Business Resolutions and the New Year

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Evolve Systems

We are entering the fourth full week of the new year today, and for the average American that means this is the week you will forget about or give up on your New Year’s Resolution. While New Year’s Resolutions are often personal (but unlikely) challenges stated at the end of one year or beginning of the next, business goals can (and should) be made frequently.

If you run or manage a small or large business, we hope you have created goals for 2012. If you haven’t yet, here are a few things to consider.

-Set one goal at a time, and give it a deadline. Stating you would like to double your business in 2012 is a nice goal, but probably not the most realistic. Instead, choose to open 40 new accounts by April 1st. Choose to sell $10,000 in products in February.

-When you have chosen what you will do, decide how you will do it. If you are blindly aiming at a target, you probably won’t hit it. With a plan, you have a much better shot. How can you open 40 new accounts by April 1st? Figure out the best way to go about it, and then do it.

-Share your goal with others. Share it with your staff, your family, and other people who will hold you accountable. If others know about your goal, you will be more motivated to accomplish it. If you have employees, specific goals will give them something to aim for as well.

-Evaluate what you have done, and decide what you will do next. Did you sell $10,000 in products in February? If you did, set a higher goal for March and make it happen. If you didn’t, what could you do better next month to make it happen?

Goals are an important part of growing a business. Come up with one goal at a time, write it down, make it known, and do it.

Good luck!

Are your business goals web and/or social media oriented? If so, we can help! www.evolve-systems.com

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Are your B2B clients paying too much in credit cards processing fees?

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Evolve Systems

Level 3 processing, a unique class of credit card processing, is a classification that only applies to specially issued Purchase Cards (p-cards) that are able to accept an enhanced set of data about the goods and services that are being purchased. Banks started issuing p-cards to federal, state, and local government agencies (GSA SmartPay) and larger corporations to help them streamline the collection of payment from their customers. The U.S. Federal government spent $26 billion in 2006 using the GSA SmartPay purchase card and has over 3,000,000 cardholders. Businesses spent over $700 billion in 2006 and the growth rate (27% CAGR) is nearly twice that of regular credit cards.

Government agencies and businesses prefer to use P-cards for a number of reasons including cost savings from e-procurement, enhanced reporting on purchases, greater employee purchasing control, and lower negotiated rates with businesses (e.g. airlines). The Federal government saved over $1 billion in 2006 by using p-cards. Similar cost savings were realized by businesses in terms of percentage of spend. Merchants enjoy accepting the purchase cards because payment can be received quicker, invoicing costs are substantially reduced, and government agencies and larger corporations have been known to give preferential treatment to businesses that are able to accept these cards and provide the necessary Level 3 data.

What most businesses do not know is that standard merchant accounts are not typically set up for Level 3 acceptance and not all providers of merchant accounts can offer Level 3 capabilities. If a merchant’s goods or services can be sold to government agencies or larger corporations, they are wise to get setup with a merchant account that can facilitate Level 3 processing. Level 3 processing is exclusively used in business to business and business to government environments.

Merchants should also be aware that when the appropriate information is included in a Level 3 purchase, they are rewarded with lower processing rates which can be as much as 1.00%. Evolve Systems has the experience and expertise to assist businesses in working with Level 2 and 3 processing as well as your e-commerce and website needs.

For information on how to assist your clients in processing at Level 3 rates, please contact us at Evolve Systems.

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Making sense of social media networks: YouTube

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Evolve Systems

When most people think of YouTube, they often think of music videos, short clips, and funny videos posted by friends. What businesses are learning however is that YouTube can be very beneficial to them for use by clients and employees alike! YouTube provides an accessible, low cost, user friendly platform for sharing videos and presentations with just about anyone. Here are several ways YouTube can be beneficial to your business!

1. Promoting new products. Sharing images and information on new products is great, but showing your products in action is one of the best things you can do. This is something you can get really creative with, or keep it simple and direct.

2. Employee training. YouTube makes it easy to offer ongoing training without cutting into productivity by rounding everyone up for seminars. Employees can watch presentations when it is convenient for them.

3. Client training and Frequently Asked Questions. If you offer a product or service, there is a good chance you will answer the same questions over and over. With YouTube, you can create a short video giving an in-depth answer and all you have to do is share the link.

4. Testimonials. What is better than someone loving your product or service? Someone telling other people they love your product or service! You can easily record testimonials and share them on your website or blog for prospective customers to see.

So there you have it- 4 new ways for using YouTube. If you are not sure where to start, YouTube has put together a Getting Started Guide! Check it out today and discover the usefulness of this great media platform.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Evolve Systems

Thank you to everyone for the past year. It has been awesome to work with all of you and to see your companies grow and prosper. As we work to the end of the year we wish you all the best, and hope that 2012 will be your best year ever!

Cheers!

Your Friends at Evolve Systems

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Making sense of social media networks: Blogging

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Evolve Systems

Blogging is good for business. If you have a business and not a blog, we have some great information for you! You may think blogging requires a big commitment, but we are here to tell you it doesn’t have to. Simply having a blog and updating it periodically is a fantastic social media tool. Some businesses update their blogs daily, others monthly. Neither is right or wrong!

Here at Evolve, we update when we have something substantial to say that will be helpful to our clients. Sometimes that is several times per week, sometimes it is a few times per month. We have compiled a list of 5 reasons why blogging is good for business.

1. Blogging allows you to communicate with your customer base. You can share news, people can comment, and you can reply. If you have a new product or service, you can easily shine a spotlight on it with a simple blog post.

2. Simply put: Google loves links and new content. By blogging, you can easily link back to your website/homepage and google loves that. Why does it matter if Google loves your site? Because you want people to be able to find you with a simple search.

3. You can share things that may not have a place on your website. Quick updates, tips and tricks, links to related (but not competing) products, and publicity can all be quickly shared with a new blog post.

4. Reward frequent visitors. You can offer special discount codes, coupons, and savings to people who check in frequently. This will encourage traffic both to your blog and your website.

5. Request feedback! Both positive and negative feedback will benefit your business. Customers love telling their favorite companies what they like best and what could be improved. Give them the opportunity!

All in all, blogging is one of the easiest things you can do to establish a relationship with your customers. If you have a blog, people will go there first for the latest news. And if you DO have a blog, make sure you feed your new posts to your Twitter and Facebook accounts so people can find it easily!

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