Posts Tagged ‘pr’

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? That is the Question.

Friday, May 8th, 2009

crosicasuitimage08-09-16As a member of the Twitterati, I’d like to share my thoughts on what using the service can mean to marketers. The ability to send and receive short messages in real time is a logical next step in technological evolution. The service lengthens the list of communication options that includes e-mail, instant messaging, Facebook, LinkedIn, RSS, text messages, even the trusty old telephone. As a public relations and marketing consultant with expertise in Internet-based social media methods, my firm understands the importance of tapping into the newest new thing to reach audiences and hear back from them. So what have I learned about Twitter so far?

Twitter on Main Street

One thing has come across loud and clear: Twitter is much more than just a means to inform others about your activities. Yes, the free messaging service poses the question: “What are you doing?” but effective users don’t waste time on pointless status updates. The Twitter-savvy take advantage of the tool to spread information instantly and add value to a conversation. What do the jet landing on the Hudson River and mayhem in Mumbai along with earthquakes, fires and riots around the globe have in common? They all got immediate attention when eyewitnesses tweeted firsthand accounts. Mainstream media have taken notice that news breaks fast on Twitter so they solicit input and news tips from users. CNN incorporates feedback it gathers via Twitter to shape subsequent broadcasts.

For marketers the ability to reach customers quickly—for free—has obvious merit. Twitter provides a handy way to address customer queries, comments and complaints. It’s a way for marketers to maintain a dialogue with customers that can establish and sustain relationships. It’s a way for marketers to listen and learn what their customers want.

Twitter Quitters

Number crunching by Nielson Media Research indicates 60 percent of Twitter users abandon the service after 30 days, meaning just 40 percent stick with it. That retention rate is far lower than social networking heavyweights Facebook and MySpace experienced when they launched. In fact, when they were emerging networks, their retention rates were twice as high as Twitter’s.

Nevertheless, it will likely stick. While Twitter isn’t for everyone, companies and individuals alike will include Twitter as part of an integrated marketing strategy and use it to bolster customer service and relations (and even generate repeat sales). This is because of the fact that Twitter enables you to see in real time what people are saying about you and helps you deliver effective communiqués instantly to people’s PDAs, desktops and cell phones.

Chris Rosica is author of “The Authentic Brand” and CEO of Rosica Strategic Public Relations. Rosica is also a featured blogger and speaker for Inc. Magazine. He can be followed on Twitter here.

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Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, Marketer, Mobile, Online, Research, Retailer, SEM/SEO, Social Networks, e-commerce, technology | 2 Comments »

Merchant Processing 101

Monday, July 21st, 2008

ekroll.jpg Thinking about adding electronic processing capabilities?
There’s a lot you should know.

There are countless reasons why a business should add credit card and electronic payment processing capabilities: transactional speed, convenience, increased customer satisfaction, improved cash flow, views into sales data and more. But perhaps the most important consideration is the sheer volume of consumers who use non-cash methods as their primary form of payment.

In 2005, credit card and electronic transactions accounted for an overwhelming $3.4 trillion of total U.S. payments, according to The Nilson Report. That’s 50 percent of all transactions nationwide for that year. More recently, Visa USA estimated that nearly 60 percent of U.S. consumers aged 18 to 25 use cards as their primary payment method.

So while the reasons for adding payment processing are clear, understanding all your options and which are right for your business is far more complex. This article will give you the information you need to get started in setting up payment capabilities for your business, and it will provide some of the essential details you need to consider when selecting a provider.

How Payment Processing Works
Some form of the modern credit card has been in use since the late 19th century, mostly as department store charge cards representing lines of credit. Things have changed and today, the step a merchant needs to take in order to accept credit card payments is to establish a merchant account with a bank or third-party payment provider. Once your account is live, the transaction process generally works as follows:

1. A customer presents a credit card for payment.

2. By swiping the credit card through an electronic point-of-sale (POS) transaction terminal, typically provided by the bank or payment provider, an electronic request is submitted to the processing network for authorization.

3. The processing network receives your electronic request and determines if the cardholder’s account is valid and if the funds are available. If so, a response called an “authorization code” is transmitted, guaranteeing your access to the funds.

4. A receipt is then printed for the customer using the POS terminal or your computer. The customer then signs the receipt and, for their part, the transaction is complete.

5. At the end of the business day, a merchant will electronically submit a final request to the processing network to “capture the funds” for all authorized transactions in a given day. This process is referred to as settlement. Once approved, a response is generated to your electronic terminal or computer.

6. From there, the funds associated with the batch you settled are deposited electronically into your business bank account, usually within 48 to 72 hours. Typically, the rate and any fees paid to your merchant account provider are deducted from your account at the end of the month.

7. At the end of the month, your merchant account provider will send a statement to you, detailing the credit card activity for the month and the associated fees you’ve been charged.

This process describes what happens in a traditional retail, or “brick and mortar” sales environment. For Internet and e-commerce merchants, the set-up process requires a few additional steps. (more…)

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Posted in Electronic Retailer, Online, Payment Processing, Support Services | 5 Comments »