Shoring Up Scalability: The Art & Importance Of Making Your Accounts Scalable

When it comes to setting up private accounts for uniform customers, never underestimate the importance of scalability. Many of your clients will be planning to expand their businesses in the coming years, especially if you cater to startups and small enterprises. Expansion will almost always raise their demand for uniforms and gear, and the easier it is for you to fill this growing demand, the more likely they are to stay with you for the long haul. It is thus critical that you provide them with private uniform accounts that are as flexible and scalable as possible, allowing them to order more uniforms at a moment’s notice.

Strategies for Making Private Accounts Scalable

The single most important element for scalability is simplicity. The simpler your clients’ accounts are, the easier it will be for them to expand the size of their orders, open additional accounts for new locations, or order a wider variety of uniforms. You should examine the layout of your private account pages, making sure that they are easy to navigate and provide clear instructions for each function. It's also important to make sure that the code for each page is as simple as possible. Complex programming makes bugs more likely and increases the risk that clients’ accounts will freeze up if they try to expand their orders.

Besides maximizing simplicity, creating scalable accounts also requires:

• Expanding Ledger Options- As companies increase in size and complexity, they may want to change the form of payment that they use, or use different payment options from different locations. You must allow clients to pay with as many ledgers as possible. It is particularly critical to accept credit cards, debit cards, payroll deductions, and prepaid allowances.
• Flexible Grouping- Dividing your clients’ accounts into groups based on location and industry is important for a number of reasons, not least of which to make them scalable for companies that are expanding into new regions or fields. Say that a client currently does business in Raleigh, North Carolina, but wants to open a new office in Boise, Idaho. If you already have a group for clients in Boise that emphasizes gear suitable to that location, clients who want to expand into Boise will have an easier time finding the products they need to do so.
• Visible Discounts- If you’re like most uniform marketers, you already offer discounts for clients who order your goods at high volume. You should make every discount option explicitly clear on your clients’ accounts, and allow clients to benefit from them as soon as they order the right volume. This will make it easier for them to assess the costs and benefits of expanding, simplifying the decision to do so.

Expanding a business is always a challenge, generating new costs and logistical problems for your clients. Your job is to give them the information and support they need to meet that challenge. To learn more, contact UniformMarket today.