Category: Online Business

Article Contributed by Erin Steiner 

Even if you conduct most (or even all) of your business offline, accepting online payments is the most convenient form of accepting money for your products or services. Here are just some of the conveniences offered by this method of processing credit cards.

Setup

Online payment processing is incredibly easy to set up. This is true both on your website and in “real” life. It usually involves little more than setting up an account (which only takes a couple of minutes) and then inserting some code into your business’s website. Viola! You’re done!

Going Offline is Easy

If your business takes place almost entirely offline, you simply use the card reader that the payment processor will send to you—these card readers plug easily into the headphone jack of a smart phone or a tablet computer and turn the machine into a register system! Many of them will even provide you with receipt printers if your customers prefer tangible receipts to their emailed counterparts.

Take All Forms of Payments

Whereas you used to have to have a set up for each form of payment you wanted to process—credit card, check, and cash—online payment processors can help you accept and track all three and through one account. You can key in cash sales (and mark them as such). You can use the camera on your phone or tablet computer to take a picture of (aka “scan”) the check, which inputs the banking info into your system and processes the payment accordingly.

For a web-based business, this translates into your payment processing choice accepting ACH payments (payments directly from your bank account) as well as credit accounts. If the customer has an account with the same processor, they can simply log in with their own account information and send the money that way.

Accept Payments 24/7

Instead of forcing people to conform to your business hours, people can buy from you 24/7 via your website. It’s convenient for them and helps you increase your revenue all at the same time. They say money makes the world go round…

Accept Payments in All Currencies

With a traditional merchant service, you are typically limited to accepting payments in your native currency. If you do want to accept other forms of currency, you’ll need to find a way to get it exchanged from whatever it is to whatever you deal in where you live.

Most online payment processors, on the other hand, have the ability to accept all of the major currencies and have a built-in currency converter that will convert their currency to yours automatically. Easy!

Record Tracking

Instead of having to import payment information from your cash ledger, your credit card processor and your bank processor, it’s all tracked via a single account which is almost certainly compatible with your accounting software. This is a major time-saver (and reduces your chances of being the victim of your own human errors).

There are lots of different online payment processors to choose from. Currently the most popular is PayPal, with Square coming in at a very close second. These aren’t your only choices, though. With some research, you’ll turn up plenty of other viable options.

The point is, if you want to save yourself work and increase your profit margin, accepting online payments is the best way to accomplish those goals simultaneously. Good luck!

About the Author

Erin Steiner is a freelance writer from Portland, Oregon, who covers a variety of topics.

Article Contributed by John Burns

The internet has given us the tools, opportunities, impetus and means to make a success of ourselves in ways we could only have dreamed of a few years ago.

In the early 1990s you might have had a natty t-shirt range that you were itching to sell, but lacked the capital behind you to set up the shop and marketing campaign required to get it off the ground; nowadays a Twitter account and a Big Cartel site will do this for you.

But of course the problem with such a suddenly levelled playing field is that – while it’s undoubtedly easier for you – it’s easier for everyone else as well. Because of this, there is much more competition out there and consequently it is difficult to get your voice heard.

Here are a few tips to streamlining your approach and selling your products online.

Remove the Links from the Chain 

Studies have shown that consumers online get bored very easily. As a result, any site which requires them to click through page after page of content on the way to finding the item they require, only to have them click through a load more pages to get to the check out afterwards, is going to suffer.

Unless your product is literally life changing, the browsing public is going to get bored and wander off to find what they need elsewhere. Streamlining your site can combat this.

By all means, include an insightful blog on your page, but keep the links to these articles out of the way of the items on your landing page. Your landing page should be devoted to information about your products, nice looking pictures of your products and “Buy Now” or “Add to Bag” buttons.

The point is to make the process as quick and painless as possible and to minimise the number of clicks required for customers to make a purchase. This is key to a streamlined and effective online shop.

Understand the Blog

However, this is not to say that the blog does not play an important role on the site. The vital thing here is to understand exactly what that role is. A blog is there to carry out its own duties; namely, to raise the SEO profile of your site. It should contain the sorts of keywords, links and content that make it attractive to the algorithms Google use to order their search lists.

