Along with being transparent and choosing an online giving tool with minimal processing fees, you can let members know about all the benefits online giving has to offer the church. A few of those benefits include, it provides a way for members to give any day of the week (not just on Sundays) and members don't have to physically be in the church building in order to give.
4. It's Easier to Just Carry Cash
It’s really easy to just throw some cash in the offering plate. After all, who wants to take time out of an already busy schedule to login every week to enter monetary information? This is exactly where recurring giving comes in. It takes a few minutes to set this feature up and let the online giving tool do its job.
An added bonus about recurring giving is that those who do it are actually inclined to give more.
On average, recurring donors end up giving 42 percent more each year than those who give one-time donations.
And besides all that, who carries cash anymore? Be sure to choose an online giving tool that offers recurring giving as an option.
5. Poor Mobile Experiences Are Inconvenient
It's no big shock that some people don't actually use their phones to call one another anymore. If they do have to communicate, it's much faster to send a text. Besides texting, people use their phones to surf the internet, access social media, go online shopping, check email, and take photos. And because of the ease and convenience of doing so, there are even some people who like to do all of their giving via their cell phone.
Since 2013, using a mobile device to give has increased by a whopping 80 percent.
These statistics prove that you absolutely need to make your online giving platform mobile-friendly. If it ends up being a hassle to give via cell phone, it could cause the donor to refrain from giving again. Your online giving tool shouldn't be clunky or difficult to navigate on a mobile device. Using a mobile-friendly tool and offering text-to-give options are great ways to alleviate these inconveniences.
