Square App Processes Credit Cards
May 9, 2011 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
Annoyed by merchant accounts and endless lists of fees?
Tired of refusing credit card orders?
If you’re a small business owner looking to accept credit card payments, get ready for a revolutionary device that lets you swipe credit cards with your phone.
Pay with Square is an iPhone (as well as iPad and iPod) and Android app that revolutionizes the payment process, making it mobile, paperless and painless.
For 15 cents per transaction plus a 2.75% fee, Square modernizes transactions, even allowing for tips or sales tax.
I learned of Square and applied for the free credit card reader in April. The device arrived almost immediately and I approached setup with trepidation, expecting a technical hassle to get it running.
Instead, setup was a non-event. I followed the simple instructions, downloaded the application, established my bank account, and waited for verification. Two days later, Square made two small transactions in my account and I was approved. Thus reassured, I launched into the first transaction.
Again, Square made it easy to process a charge. I had the option to take a picture of the product/service and receive an email or a text receipt, both of which I did.
My customer received an immediate email with my picture (the default if a product picture is not included) and the charge, along with a Google map that showed where the transaction took place. The receipt was complete and included an online viewing option. My confirmation from Square read like this:
Hello, Merrigan Group LLC.
You accepted $5.00 from a card ending in 7083.
You can see more about this payment at https://squareup.com/payments/_______
As of this payment, your Square balance is $4.86.
Thank you!
I used both a Visa and an American Express to make my two test charges on the same day. Both went through quickly and easily. The monies were transferred to my account within two days.
Hello Merrigan Group LLC,
Thank you for using Square! We have initiated a $9.72 credit to your ________ Credit Union account. The funds will be available in 1-3 business days.
Thanks again,
Square https://squareup.com/
Along with my free Square reader I received a nifty sticker for display. I merely attached it to a stand to advertise I accept all forms of credit cards.
I already had a PayPal account set up. One of my ‘tests’ included checking to see if it was more difficult to initiate the Square process without the advantage of PayPal. The answer was a resounding no. Once again, Square made it relatively easy, even for someone with little online experience.
Since the initial use, I’ve accepted several payments and told dozens of friends about Square. What an awesome tool for the mobile professional. Think authors, photographers, crafts-women, attorneys, consultants, food cart operators, etc., etc. Anyone could use Square – anytime, anywhere.
Other forms of mobile payment exist. A recent blog post from iLounge covers Intuit’s option, for example, and offers a detailed review of Square.
Use Customer-first Actions for Sales Success
January 21, 2011 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
“Success could care less about mistakes. Success loves action – and human motivation leads to action.” – Robert Ringer
Expect sales? Good. Most of us do. Action differentiates the winners from the others. Sales-oriented actions start with a customer focus.
First quarter looks terrible for Debbie, a coach, facilitator, speaker and trainer. She’s scheduled few prospecting appointments. Most of her regular coaching clients are taking a break. Don’t even ask her about cash flow. Debbie’s bummed because she needs to make the certifications she acquired last year pay off. As she says, “It’s not looking good.”
Just across the street, Allan, an IT service provider, is training a new employee. Business is booming, he says. He had to bring in help earlier than projected. He explains his goal is to work himself out of a job. His smiling attitude is backed with enthusiasm. You sense rather than hear that Allan solves problems.
To find the differences in these businesses, consider:
Debbie
• Problem focused
• Negative self-talk
• Little proactive scheduling
Allan
• Customer-focused
• Positive self-talk
• Action steps to move forward
Each story offers an insight to the heart of business, the reason that clients care.
What insight do you project? Do you worry about problems or get busy solving them for others?
“Client first” sets the tone for service. Priorities are in order. Daily activities begin with client contact and end with the same.
Take time everyday to put clients first. Contact them. Take care of their problems. Collect their stories.
Think clearly about one incident of a person using your product or service. Limit yourself to a few key words or sentences and practice telling the story of what happened.
What one action will you take today to put your client first?
Five Ways to Torpedo Customer Relationships
November 18, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
“I’m not going to play with you!”
Easy as that the five year old lets you know it’s a no-go.
What if business communication happened just as transparently? Truth is: it does. We just fail to recognize and respond to the symptoms.
See if you recognize failed relationships in the following:
- No return call. You’re following up with a potential customer, partner, or volunteer and there’s no response. You place spaced, repeated messages (to various numbers) leaving your name, phone number and reason for calling and get no callback. Emails get no response. Get a clue: there is no relationship.
- Right commentary, no follow through. You’ve probably experienced this situation as a meeting in which commitments were made and then nothing happened. “I’ll get back to you,” means different things to some people. In fact, some people use the phrase as carelessly as “Have a nice day.” If this is your experience, assume the worst. There IS no relationship.
