Ever wonder if deals online are really better than deals found in your local retail store or outlet? Are you one of those people who think you can wait and get a good deal later? Weather you have considered both of these questions, or just want to make your dollar stretch as far as possible, there are few things you should know about online shopping.
Consumers are constantly bombarded with so many online advertisements that we easily take most offers for granted, or are just plain annoyed by all the attempts and schemes to get into our wallets. Think about it. When was the last time you clicked on a banner ad? I would even venture to say you don't even remember the last banner ad you saw.
Most people who shop online already have their favorite shopping sites picked out, and rarely go elsewhere. As with most people, when I find something good, I stick with it, but if you shop online for convenience, and always go to the same source for deals online, you may be missing out on some good bargains from lesser known sites.
Aren't the best deals online the ones that provide the same product's and services found at retail outlets or larger online stores for less money? Today's online businesses have to compete with retail outlets and giant online stores and usually do this with free online offers, rebates or even a reduced cost for service.
When you shop at a retail store, you have the ability to get a feel for the product you are about to purchase. When shopping online, you cannot touch, feel or tinker with the product at all, that's where free offers come in. Many times vendors such as satellite TV or cellular companies will offer free equipment in exchange for a service agreement.
You'll also find that many online vendors like broadband, or dial up Internet providers offer reduced rates for service, or rebates that aren't always available if you went directly to the source, in an effort to compete with the larger companies or service providers. These online deals are a good way of offsetting the cost for new service.
We've all seen these kind of deals online and passed them by with the common misconception they'll be there later. This simply is not true. As an online marketer myself, I have seen product offerings go up as much as 30 dollars overnight. Nothing discourages me more than to see a customer have to pay more for a product than they would have if they would have just signed up in the first place.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
9 Ways of Invigorating a Tired E-commerce Blog
It's well known that the search engines are suckers for fresh content. Sites that are updated regularly fare better than those that remain static over long periods of time. This has always posed a problem for us store owners, because simply adding a few new products each month just isn't going to suffice in competitive markets. Nor is shuffling the featured products around on our home pages every now and again!
Thankfully blogging goes a long way toward solving this dilemma. Get into the habit of making frequent, regular posts to a blog and sites soon take on that fresh, organic quality the search engines love.
Of course, as well as helping rankings, blogs are also great way of interacting with clients. Sharing views and news with visitors and allowing them to comment on posts creates a sense of community around a store. This does wonders for conversion rates.
So blogs and ecommerce are a healthy combination – but what about the writing itself? It's vital that a blog is kept ticking over but posting fresh material every few days can soon become taxing! So here a few tips and ideas for when you run out of inspiration.
1.Product news.
The arrival of new product lines should always be announced on your blog. If nothing else it provides an ideal opportunity to get keywords into action, so use them in the titles of your posts as well as the body. Similarly you can also use your blog to inform customers when a particular item is back in stock.
2.Additional product reviews
Not everyone likes long copy and you may prefer to keep your actual store's product descriptions short and to the point. But your blog provides an ideal opportunity to pull out all the stops for the more obsessive customer. Add extra photos, tell anecdotes – use all that extra space to your advantage. With a little care and attention you can nail plenty of keyword variations.
3.Apologies
Whenever there's a problem with your store or something goes wrong, address in it your blog. Say sorry if necessary. Customers will appreciate your honesty!
4.The future
Good websites are always a work in progress and you should keep your customers informed of any changes on the horizon. So if you are planning on offering another payment method in a few months, talk about it. Say why you're doing it and when it will happen.
5.We're great!
Create a a blog category exclusively for your customer testimonials. Then whenever you receive a complimentary email, ask the customer if you can post it. You should be able to collect a nice backlog of such comments for days when you don't have any news. Then you can just post a testimonial to keep the spiders happy! Of course, this tactic also serves a double purpose in that you'll soon have a fully functioning testimonial page which you can link to from the main site.
