Amazon Introduces New Payment Option for Online Merchants |  |
- Amazon Introduces New Payment Option for Online Merchants
- How Health Care Reform Changes Impact the Small Business Owner
- PayPal Acquires Online Payment Developer Braintree
- 5 Ways Belly-to-Belly Meetings Are Better for Business
- New Curved Phone Over $1,000 Announced by Samsung
- Seven of the Best Small Business Viral Marketing Campaigns
| Amazon Introduces New Payment Option for Online Merchants Posted: 11 Oct 2013 02:00 AM PDT
For online merchants, one of the biggest challenges is providing a payment solution customers will want to use. There’s no point in offering that one of a kind product at an unbelievable price, if it’s too much of a hassle for visitors to sign in with their credit card and place an order. There are, of course, a ton of ecommerce and online shopping cart solutions for small businesses. Some of the best known solutions, of course, are from PayPal, Google Wallet and Check Out by Amazon. Credit card reader Square has even created an online market for its merchants to try to make the process of selling products online easier. Now, Amazon is offering a new service, Amazon Log In and Pay, to make it even easier for existing Amazon customers to buy from your site. See more in the video below: Amazon Log In and PayThe main draw of the new Amazon Log In and Pay program seems to be that Amazon customers can sign in and buy from you using their existing account. It differs from the older Checkout by Amazon, which requires copying and pasting a snippet of HTML. It also appears to offer a bit more integration than the older service. Amazon says you get started by signing up for an Amazon Payments seller account and embedding a set of widgets and APIs on your site. The company says its sellers get customers’ names, email addresses and postal codes when those customers log in with Amazon. This means you can build relationships with them and market to them in the future. And, of course, payments can be made on any device so mobile payments are an easy option. Amazon says its new payment method also allows you to add options for pre-orders, split-orders and in-store pick-up. There is also fraud protection and free phone support. Be aware you’ll need your legal business name, contact information, a U.S.credit card and a U.S. address to sign up. Image: Amazon The post Amazon Introduces New Payment Option for Online Merchants appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| How Health Care Reform Changes Impact the Small Business Owner Posted: 10 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT
As an employer, you may find yourself thinking that you have yet to address health care reform requirements for your business. Some of you may be asking:
Well I have an answer — you should take action for your employees. According to the 2013 Aflac WorkForces Report, which sheds light on the attitudes, fears and expectations of workers when it comes to health care reform, employees have concerns about their benefit options and how health care reform may affect those benefits. If you can quell their fears by establishing their benefits options sooner rather than later, you will find your workforce far more at ease about upcoming changes. Common Employee Health Care Reform ConcernsConcern #1: It’s Too Complicated to UnderstandAccording to the Aflac study, three-quarters of workers (75 percent) believe health care reform is too complicated to understand. In addition, 72 percent believe their personal health insurance situation will become more complicated once reform takes place. Concern #2: How Will I Be Affected?About half (58 percent) of workers think the quality of their health care will improve. Many indicate they believe the new law will affect the scope and cost of their health care coverage, with the majority (83 percent) believing the medical costs they are responsible for will increase. Concern #3: I'm Not Prepared Financially for the ChangesThe reality is that many companies already shift a significant share of health care premiums to their workers, and many employers offer health insurance plans with significant deductibles. Yet, only 23 percent of workers are saving money for potential increases in medical expenses and more than half of workers (55 percent) say they are doing nothing to prepare for changes to the health care system. Concern #4: I Don’t Know Enough to Effectively Manage My Health Care OptionsThe Aflac study found that more than half of workers (53 percent) think they may not adequately manage their health insurance coverage, leaving their family less protected than they are currently. A similar number (54 percent) would prefer not to have more control over health insurance expenses and options because they will not have the time or knowledge to manage it effectively. High-level Recap of HCR Provisions for Small BusinessesThese concerns are valid, but as a small business owner, you cannot address them until you make sure that you are well-versed in health care reform. Talk to your broker or agent to get all of the details, but use these provisions (if you own a business with fewer than 50 employees) as a starting point. Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP) Marketplace Small business employers are eligible to participate in the SHOP Marketplace in 2014. In the case of plan years beginning before Jan. 1, 2016, a state may elect to define small employer by substituting "50 employees" for "100 employees." New Summary of Benefits As of Sept. 23, 2012, group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage have been required (PDF) to provide a summary of benefits and coverage under the applicable plan or coverage for annual enrollment periods. Medical Loss Ratio Rebate Distribution Major medical insurers that do not meet new medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements are required to issue rebates to policyholders no later than Aug. 1 following the end of the MLR reporting year (began in 2012). Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Limits As of Jan. 1, 2013, employer-sponsored cafeteria plans have had to limit (PDF) employee annual salary reduction contributions to health flexible spending arrangements to $2,500. Additional Medicare Withholding on Wages A 0.9 percent additional Medicare tax went into effect in 2013, raising the Medicare tax rate for certain earners from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent. New Medicare Assessment on Net Investment Income As of 2013, a new 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax was applied to individuals, estates and trusts with net investment income and modified adjusted gross income above certain thresholds. Waiting Period Limits Beginning January 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) restricts waiting periods to a maximum of 90 days. Required Contribution to the Temporary Reinsurance Program From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016, a temporary reinsurance program for the individual insurance market will be funded by a required contribution from all health insurers and group health plans. Employer Wellness Incentives Health care reform increases the maximum permissible reward under a health-contingent wellness program, meaning individuals who participate in their company wellness programs and meet a specific health standard can gain larger rewards. Health Insurance Coverage Reporting Insurers, self-insured employers and other entities that provide "minimum essential coverage" to an individual during a calendar year must report certain health insurance coverage information to the IRS. Certain employers are also required to report information regarding the health coverage offered to their full-time employees. Small Business Tax Credits If your business employs 25 or fewer full-time equivalent workers with average wages of less than $50,000, your business may be eligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. The material above is intended to provide general information about an evolving topic and does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice regarding any specific situation. Aflac cannot anticipate all the facts that a particular employer or individual will have to consider in their benefits decision-making process. I strongly encourage readers to discuss their HCR situations with their advisors to determine the actions they need to take or to visit HealthCare.gov (which may also be contacted at 1-800-318-2596) for additional information. Health Care Photo via Shutterstock The post How Health Care Reform Changes Impact the Small Business Owner appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| PayPal Acquires Online Payment Developer Braintree Posted: 10 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT
Small business owners and consumers alike need plenty of payment options. So it’s easy to see why the market always exists for developers providing more of them. And that may have been one of the motivations for PayPal and its parent company, eBay, to acquire Web and mobile payment developer Braintree. The decision seems clearly rooted in providing more tools, not just propping up existing ones. In a post on the company’s official PayPal Forward blog, President David Marcus explained:
But he also said the Braintree team would continue developing and growing its existing products and business under the PayPal banner:
PayPal Fends Off CompetitionThe acquisition, reportedly worth $800 million, is also an attempt to eliminate one competitor and fend off others, reports Reuters. PayPal has faced competition not only from Braintree but also from credit card reader Square, which now operates its own online market and also from Intuit Inc.’s GoPayment. Not that PayPal has needed help staying competitive, including in the mobile space. The service has just released its latest payment app on Android. See below: But Marcus says he admires the way Braintree has developed innovative mobile solutions for major clients. Those clients include Airbnb, OpenTable, Uber and TaskRabbit. The expertise and the solutions created to serve them are now part of PayPal, too. Image: Braintree The post PayPal Acquires Online Payment Developer Braintree appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 5 Ways Belly-to-Belly Meetings Are Better for Business Posted: 10 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT
Social media and other types of online networking have revolutionized business. You can connect with customers, clients and partners half way around the world. But are there times when face to face, or as they are sometimes called, belly to belly meetings are still beneficial? You bet, say members of the small business community. Face to Face Meetings Accelerate NetworkingFirst, career transition consultant and brand strategist Deborah Shane insists meeting people face to face accelerates the networking process. She explains:
Plus Shane insists face to face meetings and online networking can work together. Each can drive the other strengthening the connection with someone you may have only known superficially.
