Target consumer audience

This is why there’s such thing as CRM customer relationship management software, which is software intended to do exactly what it sounds like. Except relationships might make it sound all warm and fuzzy, but it’s actually not so much. It’s more of a cold, methodical way of keeping track of customers, figuring out what they want and trying to match their needs as much as possible. So when it comes to relationships with customers it’s not personal, it’s business. CRM customer relationship management software, or CRM software for short, often manages customer relationships by creating a database that keeps track of who’s shopping at the store and what they’re shopping for. This helps companies get a sense of their target consumer audience and what would appeal to them. The CRM software also helps determine who to send product plans and offerings to, and to send reminders of customer services to keep them in the database. The end goal of customer relationship management software is to make business decisions that will maximize profits.

Center of customer attention

It’s a good idea for enterprises to invest in CRM customer relationship management software, especially in an industry where it can be sink or swim. It’s imperative to build, maintain and increase a customer base when you have a lot of business competition. If you’re the only one providing a certain service, customers have no choice but to come to you so you don’t have to put as much effort into making them happy. But this usually isn’t the case, so you have to fight to stay at the center of customer attention. CRM software makes this easier and it prepares you for the long run, because business doesn’t remain stagnant. There are always new products, new trends and ever changing business climate, but the one thing that can stay constant is maintaining a relationship with your customers.

Invest today – Reap the rewards tomorrow

While it takes some time, knowledge, and effort to get an internet business up and running, the time you invest now can spell large dividends in the future. Should you find yourself suddenly without your regular income, every step you take today might well keep you afloat tomorrow. Unemployment benefits can bridge the gap for a short while. You can apply for every job for which you are qualified in the meantime. However, if nothing pans out, burning the midnight oil, solidifying your plans for starting a small business online, may prove to be the income of your future. A well crafted business plan can provide the ‘legs’ to a new life.

Think out of the box – Find your niche

When you consider starting a small business online, you should try to think out of the box. So you’ve been an accountant for twenty years. You’ve also spent most of your life in woodworking, building cabinets for your home. All this time, you thought of this fun time as a hobby and simply a pleasurable pastime. While accounting services are abundant on the net, custom cabinetry is a far smaller niche business. Finding your niche is all-important. You don’t want to go after the mainstream business at the get-go, because in these areas competition is simply too high.

Low start-up costs

Why not take a chance, starting a small business online, in a field you truly love? What do you have to lose? The investment you need to put down for a domain name, put up a website and perhaps an informational cabinet-making blog is almost nothing. Spend a few hours each night, writing tutorials on your craft. What’s the proper procedure for preparing wood for staining? What are the advantages of hardwood over softwood in different applications? Once you get started, you’ll amaze yourself with your depth of knowledge.

“Spy” on your competitors

Learning from your competition is a great way to excel. No matter how small a niche you have found you will have competition, and checking out how they go about business is a way to get ideas and inspiration for your next initiatives. Not only that, but you might realize aspects of your game that need change, perhaps you have even been doing things wrong or ineffectively.

Outsource web design

If you’re not conversant in website design, you’ll need to either learn, or hire a pro. If you choose to hire a pro, check out their portfolio. If their designs are superb, it’s worth the investment.

 Create a plan – Follow it

Map out your objectives. Find an attention-getting theme that is irresistible to a visitor. Build content. Starting a small business online is easier than you think, so long as your product or service is of the highest quality and competitively priced.

Marketing your website is probably the most difficult aspect of starting a small business online. By the time you’re ready to launch your site, you need to be prepared to invest some bucks in bringing your small business to the attention of the world.

I am the boss!

Being your own boss can be one of the most liberating accomplishments of your life. Not having to answer to anyone (except your customers), deciding where and when to work, and keeping all the profit for yourself, are strong arguments if that kind of thing tickles your pickle!

Discipline

For one, a small business owner must be a self starter. This means that the person will take on whatever needs to be done, even when it seems that there is no rush or even need for that thing to be done in the first place. They do not have laundry sitting in the washer because they left it for later, and they are always the ones that seem to have a plan half-formed before a problem gets big enough to need attention. These are the people who did homework before they left school, went the extra mile for friends without being asked, and always seemed willing to help someone else when they needed it.

Extreme focus

A good small business owner tends to be the same person that never had the time to go out and have fun for themselves. While they may have time, they always think of something more important that needs to be done. This may make them a bore when you want them to go out with you on the weekend, but this also makes them a success when they start a business. They have a drive and determination to put in the hours needed to make a small business a success, even if it is at the cost of their personal life.

Not for everyone

Running a business is not a nine to five, forty hours a week type of endeavor. You have to work twice that if not more. You may find a few people you trust in the long run so that you can take more time for yourself, but when a small business owner has the entire weight of the success of their business on his or her shoulders, they are not the type to let that slide. You may find them at work more often than they are anywhere else, as least while getting the business up and off of the ground.

Do you have what it take? Try!