6.Sales and promotions.
Offering any discounts this week? Don't just tell your newsletter subscribers, post it.
7.Happy holidays!
There are countless different festivals, holy days and holidays celebrated at different times throughout the year. Mention them. Your customers may be of various nationalities and religious persuasions so don't limit yourself to Happy Christmas and Happy Halloween!
8.News close to home.
You should never approach your store's blog as a personal diary. After all your customers don't want to hear about what you had for breakfast. But that doesn't mean that you can't mention momentous or life changing events. Maybe a member of your staff is getting married or expecting a baby, for example. Depending on the overall personality of your store this may not be something that you'd like to do, but in the right circumstances mentioning this kind of news can endear you to your customers very effectively. Everybody likes to be reassured that they are dealing with 3 dimensional people, not just a faceless money making machine. Just don't overdo it.
9.Current bestsellers.
If a particular product is really popular, it's worth mentioning for two reasons. Firstly it can create a sense of urgency in your customers if they think that stocks may be getting low. Secondly, if a lot of people are buying a certain product there are probably a lot of people searching for it as well. When you've got a hot keyword, pepper a post with it and then feed it to the spiders!
Thankfully blogging goes a long way toward solving this dilemma. Get into the habit of making frequent, regular posts to a blog and sites soon take on that fresh, organic quality the search engines love.
Of course, as well as helping rankings, blogs are also great way of interacting with clients. Sharing views and news with visitors and allowing them to comment on posts creates a sense of community around a store. This does wonders for conversion rates.
So blogs and ecommerce are a healthy combination – but what about the writing itself? It's vital that a blog is kept ticking over but posting fresh material every few days can soon become taxing! So here a few tips and ideas for when you run out of inspiration.
1.Product news.
The arrival of new product lines should always be announced on your blog. If nothing else it provides an ideal opportunity to get keywords into action, so use them in the titles of your posts as well as the body. Similarly you can also use your blog to inform customers when a particular item is back in stock.
2.Additional product reviews
Not everyone likes long copy and you may prefer to keep your actual store's product descriptions short and to the point. But your blog provides an ideal opportunity to pull out all the stops for the more obsessive customer. Add extra photos, tell anecdotes – use all that extra space to your advantage. With a little care and attention you can nail plenty of keyword variations.
3.Apologies
Whenever there's a problem with your store or something goes wrong, address in it your blog. Say sorry if necessary. Customers will appreciate your honesty!
4.The future
Good websites are always a work in progress and you should keep your customers informed of any changes on the horizon. So if you are planning on offering another payment method in a few months, talk about it. Say why you're doing it and when it will happen.
5.We're great!
Create a a blog category exclusively for your customer testimonials. Then whenever you receive a complimentary email, ask the customer if you can post it. You should be able to collect a nice backlog of such comments for days when you don't have any news. Then you can just post a testimonial to keep the spiders happy! Of course, this tactic also serves a double purpose in that you'll soon have a fully functioning testimonial page which you can link to from the main site.
6.Sales and promotions.
Offering any discounts this week? Don't just tell your newsletter subscribers, post it.
7.Happy holidays!
There are countless different festivals, holy days and holidays celebrated at different times throughout the year. Mention them. Your customers may be of various nationalities and religious persuasions so don't limit yourself to Happy Christmas and Happy Halloween!
8.News close to home.
You should never approach your store's blog as a personal diary. After all your customers don't want to hear about what you had for breakfast. But that doesn't mean that you can't mention momentous or life changing events. Maybe a member of your staff is getting married or expecting a baby, for example. Depending on the overall personality of your store this may not be something that you'd like to do, but in the right circumstances mentioning this kind of news can endear you to your customers very effectively. Everybody likes to be reassured that they are dealing with 3 dimensional people, not just a faceless money making machine. Just don't overdo it.
9.Current bestsellers.