Meeting in Person Gives You a Broader PerspectiveIn addition, Shane says she can gain a broader perspective of a person when meeting face to face. For example, a face to face conversation might more quickly help you and a person you are networking with find common ground as opposed to, say, liking their Facebook page. Do you have common interests, hobbies, favorite books, shared peers, or even common life experiences? You could eventually find this out from having a look at favorite sites, shared connections or even a book review or personal anecdote posted on a blog. But none of this is likely to happen as quickly as it will if you spend time just talking over lunch. You can also put a plan in place to work together, finalize a course of action or decide on the next step in your business in only minutes in a face to face meeting, Shane said. Face to Face Meetings Command our Full AttentionIn the age of multitasking, social communication and even important business email is likely to be happening at the same time we’re proofreading the latest blog post, listening to a podcast, watching part of a video, etc. This is another reason face to face meetings are still important, writes Rieva Lesonsky, quoting from research on the subject. Multitasking makes it unlikely we will have long term memory of the things we see and hear. Face to face events on the other hand stimulate our cognitive functions resulting in greater open mindedness and creativity, Lesonsky writes. Meeting in Person Engages the EmotionsApparently, the most important thing brands want from social engagement — a “positive emotional experience” — can only be achieved face to face. Lesonky explains:
If this is the reaction you want from those with whom you network, a “like” on Facebook may not be enough. Face to Face Meeting Build TrustBut ultimately, the most important reason face to face meetings remain important is the trust factor. According to the data, you can share information virtually, Lesonky explains. But building relationships requires closer interaction. Research shows relationships built face to face are stronger, Lesonky reports. If this is the goal of your networking activities — and it certainly should be — then face to face meetings become even more important. Face to Face Photo via Shutterstock The post 5 Ways Belly-to-Belly Meetings Are Better for Business appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| New Curved Phone Over $1,000 Announced by Samsung Posted: 10 Oct 2013 08:00 AM PDT
Samsung has thrown the smartphone buying public a curve. Cost conscious entrepreneurs won’t be picking this phone, costing over $1,000 and not available outside South Korea. But perhaps it will teach us all something about innovation. The aptly named new Samsung Galaxy Round has a 5.7-inch display with 1080 pixel resolution, the same as the recently released Samsung Galaxy Note. But there are two very big differences that set it apart. The phone’s defining design feature is a curve along the screen’s vertical axis. It’s purpose is to allow users to check things like time, date, missed calls and battery life when the screen is off simply by gently tipping the phone when it is sitting on a flat surface. The video below demonstrates: Then there’s the other defining feature: The price. Did we mention it costs about $1,000? Other aspects of the Samsung Galaxy Round seem similar to other recent Samsung products. There’s a 13 megapixel camera on the back. There’s also a two megapixel camera on the front for video chat. The camera will be available in a 32 GB and 64 GB version, TechCrunch reports and will come in “Luxury Brown” with other colors on the way. With a huge price tag and limited availability, this will probably not be the choice for a mobile small business owner trying to trim the budget. But competitors are already gearing up to take their own stab at a curved phone. The design may be the wave of the future and also a great lesson in marketing for entrepreneurs of all sizes. No matter how many Samsung Galaxy Round phones are sold, who will ever forget a $1,000 curved smartphone — or the company that made it? The post New Curved Phone Over $1,000 Announced by Samsung appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Seven of the Best Small Business Viral Marketing Campaigns Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT
Many small businesses who have enjoyed the excitement of a viral marketing campaign will actually tell you that, although they wish they had been clever enough to plan it, it was an accident. There are certainly things you can do to try and create viral marketing campaigns, but these methods never offer any guarantees. As a small business owner trying to create the next big thing, it's important to look at examples of successful viral marketing campaigns to see what you can learn. Then give it a try yourself, see what happens – and then try, try again if necessary. Viral Marketing Campaigns: What You Can LearnFor those who are unfamiliar, a viral campaign essentially means the spread of something (an idea, a particular ad, a song, etc.) organically, often by word of mouth. If you have created engaging content that gives readers a reason to share, that content or message has the potential to become viral. Therefore being seen by a lot more eyes than your typical campaigns. It can help you spread awareness of your message as well as increase leads and/or sales. There are have been lots of successful viral marketing campaigns in the past in every industry, some of the most popular being the Old Spice commercials, the Gangnam style dance and The Blair Witch Project. Below lists 7 of the top viral marketing campaigns by small businesses: Video Campaigns1. Blendtec's Will It Blend CampaignThis marketing campaign is centered around a food blender. The campaign created a video that shows that the blender blends everything. Some of their most popular videos show blending expensive electronics like an iPhone. Why it went viral: It capitalized on user's interest to watch quick and funny things on YouTube. It was shocking in 2006 and it still is today. It attracted 160 million views back when the campaign was first launched. 2. The Best Job EverThis viral campaign is cool because it isn't funny or clever, just gives viewers what they want to see. Tourism Queensland launched the campaign in 2009. They hosted a contest where the winner would be paid $150,000 to tour the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Why it went viral: The ad went through YouTube so it was easy for people to hear about it while sitting in their cubicles. The offer was unique and the video made it seem so amazing that people were bound to apply, which then created a domino effect of success. 3. Burger King's Subservient Chicken PromotionThis campaign dates back to 2004, but many of the tactics the campaign used still apply today. The campaign started on TV and then moved to the Internet where people could request the chicken to do something and it would have to oblige. The idea here is "chicken the way you want it." Why it went viral: It was funny, unique, interactive – and the first of it's kind. 4. Golden Grahms Gold GrantThis campaign targeted college students and therefore used social media to fuel the fire. The company posted a series of animated videos that discussed things like job interviews that went wrong (but hilarious). It started with Twitter and then moved to YouTube gaining more than 2.5 million views. Why it went viral: It was funny and the company knew exactly who the audience was and how to connect with that audience. Traditional Ad Campaigns5. Virgin Blue Tweets
The airline Virgin Blue decided to create an ad campaign on Twitter for their Virgin Australia branch. The deal was that because it was their 9th anniversary, they were going to give plane tickets away for $9 each through Twitter. They gave away 1,000 tickets but earned nearly 33,000 Twitter followers. Why it went viral: This giveaway in 2009 was successful because it offered $9 tickets through a social media outlet. Not only was it enticing, it was also easier to get involved and easier for people to spread the word. 6. Threshers Viral Email
This campaign went viral in 2006 after the U.K. based liquor store sent an email marketing campaign intended only for suppliers that offered a 40 percent discount. The suppliers leaked the coupon and the store's website crashed. Why it went viral: There is no denying this was a complete mistake. But it likely went viral because such a good deal was coming from suppliers who don't typically offer such a deal. While this isn't a classic example of something going viral, remember that it is possible. 7. Sporting PortugalThe soccer team wanted to boost ticket sales so they decided to setup a microsite where people could purchase tickets. You entered your name and phone number and then a video of the players during a pep talk would show up. The video would then stop and the coach would call you saying they needed you to come to the game. The site received 200,000 page views in just one day. Why it went viral: This was all about interaction. It capitalized on the fact that fans love to see, and be a part of, anything behind the scenes of sporting events. As a side note, the vast majority of successful viral marketing campaigns over the last decade were video advertisements. It was more of a struggle to find campaigns that didn't involve video when researching any new viral gems that I may have missed. Keep this in mind if you're setting out to specifically create something viral. Also keep in mind the tactic of re-packaging quotes into viral content and capitalizing on viral infographics as well. Do you know of any great viral marketing campaigns I may have missed? The post Seven of the Best Small Business Viral Marketing Campaigns appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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