Cut Costs, Save Time, and Keep Customers with ACH Payment Processing
No matter what the size of your business, every one wants to cut costs and time, while keeping (and adding) customers to their product and/or service. With today’s technology and easy use of online tools, it’s better than over to accomplish all of these things. But one asset in particular does all three in incredible fashion and not only updates the way you do business, but takes it to the next level. Welcome to the land of ACH payment processing.
Cyber Monday and the Growing Popularity of Accepting Payments Online
The past week has been a record breaker on all levels for both in-store and online shopping. Starting on Black Friday, millions of Americans left their Thanksgivings early to spend on average $423 per person, leading to the busiest shopping day of the year thus far. But that record only lasted the weekend, as the newly established shopping day known as Cyber Monday shocked even the most optimistic of analysts.
How to price small business products and services
With Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday behind us, the crazy sales may be over but the holiday shopping season is still in full swing. Whether or not holiday sale pricing is part of your business strategy, setting an appropriate price for your goods or services must be. Optimally, you’ll find that sweet spot where you can make a profit and your customers can feel comfortable with your pricing and value.
For many small business owners, that’s not an easy task, particularly when they are competing with large companies providing similar offerings. A recent Small Business Administration (SBA) post, How to Price Your Small Business’ Products and Services, tackles this issue.
Tools for launching and optimizing a small business mobile website
According to Google research, by 2013 more people worldwide will use mobile phones to go online than PCs, and by 2015 there will be one mobile device for each person on earth. If that’s not reason enough to make taking your small business mobile a priority, then also consider that mobile search has increased fourfold since 2010 and that 50% of mobile searches lead to purchases.
Even if your website is not e-commerce oriented, a powerful mobile presence is important. The same research found that 66% of people are disappointed if a company they like provides a poor mobile experience, and 52% say they are less likely to engage with a company that provides a bad mobile experience. Thus it is surprising that 79% of large online advertisers do not have an optimized mobile presence—which provides a great opportunity for small businesses to leap ahead of their large competitors.
The Google GO MO site is a great place to start. Whether you’re just beginning to think about mobile, have taken the first steps towards a mobile presence, want to test your latest mobile site for usability, or want to stay up to date on the latest research, howtogomo.com provides a wealth of resources that can help you create, optimize and expand.
Credit Card Processing: 4 key points to consider when choosing between a dedicated or aggregated merchant account
Offering your customers the option to pay with a credit card is a great way to enhance revenue for your small business. Your customers want the points associated with rewards cards, and they want to manage their own cash flow by floating balances or financing their purchases. Allowing them to use credit cards accomplishes both.
New study offers social media marketing best practices for B2B and B2C companies
You probably already have a social media strategy for your small business that involves blogging, tweeting, and posting on social sites like Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube. A typical strategy consists of creating great content and then publishing it and getting it noticed by your current and potential customers, in conjunction with engaging in relevant industry conversations and providing insightful comments. The goal is to use social media to improve brand recognition, increase customer loyalty, and, of course, generate more sales.
Setting strategy is a great first step. But the real work begins with figuring out how to successfully put the plan into action. New research from COMPENDIUM, a social media marketing company, provides guidance on successful social media tactics for both B2C and B2B companies.
There are More Ways Than ever to Accept Payments
The payment landscape is one of the fastest and hottest growing industries of the moment. In just three short years, mobile payments alone have gone from $37 billion in global processing, to nearly $300 billion in 2012. Online transaction processors are becoming the leaders in accepting payments with a huge wave of new technology that makes both paying and accepting payments through the digital world easier than ever.
Vote. It’s the most important thing you can do for your small business this week.
Tuesday November 6th is Election Day in the United States. Finally.
As a small business owner, the result of the election will have an impact on both your personal life and your company. And while the presidential and congressional races are getting the most attention, state and local races are likely to have just as big an impact on your business. So, it’s important that you vote for the candidates that can best help your small business achieve its goals.
If you’ve voted already, mission accomplished. If you’ve already firmly made up your mind but haven’t voted, vote on Tuesday. If you’re still undecided, it’s time to make the call.
Voting is personal, and there are certainly more issues to consider than just your small business interests. But if one of your key issues is small business, take a look at these resources to help you make your decision. We chose ostensibly non-partisan information sources.
New study finds that small businesses are not taking full advantage of ACH payments
Is your small business using ACH payments to reduce costs, streamline operations, and improve customer and employee satisfaction? If the answer is yes, then you’re realizing the advantages associated with electronic payments that large businesses have been leveraging for years. If the answer is no, then according to a new study you’re not alone in your continued reliance on paper checks.
