The Marketing Power of Secure Payments Secure payments serve a functional purpose in your business, but they can also serve double duty as a marketing benefit.

Secure payments serve a functional purpose in your business, but they can also serve double duty as a marketing benefit -- particularly now that so many customers have experienced card fraud or security breaches.

Here are a few ideas on how you can incorporate the fact that you offer secure payments into your marketing campaigns

Prove that you understand their concerns.

More than 40 percent of consumers surveyed by Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG) reported having personally experienced some form of credit card fraud -- and nearly half of them had fallen victim to it on more than one occasion. Your payment security isn't just a value-added benefit to consumers who have experienced fraud; it's a solution to a problem that they have experienced. Your business's willingness to invest in payment security and make it a priority ensures that customers who buy from you can trust that their information will be kept safe.

Incorporate messages into your marketing campaigns that overtly express that your business knows the challenges customers who have been victims of credit card experienced. Speak to the fear, frustration and vulnerability they may have felt, as well as the time and money they had to invest into managing the extent of the fraud. When you humanize payment security, your marketing campaigns can communicate that you truly care about taking care of your customers. Tell customers that you are empathetic to the concerns they have regarding data security, and that you made the business decision to intentionally invest in the payment security solutions to protect them.

Leverage customer perception of small business security.

Though a host of major retailers, corporations and government agencies have fallen victim to data breaches that compromised customers' financial and personal information over the past few years, customers may expect that a small business isn't as equipped to offer payment security as a large company with deep pockets. (For some small businesses, this perception may be correct: One IBM survey indicated that only 30 percent of small businesses provide security training to their staffs, compared to 58 percent of larger companies). Your business has the opportunity to leverage payment security as a point of differentiation in your marketing campaigns compared both to other small businesses and larger competitors.

Increase the perceived value of your offering.

Some consumer behavior studies indicate that customers are less price sensitive when they perceive that a business offers enhanced convenience in some way, shape or form. Use marketing messaging that remind customers that the costs of credit card fraud aren't just monetary in nature; consumers can spend several hours of their lives dealing with the aftermath of credit card fraud for years after the fact, particularly if card fraud requires them to file a police report, place a freeze on their credit reports and notify payees of changes to the card information.

Outline the many tangible and intangible benefits that payment security offers to customer convenience in your marketing messages. You may also want to remind them that payment security remains a very real concern if they buy from a business that doesn't take it seriously, particularly since the number of consumers who experience credit card fraud is expected to keep increasing until 2018.

Promote loyalty.

Nearly 70 percent of fraud victims say they will not do business with the company that failed to protect their data. Tout your payment security in marketing campaigns alongside loyalty messages that prove how many customers have come to trust your business over the years, in part because of the fact they know you take all aspects of customer care seriously, including payment security.

Payment security is important to protect your business from the risk of a breach (and the financial losses you may absorb if your business is the victim of one), but it's also a benefit you can offer to the many customers who have become increasingly wary about credit card fraud and identity theft. Incorporate payment security messages into your marketing campaigns to tell your customers why it's a tangible benefit worth valuing when they buy from your business.