This acts as a sort of virtual shop window for your company; raising your profile and advertising your wares to the numerous denizens of the web.

The blog also provides useful content to browsers who are unwilling to have sales pitches crammed down their throat. Linking these articles to Twitter, Facebook or other social media site enables users to access this information when they perhaps had previously not even heard of your site. This allows you to expand your customer base.

Your blog articles should also include handy links that enable browsers to navigate to parts of the site where you can convert them to sales. Discreet pictures of special offers, with clickable links, are ideal for this and will help you to rapidly grow your list of customers. Also, Google loves sites which are arranged in cyclically clickable networks, so links like these will not only streamline your site but will also raise your SEO profile.

So, as you can see, the blog is vitally important, but it should never get in the way of those all important sales.

About the Author

This article was written by John Burns on behalf of Simplify digital. Simplify digital are Ofcom accredited and provide independent advice to consumers looking for the right broadband, TV and home phone packages. www.simplifydigital.co.uk

There is a lot of misinformation out there about what you “have to have” to start up an online business, and a lot of unscrupulous internet marketers selling products, programs and tools promising easy riches with little effort. The truth is that you don’t need most of what they are selling. Here’s the bottom line on how to save lots of time and money on what you DON’t need — and tips on what you really DO need to start your online business:

1. You DON’T need to start with a keyword-rich niche. That’s putting the cart before the horse! If you pick your niche based solely on keyword research, you may be stuck trying to run a business that you don’t really care much about. INSTEAD, choose the niche that you already know a lot about, can build credibility with and ignites your passion. It’s likely to be a niche that reflects strongly who you are and what you are good at — your past experiences, your stage in life, or that thing that friends are always coming to you about when they have questions. THEN find the keywords that people use to find information about that niche.

2. You DON’T need a turnkey ecommerce website. These can be expensive and often make promises of riches that just don’t pan out. You also DON’T need to spend thousands of $$ to build your own website. INSTEAD, a WordPress blog installed on your own domain is a much easier and more flexible solution, and can be easily configured to look like a website with static pages as well as dynamic blog content. You can customize your blog with readily available blog themes, many for little or no cost. And you can add content with an easy-to-use interface that keeps you in control of your website — not your web designer. You’ll also need a way to capture names and email addresses from people who visit your website, and a valuable freebie to entice them to subscribe. There are many good autoresponders out there that can help you automate the subscriber capture process.

3. You DON’T need a fancy business name or logo. It’s easy to get caught up in designing just the right acronym or beautifully-designed icon. I know people who have literally spent months on this instead of getting down to launching their business! INSTEAD, stick with your own name, and invest in a good headshot for your website and social media sites. A strongly branded business name and image can come later. And spend your time developing great content for your website — articles, audio, video, etc.

4. You DON’T need to be incorporated. At least not yet; when you start making money is when you’ll need the legal protection and tax benefits that being incorporated (or an LLC) can bring. INSTEAD, make sure you have the appropriate business licenses for your locale, and basic liability insurance for your business. Consult your Secretary of State or equivalent provincial government agency to see what you need.

5. You DON’T need a rigid blueprint startup program. If your business is going to be successful, you can’t rely on a fill-in-the-blanks blueprint that hundreds of other people are following too. INSTEAD, invest in a startup business coach, or a well-recommended program that includes individual help for your particular business situation. Ask your colleagues for referrals to trusted coaches and program leaders.

Good luck to you and your startup business!

Your website is the face of your business. If used well, your site brings many potential clients via search engines and other sources, and once they get there your site ideally draws them into your sales and marketing funnel. But if your site is not well designed and effectively constructed, most of these visitors will leave before they get the chance to give you their contact information. This could translate into hundreds of lost opportunities every day.

When my clients tell me they don’t think their websites are bringing in as many clients as it should, I always urge them to look at their site with a critical eye. If anything about your site isn’t working, it’s important to identify the problem and make a change. To help in your assessment, here are some of the most common website mistakes small-business owners make.

1. Out-of-date design. Take a look at the websites of some major companies you admire, and make note of things like their design, layout, and navigation. Without directly copying those sites, think about how to bring your own site up to their design standards. You may not have the website budget that these companies have, but there are things you can do to make your site more visually pleasing. And when it looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into creating a sharp and professional site design, your potential clients will be more likely to work with you. Your image is important.

2. Off-putting design elements. There are a few site design elements that too many small-business owners think make their sites look flashy, but which actually just annoy people. Pop-up windows, music and videos that play automatically, animated menus, and long intro screens are just a few elements that most web users could live without.

3. No About or Contact page. Your potential clients want to work with someone they can trust. When they visit your website, they want to know you are an actual person (or group of people) with a real, physical address and live contact information. They want to be able to pick up the phone and call you if need be. You don’t have to put all this information on every page, but at least have a link to a Contact or About page visible throughout the site.Personally, I LIKE contact information on every page. My thoughts are that if you want to reach out to me, I want to make it as easy as possible for you to do it.

4. Not sharing results. It’s very easy to buy a generic website template and put up a basic description of your business and services, but these websites aren’t going to get people excited to work with you. Your website should share the results your clients will get from working with you.

5. No purpose. When people get to your website, what do you want them to do? Do you want them to order something? Do you want them to take your irresistible offer and share their contact information? Whatever you want them to do, don’t be shy about it. State explicitly what action they should take.

Contributed by Longhorn Leads

When you think of customer service, websites rarely come to mind. Instead you probably envision smiling faces and helpful staff guiding customers through the buying experience or handling a question or concern for an existing customer. However, the world is changing, and many consumers want a new kind of customer service; they want one that is accessible to them night and day, without having to talk to or interact with anyone in person. That is where the website can actually enhance customer service experience. Here are 5 examples:

1. Product information. Consumers are more shopping savvy than ever, and do much of their purchasing online. This is largely because they want to shop around and research their purchases before actually committing to them without the annoyance of sales people pushing them to buy. Providing detailed product information on the site is the key to appealing to this type of consumer. Websites that provide extensive product information give customers first-rate service by letting them research the products in their own time and manner, whether it is on their smart phone or while on a conference call at work.

2. Access to account information. Instead of waiting on hold to ask a question regarding an account, many consumers prefer to be able to look up their information on their own. The best customer service is often to actually let them serve themselves. Having billing statements and payment options available on a website allows these busy consumers to keep abreast of where their account is at on their own schedule. Make sure to offer ways for them to update their profile, which will save them the hassle of calling in just to change an address or phone number when they move.

3. Live chat. A great way to combine traditional customer service with the web savvy consumer is to offer live chat on a website. Live chat services allow the customer to browse on their time, but still ask questions as they arise and receive instant feedback from a live representative. This allows the customer to multi-task without being tethered to a phone line, but also allows specific questions to be answered immediately.

4. FAQ’s. Frequently asked questions and their answers are another way to give the customer what they want, right at their fingertips. All industries have common questions about their service or products that can be summed up in a convenient guide on a website. A great example of this is the IRS. As hard as it may be to get an actual IRS agent on the phone, the IRS website gives a huge amount of information to people through their FAQ section for all kinds of tax concerns.

5. Provide personal incentives. Websites can be used to provide personal offers and incentives to consumers. Whether it is a first time customer or a returning shopper, websites can track preferences and offer suggestions based on the consumers purchasing habits. This allows a shopping experience that is geared toward the consumer’s individual wants and needs. Using the website interface to give the consumer better products or services, or to receive better discounts, leads to customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Although there are many industries that still require a face-to-face interaction, or at least a phone-to-phone conversation, many companies can enhance their customer service by having an interactive website for their customers. With more and more data being sent online and less actual conversations transpiring, it makes sense that even customer service should move onto the worldwide web. Ultimately, customer service is about providing the customer with what they need and want, so if what they want is online access and information, give it to them!