One of the reasons hackers breach direct marketing merchant sites is that’s where the card numbers are stored. Cardholder data is kept for a variety of reasons including: 1) providing customer service, 2) processing re-occurring transactions and 3) responding to chargebacks (representments). Fortunately, Visa recently clarified its Rules and advised merchants that they no longer need the entire 16-digit card number to cure a chargeback. Instead, merchants may use other clarifying information in addition to a truncated card number, in responding.
Visa has also mandated that issuers accept these truncated numbers. This is welcomed news for merchants and unless card numbers are absolutely needed, they simply should not be stored—helping to lessen the burden of PCI compliance. PCI compliance requires card numbers to be encrypted (if they are stored).
This does not eliminate an e-tailer’s responsibility to comply with PCI, as they are still processing card data; it merely makes the job easier. Further, direct marketers how are processing re-occurring transactions should consider utilizing a gateway that stores the data for them in an encrypted fashion.
Many gateways have re-occurring payment modules, which allow you to input the card data and to bill that same card on a regular basis, yet encrypts and stores that data in a PCI-compliant format. Since most e-tailers utilize a payment gateway, it behooves you to inquire if your gateway can perform this service for you. Doing so further allows you to concentrate on selling and eliminates enormous enterprise risk. Risk that could lead to substantial fines, the loss of your merchant account and a listing of your data on the MATCH file; further curtailing your ability to process transactions.
Think about the reasons you are storing card data. Do you really need to?
Ken Musanteis president of Direct Response Payments in Eureka, Calif. Contact Musante at (877) 476-0570 or at kenm@eurekapayments.com.
When I was a young lad, nobody in their right mind said, “When I grow up, I want to be in the infomercial business.” But nearly 25 years after starting in this industry, that’s just where I find myself. And boy, am I glad!
As Electronic Retailer magazine and ERA celebrate the 25th anniversary of the infomercial, we wanted to give all of our readers the opportunity to share their stories and memories.
Here are mine…
It was a snowy day in December of 1986 when I reported for duty on my first day as an inbound call agent for National Instant Consumer Exchange, then known as NICE Corporation. Today, it goes by the name Convergys, and it’s one of the largest contact centers in the world. At that time, I was a skinny teenager making minimum wage. NICE Corporation was a little company whose entire inbound call center fit in one room in Ogden, Utah. And the infomercial business was in its infancy…but just getting ready to explode to a scale few could have imagined.
In those days, the phones were ringing non-stop for blues records, stop smoking products, diet pills and a wide range of other products. The 30-minute “infomercial” format had just hit the airwaves one-year prior. New upstart cable networks had hours and hours of time to fill, and the long format gave them something to broadcast while adding to the bottom line. And the American consumer was enraptured with the whole idea of watching a 30-minute advertisement, then calling to order a product, which would be delivered right to their home. They were doing it by the millions.
Yes, the industry has grown by leaps and bounds since that time. So has my career. And my waistline…but that’s a different story.
In the 24 years I’ve been in the business, I’ve worked for call centers large and small. I’ve done creative production for short form and infomercials, product marketing, international distribution, product sourcing, e-commerce and more. Starting in 1999, I’m proud to have been (and continue to be) one of the pioneers on the forefront of new technologies in the electronic retailing space. My team was the first to stream infomercial video online (years before YouTube existed), was the winner of the very first “Best Website” award ever presented by ERA in 2001, and I’ve continued to introduce new tools and concepts to the industry through my articles in Electronic Retailer magazine, and speaking at dozens of industry conferences. Whether it’s the shift from “Call Now” to “Visit our website,” SEO, innovative shopping carts or social media marketing, this industry is always changing…and always fascinating.
Here are a few of my “remember when” memories from 1986:
“COD” was the payment option of choice for most consumers calling to order.
Orders were mailed or faxed from the call center to the fulfillment center. There was not data transfer!
For really big clients, we sent a reel-to-reel magnetic tape every couple of days containing their orders.
The “Golden Girls” were big on TV. (Twenty-five years later, Betty White is still hot on TV.)
A gallon of gas was 89 cents.
Richard Simmons made his FIRST appearance on QVC.
When they weren’t watching infomercials on TV, people were watching “The Cosby Show” and “Magnum P.I.”
There was only one “toll free” prefix…and it was 1-800.
One last memory of the past 25 years: The friends I’ve made in the business are second to none. To this day, I have business relationships stretching back to the very earliest days of my career, and I’m proud to call these same people my friends these many years later.
So now it’s your turn. What are YOUR favorite memories of the DRTV / Infomercial / Electronic Retailing business? How did you get started? What “remember when” highlights would you add to the above list?
Please leave your thoughts in the Comment section below and let the reminiscing begin!
