Customer experience platform Birdeye filled an important gap in its offering by launching Birdeye Payments. This is a new touchless payments platform, powered by Stripe, that lands squarely in the company President Dave Lehman is calling “game-changing.”
The key value proposition Bireye is touting with its new payments product is not so much the contactless nature of it. Nevertheless, Birdeye does cite a survey that says 65% of consumers want to continue with no-touch payments post-Covid. The real game-changer, however, is the integration into the customer journey.
“Payments is no longer fintech,” Birdeye CEO and co-founder Naveen Gupta, speaking in an internal company video announcing the new product. “It is part of the customer journey.”
So what does it mean to integrate payments into the customer journey?
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In the product announcement, Birdeye offers a few “for examples” to illustrate what they mean.
“A dentist can offer a consultation, schedule an appointment and request a payment, all in the same text conversation. Auto dealerships can answer a question about a vehicle in the lot, schedule a test drive for an interested buyer, and request a down payment. All in a matter of seconds.”
Jason Bowley, the owner of SpringBrook Power Washing, was one of the customers that piloted Birdeye Payments. He also emphasized the impact on customer experience.
“After a customer pays for their product – either online or in-person – we can quickly text them a receipt and request a review or referral,” Bowley said. “The Birdeye platform allows us to handle all touchpoints digitally with our customers, improving their experience and exceeding their expectations.”
Lehman said this in the internal company video. “To have it in your environment, where you are connected with your customers, your clients, your patrons, your patients, is incredibly powerful.”
Taking on Square?
Lehman and Gupta also drew a sharp contrast between Birdeye payments and traditional point of sales solutions. And they seem to signal a desire to take on POS monster Square.
“The point of sale systems have a singular focus on the transaction,” Lehman said.
And Gupta takes it even further, adding, “Businesses want to continue that conversation. And with Square, they can’t.”
