Cross selling has become an very influential part of many business’ bottom line. Making successful cross sales can mean an almost double in profits. If you think about this in very simple terms; rather than making a sale for just one item, you could potentially be selling two items. One issue that will sometime halt a merchants decision to start cross selling is the fear of appearing “pushing” and threatening the success of the initial sale. However, when working with an online shop this worry seems to dissipate and rightfully so.

Image Source

Cross Selling

Cross selling has become a very quick and simple way for online merchants to greatly increase sales and bottom line totals in a very drastic way. If you are not familiar with the term cross selling the idea is a very basic one, offer complimentary products to the product the customer is already opting to purchase.

An Example Of Cross Selling

Lets say you are running a pet grooming supply store. Customer X is a dog groomer and has come to your online store and has selected that they would like to purchase a case of dog shampoo for $50. Now before Customer X checks out they are shown other products that they may be interested in such as cases of dog conditioner $50 and dog cologne $75. Customer X quickly realizes that he will also need these products and selects to buy them as well. Your sale has now gone from $50 to $175 with little to no effort on your part other than providing a simple on page suggestion.

Cross Selling With Discounts

You may however run into customers who are a bit harder to convince to make the additional purchases. This is where discounts can play a vital role in making the extra sales. The customer may be second guessing if they really need the addition items or not. Lets go back to Customer X the dog groomer.

Example Of Cross Selling With Discounts

Customer X as before has selected that he would like to purchase the case of dog shampoo for $50. He is also now presented with the option of adding additional items to his cart such as dog conditioner $50 and dog cologne $75. After quick consideration he is deciding that maybe he doesn’t really need these extra items. But wait just a minute, if he purchases the extra items now along with the initial item he will save 10% off his total order. Customer X quickly realizes that he will be saving money in the long run if he makes these purchases together now. His mind is made up, he selects all three products and the sale is made. Customer X has saved a total of $17.50 and you have made a sale for $157.50

Image Source

As you can now see from the above examples cross selling is your friend. You should really be taking advantage of this method, as you can see your sales could easily double. Adding cross selling to your existing store is almost always as simply as activating the option in the back-end of your online stores admin area. Almost all online store software has this feature already built in and ready to use.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The age of social networking is more than upon us-it is becoming ingrained in us. Many of us are so addicted that we can hardly get out of bed before we begin checking to see status updates on Facebook and Twitter.

Reconnecting with old friends and staying in touch with current ones are great reasons to use social networks-but what about using them to market your business?

The fact is, those same networks that you are using to share pictures and reminisce about old times can be great sources of income for your business. In addition, there are plenty of social networks out there that are made specifically for doing just that.

Below is a list of five crucial things you must do to utilize social networking effectively for your business:

1. Choose networks that cater to potential prospects for your business.

There are so many social networks to choose from now, it can be overwhelming to keep up with all of them. In order to be effective, you simply have to make choices. Choose networks that cater to your particular market. The more targeted the network, the more interest and activity you are likely to generate.

2. Take time to create a comprehensive, well-written profile.

The benefits of a social network come with interaction-and that can only happen when folks can get to know you. Take the time to fill out your profile completely, with both business and personal information (your interests, hobbies or goals) so people can get to know you as a person and a business owner. People tend to do business with people they feel like they know, so the more cold and impersonal your profile, the less likely people will want to interact with you. Liven it up! Show your personality-but do remember to behave in a friendly but businesslike manner.

3. Interact with community members and build relationships.

In order to build traction within a community, you need to interact. This does not mean simply messaging others with information about your business or submitting an article once a month. You need to take the time to get to know them-find out what is important to them, ask about their business. You want to build a quality network of folks who know about what you do and care about you. This will encourage them to do business with and refer you.

4. Take advantage of the extra features offered by the network.

Most social networks today provide many opportunities to help you get your message out: banner ads, classified ads, blog platforms, article submissions, video hosting platforms and more. Sure, some may cost a few bucks here or there, but if you really make use of the features provided, you can quickly become a superstar on any network!

