e-Signature Myths It’s Time for Hospitality Businesses to Bust

Would you consider delivering a superior customer experience a nice-to-have or a must-have? Likely the latter, and this mission needs to carry through in every decision you make for your business and every touchpoint your customers have with you. After all, attention to detail is what’ll set you apart.

In today’s post, we’re flipping the script on e-signatures and sharing why a digital signing solution is something you want to pay attention to.

Myth #1: Our existing signing process works well enough.

If you’re still requesting signatures by attaching your agreements to an email, you’re making the signing experience more painful for you and your customers than necessary. It may seem simple enough – “print and scan back please” – but really think about the steps involved.

Here’s how it commonly goes. This is so complicated, we don't even expect you to read through it.

All these steps can be automated with ease, freeing you up to manage more important tasks that are harder to pass off to technology.

In the case of Sertifi, this typically means a 90% faster turnaround – often bringing signatures back in minutes. Built-in required fields also ensure you get every signature and initial you need on the first try.

Your customers will thank you for a convenient signing experience, and you’ll appreciate the extra time you’re able to put toward other revenue-generating activities.

Myth #2: e-Signatures aren’t secure.

Consider another area that’s likely a must-have: robust security. Reputable e-signature solutions use advanced encryption and security measures to protect the integrity of signed documents, features which often exceed the level of security provided by traditional paper-based signatures. They also make edits easy and can even protect you from unexpected changes on the customer side, saving you time having to re-PDF pages and carefully check returned documents.

Plus, in the case of events, signatures are just one piece of the puzzle; you’re also due deposits. There is nothing more critical to a superior customer experience than doing everything in your control to protect their payment information.

Here are all the ways collecting payment information is not secure or compliant with PCI:

1. Asking customers to email it to you.
2. Asking customers to fax it to you.
3. Asking customers to call you so you can write it down.
4. Asking customers to meet in person to provide it.

Streamlining your signature and deposit requests – and managing the process in a PCI-compliant solution – assures your customers you prioritize their time and protection.

And if you’re taking good care of them before they arrive, they’ll be assured you’ll take good care of them when they do. Plus, collecting deposits the right way can save you thousands in processing fees and PCI penalty fees (sometimes as steep as $100,000).

Myth #3: Our customers will need special software to receive and sign digital documents.

Most e-signature solutions are cloud-based and accessible through web browsers, eliminating the need for specialized hardware or software. Users can often sign documents using a computer, tablet, or even a smartphone. In the case of Sertifi, your customers will get a secure link in their email that takes them to your Sertifi portal, and they can sign from any device.

Myth #4: It’s too expensive and/or difficult to implement.

We can only (officially) speak for Sertifi, but our subscription typically pays for itself in just one to three months. Plus, we offer a tiered pricing model based on several factors to ensure the cost stays as low as possible based on your usage and volume. So, all the benefits above could come as low as $1.00 a day. You’ll also be reducing administrative-related costs like your time and printer paper, toner, and ink.

Oftentimes, onboarding can take as little as a day (a great customer experience is important to us, too).

Myth #5: I wouldn’t use it enough to make the investment worthwhile.

“e-Signature” isn’t synonymous with “contract.” There are tons of ways you can apply an e-signature tool like Sertifi at scale beyond contracts, including:

• Banquet event orders (BEOs) 
• Catering contracts 
• Invoicing and payment-related documents
• Loyalty program agreements
• Liability waivers
• Health screening forms and declarations
• Work orders
• Health and safety compliance forms
• Employee and contractor paperwork
• Building leases and acquisition agreements

It really comes down to one question: why continue creating unnecessary steps for you and your customers?

Going digital eliminates pain in many ways, significantly increases the security of your processes, and is easy to adopt – and you don’t even need to break the bank.

Our team’s ready to show what’s possible with Sertifi. Get a sneak peek: