Naughty or Nice: Setting a good online retail example has its rewards

Posted on November 7, 2007
Filed Under General, Yahoo! Store, Credibility Indicators, Partners | Leave a Comment

“The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming!” You know it, we hear you, and November’s getting shorter by the day.

But even as we join the retail universe in the annual lemming-like plunge into the holiday season, a recent comment from a FastPivot retailer made us stop short at the edge of the cliff. When asked during our annual account survey “What do you know now that you wish you’d know last year?”, our customer, Fernando, replied without hesitation. “I know now that I need to use my online store to show shoppers how to shop online successfully…on my site and others.”

Fernando notices that consumers usually go straight to their favorite sites, even if those sites are more expensive than other sites with the same product. People are not well-versed about search engine or price comparison techniques—so they go with what they know. He’s convinced that a Guide to Finding Great Prices…for Dummies would be a best-seller of the holiday season.

According to Fernando, every online store needs to help shoppers learn how to research and evaluate these three internet retailing topics:

When it comes to best business practices, never forget that customer service leads the list. When customers call your 800 number to see what your service representatives know, make sure they leave with a list of questions to ask competitors—so that your helpfulness and unique product or service shines through. And when considering how to demonstrate that you are reputable internet seller, think about what builds credibility. For example, know how HackerSafe protects consumers and explain to customers why it matters that every site they use should have it.

Fernando uses his 800 number to do double duty with shoppers. Not only does he give shoppers a real-time customer service experience, but he also differentiates himself in an industry where most competitors don’t have 800 numbers. Moreover, his firm actually has real physical therapists paid at their regular rates to answer questions about the product and the company.

We think Fermando is onto something…and online retailers need to remember that after presentation and price, customer service and credibility are key factors in shopper’s decision to buy from your store. So here are FastPivot’s Top 3 Customer Service Fine Tune Priorities for the 2007 holiday season.

  1. Compare and contrast. Break out of your old routine and price check at least three sites to compare prices on your desired item. (There’s a REASON the government requires at least 3 bids for every project.)
  2. It’s free…so CALL! For the more technical purchases, call the 800 number to see what the customer service representatives know or don’t. Talk to several people in person (and check them again info found on different search engines like Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and .
  3. What does credible mean? Learn what the credibility indicators you see on different sites are telling you—and how that really affects your shopping experience. Are you just looking at JPG badges or are you getting more value for your money?

Thinking like a shopper and showing customers how to find and evaluate the best retailers for their needs will not only help them in the short-term, but they’ll remember where they got good advice…and come back again and again for more. It starts an ongoing conversation that leads to a long-term relationship—and sales.

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FastPivot.com and ScanAlert Partner to Deliver Security Certification Services to Yahoo! Merchant Solutions Market

Posted on July 3, 2007
Filed Under Internet Security, Credibility Indicators, Partners | Leave a Comment

NAPA, CA-(Marketwire - June 21, 2007) - FastPivot.com (formerly Ydesigns.com) has finalized a partnership agreement to promote ScanAlert’s HACKER SAFE certification and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) validation services to its thousands of clients, most of which are hosted on the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions platform.

The agreement between one of the most experienced Yahoo! Merchant Solutions developers, and ecommerce security experts ScanAlert leverages widespread adoption of HACKER SAFE by Yahoo!-hosted retailers, such as Vermont Teddy Bear, StreetBeatCustoms, and ClubFurniture.com. These and tens of thousands of other retailers typically see online conversion rates rise as much as 30% by promoting their HACKER SAFE certified security to current customers and prospects.

Under the agreement with ScanAlert, all FastPivot.com clients will receive discounts on HACKER SAFE subscription fees as well as complementary services to validate their PCI DSS compliance.

“HACKER SAFE has become the world standard in ecommerce security certification,” said Jeff King, Vice President of Marketing, ClubFurniture.com, a HACKER SAFE retailer since 2003. “Visitors to our site recognize the HACKER SAFE mark, appreciate the steps we’ve taken to safeguard their personal data from hackers, and respond by purchasing more often.”