5. Refer clients and prospects to join the network.

Invite business colleagues, clients and potential clients to join the social networks you use. Is it easier to catch a particular fish in the ocean, or in a tiny pond? Bring all your prospects as you meet them to your tiny pond and you can get to know them better and interact with them on a regular, more personal basis. When it comes time for them to buy, you’ll be close by!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In a recent survey, online merchants revealed that they are most worried about credit card fraud in the e-Commerce business. They expressed anxiety over their apparent vulnerability to fraudsters, and feel that they are spending too much time reviewing orders to spot cases of fraud, when they could have used the time to improve other aspects of their business. Other than the usual address verification system (AVS), most merchants are seeking ways to expedite credit card fraud detection, and not just discriminate against common warning signs like expedited shipping and international addresses.

For this we would advise merchants to take note of these quick payment gateway-related steps that can be performed in order to stop fraudsters in their steps:

Tip 1: Look at your daily reports from the payment gateway
This should be done every day before orders are processed. By scrutinizing the transaction, you’ll gain an insight into the various transaction attempts before your eyes, and instantly see declined transactions. It’s common knowledge that fraudsters favor online stores to test their fraud activities so you can conclude that numerous attempts made in a single order may be the result of thieves performing their dirty card testing fraud.

Tip 2: Look into shopping cart lockout feature
Simply said, this feature locks out suspicious customers whose credit cards are declined numerous times in a single session. Again this is an instance of credit card testing at work. If you shut out the thieves, less damage can be done to your web business. Using IP or cookie-based protocols, this shopping cart feature can be utilized if it’s available from your shopping cart software provider. Once obtained, you can then configure how many times a card can be declined before the “card holder” gets locked out. You can also choose to temporarily “ban” him for an hour or a day. This obstacle will stop fraudsters in their tracks and you will then be safe from their malicious activities.

Tip 3: Invest in add-on fraud services
You may think your payment gateway provider is trying to sell you a lot of features you don’t need, but if you take a closer look at some add-on features, you may find several that can help you weed out unscrupulous fraudsters. Beyond the standard Address Verification System, these features are designed to run additional searches, and dig deeper into a credit card’s history and background. You’ll then find out if the particular card is notorious for frequent chargebacks or have been reported stolen or lost. These add-on fraud detection services cost at least $20 to 30 a month but if you consider the money you can save from the clutches of fraudsters, the amount will suddenly seem like peanuts!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Card Acceptance Best Practices Goal
The credit card companies and associations require that their cards are accepted according to a set of rules that each one of them publishes at least once per year. It is important for you understand what these rules are and implement them into your sales process to ensure that you:
a. Get the lowest possible processing rates.
b. Minimize fraudulent transactions.
c. Reduce chargebacks.

Website Requirements
Certain content or features should be clearly displayed on your website. These elements are intended to promote ease of use for your customers and reduce potential disputes and chargebacks.
a. Customer service contact information. Customer service telephone number as well as email address should be clearly displayed on every page of the website, on shipping materials and on monthly statements. If customers cannot contact you when they have a question, they will contact their card issuer which may result in a chargeback.

b. Policies. Return, refund, cancellation and delivery policies should be available to online customers through clearly visible links on your home page. You should also provide “clickthrough” confirmation for important elements of the policies to require customers to click on an “Accept” or “Agree” button to acknowledge that they understand and accept these policies.

c. Order and refund confirmations. Send email confirmations and summaries within one business day of processing orders and refunds. State time frames for refunds and indicate that a full billing cycle may be needed for the card issuer to apply the credit to the cardholder’s account.