If a particular product is really popular, it's worth mentioning for two reasons. Firstly it can create a sense of urgency in your customers if they think that stocks may be getting low. Secondly, if a lot of people are buying a certain product there are probably a lot of people searching for it as well. When you've got a hot keyword, pepper a post with it and then feed it to the spiders!
4 Reasons Why You Should Start a Membership Website
Membership websites are quickly becoming common place. More and more consumers are willing to pay for information that is specific to their interests. The "give it all away for free" website model is becoming more difficult to prosper at. Advertising cost are down and competition is fierce.
So why is the "Pay for Content" model such an attractive one?
1. Quick and Low Cost Startup:
Membership Websites can be up and running in just a couple of weeks, depending on your computer and html skills, maybe less. The cost associated with starting a membership site is pretty small compared to most other business models. In most cases you can start one with just a few hundred dollars.
2. High Profit Percentage:
Membership Websites have fairly low overhead and do not necessarily need any employees other than yourself. That means after expenses such as membership software, hosting, etc... you average from 50% to 80%. This extremely high profit percentage.
3. Continual Income:
One of the biggest problems business face is maintaining income and cash flow on a continual basis. Constantly seeking out new customers is time consuming and expensive. With a Membership Website you can have a steady income month after month without having to continually get new customers.
4. Quick Turn Around on Investment:
One of the biggest advantages of a Membership site is the quick return on investment possibilities. For example... Let's say it costs you $300 to get started and around $100/month to maintain the site. If you only charged $19.95/month for a subscription it would only take you 16 subscribers to cover the costs of start up. Not only that, but every month after that you would be making $200 a month from the same 16 subscribers... That's $2,400 a year. That may not sound like a lot of money but what if you had 50 or 100 subscribers. Your income quickly rises to thousands a month.
Don't think you know anything people are willing to pay for...well you do. Their are membership website on every topic from business to fishing to socks (yes that's right socks, like the one's on your feet). The good news is that the smaller niche market is for your information the more likely people with be willing to pay for it. Not only that but it usually means you can charge more as well.
So why is the "Pay for Content" model such an attractive one?
1. Quick and Low Cost Startup:
Membership Websites can be up and running in just a couple of weeks, depending on your computer and html skills, maybe less. The cost associated with starting a membership site is pretty small compared to most other business models. In most cases you can start one with just a few hundred dollars.
2. High Profit Percentage:
Membership Websites have fairly low overhead and do not necessarily need any employees other than yourself. That means after expenses such as membership software, hosting, etc... you average from 50% to 80%. This extremely high profit percentage.
3. Continual Income:
One of the biggest problems business face is maintaining income and cash flow on a continual basis. Constantly seeking out new customers is time consuming and expensive. With a Membership Website you can have a steady income month after month without having to continually get new customers.
4. Quick Turn Around on Investment:
One of the biggest advantages of a Membership site is the quick return on investment possibilities. For example... Let's say it costs you $300 to get started and around $100/month to maintain the site. If you only charged $19.95/month for a subscription it would only take you 16 subscribers to cover the costs of start up. Not only that, but every month after that you would be making $200 a month from the same 16 subscribers... That's $2,400 a year. That may not sound like a lot of money but what if you had 50 or 100 subscribers. Your income quickly rises to thousands a month.
Don't think you know anything people are willing to pay for...well you do. Their are membership website on every topic from business to fishing to socks (yes that's right socks, like the one's on your feet). The good news is that the smaller niche market is for your information the more likely people with be willing to pay for it. Not only that but it usually means you can charge more as well.
Critical Steps In Starting A Profitable Online Business
An e-commerce business certainly can be profitable and very rewarding. It can also be very frustrating. There is so much hype and outrageous claims of wealth. It is more about building relationships than instant wealth. I wanted to share a website that I found really refreshing and provides a wealth of great content without the hype.
This website teaches many of the marketing techniques that I paid more than $500.00 to learn and offers if for free. Not only does it teach the important techniques of building a profitable e-commerce business but it also teaches you how to develop a website eliminating the cost of having somebody else develop it for you. I was amazed at how much information this website revealed.
