Never underestimate business owners, especially ones who have weathered a pandemic. Despite the hardships of 2020, most corporate leaders are surprisingly optimistic about the future. Consider Guidant Financial’s 2021 Small Business Trends study: Its findings indicate that 78% of participants predict calmer economic waters ahead.
This doesn’t mean that founders and CEOs aren’t cognizant of their challenges, especially when it comes to cash flow. They are. At the very least, many organizations had to dip into their savings to stay afloat during the toughest months of COVID-19. Now, though, they’re ready to think about scaling. For plenty of businesses, growth naturally includes making major equipment, machinery, and technology upgrades.
Despite needing key pieces of equipment to grow, many small businesses won’t have the cash on hand or won’t want to part with their cash reserves to make major investments. That means your customers will need your products and services but might not be able to pay for them in full or might not want to use their cash at the moment they need them.
Equipment Financing Benefits
That’s why offering equipment financing can be beneficial to both you and your customers. Partnering with equipment financing companies like PEAC Solutions can help you meet your customers where they are. PEAC Solutions works with equipment resellers to offer financing at the point of sales as a natural step in the sales process — allowing you to simply focus on selling the much-needed equipment to your customers.
The first step is to provide your customers with easy-to-afford monthly payment options. Then, once your customer shows an interest in using financing to acquire your equipment, PEAC Solutions will work with your customer through the application process.
3 Major Factors That Will Affect Your Customers
Small businesses will need to adapt to new workflows, customer journeys, and the changing financial landscape. Here are three trends that will be affecting your customers’ equipment purchasing in the near future:
1. Workflow models have changed, precipitating equipment upgrades.
During 2020, many companies restructured their workforces. Some embraced remote work so fully that they cut their ties with home offices. Others committed to a flexible hybrid model. Meanwhile, customers now expect touchless digital experiences, requiring many small businesses to change their operations, distribution, and marketing efforts.
These changes have brought about the need for updated technical equipment to facilitate improved processing, communication, workflow continuity, and customer support. As a result, businesses may want to consider financial leasing to upgrade, replace, or augment outmoded equipment.
2. E-lending continues to evolve.
With the increased demand for contactless processes, many lenders have added digital and online options, allowing companies to get approval for equipment financing faster than ever. Your customers will benefit from these easier-to-manage processes. Case in point: PEAC Solutions leans on a portfolio of e-tools to enable companies to securely submit applications, get approval responses in as short as a day, and do much more online.
3. Interest rates are expected to remain incredibly low.
The Fed has continued its commitment to infusing the market with liquidity in an effort to stabilize a rocky economic situation. One benefit to emerge from this practice has been low interest rates. In some cases, interest rates are hovering at or near zero. As a result, the Equipment Leasing and Financing Association’s 2021 Equipment Acquisition Trends report points to a robust marketplace. In other words, now could be the right moment for small businesses to take advantage of remarkable financing rates.
In a changing business landscape, everyone will need to adapt and adjust. Your customers will need to purchase or upgrade machinery, tools, technology, and equipment — but they might not be in a position to make those major purchases outright at the moment they need it. Both equipment financing and equipment leasing can help your customers obtain the vital equipment they need to continue being successful and thriving in a constantly evolving market.
To learn more about PEAC Solutions’ customized approach to equipment financing and leasing in a post-Covid world, click here for an insider look at what makes working with us refreshingly different.