“By giving our customers all of the tools and services they need to succeed online, we’ve been able to develop a large and diverse customer base,” said Katherine Morosani, Business Development/Partner Relations, FastPivot.com. “As Club Furniture’s experience shows, HACKER SAFE is a marketing best practice for websites of all sizes, and something all retailers should do.”

“We’ve made it easy for Yahoo! Store merchants to enjoy the ROI of having a secure and certified website,” added ScanAlert’s Director of Business Development Cresta Pillsbury. “We look forward to helping FastPivot.com’s customers navigate the compliance validation process so they can increase sales and reduce liabilities.”

Availability and Pricing

FastPivot.com customers interested in ScanAlert’s PCI DSS and HACKER SAFE certification services should contact FastPivot.com directly at 888-770-8883 for details on pricing and sign-up procedures.

About FastPivot.com

Since 1997, FastPivot.com (formerly Ydesigns.com) has offered complete ecommerce website development and strategic marketing for companies of all sizes. From start-up ventures and established entities such as the Library of Congress and Waldorf-Astoria, to retailers like Conn’s and Service Merchandise, FastPivot.com provides engaging ecommerce solutions for stable and leading edge growth in a variety of markets. For more information, visit http://www.fastpivot.com.

About ScanAlert

Headquartered in Napa, CA, ScanAlert secures organizations of all sizes against threats to their network infrastructure and then certifies them to the HACKER SAFE standard — the world’s Internet security benchmark. Offered as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, HACKER SAFE certification is used by more than 75,000 organizations, including ESPN, The American Red Cross, Toshiba, Warner Brothers, and over 60% of the Internet Retailer Top 500. For more information, please visit www.scanalert.com.

http://www.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=744655

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FREE webinar on Ordermotion - April 25, 2007

Posted on April 20, 2007
Filed Under General, Partners | Leave a Comment

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
2:00pm EST/11:00am PST


Retail merchants are experiencing a sharp increase in sales so far in 2007, according to the latest OrderMotion Index, which tracks transaction information for more than 1,000 retail brands across the United States. Through the first quarter of 2007, merchants in the Index have shown a 48% rise in revenue and transaction volume over the same period in 2006.

Find out how your business compares to merchants in the OM Index and learn ways that you can improve your performance going forward during this free live webinar. Join Paul Ringuette, VP of Sales for OrderMotion, as he shares noticeable sales trends for small- to medium-sized retailers covering industries such as apparel, pet supplies, health & beauty and many more.

Merchants in the OM Index employ different strategies to achieve their success, but they all have one thing in common; they have automated their back-office operations and are taking advantage of the advanced tools that the OrderMotion on-demand direct commerce solution offers. OrderMotion Product Specialist, Tricia Lane, will demonstrate how these tools are helping merchants manage and grow their businesses.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn how merchants in the OM Index are performing and how you can improve the growth of your business.

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Fluid and FastPivot Partner to Deliver Enhanced Online Merchandising and Rich Interactivity

Posted on February 7, 2007
Filed Under Website Design, Credibility Indicators, Partners | Leave a Comment

Fluid, Inc., developers of Concept Retail interactive merchandising for The North Face, Bare Escentuals, Reebok and others, today announced a partnership with FastPivot, providers of ecommerce website development and strategic marketing for Fox Sports, The Waldorf-Astoria, 3M, Simple Human, and others.

With a joint vision to deliver integrated, conversion-driving interactivity and ecommerce solutions to internet retailers, the two companies have already collaborated to create new, richly interactive retail sites using FastPivot’s Yahoo! Stores development expertise and Concept Retail, Fluid’s award-winning interactive merchandising application, for Pickles and Ice Cream, the oldest and largest maternity clothing franchise in the U.S.; and Coolibar, the leading designer and manufacturer of sun-protective outdoor wear, active wear, and skin products.

For more information, check out the PRESS RELEASE.

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About Fastpivot

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