One of the biggest obstacles that most people face when starting an e-commerce business is thinking of an idea, service or product that they can offer online that will actually make them a profit. I really enjoyed how this online audio course helped take away most of the guess work in thinking of ideas. Some of the initial sources recommended in searching an idea for a product or service is visiting affiliate marketing services to discover what products are listed in level of popularity, visit magazine racks and notice ones with multiple copies of the same target market, visit general directories, visit online groups to see which ones have a large population of members, listen to infomercials for ideas and try to offer this online as a cheaper alternative. This is just scratching the surface as to what this course teaches.
One of the most important lessons in the course is teaching you about the tools available to do product research. Once you have finally thought of an idea, you are now ready to research if it is indeed a viable one. I can’t stress the importance of this step. If you eliminate this step your could waste precious time and needless amounts of money.
This website teaches many of the marketing techniques that I paid more than $500.00 to learn and offers if for free. Not only does it teach the important techniques of building a profitable e-commerce business but it also teaches you how to develop a website eliminating the cost of having somebody else develop it for you. I was amazed at how much information this website revealed.
One of the biggest obstacles that most people face when starting an e-commerce business is thinking of an idea, service or product that they can offer online that will actually make them a profit. I really enjoyed how this online audio course helped take away most of the guess work in thinking of ideas. Some of the initial sources recommended in searching an idea for a product or service is visiting affiliate marketing services to discover what products are listed in level of popularity, visit magazine racks and notice ones with multiple copies of the same target market, visit general directories, visit online groups to see which ones have a large population of members, listen to infomercials for ideas and try to offer this online as a cheaper alternative. This is just scratching the surface as to what this course teaches.
One of the most important lessons in the course is teaching you about the tools available to do product research. Once you have finally thought of an idea, you are now ready to research if it is indeed a viable one. I can’t stress the importance of this step. If you eliminate this step your could waste precious time and needless amounts of money.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Tips for Building Your First Online Shopping Cart
Starting your first online store?
Starting an online store can be extremely daunting for someone new to the world of online businesses, but, for a good reason. There are so many aspects which create success for a shopping cart in a world of powerful search engines, directories, affiliates and word of mouth, the chance of making it big can rely purely on a big budget or a brand new idea.
If you’re thinking of building your online extension of a current business or even starting a purely online business then hopefully the following will outline some of the most important aspects of getting started.
Market research Ask yourself, is there any point in setting up any kind of online business at all, if there is no demand or so much competition you will be lost in the crowd?
There have been a few exceptions in the past where small businesses are so well structured and marketed that they grow quickly and succeed, however this can be very difficult without the right support.
So how are you going to set yourself apart? What will be your image? And what are your goals?
These are questions you need to think about when you are researching. Find out if there is truly an opportunity for your company to succeed. The worst thing you can do is simply jump in and hope for the best, did the most successful companies in the world do that?
Setting Targets and Goals Figuring out where you will be in 5... 10... 15... 20 years from now plays an integral part in the way your shopping cart is structured, managed and performs now. Target and goal setting makes an incredible difference to the level of success or success at all a company can enjoy.
Start thinking about the steps your online store will make at each stage of it's life.
When it starts to grow needing new staff
When it needs financial assistance
When changes to tax structure is important
What new markets you wish to tap into
Your staff rewards when targets are met
Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sales targets
…and the list goes on. Think big! If you aim higher than the rest, the chance of your shopping cart being successful is also higher.
Setting up Your Store – general rules
- Business Contact information
The following information should be posted to the website in an easy to see location:
A corporate address
Product return address
An e-mail address
A contact number
Big detailed pictures pay off
Just like in a physical retail shop, your customers want to really know what they are buying and need to see it close up. Make sure you are uploading images larger than just the detailed product view. Upload at least 400 X 400 pixels and up to 700 X 700 pixels for every product image so your customer can get a clear detailed view of what they plan to buy from you, otherwise, they will simply click away.
