Category: Sales

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Adding 3d Secure To An E-commerce Website.

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There is no doubt that 3D Secure and Verified by Visa are successful anti- fraud techniques and are definitely options that merchants should discuss with their internet payment provider. This added security step has been proven to reduce fraudulent transactions and increase consumer confidence when paying with credit cards online, but there are still many factors that need to be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to add 3D Secure to a website.

Carl Buchalet CEO of Cashtronics payment systems explains how at Cashtronics they look at each merchant individually and decide whether or not 3D Secure is in the merchants best interest.

From our experience at Cashtronics the advantages of adding this extra security measure for merchants are clear:

Reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions.
Decreases the number of disputed transactions.
Shifts the financial liability away from the merchant.
Boosts some consumers confidence- often leading to increased sales.

Although there are clear anti-fraud benefits, they need to be carefully weighed against potential revenue losses and problems that can arise from using 3D Secure:

Additional Obstacles to purchase: Each security field that is added to an online form has been proven to dramatically lower the % of successfully completed transactions.
Poor Communication: Many customers have no idea what 3D Secure is; consequently they close the browser window, leading to lost sales.
Security Issues: Some banks require a customer to keep a card with a series of secret codes on it. This is often the same card that is used to authorize wire transfers on the bank account so cardholder then carries this card around with them, exposing them self to hard fraud.
Browser Problem: Sometimes the 3D secure request field is on the bottom of the screen and not seen by the customer- again causing high abandonment rate.
Unfriendly Protocol: The web browser connects to unfamiliar domain names and can cause extra delay and crashes.
Complicated Process: A password is often required and customers often forget it!
Added cost: Many payment providers charge an additional fee for 3D Secure.
NOT Fraud Proof: Many thieves catch cards in the postal mail, so they can usually set up 3D secure on their own fairly easily since they have new cards and enhanced information. Also even the 3D secure system has become the target of some phishing scams.

To reduce the problems that can arise with 3D secure merchants should ask potential internet payment providers the following:

1) Is adding this extra step in the best interest for the business given the field it operates in?
2) What are the additional fees for processing 3D Secure and Verified by Visa?
3) Are 3D secure transactions in house, as outsourcing adds to the cost & difficulty of the transaction and can reduce the level of security.
4) Does the payment provider have experience in processing this type of transaction?

In general, a payment provider should be able to give each merchant an idea of the volume of sales that they will loose depending on their industry, and will then calculate how much can be gained on charge backs and fraud by offering 3D Secure; then it is just a simple calculation to see which case yields a higher ROI.

Buying Skoda Rapid Take A Look At The Hits And Misses

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Skoda has launched several models in the market with a fair share of wins and losses. Skoda Rapid is the latest addition from the auto company, and it does work in its class sans a few hiccups. It would be unfair to describe Rapid without mentioning the fact that it is similar to Volkswagen Vento in many ways. Skoda has designed the car impressively with a good number of induced features. Also, the car has been launched in three diesel and five petrol variants and priced according to features loaded. While the three models are almost same in both petrol and diesel, there are two automated variants, Elegance Automatic and Skoda Ambition Automatic, which are only available in the petrol version.

The hits in new Rapid:
The first-rate design: Rapid works in C segment sedans because of its designing. Although the comparison with Vento is inevitable, the higher end models feature high class inclusions like Anti Lock Braking system, dual SRS airbags and front and rear fog lamps. It”s a well built and strong European car for the Indian roads.

The first-rate price: Comparing strictly with Vento, Rapid offers a much better driving and comfort experience. The price by Skoda is truly commendable as the company has taken ample care to ensure maximum luxury in its class.
The First rate Automatic Transmission: If there”s one thing in Rapid that is awe-inspiring, it”s the automated transmission. There are different modes for different styles of driving with ample attention to the comfort-on-drive factor.
The first-rate Diesel Engine: You get the automated transmission on petrol version, but you cannot overlook the superb performance of the diesel variants. The car moves smoothly in traffic with loaded diesel engine and creates a torque of 250Nm.

The Misses in New Rapid:
Unimpressive Petrol engine: If the diesel engine offers you power and dependable drivability, the petrol engine will surely not satisfy you at that level. One expected Skoda to empower the petrol variants to a little larger extent.
Absence of certain features: If you take a look at the C segment of sedans on the Indian market, you will find many misses in Rapid. There are no parking sensors and no steering mounted controls, something which you will surely find in other sedans.

Unimpressive After sales service: This is probably not the concern with Rapid, but with all Skoda cars. The after sales service of Skoda is not at par with Maruti or Hyundai, which scares the class of consumers who look for quality services. People living in smaller cities will feel the main difference.

Shortcomings of diesel variants: You won”t get a diesel model with automated transmission, which is another disadvantage.

Skoda has managed to hold the market with this car after being praised for the mighty Superb. For those who loved Vento, they will surely love Rapid because it”s almost same as Vento with praiseworthy dynamics, brakes and chassis. On the whole, Skoda rapid is certainly a decent sedan with a few flips. It should continue to have an upright share on road.

What Are The Main Objectives Of Advertising

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Advertising is defined as a non-personal form of communication deployed through various media by industries, non profit organizations, business firms, individuals etc. Advertising persuades, informs, instructs and educates target audiences about a particular brand or service and influence the purchasing behaviour or thought pattern of the audience. Advertising is one of the most important tools of marketing and can be coupled with other marketing tools such as sales promotion, personal selling tactics, publicity etc.

Advertising as a tool of marketing is quite different from personal selling. In personal selling, the customer is guided by a sales person, but publicising the advertisement is shown to the customer and the decision is in the hands of the customer. Therefore, advertising may be called written personal selling. Advertising is effective for every single brand, service or business to gain its position in the market.

Advertising creates an impact on every walk of life irrespective of age, gender, caste, creed or religion. Advertising is carried out in various proven tools and mediums and with defined techniques. In this article let us discuss about the four main objectives of an advertising campaign.

Objectives of advertising

The objective(s) of advertising imply the communication tasks to be accomplished. These tasks are directed towards specific customers that a company or organization is trying to reach during a defined time frame. An organization which involves in advertising activities usually strives to achieve at least one of the four common objectives of advertising i.e. trial, continuity, brand switching and switchback.

The purpose of trial objective of advertising is to encourage customers to make an initial purchase of a new product which has been launched in the market. Companies typically deploy creative ad strategies during product launch so that they can stay ahead in the competition. Repeat purchase of the product follows suit so trial objective of the ad campaign should be given more emphasis so as to invite targeted customers.

The next objective of advertising is continuity. Continuity is a typical strategy to keep current customers to stick to the same product. To keep the customers engaged the company usually provides new and different information about the product which is designed to build brand loyalty.

Thirdly, brand switching is one of the widely employed objective of advertising. This technique is adopted when companies want customers to switch to their brand from their competitor’s brand. Brand switching strategy needs a convincing communication so that the mindset of the customer is changed.

Last but not the least brand switchback objective is another strategy used by advertisers or brand owners to win back their former customers. For this a particular company may highlight new features about the product, discount of price, provide useful information about the product- all these to attract back their former customers.

Advertising is a tricky art for brand communication. As an advertiser one should have exceptional advertising skill(s) to influence the right target group and to provide a lasting impression about the brand so that customers stick to the same brand in the future.

Reference Website: – www.tdiindia.com

Q84 Books 1, 2 and 3 by Haruki Murakami

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A publishing event which will capture the attention of the trade and of the reading public Huge sales in HS and Vintage for both his recent books and across the whole backlist Murakami fans will love this novel but 1Q84 is also a thrilling introduction to his world for those not already familiar with it The first printing in Japan sold out on the first day of sale. It sold over a million copies in its first month after publication. Murakami’s books are published in 45 territories, in 42 languages ‘Critics have variously likened him to Raymond Carver, Raymond Chandler, Arthur C. Clarke, Don DeLillo, Philip K. Dick, Bret Easton Ellis and Thomas Pynchon a roster so ill assorted as to suggest Murakami is in fact an original’ New York Times

About the Book: 1Q84: Books 1, 2 and 13

The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.

Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a standstill, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a topsecret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.

Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeenyearold girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?

Aomame and Tengo’s stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, as the two come closer and closer to intertwining. As 1Q84 accelerates towards its conclusion, both are pursued by persons and forces they do not know and cannot understand. As they begin to decipher more about the strange world into which they have slipped, so they sense their destinies converging. What they cannot know is whether they will find one another before they are themselves found.

1Q84 is a magnificent and fullyimagined work of fictiona thriller, a lovestory and a mindbending ode to George Orwell’s Nineteen EightyFour. It is a world from which the reader emerges stunned and altered.

Praise for Other Titles by this Author

After Dark: ‘For sheer love of a thumping narrative, the novel delivers gloriously Inventive, alluring’ David Mitchell, Guardian After Dark: ‘A magnificently bewildering achievement Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot Exuberant storytelling’ Independent on Sunday Dance Dance Dance: ‘A remarkable writer…he captures the common ache of the contemporary heart and head.’ Jay McInerney Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: ‘Murakami’s fictional world is extraordinary.’ Sunday Times

The Advantages Of Kiosks

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One smart way to bring in a fresh technical edge to your business, marketing, sales, or client servicing is to start utilising the potential in kiosks. In the modern world, where the market is characterised by competition, increasing options, and freedom of choice, one cannot ignore the vast possibilities and potentials of kiosks. The growth of kiosks has been phenomenal in the last 5 years across the world. While kiosks involve a relatively higher initial investment, it proves to be cost effective within a very short time.

Modern kiosks are computer-programmed interfaces that facilitate interaction with customers resulting in the exchange of goods or information. The customer is normally aware of the product or information he is seeking for. In other cases, kiosks aim at informing the user in minimal time about his options from the kiosk. Hence, it acts not only as a marketing and informative tool but also as the final sales agent.

Kiosks can be popular and advantageous to various businesses on a number of grounds.

Ensures round the clock sales or service
The primary advantage of kiosks is their machine based intelligence’, which nullifies the need for a human’s presence during a transaction or interaction with a client. Hence, kiosks can be functional 24 hours a day, making possibilities of sale round the clock.

Encourages self service
Most customers of modern age prefer choosing, deciding, and transacting privately or on their own, or with minimal interference from sales agents. They prefer to seek technical opinion only when they need it. In such an evolving nature of client base, kiosks prove to be a perfect interface since it is entirely designed on the notion of self service’.

Allows easy maintenance
Kiosks are generally easy to put together or pull apart for maintenance. In the event of a system failure, most companies rely on the sound technical support system provided by the kiosk providers.

Limits functionalities, enhances focus
Owing to limited interaction possibilities in a kiosk, users are focused to a certain family of information, within which, their choices get limited. Hence, kiosks minimises irrelevant demands of customers to a large extent.

Increases market reach
Not only do kiosks work 24 hours a day, they also increase market outreach. Mostly kiosks are designed to be located in public places or targeted areas. This opens up the prospect of having unlimited and a wide variety of users.

Reduces work load
Kiosks effectively do the job of marketing, sales, or public relations personnel. Effectively, they reduce workload and cost of having commensurate number of personnel at late hours and remote locations.

Advertises
Innovative kiosks and interfaces have a huge impact on the image and goodwill of your business. They become statements of your commitment, research, awareness, and reliability.

Kiosks-UK.com is one of the leading service providers in the world of kiosks. If you are thinking of installing kiosks or contemplating about changing your existing set of kiosks, remember to visit us. We are one of the most experienced players in designing, installing, and supporting all technical needs for kiosks in the UK. We, at www.kiosks-uk.com, ensure efficiency, timeliness, technical edge, and professionalism for your business needs. Call us or visit us today for more on kiosks.