Customer case: Cameraland

Customer case: Cameraland

Cameraland is a camera shop in the Dutch town of Alkmaar. It is known as a paradise for both photographers and videographers. The shop was founded in 1989 and was then called Foto Kiekie. In 2005 Cameraland dropped the name Foto Kiekie, and a new name was introduced. E-commerce Manager Steven Poldner: ''The name Cameraland is more up to date. After 31 years we are an established name amongst camera shops. At Cameraland, you can find anything in the area of photography and videography, both in our shop and on our webshop.''

 

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Personal and with a nod to the environment

Cameraland is the place to be if you want to buy a camera or lens, but you can also insure your camera and trade-in or sell your old camera. The latter is where the camera shop strongly distinguishes itself. Steven: ''And the personal approach is essential as well. We take our customers from A to Z in their buyer's journey, and they value that.''

Besides the personal approach, Cameraland stands out due to its wide range of products. "We strongly believe in contributing to the environment. That's why we have a large selection of second-hand equipment'', says Steven. Cameraland believes that (camera) equipment does not always need to be brand new. A well maintained (by Cameraland tested and thoroughly cleaned) second-hand camera can be easily combined with more recent lenses. "That's what most of our customers do. They turn in their old camera and pay the remaining sum for a new or more professional camera," says Steven.

 

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Customer interaction, above all

Customer contact is a powerful tool and the cornerstone of many companies and organisations. Customers often value this by their loyalty and level of involvement. According to Steven, this rule can also be extended to partnerships and collaborations. "It's almost the same,'' Steven asserts. "For the facilitation of payments in our webshop and our physical shop, we initially used the services of another Payment Service Provider. The collaboration was good, but as a customer of this payment service provider, we missed the personal contact we provide to our customers." Cameraland ended the cooperation and started looking for another Payment Service Provider. Steven: "Then PAY. came... and with PAY. it really feels like cooperation. It is a powerful partnership."

Cameraland always has good and close contact with PAY. They think along and act fast. This opened doors for us. We now use methods that make our services and payment processes smoother and more manageable.

Meeting customer needs seamlessly with PAY. and MplusKASSA

 
It shows that Cameraland considers the collaboration with PAY. an unequalled success. Together the parties optimise the payment and return process, making it easier for Cameraland customers to report their returns in the physical shop. Steven: "This gives customers more assurance when they are in doubt about the purchase of more valuable equipment." Steven also points out that payment flows are much more transparent in the PAY. Admin Panel. "And that is all because we have started to use PAY's in-store solution in our physical shop."

 

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Besides allowing customers to experience smooth payments in the webshop, Cameraland also wanted to let customers experience smooth payments in the physical shop. The camera shop started using the MplusKASSA link from PAY. to achieve this. MplusKASSA is a user-friendly and professional cash register system. The software filters stock information by date, allow for extensive purchasing lists to be drawn up and provide insight into the product history. "We're also pleased with the checkout feature, so colleagues only have to enter that the customer will be paying with a debit card," says Steven. "Payment details are then automatically sent to the PAY. terminal. We don't have to perform any manual operations; it's fully automated. Really great, and our customers are happy that paying is so easy!"

At MplusKASSA, we continue to develop the most innovative and user-friendly cash register software. Good connections with partners as PAY. are essential in this respect. We want to offer our customers an extensive choice of interfaces. With a focus on the future and our QR order app, we see the potential of an omnichannel partner like PAY. that can process both online and offline transactions.

Complete focus on the customer (experience)

In recent years, the number of webshops has exploded, leaving many entrepreneurs wondering whether the physical shop still has a right to exist. However, even after the corona pandemic, it appears that it is not wise for retailers to focus solely online. It is all about the combination of online and offline. "This so-called 'bricks and clicks' model still proves to be the most sustainable for retailers. Customers explore their options online and come to the shop to see and experience the products," Steven points out. "But we also had to 'redefine' ourselves during the lockdown. The webshop was doing very well, but we didn't want to lose the personal contact for which we are so well known.''

 

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To assist customers during the lockdown, sales staff in the physical shop moved online. "Colleagues plunged into the online business; they started making phone calls and engaged in live chats like real online consultants.'' Steven indicates that Cameraland wants to continue this mindset for the future: ''It's not just about selling new and second-hand equipment, but also about what we can offer customers regarding courses, webinars and lessons. We want to be the customer's expert and their number one contact in all areas. That is what we are constantly working on."

Transparent, accessible and friendly. That is PAY. in our eyes. We at Cameraland are very happy with PAY. as our payment partner, also because they are not so financially demanding. By this I mean to say: PAY. employees are not men in grey suits. It is a young and dynamic team that is always ready to help us.