Testimonials
Do testimonials work? Can testimonials be rigged and seem unauthentic? Sure. It seems like most testimonials are generic. If you include the first and last name as well as possibly an email address of the testimonial, you will earn trust and credibility.
- Graphics
While a flashy site with neat graphics may catch someone's eye, well written, descriptive, persuasive text is the ticket to sales conversions... it's the difference between the prospective buyer exiting your site and opening their pocketbook. Avoid any annoying music and long loading flash movies on your main pages.
- Only knowledgeable people to take phone calls
Consumers shopping online are no different than regular retail customers, they have questions about your product, your business and your delivery methods. It is important to greet any phone calls or emails with well trained staff who are knowledgeable about your company and products. The more your company can assist consumers, the better the conversion rates and repeat buying. Don't forget to cross sell and up-sell at this point!
- Return policies should be easy and fair
A good return policy can promote trust in the buyer and multiple orders. It is important to include return labels with the packaging and provide refunds when requested. Repeat business is your best business. Provide them with your best customer service and they will reward you for it by ordering from your shopping cart- not someone else's.
- Navigation
Make sure you maintain a simple navigation throughout your shopping cart. There should be no reason to steer customers more than two to three clicks deep within your site, the home page should always be only a click away. The clearer your site is presented, the more time customers can spend looking at all your products and info without getting frustrated. It is important that your build your shopping cart using a quality programmer and designer or well designed/built shopping cart software.
-Be sure of your postal methods
Ever not received an item you ordered online and paid for upfront, only to find out no-one knows where it is? Ever received an item in the post only to open and see it damaged? This is one of the most frustrating things about buying online. Make sure you back yourself up with tracking codes and trustworthy shipping companies.
Content Make It Count!
A method to inducing the first click is providing a strong call to action or incentive. By featuring discounts and free shipping offers, the offer may intrigue the user to commit another click.
Don't let them go
Once you have the prospective buyer "on the hook"… don't kill the sale with poorly written product descriptions. Nothing kills a sale quicker than a product that is as enthralling as reading the ingredients of a bag of frozen peas. You have invested the time and effort to build your shopping cart; don't miss out on sales due to poorly worded product descriptions.
Being personable is also important. Instead of having the most exciting part of a television product description be it's "titanium silver color"… talk about how the consumer's home will be the place to come and watch the big game (on a screen so big you can see the sweat coming out of the players' pores). Speak about how the "picture in picture" capability means there will be no more flipping back and forth- saving the fingers precious energy for snatching up potato chips.
Do all you can to involve the person's emotions and senses into the product description. Sure, the technical stuff should be included, but put it at the bottom of the description.
Starting an online store can be extremely daunting for someone new to the world of online businesses, but, for a good reason. There are so many aspects which create success for a shopping cart in a world of powerful search engines, directories, affiliates and word of mouth, the chance of making it big can rely purely on a big budget or a brand new idea.
If you’re thinking of building your online extension of a current business or even starting a purely online business then hopefully the following will outline some of the most important aspects of getting started.
Market research Ask yourself, is there any point in setting up any kind of online business at all, if there is no demand or so much competition you will be lost in the crowd?
There have been a few exceptions in the past where small businesses are so well structured and marketed that they grow quickly and succeed, however this can be very difficult without the right support.
So how are you going to set yourself apart? What will be your image? And what are your goals?
These are questions you need to think about when you are researching. Find out if there is truly an opportunity for your company to succeed. The worst thing you can do is simply jump in and hope for the best, did the most successful companies in the world do that?
Setting Targets and Goals Figuring out where you will be in 5... 10... 15... 20 years from now plays an integral part in the way your shopping cart is structured, managed and performs now. Target and goal setting makes an incredible difference to the level of success or success at all a company can enjoy.