- Missing in action. A cursory glance at the two previous situations may lead you to believe they’re the same. Not so. In my experience, particularly with solopreneurs, even a “contract for services” does not dictate an appearance or a response. (If you work with a vendor missing in action, you know the frustration of continually attempting to close the connection.) Do I need to tell you there is no relationship?
- Answering a different question. It’s amazing that direct questions elicit unrelated answers. Once again, when you continually experience this error message and re-directing doesn’t work, the relationship will not move forward. No relationship exists.
- Intermittent activity. The holiday season brings intermittent activity to the forefront. Networking reaches a maniacal force with parties, luncheons and get-togethers meant to make up for a year of sporadic contact. Guilty parties say, “See you next week at the expo.” My response of “I’ll try to do that,” could simply be translated as “No, thank you.” A relationship valuable enough to warrant my time does not exist.
Santa Creates Customer Touch Event for B2B
November 2, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
You probably don’t readily associate Santa photos with an office furniture vendor. Neither did I until I got a well-done invitation encouraging me to bring children for a photo with (or without) Santa.
“Join us to kick off the holiday season with a thank you event for our wonderful clients!”
“Enjoy refreshments and crafts for the kids. Pets welcome.”
My customer loyalty antennae went up. This was a customer touch program, a proactive approach to get clients in the showroom.
Tasteful. Timely. Tempting.
When I called to RSVP I learned I’d get a disk with my picture. Cool. My 2009 Holiday cards are set. I look forward to the event.
So how can you make this kind of event work for your business? Incidentally, the sponsoring vendor absorbed the cost (photographer, disk) of this promotion.
Count 21 Reasons to do Business With Your Company
October 1, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
One smart marketing strategy involves your employees. How do they view your firm?
I conducted a brainstorming meeting for a local accounting firm this week. Employee participants listed the reasons why people did business with the company. Let this list catalyze your own brainstorming session.
- We are a small firm which means family-like relationships… you probably know all of us.
- We provide individualized service, so you get accounting you need the way you like it.
- Your confidence is well placed; you receive expertise of the highest caliber.
- We have fair market prices for the services we offer which means value for your dollar spent.
- We are a woman-owned firm of all women, so you support women.
- It’s who you know (everyone knows about 200 people), so you likely know us as New Mexico people.
- We participate in community organizations like NAWBO – National Association of Women Business Owners, so we’re actively involved; you may associate with us at our Church or in the cancer walk, because we’re community-minded people like you.
- We’re located in a green building to show our stewardship for the planet.
- We serve +/- 100 clients from Corrales and +/- 100 from Rio Rancho, so we’re convenient.
- We love client referrals and take good care of them, so you know your trust is well placed.
- Our Eldercare program, another specialty area for our firm, could responsibly administer finances for your loved ones.
- Our non-profit work, especially audits, opens the door to other work, because we provide consults, tax services, and bookkeeping for members of non-profits as well as the organizations themselves.
- We are pleasant, with warm, caring personalities, and our office reflects that fact, so it’s easy and fun to do business with us.
- We educate you about your financials, so you learn as your business grows and get better at reading the financial signs of your business.
- Our proprietary software provides information about your industry, personalized for you by our team, so you receive additional value at no additional charge every month.
- We offer high-content newsletters and information of use to your firm, so you continue to get additional resources and value from us.
- We remind you of deadlines, tax rates, etc., so you stay on track.
- Each of our professional personnel adds to our offerings and to our team synergy which helps you get more for your money.
- We succeed if you succeed – that’s our philosophy – which means you come first.
- We are a non-traditional accounting firm that works as a team, so you benefit with better service.
- We walk you through the steps of accounting for your business – expertise for your needs so your business is well-served.
If you’re concerned about putting your list “out there,” don’t fret. This exercise focuses your team. The synergy derived from everyone thinking on the same page results in better execution within the company, thus creating a competitive advantage difficult to beat.
VAL-idation: Social Media Quick Fix Ranks Second or Worse to This Loyalty Program
September 21, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 2 Comments
If you’ve signed up for Facebook’s fan pages, a Twitter account, or any one of various other social media outlets with little result, you may have fallen victim to the quick fix.
No matter what business you’re in, today’s social media promise beckons because it sounds good. Build community. Increase visibility.
Good business may not come quite so easily.
Good business requires ongoing work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is clueless.
I got a call at 4pm Sunday from a good businesswoman: Valerie Compton of Body Language. There may be more reasons why Valerie’s doing well, but here’s a list of 10 things that put her in a class by herself in my book.
- Call former customers for no reason. Valerie calls people she hasn’t seen in some time. Not to beat them up (although she can do that. “Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…must be feeling a little guilty about the amount of time I’ve devoted to working out recently.”)
- Call when it works for you. How many times have you dialed a customer on the weekend? It got my attention.
