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Inspiration

Make a splash with micro merchants this summer

ummer is only days away in the Northern Plus, Murphy pointed out that ISOs and MLSs have
Hemisphere, and that means a host of seasonal advantages over Square. One big benefit: merchants have
businesses are popping up—some in fixed loca- a real person to turn to when problems crop up. And
S tions, such as shoreline shacks selling snacks to service providers have a chance to build relationships with
beachgoers, and others at temporary booths selling crafts fledgling merchants, some of whom will become roaring
or seasonal produce at numerous outdoor fairs and mar- businesses that generate substantial residuals.
kets that take place during the warm weather months.
Another advantage is that micro merchants who sell their
Many of these seasonal businesses are micro merchants, wares at events are not doing so in isolated storefronts.
a group that was historically seen as not worth pursuing There is an incredible amount of camaraderie among
by traditional ISOs and merchant level salespeople. vendors during fair days and significant word of mouth
Then Square aggregated merchants under a fixed price about all things business related, including payments.
model and targeted mini merchants, who jumped aboard That means referrals from satisfied clients are likely to
with enthusiasm. Many of these merchants heard about occur spontaneously at these gatherings.
Square through word of mouth. Vendors at events saw the
extra sales others were making because they had these Taking the plunge
newfangled Square dongles. So, why not check out local fairs and celebrations coming
up soon and attend a few where micro merchants with
At first the established payments community thought, growth potential will be greeting the public? Talk to
let Square have 'em; they're not profitable and we're not them. Get to know them. You'll see a lot of them are using
supposed to aggregate anyway. But over the years, with Square. A few will be using other options. See what they
support from the likes of Visa early on, Square expanded aren't getting from their current provider that you could
its suite of services and some formerly micro merchants provide and then devise a program tailored just for them.
became big merchants that chose to stick with Square.
Now some ISOs and MLSs are giving this diverse pool of The summer is wide open. There's lots of fun to be had
sellers a new look. with family and friends outdoors, where concerns about

Serving the smallest of the small the possible spread of COVID-19 variants are not as strong
as at indoor gatherings. And while you're out, add some
Patti Murphy wrote about ways ISOs and MLSs are micro merchants to your portfolio, creating relationships
serving micro merchants in "Insider's report on payments: that may turn more lucrative than you've previously
A pitch for pitching micro merchants," published in The imagined.
Green Sheet April 22 of this year. The challenge, she found,
is to service these accounts without going into the red.
And one insight that has emerged is that while some
micro-merchants set up with pricing similar to Square's
are indeed money losers, but they are a minority: overall,
a well-run program can easily be in the black.

Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
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