Start thinking about the steps your online store will make at each stage of it's life.
When it starts to grow needing new staff
When it needs financial assistance
When changes to tax structure is important
What new markets you wish to tap into
Your staff rewards when targets are met
Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sales targets
…and the list goes on. Think big! If you aim higher than the rest, the chance of your shopping cart being successful is also higher.
Setting up Your Store – general rules
- Business Contact information
The following information should be posted to the website in an easy to see location:
A corporate address
Product return address
An e-mail address
A contact number
Big detailed pictures pay off
Just like in a physical retail shop, your customers want to really know what they are buying and need to see it close up. Make sure you are uploading images larger than just the detailed product view. Upload at least 400 X 400 pixels and up to 700 X 700 pixels for every product image so your customer can get a clear detailed view of what they plan to buy from you, otherwise, they will simply click away.
Testimonials
Do testimonials work? Can testimonials be rigged and seem unauthentic? Sure. It seems like most testimonials are generic. If you include the first and last name as well as possibly an email address of the testimonial, you will earn trust and credibility.
- Graphics
While a flashy site with neat graphics may catch someone's eye, well written, descriptive, persuasive text is the ticket to sales conversions... it's the difference between the prospective buyer exiting your site and opening their pocketbook. Avoid any annoying music and long loading flash movies on your main pages.
- Only knowledgeable people to take phone calls
Consumers shopping online are no different than regular retail customers, they have questions about your product, your business and your delivery methods. It is important to greet any phone calls or emails with well trained staff who are knowledgeable about your company and products. The more your company can assist consumers, the better the conversion rates and repeat buying. Don't forget to cross sell and up-sell at this point!
- Return policies should be easy and fair
A good return policy can promote trust in the buyer and multiple orders. It is important to include return labels with the packaging and provide refunds when requested. Repeat business is your best business. Provide them with your best customer service and they will reward you for it by ordering from your shopping cart- not someone else's.
- Navigation
Make sure you maintain a simple navigation throughout your shopping cart. There should be no reason to steer customers more than two to three clicks deep within your site, the home page should always be only a click away. The clearer your site is presented, the more time customers can spend looking at all your products and info without getting frustrated. It is important that your build your shopping cart using a quality programmer and designer or well designed/built shopping cart software.
-Be sure of your postal methods
Ever not received an item you ordered online and paid for upfront, only to find out no-one knows where it is? Ever received an item in the post only to open and see it damaged? This is one of the most frustrating things about buying online. Make sure you back yourself up with tracking codes and trustworthy shipping companies.
Content Make It Count!
A method to inducing the first click is providing a strong call to action or incentive. By featuring discounts and free shipping offers, the offer may intrigue the user to commit another click.
Don't let them go
Once you have the prospective buyer "on the hook"… don't kill the sale with poorly written product descriptions. Nothing kills a sale quicker than a product that is as enthralling as reading the ingredients of a bag of frozen peas. You have invested the time and effort to build your shopping cart; don't miss out on sales due to poorly worded product descriptions.
Being personable is also important. Instead of having the most exciting part of a television product description be it's "titanium silver color"… talk about how the consumer's home will be the place to come and watch the big game (on a screen so big you can see the sweat coming out of the players' pores). Speak about how the "picture in picture" capability means there will be no more flipping back and forth- saving the fingers precious energy for snatching up potato chips.
Do all you can to involve the person's emotions and senses into the product description. Sure, the technical stuff should be included, but put it at the bottom of the description.
Setting of Your Payment Processors
Paypal is not open to all international customer(it is the major disadvantage of papal). you have three account possibility with paypal: Personal, Premier and Business. Premier account is preferable; you will be able to receive any type of payments, credits cards...) If you decide to open an account with them, you will be able to receive payments within minutes.