Transaction Processing
The credit card companies and associations have established a range of fraud-prevention policies, guidelines and services. Implementing these tools and best practices will help protect you from fraudulent transactions and will reduce chargebacks.

a. Cardholder information. Get the cardholder’s name and address. If the shipping address differs from the billing address, follow-up with a phone call or an email to verify the order. Be sure to ask for a phone number in your order form.

b. Card information. Get the card number and type (most consumers don’t know that a card’s type can be determined by the card number), the card’s expiration date (make sure it is in the future) and the Card Verification Code – the 3-digit number, located on the back of each card (or the 4-digit number on the front for American Express cards). The Card Verification Code serves to ensure that the customer is in physical possession of the card.

c. Implement Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. Visa and MasterCard introduced these tools to help merchants fight fraud and reward merchants who use them with very strong representment rights in cases of chargebacks (more details about these two programs in Chapter XIV – Credit Card Authentication).

d. Always use AVS. The Address Verification Service (AVS) allows you to verify a cardholder’s billing address by comparing it to the one on file with the card issuer. The perpetrators of fraud often do not know the account’s correct billing address (more details in Chapter XII – Address Verification Service).

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Define Address Verification Service (AVS)?
The Address Verification Service (AVS) is a risk management tool for merchants accepting transactions in which neither the card nor the cardholder are present (e.g., mail, telephone order, internet transactions), or in which the card is present but its magnetic stripe cannot be read by a terminal at the point of sale. AVS helps reduce the risk of accepting fraudulent transactions by facilitating the verification of the cardholder’s billing address with the card issuer. This address information helps you determine whether to accept a particular transaction or to take further follow-up action.

How does AVS work?
You include the street address and ZIP code of the cardholder’s billing address in your authorization request. The Processor compares this information with the respective data at the cardholder’s issuing bank, along with other factors (card number, expiration date, etc.) and if approved, issues an AVS code. This additional address information will help you make a better informed decision about whether or not to complete a particular transaction.

How do merchants use AVS?
To request address verification in a card-not-present situation, follow these steps:
i. Enter the billing address as it appears on the monthly statement.
ii. Follow your terminal or computer instructions to enter and send this information.
iii. Research the returned AVS result codes.

Why is using AVS important?
Obtaining a positive AVS response is one key step to remedy many “Unauthorized Use” and “Non-Receipt of Merchandise” chargebacks. Without a positive AVS response (on-line) merchants have no dispute rights. AVS is designed to help merchants protect themselves against fraudulent, lost, or stolen credit cards and chargebacks. Visa transactions utilizing AVS are given a better interchange rate than those that do not. You should always be maintaining a customer database or account history files to track buying patterns and compare. Evaluate individual sales for signs of possible fraud. Keep in mind that none of the above by itself means that fraud is being committed, but you should check everything. AVS is not foolproof, but a tool to aid merchants to identify possible fraud orders. It should be combined with your own internal fraud detection tools and with the Card Verification Codes (see below).

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As an online merchant accepting credit card payments, you have numerous security issues that you must be aware of for the safety of your business and your consumers. At this time, there are two main aspects of credit card security for credit card processing, including “AVS” and “CVV”. Both allow credit card transactions to be completed anonymously over the internet, and any merchant accepting credit cards online should require both forms of information of your customers.

Address Verification Service (AVS)
The “AVS”, or address verification service, is used to determine that the address provided by a customer matches the address associated with a credit card account. This helps generate confidence that the person who is entering the credit card details is the person who owns it. While the AVS is not required to process credit card transactions, when it is provided the transaction processor will send a response back with details of how much of the address provided matches the address on the credit card.

An online credit card payment will not be declined if the address is entered wrong, it becomes the merchant’s decision to decide what to do if the address only partially matches or not at all. You have the option of denying the sale, requiring the buyer to submit additional information, or giving them the opportunity to correct the address submitted, before processing the transaction.

Card Verification Value
The card verification value known as “CVV” and sometimes referred to as the CVV-2, is the three to four digit number found on the back of American Express, MasterCard and Visa cards. This number is never listed on any credit card statements or receipts, so that if an individual has found a credit card statement in the trash, they will not be able to complete a sale requiring the CVV code to be entered for verification purposes. The reason for this number not being listed on anything but the actual credit card itself, is when a customer is able to enter the CVV code, it is looked at by the processor as a strong indication that the customer has the credit card in hand. This increases the potential of the card belonging to the person who is attempting to use it to make a purchase online.