- Make it all about “the customer.” Once you’ve placed the call, be interested in your customer. Draw them out with a specific question or two. See tip #4.
- Ask about the family. Everyone likes to talk about their family. An astute salesperson like Valerie remembers names and asks about partners, friends, and the pieces of your life that make you YOU. As a result, you feel cared for.
- Network. Early in the summer a friend mentioned Val had asked about me. How many business owners do you know who make/remember such associations (see tip #4)?
- Implement new ideas. Everybody is busy these days. Valerie too. Yet, after she took an interesting class in New York, Valerie found time to implement a similar program. Her Body Barre classes, described as ‘ballet on steroids,’ are consistently full. (Bonus: Look for like businesses when you travel and check for ideas.)
- Publicize your business, especially its innovations. Fit, a monthly supplement to the Albuquerque Journal published a story about Valerie and Body Barre. Earlier, Body Language opened a second location in Nob Hill to other publicity.
- Suggest solutions. Of course Valerie invited me into the studio. I expected her to. She hadn’t seen me in some time and I would have been disappointed had she not asked me to participate in some way in her business. It wasn’t a hard sell, however. Instead, she suggested I might benefit from a specific class. Once again she presented a reason framed in my interest.
- Participate actively in your community. Valerie’s a member of AIBA, Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance, (Disclosure: I’m the current AIBA president) and active in her church. She probably has other interests as well.
- Be passionate about what you do. No question. Valerie is energized, consumed, driven by her business. She works quickly, talks enthusiastically and emanates purpose. The result? A presentation people notice.
VAL-idation. Any one of these ideas could move your business forward.
How can you stand out from the crowd? Would any of Valerie’s techniques work for you?
Client Cancellation? Prepping for Disaster Avoidance
September 17, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
What happens when you lose your biggest client?
A service provider I know rolled her eyes. “I’m already there,” she sighed. “Got the word yesterday…my biggest client has a cash flow problem and is taking a hiatus.”
Other group members responded:
“I’m worried about next quarter. It’s soft.”
“I don’t like to think about those things. I’ve worked with the same clients for years.”
“If I don’t add some business soon, I’ll have to lay somebody off.”
“My biggest client was just bought out. At the moment, it doesn’t appear anything will change.”
“There’s plenty of other gloomy things to consider. Don’t make trouble.” (Sarcastic NOTE: There’s a proactive stance. Stick your head in the sand and don’t worry. If you don’t think of it, “It” doesn’t exist.)
In any economy, business comes and goes. Clients change their plans, their minds and their habits. In tough times, anticipating these changes means the difference between survival and failure.
Smart day-to-day operations include practices for maintaining current business as well as soliciting new business. Here are a few ideas:
- Practice Pareto’s Principle: 80/20. Quick. Do you know the 20% of your customers who comprise 80% of your business? Focus efforts on the top 20% without completely neglecting other opportunities.
- Name your top customers. If you’re a service provider with a short list of clients, think about employees at your big clients. Can you address them by name? Retailers, do you know your biggest regular customers? Restaurateurs, do you address your regulars by name? Personalizing business makes a difference. Sometimes, people stay with you because they believe you care.
- Know the state of your clients’ business. Become familiar with business seasonality, industry trends, and competitive nuances of each client’s business. Know big selling items, high profit ones, etc. See reason number two. Demonstrate you care.
- Check in. When was the last time you gave a call to simply check in with a customer? That’s right. A no-sell, no-reason call.
- Develop an ongoing thank you system. Your thank you could be as simple as a handwritten note, or, it might be a new idea, an extra-value placement, or some other reminder of your company’s worth.
- Publicize your efforts. Sure, you use your Facebook status, Twitter updates and your monthly newsletter. Is that enough? Do you need another marketing channel? Have you looked at a case study or considered approaching a local publication about a client success story? The beauty of this kind of publicity is that it works for you and for your client at the same time.
- Identify a list of 10 to 15 prospects and do something each day to reach out to them. One advertising agency keeps a 10-postcard-mailer system in play. Over 10 days, 10 weeks or 10 months they mail to decision makers. For example, after meeting a contact at a chamber event, the agency systematically sends brightly colored messages; once the halfway point is reached, they call for an exploratory appointment. Key to the success of this prospecting system is systematic follow through and a definitive number of prospects.
- Market on! Ongoing marketing is the key to avoiding disaster. Prepare now for the possibility of client loss. Who knows? You might find yourself with an increase in business instead of a loss.
By now, you’ve probably got your own juices flowing. Go ahead. Tell us what works for you. What are you doing to ward against losing your biggest client?
Trust – Igniting Relationships That Work
September 7, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Teal Book of TRUST: How to Earn it, Grow it, and Keep it to Become a TRUSTED ADVISOR in Sales, Business, & Life got to the top of my reading pile recently. Once complete, I wondered why it took so long.