A second option is Stormpay. It is a good payment processor( there is actually some different with autosurf sites, but customers who are not involved in theses programs don' t have any restrictions in using their accounts. It is a good alternative to paypal, because they do not have any restrictions concerning the country of application for the account. It is available worldwide. The fonctionement of Stormpay is similar to paypal, and for the beginner, the newbie, he can start after going through the tutorial.
Now, the paid payment processors. 2 payment processors must retain your attention when you start:ClickBank and 2checkout. Before opening your account with click bank, you will have to submit a product approval request. You will be able after your acceptation, to accept payment by credit card, paypal balance, e checks. Also, you will have the benefit of being listed in the ClickBank marketplace, that will allow you to run your own affiliate program. Note that I recommend that you host your own affiliate Programs. You will have to pay $49.95 to open your account.
The second payment processor is 2checkout. I highly recommend that you register with 2checkout as your payment processor. It is a fast and reliable payment processor. You just have to pay a one time payment fee of $49.95(no monthly fees). And you will be able to receive all kind of payment for your online business. You will then accept payment by credit cards, debit and checks, from any part of the world.
You will be able also to set an automatic rebilling of your customer' s monthly fee, with 2checkout, paypal and stormpay.
You must know that if you don' t provide to your customers a way to pay you from any part of the world, that will result for you in a lost of sales, and residual customers over time. The best payment processor available right now is 2checkout, because it enable you to receive all kind of payment available worldwide.
A second option is Stormpay. It is a good payment processor( there is actually some different with autosurf sites, but customers who are not involved in theses programs don' t have any restrictions in using their accounts. It is a good alternative to paypal, because they do not have any restrictions concerning the country of application for the account. It is available worldwide. The fonctionement of Stormpay is similar to paypal, and for the beginner, the newbie, he can start after going through the tutorial.
Now, the paid payment processors. 2 payment processors must retain your attention when you start:ClickBank and 2checkout. Before opening your account with click bank, you will have to submit a product approval request. You will be able after your acceptation, to accept payment by credit card, paypal balance, e checks. Also, you will have the benefit of being listed in the ClickBank marketplace, that will allow you to run your own affiliate program. Note that I recommend that you host your own affiliate Programs. You will have to pay $49.95 to open your account.
The second payment processor is 2checkout. I highly recommend that you register with 2checkout as your payment processor. It is a fast and reliable payment processor. You just have to pay a one time payment fee of $49.95(no monthly fees). And you will be able to receive all kind of payment for your online business. You will then accept payment by credit cards, debit and checks, from any part of the world.
You will be able also to set an automatic rebilling of your customer' s monthly fee, with 2checkout, paypal and stormpay.
You must know that if you don' t provide to your customers a way to pay you from any part of the world, that will result for you in a lost of sales, and residual customers over time. The best payment processor available right now is 2checkout, because it enable you to receive all kind of payment available worldwide.
The Advantages Of Using A Merchant Account
In today’s fast pace of technological advancement, more and more people are engaging into online business. They have seen the fast proliferation of the information technology.
With this, the industry is trying to cope up with the growing needs of the market by creating various techniques, strategies, and devices that will best suit the necessities of the consumers as well as the online businesses.
Moreover, with the proliferation of the credit card industry, more and more people are enticed to do “cashless shopping,” where convenience is the name of the game.
In fact, some statistical reports can attest that in the U.S. alone, nearly 500 million credit cards are being issued every year. From this point, consumers are enticed to use their credit cards, which accounts to almost 50% of all the expenses, which is more than $50, of the average consumer.
That is why certain marketing tools such as the merchant account were created in order to compensate the growing demands of the market. This can be very useful especially because almost 60% of the products and services available in the market are being sold online.
The Concept of Merchant Account
Merchant accounts are actually “bank accounts” created by a particular online business with a merchant bank, which provides necessary consent to accept credit card payments via online transactions.
The “merchant account provider” will be the one to make the necessary transfer of funds into the business’ bank account as soon as there are payments made by the consumer.