Marty M. Fahnckeis a consultant, speaker and writer working with companies around the world to increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Fahncke is a regular contributor to Electronic Retailer magazine, and is a member of the Magazine Advisory Board. Be sure to check out his blog at http://www.MartyFahncke.com.
So far members of the DR industry, including many from ERA’s Latin America Council have donated over $18,900 to help aid in relief efforts in Chile. Two ERA member companies, A3D and Falabella, have offices in affected areas. To the left is a picture from the A3D offices after the earthquake hit.
It appears that nearly 2 million people were affected by this disaster. It is estimated that rebuilding will take at least 3 or 4 years and may cost tens of billions of dollars.
Please take a moment to consider helping our DR industry colleagues and all of the Chilean people affected by this disaster.
In this ERA Minute, Scott Richards, “The Optimizer” and CEO of Dial 800 explains how a repeater 800 number can deliver dramatically improved results for a DR campaign.
It has been an exciting week in the world of net neutrality. This week, Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC, announced the Commission’s intention to enter into a formal rulemaking process to codify the four principles of net neutrality currently in use and to add two more principles. The additional principles include a statement that consumers must be able to access the lawful content of their choice, subject to reasonable network management. Essentially, ISPs cannot block traffic to say, NBC Video, just because they have a partnership with Hulu. However, they still may prioritize all video content over all file sharing in order to manage the use of the network. In addition, networks must be transparent about what they are doing to manage traffic. This would give small business and direct response marketers more information about how consumers are experiencing online offerings like video advertising. Specifically, if you are providing an application for wireless devices or making videos available on sites like YouTube, you will know if some of the network providers are slowing certain services during peak hours. You will then be able to adjust your content delivery accordingly.
Don’t take the initial setup phase for granted - Clients sometimes rush or don’t put enough effort into the initial setup phase of the fulfillment engagement. This can lead to miscommunications and mistakes that have long-term ramifications. It’s especially important to communicate who all of your vendors are, and make sure all offers and file exchanges are thoroughly tested.
Understand how the decline cycle works - Companies who are outsourcing their payment processing and fulfillment need to have a clear understanding of how the decline cycle works. New clients who don’t understand the difference between soft and hard declines, or that multiple charge attempts are being made always surprise me.
Make sure your refund policies are clear and reasonable - I see many situations where clients try to save money by imposing strict or unclear refund policies. These can lead to increased chargebacks and customer service calls, as well as BBB and FTC complaints.
Consult with your fulfillment company regularly regarding packaging - Packaging is very important when it comes to freight costs. Your fulfillment company can help you come up with the best packaging to keep your freight costs down. Remember, once a package is above one pound, an extra ounce can push you to the next weight tier.
Work with customer service to plan for call spikes and backorder situations - Avoid backed up call queues and long hold times by proactively planning for call spikes and backorder situations. Fulfillment centers don’t have infinite numbers of customer service agents, so you need to work with them in advance to make sure that staff is properly allocated. In backorder situations, sometimes it is better to outbound clients or send them e-mails to let them know what is going on and thereby reduce inbound customer service calls.
Be prepared for dry spells and unanticipated storage costs - Many DRTV marketers think they will never have a dry spell and are often caught flat footed when retail orders dry up or campaigns slow down. If they have over-ordered inventory, they can end up with higher than expected storage costs, which can definitely impact their bottom line. My advice is to develop a contingency plan and build adequate cushion into your budget for storage.
ARLINGTON, Va.–June 28, 2009 – The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA), the leading trade association for direct-to-consumer commerce, issued the following statements on the death of Billy Mays, one of the pioneers in the direct response television (DRTV) industry:
“DRTV has grown to be a $300 billion business during the last 20 years, and Billy Mays played a key role in making this possible,†said Julie Coons, president and CEO of ERA. “His dedication to DRTV will be remembered by those of us in the industry, as his animated approach to marketing dozen of products, such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, will be remembered by millions of consumers. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Deborah, and to his family and friends.â€
“This is a sad day for those of us that were lucky to know Billy,” said Nathan Fagre, chairman of ERA and senior vice president and general counsel of 
ShopNBC. “He worked hard, cared about his family and friends and he will be greatly missed.”
As you probably know, the FTC is planning to eliminate the safe harbor for testimonials with disclaimers. If you are concerned about these changes, make sure you sign up to receive updates from us on this issue. We will send occasional updates that will keep you up to speed. This is part of the grassroots effort we will be launching shortly and these updates will make sure you know about opportunities to get involved. Please make sure you don’t miss out - fill out the form here.
Below are a few photo highlights from Launch DRTV Creative Director Drew Plotkin’s recent trip to Ethiopia for a Wheelchair Foundation drop and distribution. The trip was funded via a PSA spot produced by Launch DRTV and money raised from numerous DR industry players at the Los Angeles Wheelchair Foundation Gala organized by Imagine Fulfillment Services.
To make a donation, please call 1-800-584-0796 or click here.
