iMark Interactive

This is going to be the year of mobile ecommerce and if you have an internet ecommerce business, then you need to jump on board.  Each year the number of smartphone users increases and we become more reliant on our blackberries and iphones.  There are many times when people are not in front of their computers in order to make purchases online and you want to be in front of them at all times.  With a mobile commerce store, you can do this and still capture sales from every potential customer.

With mobile commerce being so new, there are not too many providers to assist retailers with creating a reasonably priced mobile store, at least until now.  A company called App Publishing Group has created Mobile Store Maker, which enables retailers or anyone that wants a mobile store to create a storefront with ease.  They provide this for a simple fee of $20 per month, but provides you with 30 days to test out the product.  This is a great deal for anyone that wants to get into mobile ecommerce.

You can have your retail mobile store setup within a few minutes after downloading their start up kit.  This provides you with tips and tricks in order to maximize your mobile store.  All you have to do is import your products and then change the design features to make it look original.  It is wise that you try to keep the colors consistent with your website.  They have a good amount of features that are not included with many other service providers, so you are getting a great deal for only $2o per month.  Their feature set is as follows:

• Simple To Use
• Create Actual Internet Store in Minutes!
• Sell Products or Services From Any Smartphone
• No Technical Knowledge Required
• Easy to Customize Store With Your Company Info
• Load Products Manually or Use a Spreadsheet
• Load Product Images Manually or Use a Spreadsheet
• Automatically Creates Thumbnails
• Use Authorize.net, Google Checkout or PayPal
• Increase Sales
• WYSIWYG Page Editing
• No Long Term Contract Required
• No Software to Download

If you are in the market for an ecommerce mobile store, then check out Mobile Store Maker and test out the features to see if they fit your needs.  If you are on the fence, then I would suggest that you try it out for 30 days to see if it can increase your sales.  Even if you do not get the desired results within the 30 days, maybe you should allocate some funds to keep it running for about 6 months.  This should give you time to properly market the mobile store and test out different product mixes.  If you have tried this software, what do you think about it?  What are the pros and cons and does it work for your store?  We would like to know your opinion on mobile commerce.

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• NewEggMall.com Review – They Might be Missing the Mark

Neweggmall.com was created by NewEgg.com, which is one of the best consumer electronics retailers on the web. The marketplace was first created to add a different product assortment because NewEgg doesn’t sell anything not related to consumer electronics and computers. This marketplace has been around for over a year now and is gaining some momentum, but slowly. They have a lot of categories to choose from such as apparel, sporting goods, and more. They have finally opened it up to other electronics retailers as well.

NewEgg Mall plans on putting some of the listings for electronics products on their newegg.com domain. This could really push up the traffic levels to neweggmall.com and make it more of a player in the marketplace game. There are many retailers out there that are constantly looking for new places to sell their products and diversification is key to succeeding online. While NewEgg Mall may look nice, we have dug a little deeper into what they are actually providing and how it may affect you as a retailer.

They setup the marketplace much like Amazon, where consumers come in and find your products, purchase, and you ship them the merchandise. This is where it stops being like Amazon. In order to be in NewEgg Mall, a retailer has to either have or get a credit card processing account from Chase Paymentech. If you have this provider, then it should be fine, but if you do not, then you will need to get it. Where we found issue with this is that many small and medium sized retailers use Authorize.Net or Paypal to process their credit cards on their websites. They are already charged per month for this, so in order to get on NewEggMall.com, you would need to pay per month for Chase Paymentech as well, plus a per transaction fee, like any other credit card processor. So instead of NewEgg Mall creating a payment system that retailers can use without having to setup another one, they make you do it. They don’t even allow you to use your own payment provider like PriceGrabber Stores does.  This also takes the risk away from NewEgg Mall and puts it on you. You are responsible for processing the credit cards, checking for fraud, and every other aspect that comes with taking credit cards over the internet. We spoke to quite a few retailers about this and they think it is a joke.  If NewEgg Mall wants to compete in the marketplace arena, then they need to be setup like a marketplace. We are sure to hear more retailers complain about this.

NewEgg Mall charges you per month, the same amount as Amazon to use their services. They also charge a commission when a product sells, much like Amazon. Their commissions seem to be pretty fair at this time. The issue that comes to attention is that they are charging the same monthly fee as Amazon is, but are not providing anywhere near the same services. This just seems ludicrous to think that retailers are actually going to get on board with this if they look at all the figures. NewEgg Mall might be able to score some smaller retailers and maybe ones that want to try it out, but if they really want to grab more of the marketshare and build a successful marketplace, then they need to revamp the whole system. It looks like it was thrown together quickly without thinking of many aspects. We know that NewEgg has a great reputation and they do things well, so it is surprising that they allowed this marketplace to go live without covering all the basis of a great marketplace.

Have you checked out NewEggMall.com? If so, what do you think and how would you change it for the better?

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As the new year begins, so does the onslaught of online fraud.  Fraudsters are continually trying to find new ways to steal personal information and use it for their own good.  This is particularly an issue with Internet Retailers and their ecommerce stores.  Online Fraud is a billion dollar industry and it affects online retailers every day of the year.  There are quite a few ways out there to help retailers combat fraud such as IP geolocation,  address verification, verified by Visa/Mastercard, fraud scoring models, and much more.  One method that is fairly new to the online world is Device Fingerprinting.  This method works kind of like human fingerprints, where the machine you are on it identifiable by the online merchants servers.

There are a few ways to fingerprint a device, either by passive techniques or active.  A study was done with online purchasers asking them if they would tolerate an executable file given to them by retailers in order to identify their machine.  Most said that they would be willing to do so in order to make the ordering process and verification process much smoother.  There are a few groups out there that say this is a breach of privacy as the retailer will know certain aspects of your computer and if it has committed fraudulent acts in the past.  Most actual consumers do not think the same as they want their information secure and not have to risk fraud.

The best part of Device Fingerprinting is that there are a few companies out there that have a massive collection of identifiable computers and networks, so when a retailer signs up, they have all those computers identities to verify orders.  This could save a lot of order processing time along with money spent on combating fraud.  If the retailer knows that the machine you are one has committed fraud before, they are able to either block the order or review it more closely.  With the rampant use of proxies, IP geolocation and address verification has become useless in some cases.  Using fingerprinting will be able to get around that and identify the computer the fraudster is actually on.  This is a huge leap from how retailers used to fight fraud and we can only expect it to get better.  Keeping your customers safe should be a priority and making sure that your company takes the necessary steps to squash fraud should be at the top of any to do list.

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Recycling programs created for customers is becoming a large part of many business programs.  Large retailers like Best Buy and others have created their own recycling programs for old electronics like MP3 players and printer ink.  While this is a great thing because not only is it a great marketing program for your brand image, but also it is good for the environment.  Not recycling old and used electronics was always a problem that no one really had an answer to.  Most consumers do not have the initiative to recycle their old electronics before they purchase new and updated electronics.  At least that how it was until now.  While most companies do not have the money or resources to start a recycling program for their customers, rest assured, there is still a way to do it.  A company called CExchange has created a simple and effective way for electronics retailers to provide a recycling program for their customers.

CExchange provides a simple to use web interface for customers to see if and how much their old electronics are worth.  The best part is that CExchange will pay for the return of the old electronics.  The retailer gets to choose if they want to provide their customers with just money back or gift cards to use at the retailers website.  Both can be a good option, but providing gift cards can be a better way to make sure that the retailer gets the sale in the end.  Not only can the retailer choose the payment method, but they also get a small kickback for every product that can be recycled.  CExchange provides each retailer with their own branded subdomain on cexchange.com that has their logo, so when the customer comes from the retailers website, it still has a brand to relate to.  All you have to do is provide a link from your website to your cexchange subdomain and let your recycling program start.

Mind you that not every electronic item can be recycled.  CExchange has looked into most of the major electronics products like ipods or video games and gives the consumer an amount that it is worth depending on the condition of the item.  This makes it easy for any consumer to recycle their old electronics and the incentive to do so.  CExchange gives all retailers the way to start an easy recycling program that can pay off in more ways than one.  If you are an electronics retailer, check out CExchange and submit a partnership inquiry in order to start your own recycling program

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We have a list of 10 checklist items that every Small Business needs to think about.  While we did create a more detailed version of each, we are going to put them all in this post for easy access and readability.  This is for anyone looking to start a business in the new year or for anyone that has just started a business and wants more information on how to keep it going.  Below is our Small Business Checklist.  Click each item for the full article.

Small Business Checklist Item #1 – Business Name

Choose a business name that suits what you want to do and plan to do in the future.  Many entrepreneurs try to pick a name that they like, but sometimes it does not encompass what your company is going to do.  A word of advice that many people do not think about is that you should not have a company name that has your name in it.  The main reason for this is because if you ever have a chance to sell the business, there is less likelyhood that someone will purchase your business because of the name.  Business Investors and purchasers want a name that can keep people interested and is memorable.  Using your name is an easy way to create a company name, but not the most effective in the long run.