It has been proven that most all credit card fraud done online occurs when a thief has found a discarded receipt or someone’s personal credit card statement. By requiring the CVV code to be entered, an online merchant can significantly reduce that type of fraud from occurring.

If a CVV number is entered and is incorrect, the transaction will be declined by the credit card issuer.

Providing Your Consumers with Top Notch Security
If you are going to be accepting online credit cards payment for your products or services, it is very important that you provide your customers with a guarantee that you’re protecting their credit card information.
Credit card processing typically requires that the customer’s information is transferred about four times, which means there are four instances when someone could gain access to the cardholders details. When a customer first sends the credit card information to you via your checkout or web based form. You are solely responsible for security as the internet merchant, at this stage in the credit card transaction process. Having a secure server and a valid security certificate with the https protocol will protect and encrypt private information you receive from customers.

You will want to be sure that the credit card processing software you use, also known as a payment gateway, for your business is secure by using a reputable processing company with experience in online payments. As customer information is moved in and out of a database through the transaction process, the security must be top of the line and this is ensured by choosing a solid company that offers encrypted software for this part of the process.

Finally, when customer credit card information is viewed or handled by you or anyone inside your company, it is just as important that you ensure security at this stage as well.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A friend of mine who has just signed up with a new merchant account is rejoicing because he confided in me how high his profits soared when he decided to accept credit cards. Knowing how crucial obtaining a merchant account is to one’s e-Commerce business, you should waste no time acquiring one through the right providers as long as they meet your business needs. However, with great benefits come pitfalls that may threaten to destroy your online likelihood.

Here are 7 tips to merchant account safety that every online merchant can benefit from:

1. Be careful who you trade with
We’re not saying it’s okay to be discriminating but sometimes it pays to be extra vigilant when doing business with traders from foreign countries. Online merchants need to acquire a discerning eye to spot inconsistent details in transactions that may be fishy enough for them to terminate the trade.

2. Beware users of free email addresses
Whether the customer uses Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or even Gmail, bear in mind that it can be difficult to track down the senders using free email accounts so you may need to deal sparingly with them.

3. Retrieve CVC2 and CVV2 numbers
Most merchants do not realize that doing so can be a great method to prevent excessive chargebacks. Statistics show that at least 1 out of 4 chargebacks can be avoided if you employ this tactic. It may sound simple but if you took the time to request for customers to produce these little codes found at the back of their credit cards, you can certainly save yourself time and cost without suffering from too many chargebacks!

4. Be strict and focus on enforcing security measures
Sometimes all it takes to prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of your e-Commerce site is by letting the whole know where you stand when it comes to security measures. Be firm and tell customers the many steps that you are taking to eradicate fraud and perhaps the fraudsters will get the message and stay clear away from your site! It’s that simple.

5. Request for copies of ID and credit card in use
There is nothing wrong with asking customers to fax copies of their credit card or licenses when and if you smell something fishy. Just think of this as yet another security measure because after all, you cannot be too careful!

6. Collect signatures
This is also another form of security method. Be specific and ask that they delivery service you use collect signatures of your customers on your behalf.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

At first glance, this may sound like a post one would write as a new year’s resolution, but it’s not really so. We already covered how to establish a merchant account for newbies here and here, not to mention useful merchant account saving tips, so we thought we’d write about the bare essentials on becoming an online merchant you can be proud of this year.

1. Use social media tools to your advantage
Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter aren’t just for fun – they can be a great place to promote your offerings to a vast network of potential customers! Tons of new online marketplaces can be discovered each day, and with so many opportunities you should make it a point to build your online presence constantly.

2. Know the workings of your business economics
It’s all very well knowing how to sell your products on multiple platforms, but it’s another thing if you don’t know how what it will cost you to do so. Understanding how the cost impact your profit margins can be beneficial to you in the long run, especially when potential profits are concerned.