In line with this, many online businesses are wondering whether it is really necessary for them to get a merchant account. Hence, for those who wish to know the answer, here is a list of what merchant account can do for the business:
1. A good way to start online business
One of the greatest benefits of using merchant account for online business is that it can provide instant ease in online transactions especially for those who are just starting new.
2. Safe transactions
The merchant account provider will provide the necessary tools that will safeguard the financial matters of the online business. This refers to the management of fraudulent activities over the Internet such as scams, identity theft, etc. They will also provide the business with advanced “customer service” such as automated payments, security, and handling orders.
3. Flexibility
With a merchant account, the online business can customize the needs of the company by choosing the credit cards that will only be allowed in their online transactions.
Moreover, they can also select the proper kinds of credit cards that are appropriate in the kind of business that they have.
4. Convenience
Merchant account is the most economical and feasible way of accepting credit card payments online. The process is quick to establish, hence, both the business and the consumer will not have a hard time accessing the benefits through this online transaction.
5. No super add-ons
The best thing about getting a merchant account is that the businessperson will simply get what he or she needs. This means that when the business will apply for a merchant account, there will be no extra requirements needed.
Unlike applying for credit cards, most merchant account providers will not evaluate your credit history. That is why merchant accounts are also applicable even to the new online businesses.
Indeed, merchant account can provide online businesses a thousand and one ways as far as online transactions are concerned. Sales will be on its optimum peak because most of the consumers nowadays are purchasing items online, and without a merchant account, the business will be at a lost.
With this, the industry is trying to cope up with the growing needs of the market by creating various techniques, strategies, and devices that will best suit the necessities of the consumers as well as the online businesses.
Moreover, with the proliferation of the credit card industry, more and more people are enticed to do “cashless shopping,” where convenience is the name of the game.
In fact, some statistical reports can attest that in the U.S. alone, nearly 500 million credit cards are being issued every year. From this point, consumers are enticed to use their credit cards, which accounts to almost 50% of all the expenses, which is more than $50, of the average consumer.
That is why certain marketing tools such as the merchant account were created in order to compensate the growing demands of the market. This can be very useful especially because almost 60% of the products and services available in the market are being sold online.
The Concept of Merchant Account
Merchant accounts are actually “bank accounts” created by a particular online business with a merchant bank, which provides necessary consent to accept credit card payments via online transactions.
The “merchant account provider” will be the one to make the necessary transfer of funds into the business’ bank account as soon as there are payments made by the consumer.
In line with this, many online businesses are wondering whether it is really necessary for them to get a merchant account. Hence, for those who wish to know the answer, here is a list of what merchant account can do for the business:
1. A good way to start online business
One of the greatest benefits of using merchant account for online business is that it can provide instant ease in online transactions especially for those who are just starting new.
2. Safe transactions
The merchant account provider will provide the necessary tools that will safeguard the financial matters of the online business. This refers to the management of fraudulent activities over the Internet such as scams, identity theft, etc. They will also provide the business with advanced “customer service” such as automated payments, security, and handling orders.
3. Flexibility
With a merchant account, the online business can customize the needs of the company by choosing the credit cards that will only be allowed in their online transactions.
Moreover, they can also select the proper kinds of credit cards that are appropriate in the kind of business that they have.
4. Convenience
Merchant account is the most economical and feasible way of accepting credit card payments online. The process is quick to establish, hence, both the business and the consumer will not have a hard time accessing the benefits through this online transaction.
5. No super add-ons
The best thing about getting a merchant account is that the businessperson will simply get what he or she needs. This means that when the business will apply for a merchant account, there will be no extra requirements needed.
Unlike applying for credit cards, most merchant account providers will not evaluate your credit history. That is why merchant accounts are also applicable even to the new online businesses.
Indeed, merchant account can provide online businesses a thousand and one ways as far as online transactions are concerned. Sales will be on its optimum peak because most of the consumers nowadays are purchasing items online, and without a merchant account, the business will be at a lost.
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