Not everyone has what it takes to be a small business owner. That does not mean they do not have skills and talent, it just means that this is not for them. If you wonder if you are able and ready, think about an endeavor that can be overwhelmingly exciting, but also something that can take over your entire life. If you have the drive and the will do to that and don’t mind giving it every ounce of energy you can muster on any given day, you may just have what it takes to be a success small business owner.

How to accept credit cards online?

There are 3 clear-cut options to accepting credit cards online, and each has their pros and cons.

Merchant accounts + payment gateway

A merchant account is a special bank account that allows a company to accept payment by credit cards and have the money deposited to the account. The payment gateway is used to either insert the credit card number by hand, and functions like a physical Point of Sale terminal, or is fed the number by a shopping cart through it’s API (application programming interface).

A common setup looks like this:

1. Shopping cart (customers credit card information + amount to be charged)
2. Payment gateway (checks for authorization with issuing bank)
3. Merchant account (receives settlement)

Pros:

• Full control over payment process, design, work-flow.
• Low transaction fees

Cons:

• Requires that you apply for a merchant account with a bank, and banks normally have restrictions as to whom they open such accounts for. A bit of paper work is involved, and the bank will look at the company’s credit record, expected volume, and other factors.
• Since the three components, shopping cart, payment gateway, and merchant account, are normally issued/sold by separate companies, work must be done to integrate these components.

Third party credit card processors

Accepting credit cards online through a third-party processor is a step down from the merchant account method, but gives you almost all the same benefits. The third part processor lets you use their payment gateway and merchant account, some even help with a shopping cart.

The normal setup is as follows:

1. Shopping cart hosted by you or third-party (amount to be charged)
2. 3. party payment processor + merchant account (checks for authorization with issuing bank and receives settlement
3. 3. party payment processor sends you a check or transfers amount due to your bank account.

Pros:

• Most of the setup is already done for you, and some third-party processors have easy to configure, and integrate, shopping carts and payment processors. Interfacing with your site or design is  a lot easier than with the separate merchant and gateway method.

Cons:

• You lose a bit of control in that you are not able to completely customize every facet of the payment process.
• You have to expect to pay a higher per transaction fee with this method, but that’s the price you have to pay for lower volume and using a third-party credit card processor.

PayPal-type service

How to accept credit cards online isn’t any easier than with a PayPal-type service. They are a little different then the methods above in that no credit card has to be involved in the actual interaction between the customer and your company. With a service like PayPal the process is similar to the above. However, when the customer normally would enter their credit card information they are instead sent to a PayPal web page where they enter their e-mail address and confirm the order after logging in.

Money is either charged from the customers PayPal balance, or directly from the credit card they have registered on file. Money to your company is deposited to your PayPal balance. Simple!

Pros:

• Extremely simple to set up
• Many customers already have a PayPal account and the payment process is therefor a lot easier for them and quicker then with a credit card.

Cons: 

• Not everyone has a paypal account.

Conclusion

To answer the question How to accept credit cards online you first have to answer a few questions about your business. What kind of volume do you expect? How much control do you need over the payment process? How much customization and programming effort can you accept to pay for?

It is probably worth it to start from the bottom, or at least with a 3. party payment processor. That way you can “upgrade” to a full merchant account when the volume and/or other business reasons warrant it.

Related posts:

1. Credit card processing for small business

The problem with merchant accounts

A problem many small businesses have, home-based, Internet, mail-order, a like, is finding a bank or financial institution that will process their credit card orders. For starters, there are not many banks that offer merchant accounts to small businesses. Merchant accounts are also expensive to set up, with the bank usually charging you a one time set up fee, in addition to the costs you will have configuring and programming a gateway (where the actual order is placed). Setting up credit card processing for small businesses with a merchant account is simply to much hassle.

3. party processing account

Skipping all the other arguments against a merchant account for a small business, if you can even get one, we have the third-party credit card processing accounts. A third part processing account is, in simple terms, an account supplied by a company that let’s you use their merchant account. In reality, companies that offer these products are highly specialized, often focusing solely on providing their customers with credit card processing facilities. This includes back-end services like online account statements, statistics, refund options, etc, and on the front-end they usually offer a configurable payment gateway that you can brand to your liking, or a payment interface that you can plug-in to.

Advantages

The advantages for a small business that need to process credit cards is that the third-party processing accounts are usually a lot cheaper and easier to set up then merchant account. Remember, the companies offering these services have specialized in providing small businesses easy to use services. Here is a list of the common features:

• Low set up fees
• Minimal paper-work (if any)
• Advanced fraud protection
• Recurring payments
• Management account
• Virtual merchant account (or Internet merchant account)

Conclusion

If you are own a small business and need to accept credit cards, and a merchant account is out of reach or is simply too expensive, then a third part credit card processor might be the solution. As I mentioned above, the minimal paper work, low set up fees and easy customization of the payment gateway mean you can be up and running in no time. Credit card processing for small businesses has never been easier!

Related posts:

1. How to accept credit cards online