3. Be an honest merchant
Whether you want to be brash or fresh, or brand yourself as a professional in your area of expertise, I think all of us can agree that nothing makes a customer happier than knowing how honest you are. Building trust and a good reputation does not take a lot – just a dash of honesty and a handful of transparency.

4. Never underestimate customer service
We’ve already made it clear on item #1 that social media tools can really help build a successful online empire. Knowing how difficult it can be to keep in touch and maintain a profitable relationship with all customers, social media tools such as Twitter can be utilized to counter this dilemma.

5. Sell something relevant
What do your customers want ? Have you asked yourself why your products are selling? Just because you love what you sell does not mean others do. Creating surveys and getting customers feedback can really provide the insight you need in order to sell something people really want.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

By day Sarah Jane is an assistant in a thriving florist that she runs with her childhood friend. By night she runs her own online business selling handcrafted stationery and other accessories made from dried and pressed flowers. She gets a full eight hours of sleep nightly and if she is not at her laptop overseeing her website, she goes on short trips to unwind. How does she do it?

The answer? Sarah Jane says that her online business and e-Commerce shopping cart software really helped things move along smoothly. Third party integrations are also vital when it comes to ensuring that her business ran without a hitch. “What I do most times when I get home,” she added, “… is to check my email for orders, print out the invoices, pull the inventory and send out the invoice and airway bill via courier. And that’s that!” she said, with a flourish.

More and more online merchants are realizing that online webstore shopping cart software is highly important when it comes to ensuring success for their businesses. Web-savvy merchants will readily oversee the integration process themselves but oftentimes, they will let the shopping cart service handle everything from A to Z. Commendable shopping cart service providers include those who go through certification processes and various integration stages are the ones to look out for because reputation is very important to them, so you’ll know that they are the real deal.

Some shopping cart integrations for online merchants are as follows:

1. Security protection – You want to look out for shopping carts with SSL certificates (Secure Socket Layer) which allows credit card numbers to be encrypted for superior data protection. If you spot websites with an additional ‘s’ to the ‘http’ prefix chances are the site has SSL certificates. Although this feature can cost shopping cart providers several hundred dollars annually but the benefits far outweigh the costs for merchants can process credit card payments with peace of mind while adding sought after credibility to their business.

2. Shipping – Online business owners first prepare essential details about their offerings so that certified shipping providers can use that data to calculate the shipping rate. Automatic rate calculators are an integral part of the certifications, and with these options at hand it means that customers using the shopping cart to shop online can choose the shipping method and rate that fulfill their needs.

3. Shopping search – Merchants who own large product catalogs can save a lot of time without having to manually key in data for each item in their database when they use automatic shopping cart feeds. A good example is GoDaddy’s Quick Shopping Cart whereby Google Product XML feeds are automatically created and sent to Google, giving the merchant greater convenience and total automation for the shopping search features within the business.

4. Bookkeeping/inventory management - Whether merchants choose to use Peachtree, Quickbooks, or any other accounting software of their choice, they should choose a shopping cart software which allows transactions to be imported directly within the accounting software. Having the transactions in sync with the accounting bit of your business will mean greater connectivity, allowing for seamless business operations.

5. Third party payment processing services - If you are using Paypal as a third party payment processing provider, you should ask if the shopping cart you are about to choose will work with Paypal Express or Paypal Pro, as there are differences between these two. Don’t fall for shopping cart providers who merely say they support Paypal – they are being vague and that is why you may need to probe them further for confirmation.

6. Credit card processing - When it come to credit card processing, security should be your main concern. Most shopping cart providers now integrate security certifications to save merchants further time and trouble. Plug-and-play merchant account arrangements are also more popular among providers these days.

7. Analytics - One mistake merchants often do is think that they don’t need analytics software. But time and again it’s been proven that this feature can give you useful insight what sort of customers who are coming to your site, what they need and why they are not buying into your products. A good example is Google Analytics and Omniture that can be integrated to your shopping carts.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.