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Accessibility is a B2P Marketing Strategy

How to lean into B2P marketing by making your website accessible to all

When was the last time you used a paper phone book to reach a business? Most people haven’t flipped through those newsprint quality pages in decades. Instead, we rely on the convenience and immediacy of the internet to help us make purchase decisions.

Back in our phone book days, two overarching marketing strategies ruled the industry: B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer). Much like the phone book, the

How to Recognize a Merchant Services Scam

Have you ever been tempted to use the phrase, “that sounds too good to be true”?

Most people, especially business owners, find themselves using this common adage frequently. And not without good reason.

The unfortunate reality is, most out-of-this-world amazing deals come with unpleasant hidden secrets. Secrets that often go undiscovered until it’s too late. Scammers will try to steal money and sensitive information from any person or business, which means everyone is at risk.

Payment Trends to Watch for in 2022: Pandemic-Driven Innovation

These past two years have been downright difficult for all of us, but the human race is resilient. We strive for better days and bigger opportunities. Our pure ambition cannot be quarantined.

This ambition – created from resilience, big dreams, and perhaps a dash of desperation – is one positive notion we can take from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the ambition of businesses big and small, we accelerated payments innovation past previous projections and into the future.

The demand for conta

6 Tips to Help Your Small Business Excel in 2022

Are you eager to get a fresh start in 2022, or is the future still too unpredictable to get excited about? Both feelings are completely understandable, especially for the small business owner. The ongoing pandemic and all the economic struggles that come with it have even the most optimistic entrepreneurs feeling stressed.

One of the biggest challenges small business owners are still wrestling with is the job market. In November 2021, 48% of small business owners reported job openings they coul

How to Handle Returns Like a Pro & Stay Profitable After the Holidays

If you're a retail business owner, you know that the final weeks of the year are typically accompanied by many product returns and exchanges. However, the seven days between Christmas and New Year's Day see the most return traffic for purchases made in-store and orders placed online. In early 2021, Digital Commerce 360 reported that returns for online orders increased by 70% between these holidays (compared with the daily average for September 24th - November 29th).

In this post, we'll explore

Small Businesses Are Counting On You | 5 Reasons to Shop Small

The United States is home to over 32.5 million small businesses. These millions of businesses employ about 46.8% of the private workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Small businesses impact our everyday lives more than we may realize. They contribute to our local economies, employ our friends and neighbors, and often give back to our communities, but we'll explore all of this later. Right now, here's what you need to know:

Small businesses in your community are counti

How Does Halloween Spending Impact the Economy? | 2021 Projections

Have you ever wondered how Halloween impacts our economy?

After all, those pumpkins, decorations, costumes, and candy do have to be purchased every year and typically fly off the shelves. In this post, we’ll review some of the frightening facts on Halloween spending. Read on, if you dare!


A Brief History of All Hallow's Eve

The origin of this spooky holiday dates back to the festival of Samhain, an ancient Celtic tradition to welcome the harvest and “the dark half of the year.”

The followi

5 Tips - Market Yourself as a Point of Sale Dealer

Marketing is about making connections and building relationships with people who are excited about your brand or product.

It goes beyond what we think of when we hear the word “marketing”. It’s more than commercials, brochures, radio spots, videos, professionally photographed ads, and things of that nature. Effective marketing is truly about building a brand and reputation that your customers believe in and want to share with other people. As a Point of Sale Dealer, you should absolutely seek c

10 Tips for Marketing Your Small Business on a Budget

Many small businesses today are operating on shoestring budgets. Is yours in the same boat?

Trying to grow a business on a very small budget can be challenging, but it is far from impossible.

Take Chip and Joanna Gaines for example! Jo started out with a dream for a tiny home décor shop. When first starting out, she had no idea if there would be enough interest or if she would make enough profit to keep it open for a week. Now, here they are 15+ years later, with one of the most well-known hom

Your Guide to Interchange Fees and When to Expect Increases

At Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS), we’re all about helping business owners like you increase their financial well-being.

This is why we’re committed to providing the knowledge and resources you might not find with other payment providers. The more you know, the better control you can have over your business’s success!

That brings us to today’s topic: fees.

If you’ve reviewed your credit card (or merchant) statement recently, you may have taken note of the fees charged to your merchant acco

Order & Pay-at-Table Options Benefit Everyone. Here's Why.

At Total Touch, we’re all about helping restaurants like yours offer the best dining experience possible.

Many factors contribute to this dining experience, such as the attitude and attentiveness of your staff, wait times, and of course the food. Another key contributor to the success of a dining experience is the checkout process. Is the customer left waiting several minutes for the check? Did a team member forget to apply the customer’s coupon? Was the customer accidentally charged incorrectl

Merchant Services vs. Payment Processing: What's the Difference?

If you were under the impression that a merchant services provider and credit card processor were one and the same, you’re not alone. Many people outside of the payments industry assume that these services are provided by the same company. They absolutely can be (we’ll get to that later), but the concepts of merchant services and credit card processing are very different.

