Would you tout good rates? Would you compare it to Paypal or Moneybookers? Would it be a direct mail campaign, cold calling or telemarketing? I want to know what DP would do if they had to market a great, established, credit card processing firm and needed accounts quickly. B2B rates have just been restructured as well, so would you mention that or keep the advert general?? Let me know.
Years ago, I was in the merchant services business. The way I see it, it takes pretty deep pockets and a different angle into the market to sell now. The competition is absolutely fierce. People will take a loss on a rate to process even if it is only .01%. However, the other issue is that, there are far too many levels of processing people in the market. With all of the major players, you've got ISOs, thousands of account reps, and over-marketing of the product, which is simply the ability to accept plastic. Ultimately, that's what the business is about. The biggest failures of the industry as it is now are horrible customer service and dilution of the market through sheer numbers. Darn near anyone can buy an ISO and hang their shingle out as an ace processing company now. So, it is a tough business now. Even when I was in it, I would often go into someone's office or business after one or more reps were leaving. Of course, I live in a big city. So it is naturally tougher here. As to your specific questions: *Everyone leads with a rate. In a city as large as mine, that's a bad idea and your postcard will be considered junk mail. *Your second point is interesting. There is room for someone that can legitimately take on PP. People have tried and PP is still standing and calling all the shots, so you'd need to be able to prove you can compete on that level. Customer trust is the hardest thing on the planet to earn, especially on the web. * Forget about direct mail. The only thing you may occasionally get with that is if you give away your rate. Cold calling can be effective in nearly everything. However, most processors have hundreds or thousands of people doing cold calling and telemarketing. Most business people I talk to get calls daily. Being a web marketer now, the thing that annoys me personally is that this business is still considered high risk and pays for it with higher fees. I really wish I had more positive info to pass along to you, but you've got a tough road ahead. Just finding the best people is fiercely competitive. I know because I had people bidding for my services when I left the business. So I hope this provides you with at least a little insight, albeit it's not very positive.