Buy Now Pay Later service Zip partners with Facebook to support eCommerce businesses

At a time when online shopping is surging and eCommerce has become an undeniably crucial avenue for reaching customers, two companies have joined forces to help Australian small businesses pay for their social media advertising with Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). 

BNPL service Zip today announced it has teamed up with social media giant Facebook to allow small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to use Zip Business when funding their marketing campaigns on the platform. 

Zip Business gives SMEs access to unsecured business loans of up to $500k, with interest only charged on the amount you end up using (not the total amount you’re approved for). 

According to Zip’s co-founder Peter Gray, the partnership is part of efforts to address cashflow issues that might hinder many small businesses from taking their digital operations to the next level. 

“92% of small businesses believe they would have generated more revenue in the previous year if their cashflow was better,” he said. 

“Partnering with Facebook is an important step not only in the expansion of Zip Business, but in helping small business owners to capitalise on the recent growth in the eCommerce sector and to get ahead.

“With 14 million Australians using Facebook every day, the social network is an increasingly important advertising channel for small businesses.” 

The Zip-Facebook service is still in testing, with the roll-out to start initially with Facebook’s prepaid advertisers. 

This marks the second big collaboration for Zip Business, which launched back in August to offer lines of credit to SMEs on eBay.

Cashflow tips for your eCommerce business

Of course, there’s more to an eCommerce business than social media advertising. So what are some other ways to keep your cashflow healthy and intact? Whether you’ve just opened your digital doors or you’ve been in the business for a while now, here are a few more tips to have up your sleeve:

• Apply for extra finance: Business investments don’t come cheap, so rather than trying to cover the entire expense out of pocket, a short-term business loan can help you spread the cost across a number of months. This finance option is taken out over a short period of time (say, 3-24 months), with fast approval speeds so you won’t need to wait for ages to hear back. Interest is usually paid daily or weekly instead of fortnightly or monthly. Besides Zip Business, there are plenty of other Australia-based business lenders to pick from, so compare your options below.

• Access your product lineup: Think of this as a ‘health check’, where you’re evaluating all of your current goods and services to identify which ones aren’t selling well despite being expensive to make. Sometimes less is more - so if you don’t see a clear, cost-effective way to help the product perform better and enhance your brand, then it may be time to let it go. This is an easy way to cut down on expenses without affecting the core of your business too much.
• Expand your checkout options: Online shoppers are getting savvier by the day, with many now embracing payment methods beyond just the standard credit card or debit card. Think: PayPal or BNPL services like Afterpay and ZipPay. Part of generating more income is giving your customers more choice when it comes to paying. So while some of these payment gateways may come with a merchants fee, it could be a small price to pay to give yourself a competitive edge over other eCommerce businesses.
• Improve your online and offline support: When your service isn’t face-to-face, it can be hard to build trust with your customers and retain their loyalty, which is why having good communication via other means is an absolute must. That means being able to support your customers over live chat, email or phone whenever they encounter an issue or concern - an area of investment which shouldn’t be overlooked, as it could save heaps of money and trouble in the long run.

For more tips, read our article on how to boost business cash flow during challenging times, like COVID-19.