This post will help you understand those differences and choose the right partner for your needs.

At their core, merchant s

The Integral Role of Nonverbal Communication in Sales

There once was a very ambitious lumberjack.

This lumberjack wanted to be the best, so he applied with the top company in town. To convince the owner to hire him, the lumberjack offered to work the first day for free and prove his ability. So, the owner hired him and sent him off to work.

The first day, the lumberjack cut down 25 trees – more than anyone else on the team. Every day for the first month, he chopped down 25 trees. However, in the second month he only cut about 20 per day. In the t

Hiring After the Pandemic: How to Attract Top Talent

If you’re reading this post, chances are yours is one of the thousands of businesses hoping to hire more team members after the pandemic. Businesses of all types across the country have found themselves suddenly in need of more staff, as their customers begin to return from the pandemic hiatus.

Even though you may need more staff, fast, you shouldn’t resign to just hire the first person to walk in the door. Hiring the wrong person out of necessity will only end up costing you time and money tha

Untapped Profit Potential in Restaurant Gift & Loyalty Programs

Never underestimate the power of a good loyalty program.

Loyalty programs (a.k.a. rewards programs) have grown in popularity over the past decade or so. Most large retailers and restaurant chains use some sort of a loyalty program which rewards customers for making frequent purchases. For example, Target offers Target Circle, which gives participants access to deals, special offers, birthday gifts, and more when they shop online or in-store. We can also take Domino’s® for example. The popular p

Getting Past the Gatekeeper | Sales Tips for Merchant Services Agents

One of the biggest challenges merchant services salespeople and agents face is overcoming objections. A merchant may object to your sales pitch for a number of reasons, including the classic “I don’t have time to talk right now.”

Here are some other common objections we hear out in the field:
•
• I just switched providers or am in a contract.
• I already have the lowest rates.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Developing strategies to navigate these objections is all part of the job. However,

What is PCI Compliance and Why is it Important?

Security is one of the primary concerns for most business owners today. If you’re a business owner yourself, you understand the importance of installing security cameras, alarms, and making sure your doors and windows are locked up at night.

At one point or another, you’ve probably worked with a security company to explore these options and more for your business. Your security company representative likely shared their professional opinions with you, and maybe some advice for how to keep your

Everything You Need to Know About Merchant Accounts & How to Get One

Are you still relying on cash or check payments to keep your business afloat? Are your customers frustrated when they get to the counter and read the words “cash only”? Have you been accepting credit cards with a Square or PayPal reader and need something more robust?

If your head was automatically nodding in response to these questions, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re taking you on a voyage to increased customer satisfaction and better business operations. It’s the journey to credit ca

Why a Strong Communication Strategy is Essential for Your Business

Have you made some changes to your business recently? You’re not alone. Practically every business in the country changed their normal practices and procedures in some way in response to the pandemic.

It was a long, hard year, but now vaccination numbers are growing and we're slowly starting to return to business as usual. That means you may need to adapt your business practices once again. This is an encouraging, possibly even exciting prospect!

Before you start developing your "back to busin

How to Promote Customer Loyalty & Grow Your Retail Store

Is your retail store dream becoming reality? It’s exciting to see all your planning and hard work come together as you prepare to finally open those doors to the public. We know it’s been a long journey to get to this point, so take a second and pat yourself on the back. You’re almost there!

Our fourth and final post in this blog series is all about hosting your “housewarming party”. That means finally opening your store to the public, welcoming new customers, and hopefully turning them into fr

Marketing & Merchandising Guidelines for New Retail Stores

If you’ve been following our blog series, How to Build Your Retail Store from the Ground Up, you’ve had a busy few weeks of construction! We started with the foundation (your business plan), then built the frame, walls, and roof (choose a location), and today we’ll look at adding the figurative paint, décor, and furniture with marketing and merchandising.

Now that you’ve chosen a location for your store, it’s time to strategize. How will you display your products? How will you encourage custome

Tips to Help You Choose the Right Location for Your Retail Store

What You Need to Know About Choosing a Retail Location

Online retailers have the advantage of being accessible anywhere at any time. However, studies have shown that 55% of shoppers prefer to purchase from a retailer with a physical location. You just can’t replicate the experience of shopping in a store through a computer screen or mobile device. This gives you, the new business owner a distinct advantage. Capitalize on that with a great retail store location that attracts your customers and e

How to Write a Business Plan for Your Retail Store

Have you ever experienced a burst of creative genius, fabricated something lovely, and had someone say, "Wow! You should sell that" or, "That's a great business idea!"


It's a great feeling to know that something you consider a hobby could become a way to make some extra cash.


You start selling a few pieces here and there, and people seem to enjoy what you create.


As demand for your creations starts to grow, you wonder, "What if I opened my own retail shop? Could it be possible?"


The
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