Small Business Checklist Item #2 – Research

We need to expand a little further on the Business name from yesterday. Please make sure that after you pick a business name, make sure you have the right to use it in your state. You can usually check this out with your Secretary of State website. Once you verify that you can get it, go to the register of deeds and fill out a DBA form to secure the name and then do it with the Secretary of State (depending on your business form, which we will discuss a little later)

Small Business Checklist Item #3 – Business Structure

Ok, so you have done your research and realize that your business idea is a viable one.  Now you need to look into how you want to structure your business.  There are 4 basic structures to choose from with variations within each structure.  The main thing that you need to think about are covered with the following points.

Small Business Checklist Item #4 – Business Plan

This is a step that many small businesses forget to do.  While a business plan is not really required to run your business, it is a very helpful tool.  If you do not know what a business plan is, it is simply a written format of how you want to run the business and what the business stands for, as well as the mission of the company.  These can take time to create, but they will help you in the future to keep your company on track with your original goals.

Small Business Checklist Item #5 – Proper Forms and IDs

We know that it can be exciting to start up a new company and get selling or have your ideas become reality.  The one thing that we ask is that you make sure that you have all the proper forms and certificates in order to sell properly.  Each state require a certain set of forms in order to be a legal business, most require business license and sales tax ID’s.

Small Business Checklist Item #6 – Take Inventory or Dropship

We are asked about this more times than we can count.  Please note that this tip is really only dealing with companies that sell online, not really traditional retailers with brick and mortar stores.  This is an important discussion because it lays the foundation to how success you can be either online.  We will go through some quick pros and cons of each, so you can make a little more informed decision.

Small Business Checklist Item #7 – Insurance

To insure or Not to Insure?  This is a good question, but the answer is simple……Get insurance!  There are many of you out there that have not taken the time to look into good business insurance for whatever company you run.  This is a very important part of business to protect your investment.  We will not go into detail about all the insurance types out there for businesses, but we will show you some points to think about.

Small Business Checklist Item #8 – Calculate Profit Margins

This is a simple task to accomplish, but we have spoken to many people that have started a business that never really looked into creating prices for their products or services that gave them a positive net margin.  We are sure that many of you have probably done this as your started your business, so this tip is really for those thinking about starting one or just starting one.  Please take the time to properly calculate your profit margins on your products or services.

Small Business Checklist Item #9 – Employees

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously.  You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

Small Business Checklist Item #10 – Social Media

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium.  If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting.  Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more.  These are great venues to build your brand online.

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We all know that google is the top search engine on the web and it offers great services to everyone for free or for a small low fee.  They are great at what they do in regards to helping retailers succeed online.  Google has offered retailers a free way to list their products with their Google Product Search, but they are adding something else that retailers can use.  It is called Product Listing Ads Program.  This is enabling retailers to put images into the sponsored link section on google.  If a customer searches for a certain product, you will see listings with photos in them.  This will help with click-through rates along with hopefully conversions as the customer sees the image before they click instead of just text.  The best part of this is that retailers are not charged per click, but a cost-per-sale or cost-per-acquisition basis, so only when a customer actually checks out on your site after clicking on the ad.

We checked google today for a sony flat screen tv and the results are below.  You will see the new Product Listing Ads Program on the right along with the google product search results in its normal spot.

So what do you think about this new program that google will be pulling out?  Do you think that you will lose traffic from google product search with these new ad formats?  Would you be willing to pay a cost per sale for clicks coming from these ads?  We want to hear from you and what you think.

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If you are starting a business or have run a business online and you take payments from customers, this is a tip that you need to listen to.  There are many bad customers out there that do not wish to pay for the goods that you provide or they are not financially able to do so.  This is where the dreaded chargeback comes in.  For those who do not know about chargebacks, it is the ability of the customer to reverse the charge with their credit card company, which puts you at risk of losing the money from that sale.  The worst part is, if a customer does a chargeback for an item that they already received, then you not only lost the item, but you could lose the money as well.  It is easy for customers to chargeback purchases, but it is hard for retailers to fight the chargeback.

Well, if you are about to start or have already battled the chargeback, there is a relatively new service out there for retailers that will help reduce the risk.  Badcustomer.com is a free service to retailers if they qualify, that has a huge database of over 6 million customers and their risk assessment.  About 300 retailers put information into the database and if you integrate your order process with badcustomer, you can get flags for customers that have a high probability of chargebacks.  This can save you thousands of dollars or more because it is a tedious process that you will usually lose.  We just wanted to let you know about this service because it will not only help you recoup the possible loses, but it will slow these bad customers down from doing it at other retailers.

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