The Little Teal Book gives as good as it gets. For example, the book itself works on the premise of building trust.
- There’s the color. Teal headlines, chapter titles, points of emphasis and reversed out quotes showcase content.
- Small red accents add emphasis throughout the book and a red ribbon bookmark further coordinates.
- A few color cartoons make statements underscoring content particulars.
- The slick pages feel good. I found myself enjoying holding the 5” x 8” book. In fact, I was glad I had it in hardback rather than on the Kindle.
- These small and consistent considerations contribute to the overall impression of the book as “trustworthy.”
When it comes to “gets,” the Little Teal Book of TRUST asks more questions than it answers. A dozen subheads under section one listed questions to ask yourself. Examples reveal elements of your trustworthiness from how you were raise to who you choose to associate with.
In his conversational style, Gitomer offers questions to ask yourself as you seek to discover who your trusted friends are, or how to make a relationship of trust blossom. He discusses trust from the perspective of what it is and isn’t. He simplifies the subject by offering diverse and relatable examples and actionable ideas.
I suspect that Gitomer’s topic is not a comfortable one for many. Self-examination may be one reason. For another thing, he makes no secret of the fact hard work is required.
“You can be on the road to becoming a trusted advisor at the highest level, IF you do the HARD WORK to get yourself there.”
Although many parts of the book gave me pause, it was the forward that offered positioning:
“This is not a book that fits in one pigeon hole or another, and it’s not a book to be read by only salespeople or only customer service people – this is a book to be read and studied by everyone who thinks trust is important to gain, more important to keep, and most important to honor. You included.”
I’m suggesting he add, “Social media enthusiasts included.”
In a medium where speed and quantity seem more important than quality, social media mavens may need to rethink how they build trust.
Service Providers: Ten Point End of Month Review
July 31, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
At month’s end I take the time for a quick overview with each client. My list of simple questions involves several details that contribute to the overall picture of business. The first five questions reflect on the past 30-days; the second five questions look forward.
- Publicity: Did we receive any publicity or this month?
- Mentions in print?
- Mentions on the web?
- Awards?
- Did we initiate any future publicity contacts?
- What’s happening with financials?
- How does the revenue line look?
- Have you compared that to last year, last quarter and last month? What’s the trend?
- Are we profitable?
- How do Web analytics look?
- What traffic/results are we getting from the web?
- What does it mean?
- What didn’t get done this month?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the weakest and 10 being the strongest, how would we rate this month?
- Are there action items left undone to put forward this month?
- What is our prime visibility intiative for the coming month?
- Can we celebrate significant successes or employee recognitions for the past month?
- Do we have special events or announcements to consider?
- What is our top project focus for the coming month?
- What action I can take to move next month forward now?
You probably have your own list, or maybe you’ve never thought of formalizing such a thing. As a service provider, I find the monthly summary a tool to build loyalty. I can easily summarize the year, by month, at renewal time. What’s more, both the client and I know where we stand at all times in between.
Customer Loyalty, Profits and Other Taboo Topics
July 6, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
In an article about marketing on Monday June 22, 2009, the Wall Street Journal referenced the dark side of loyalty. I say dark side, because not everyone likes to look closely at their devotees. Because it matters, look again at your customers. Some of the highlights from “Why a Loyal Customer Isn’t Always a Profitable One:”
A lot of companies look at customer loyalty the wrong way.
Without question, loyalty is important. Loyal customers hang on for years, devote a larger share of their wallet to the company, and recommend the company to their friends. Customer loyalty, in short, helps drive customers.
The target audience for any company should be customers who are not only loyal in both attitude and action, but also profitable. But research consistently finds that profitable customers tend to make up only around 20% of a company’s customers. Break-even customers represent around 60%, and unprofitable customers around 20%.
Creating and nurturing real customer loyalty requires satisfying customer needs and wants at a sustainable profit. Too often, customer-loyalty experts have ignored the latter in the belief that loyalty and profitability are synonymous. Unfortunately, the marketplace has shown this is not true.
Sustainable profit may rest in the eyes of the beholder. Certainly the marketplace and its competitive profile dictate what sustainable might be. Price alone may not be the determining factor.
PeopleMetrics, a customer and employee engagement company, reports the best companies make employee care and customer care a top priority. Their 2009 Engagement Survey cites the top 10 customer engagement companies and explains why the Ritz Carlton consistently beats Motel 6.
A post from Business Briefs dissses what makes these 10 companies the best. (Hint: the focus is on customer service and employees.)
This week I discuss loyalty and why a ‘satisfied’ customer may not be your best source of future business at an AIBA Think LOCAL! luncheon event. I took the opportunity to review my own client list and invite you to think about doing the same.
Consider questions like these: How do you define loyalty in your firm? Do profits play a part in the definition? Do you consider loyalty important?
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