Media buyers and marketers are looking at mobile TV to increase sales for clients.
Mobile TV is being viewed as a way of expanding brand and presents a unique opportunity when it comes to direct-response sales lead generation.
Traditional direct-mail marketers reveal that their response with print mailing has dropped to less than 0.1 percent. That means 99.9 percent of your client audience is not responding to the direct-mail piece you spent money on.
What makes mobile TV so attractive to advertisers? The emergence of mobile TV as a mobile medium also comes with some impressive applications. For instance, if you are seeing a Lexus commercial on your mobile iPhone while watching a local news program, you could potentially touch a Lexus icon on your phone screen to be connected to a live Lexus sales representative.
The real-time factor. Mobile TV provides the unique value of real-time marketing to consumers. Studies show they spend more when transactions are completed quickly before they have a chance to rationalize a purchase.
Even with all of these big changes underway, television is still a big layer in the media game. TV ads will continue to have loyal buyers.
Do you agree?
Peter Koeppel is a Wharton MBA and president of Koeppel Direct, a full-service media buying agency based in Dallas.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably noticed the extensive increase in coverage recently of the DRTV industry. Here are some current events you won’t want to miss:
It’s never easy, but you can to narrow down your choices through a process of elimination by considering the following:
Select a product that fulfills a perceived problem that the consumer has. In most cases, people aren’t always aware of the problem they have, so you need to show them.
The product should be simple to explain yet have enough features and benefits that it can hold audience attention for a half-hour.
Pick a product that will have people instantly recognizing they have the problem – and need the solution. For example, “Are you tired of knives that just don’t cut?†Sometimes people won’t think about this as an everyday problem in their lives, however once confronted with this, they will quickly see this as a problem they would like to solve.
Recognize that DR relies on an impulse buy – people must want the product right now. Don’t try to sell products that are preventative; the products need to solve a problem consumers have today rather than a problem they may have over time. Unless you’re looking at a lead generation campaign, alarm systems or life insurance are examples of preventative products that are not suitable for the infomercial format.
The product should have a high-perceived value and be able to sell for a 5 to 1 mark-up.
The show and product are inherently intertwined like two dancers- two interlocking pieces of the same puzzle. But, you must start with the product first then focus on the show later.
The product/Pitch/Show – TV is a medium of entertainment, so you have to make sure the product can entertain for thirty minutes. Is it interesting to look at? Can you see it working? Is the function of the product interesting to watch? A blender is interesting to watch as it converts a solid into a liquid. Is the product easily demonstratable? With a food preparation device such as a counter top oven, you are watching a process occur. With a fitness machine, consumers can see a product working with results before their eyes.
Every product has a weakness and audience will figure it out in the half-hour. It is the marketer’s job to address that weakness and ideally turn it into a benefit or strength. For example, when concerned a product is too small, confront it head-on by emphasizing how compact and convenient it is.
The product and the show should be aimed at the audience that is watching. There is no use trying to sell a product to an audience that is simply not there. For instance, snow shovels in Miami would not be a way to go!
One of the reasons hackers breach direct marketing merchant sites is that’s where the card numbers are stored. Cardholder data is kept for a variety of reasons including: 1) providing customer service, 2) processing re-occurring transactions and 3) responding to chargebacks (representments). Fortunately, Visa recently clarified its Rules and advised merchants that they no longer need the entire 16-digit card number to cure a chargeback. Instead, merchants may use other clarifying information in addition to a truncated card number, in responding.
When I was a young lad, nobody in their right mind said, “When I grow up, I want to be in the infomercial business.” But nearly 25 years after starting in this industry, that’s just where I find myself. And boy, am I glad!
So far members of the DR industry, including many from ERA’s Latin America Council have donated over $18,900 to help aid in relief efforts in Chile. Two ERA member companies, A3D and Falabella, have offices in affected areas. To the left is a picture from the A3D offices after the earthquake hit.
It has been an exciting week in the world of net neutrality. This week, Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC, announced the Commission’s intention to enter into a formal rulemaking process to 
Don’t take the initial setup phase for granted - Clients sometimes rush or don’t put enough effort into the initial setup phase of the fulfillment engagement. This can lead to miscommunications and mistakes that have long-term ramifications. It’s especially important to communicate who all of your vendors are, and make sure all offers and file exchanges are thoroughly tested.
Statement from the 
As you probably know, the FTC is planning to eliminate the safe harbor for testimonials with disclaimers. If you are concerned about these changes, make sure you sign up to receive updates from us on this issue. We will send occasional updates that will keep you up to speed. This is part of the grassroots effort we will be launching shortly and these updates will make sure you know about opportunities to get involved. Please make sure you don’t miss out - 
Media buyers and marketers are looking at mobile TV to increase sales for clients.
It’s never easy, but you can to narrow down your choices through a process of elimination by considering the following:
