Business.com |
- Fighting Post-Holiday Chargebacks in 2021
- Understanding the Market: How Neuromarketing Can Improve Your Marketing Strategy
- 20 Businesses You Can Start on the Cheap
- What Is Keystroke Logging?
| Fighting Post-Holiday Chargebacks in 2021 Posted: 15 Jan 2021 01:52 PM PST  The 2021 holiday season has come and gone, and people across the country are deciding what to do with gifts from friends and loved ones. It's an important season for retailers, including both brick-and-mortar establishments and online stores. While the holiday season is certainly a lucrative time for merchants, the inevitable holiday hangover of chargebacks is less welcome. Some companies report that dispute volumes rise by 40% or more in January, compared to November and December. What's happening? Some people are going to try to return products, including gifts. Instead of going through a merchant's dispute process, some will try to get a chargeback. Bad actors will also increase their activity, attempting to keep products and abuse chargebacks so they can keep their money too. In other words, they're committing "friendly" fraud. Merchants have a few options to deal with these challenges, including chargeback management software. The right chargeback management solution makes fighting chargebacks easier by automating much of the work and offering a centralized dashboard where you can track your disputes. With that said, let's look at some ways you can reduce the pain and hassle of holiday chargebacks. 1. Make sure your return policy is clear and simple to understand.Before talking about chargebacks, let's discuss return policies. Some customers turn to chargebacks because they can't navigate a company's legitimate return policy. Frustrated and wanting their money back, they turn to their credit card processor and ask for a refund. As a business, you want to reduce returns. They decrease revenue and cost money to process, and illegitimate returns unfairly punish your company. A return is still better than a chargeback, though. If you suffer too many chargebacks, your payment processor may charge you higher fees or simply stop working with you. So, make sure customers can easily access and understand your return policy. Ensure that it's fair to them and also to your business. 2. Understand the chargeback representment process.You have some options at your disposal for fighting holiday chargebacks. The most important option is the chargeback representment process, which allows you to fight and potentially fend off chargebacks. Chargeback representment is a tightly regulated process that gives you a second chance to get paid. Through the process, you will "re-present" the transaction to the banks. You dispute the chargeback by providing evidence that a legitimate sale was made and that you're being unfairly deprived of funds. You may provide the bank with sales receipts, order forms, signed delivery paperwork, and a copy of your return policy (to argue that the customer had other options besides a chargeback), among other things. Any customer communications, such as emails, or evidence that the customer accessed your site may also help your case. 3. Remember your deadlines.Generally speaking, you only have 45 days or so to dispute a chargeback. This means you need to act quickly and keep any important dates at the front of your mind. A lot of companies fail to dispute chargebacks not because they lack the compelling evidence, but because they forgot to submit their case on time. Don't be that company. One of the best benefits of a chargeback management platform is that it helps you track deadlines. You'll see when important dates are approaching and can act accordingly. 4. Focus on fighting the most valuable chargebacks.Not all chargebacks are created equal. Some, quite simply, are worth more money than others. Even if you use automated management solutions, you should prioritize your chargebacks, putting the most valuable ones at the top of your list. Let's say you've got a $20 chargeback and another worth $200. If all other things are equal (such as your chances of successfully refuting each chargeback), you should obviously focus on fighting the $200 one. When you're fighting chargebacks, time is limited. After you work your way through the most valuable chargebacks, you can start refuting the less valuable ones. 5. Fight the chargebacks that you can win.You stand a better chance of successfully disputing some chargebacks than you do with others. For some, you might simply have more evidence that the charge was legitimate. You may increase how much you recoup and reduce headaches by focusing on the chargebacks you're most likely to fend off successfully. Your success in combating a chargeback often comes down to your documentation. Can you prove that a customer received a certain item and that it was a legitimate purchase? Let's say you're fighting two different chargebacks worth roughly the same amount. With one, you have a signed delivery receipt. With the other, there's no signed receipt. In this case, you should focus on the chargeback with the signature. Set yourself up for success by fighting chargebacks where you have a strong case. 6. Train your staff.Bring your staff up to speed on chargebacks, why they occur, how to reduce them and how to fight them. You should train the relevant staff members on how to use your chargeback management platform, how your refund process works, and how to recognize signs of potential fraud. 7. Use a chargeback management platform.Verifi, a Visa solution, and Mastercard's Ethoca provide merchants with tools that make it easier to reduce chargebacks. However, properly disputing them can still be a pain. As you rush to deal with post-holiday return volumes, your resources may be stretched to the limit. It's important to be as efficient as possible. This is where a chargeback management platform comes in. With this platform, you can automate much of the work, such as gathering data on a sale, evidence that the customer received the product, and other information, including upcoming deadlines and other important dates. Through automation and other features, a chargeback management platform reduces the time you spend fighting each chargeback. The right charegback management provider may also help you identify the chargebacks you're most likely to refute successfully and the value of each one. By optimizing your workflows and making it easier to gather and organize data, chargeback management tools put you and your staff in a better position to succeed. This way, a good chargeback management platform will quickly pay for itself. |
| Understanding the Market: How Neuromarketing Can Improve Your Marketing Strategy Posted: 15 Jan 2021 01:00 PM PST  Despite its fast-growing impact on marketing strategies, neuromarketing seems to be still an unpopular field. Even so, neurophysiological measures can provide profound insights into human behavior, particularly regarding decision-making processes. Different tools are involved in scientific marketing and digital psychology research, including:
These impressive, highly developed methods are not always available, mostly due to a lack of resources. Whereas a more than adequate volume of previously collected data is accessible online, providing a suitable source to deploy brand new strategies. By analyzing unconscious behavioral patterns, neuropsychology and, specifically, neuroanalysis could support a change of direction in strategic intent: a scientific approach to marketing based on extensive knowledge about how decisions are made can be a significant move for a small, growing business trying to stand out. Fast and slow thinkingMarketing environment is facing a challenging shift as a result of digitalization. Customers are now exposed to a significant amount of data. New digital supports, more complex functions, and increasing exposure to information are changing both competitive and customer behaviors. Due to this change, and the interpretive problems with data-driven business models, the range and usefulness of strategic planning projections are becoming shorter, and less meaningful relative to market realities. Thus, a change of direction in selling processes may be needed. To better understand customers' buying patterns, it could be useful to elaborate more on decision-making processes. According to the psychologist Daniel Kahneman, two separate systems elaborate thoughts about making a choice:
Studies confirm that decisional behavior can happen without the involvement of attentional activation. Similar proofs can lead one to conclude that decision-making relies on emotional, unconscious thinking. On the other hand, digital buying supports and information availability change: the way customers decide and increase the frequency of rational thinking. The perception of endless opportunities may cause confusion and therefore blind the emotional system. In this case, having too many options leads customers to abandon the purchase. In one study from Columbia University, researchers observed different groups of customers' buying patterns: the unaware subjects were exposed to a randomly assigned assortment of jams. While a higher percentage of potential customers was attracted to the more extensive jam selections, only 3% of them decided to purchase one in contrast to a percentage of 30% buyers for the smaller selection. These findings are consistent with a specific concept: simplifying the selling process and shortening customer exposure to data to achieve a less frustrating customer journey. A scientific strategic plan based on the provided data may include the following actions:
A two-way path to actionAs stated before, decision-making can rely largely on unaware, emotional processes. Hence, acknowledging customers' emotional drives is fundamental to understanding how to trigger and reshape their decisional behavior. A widely applicable neuropsychological approach is Damasio's Somatic Marker Hypothesis. According to Damasio, the act of choosing can stimulate a low-level affective activation, inherently to the estimated outcome. The association between behavior, emotion and the physiological response associated with both of them will generate a so-called somatic marker. Somatic markers are stored in long-term memory systems. Consequently, the existence of a previously evoked somatic marker can influence further decision processes associated with the same stimulus or outcome. Moreover, Damasio states that the arising of the somatic signal is neurologically involved with two separate subcortical projections:
When a somatic signal is evoked, there is no different path involvement; thus, decision processes become quick and emotion-driven. Consequently, monitoring customers' emotional state provides inestimable insights to more valuable strategic planning. Ways to estimate customers' emotional response about the buying process may include:
Gaining a broader and more precise prospect of buyers' emotional landscape provides an essential index to address a business's strategic intent towards the most appropriate emotional triggers for the considered audience. Gain and loss in perspectiveNevertheless, customers are prone to similarly make an illogical decision in the case rational thinking is involved. In this regard, Kahneman and Tversky stated that people are more inclined to choose based on perceived gains and losses in relative terms, rather than analyze the overall context. The two psychologists introduced the most common concept of risk aversion: the tendency of deciding to avoid the worst outcome instead of striving for the best one. In addition, they integrated their theory into a non-linear mathematical function known as value function: the most rational choice is estimated by the perceived value – or utility – from different outcomes given their probability. When launching a new product, challenging established norms of behavior among customers comes with the same vitriol and resistance of an especially difficult competitor. To modify current buying patterns, learning how to efficiently apply risk aversion may be a crucial step. It's relevant to recognize how to enhance product value by reducing customers' prediction of eventual loss. Some crucial steps in this matter may be:
Neurophysiological and digital psychology research is a valuable source in planning strategic intent. In fact, in spite of a physical lack of measurement tools, the wide availability of online information can facilitate small businesses to gain the most relevant neuroanalysis assets. Hence, analysis of behavioral, physiological and neurophysiological data provides precious data about what buyers want and how they make a decision. Similar insights are decisive in optimizing customers' journey as with conducting competitive analysis. In fact, competition is necessary for corporate progress. Without it, striving for higher levels of efficiency, productivity and profitability would be meaningless. |
| 20 Businesses You Can Start on the Cheap Posted: 15 Jan 2021 05:00 AM PST  Whether you want to be your own boss or just to shore up some extra cash, there are several cheap businesses you can start with little in the way of money. Sure, you may not become the next Facebook or Apple overnight with just a business idea and $500 or less, but there are plenty of opportunities to launch a small business on the cheap. "The tools and technology available today make it really easy to get a new business up and running quickly and affordably, even with as little as a few hundred dollars," Meghan Stabler, vice president of global product marketing at BigCommerce, told business.com. "It's important to remember that starting a business with little cash does not also mean you jump in recklessly – every entrepreneur should take a measured approach to selling and invest the time upfront to understand their market and their consumer." How to find a business to startBusiness opportunities abound, even if you only have $500 or less, but before you make the leap, you have to ensure you have a sound business idea. That doesn't mean you need a 20-page business plan, but you should have a passion or interest in the enterprise you're starting. It's the reason so many people become business owners. You should also do your research about the industry, the market, the potential for growth and the initial investment needed. If you plan to start an online business, Stabler said, you need to find a niche or need in the market and start there. If you try to ride a trend, you'll face a crowded market, and demand for the product could quickly fizzle. It's also important to understand the shopping habits of your customers and what makes them want your products or services over a rival. Finally, Stabler said to know your "four P's" – price, product, placement and promotion. Now that you know the rules of engagement for taking a small business idea to the next level, here's a list of 20 businesses you can start with an initial investment of $500 or less. 20 businesses you can start with $500 or less1. Online sellerWhether you want to sell apparel, collectibles, or whatever, you can easily get up and running online on the cheap. Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay will let you sell your products for a cut of the sale, while e-commerce platforms charge you a low monthly fee to hawk products over the internet. It doesn't take too much money to purchase your initial inventory. You can buy bulk items online or at a local discount store, or tap the inventory you have at home. The idea is to sell the products for more than you purchase them, taking into account any marketplace or e-commerce platform fees. 2. Virtual educator/trainerOne of the cheapest ways to start a business is to provide your own services if you have a talent or skill. Melissa Schneider, vice president of product marketing at GoDaddy, pointed to a chef in Nashville, Tennessee, who was laid off during the pandemic. He used his love and knowledge of cooking to start offering online cooking classes. The startup cost wasn't too much, amounting to a computer and internet connection. "He was able to sell his service in a completely different way," Schneider said. 3. DropshipperCash-strapped would-be business owners can start a dropshipping business. With this business model, you build a storefront or use an e-commerce platform, but you don't hold the inventory. The products are shipped directly from the manufacturer after a customer makes a purchase from your online store. To get a store up and running using this method, all you need to pay for is the domain subscription and the fees associated with using an e-commerce or dropshipping platform. "The beauty of the dropshipping model is you don't have to actually manufacture any products to get started," Stabler said. "Rather, you partner with a manufacturer that makes your products and ships them directly to your customers, freeing you up to focus on the fun part: the marketing and customer experience." 4. Social media marketerSocial media has become a powerful tool to get the word out. If you are social media savvy, there are tons of businesses looking for your expertise to help them develop marketing strategies, set up and post on their social media accounts, and increase their number of followers and thus sales. Knowledge, not money, is the key to getting this low-cost business up and running. 5. Freelance writer or editorIf you have a knack for editing and/or writing, you can turn your expertise into a small business. With the proliferation of online content and social media, there are tons of opportunities to get paid for writing and editing. It takes little money to get up and running, but you will have to prove your worth to clients. [Read related article: 4 Things to Know Before Becoming a Freelance Writer] 6. Sales consultantWhether you want to sell makeup or cookware, there are many low-cost businesses you can start by selling products for companies. Take the skincare company Rodan + Fields as an example: It costs just $45 to start selling the products. Avon charges you $5, while Beachbody costs $39.95 for the initial investment and then $15 a month. 7. DIY crafts and treatsIf the pandemic taught us anything, it's that Americans are resourceful and innovative. Scores of people took advantage of the pandemic by starting businesses selling crafts, food and desserts, and other items that proved popular. The only costs were for materials. Facebook has been a successful place to market these products locally. 8. Lawn careThe equipment is the biggest outlay for starting a lawn care business, and if you start small, you'll only need a lawn mower and leaf blower. Depending on where you live, this might be a seasonal business, but one that can easily expand. Besides the equipment, all you need are flyers and a Facebook page. 9. Pool cleaning and maintenanceAnother seasonal business that doesn't require high startup costs is a pool cleaning and maintenance service. You can start small and expand as your customer base grows. 10. Repair servicePeople are spending more time than ever in their homes and, as a result, are more focused on home improvement projects. If you have skills in this area, it's easy to become a repair person without a lot of capital. 11. Pet sitter/walkerThis business costs nothing more than the costs associated with marketing – and you need to have a lot of patience and a love of pets. It's another one of those enterprises that can easily expand with little overhead. 12. Virtual assistantBusiness owners need help with everyday tasks, from organizing the books to responding to customer emails. As a virtual assistant, you'll perform all these tasks from the comfort of your home, and you can take on multiple clients. All it takes is a computer and internet connection to start a virtual assistant business. 13. Delivery/errand runnerIn the same vein as a dog-walking service, a delivery- or errand-running business doesn't require a lot of upfront cash. You'll just need to print out some flyers, get business cards, and promote your service on social media and other online channels. Demand for errand runners has risen during the pandemic. With people sheltering in place, many of them are hiring others to venture out and run their errands for them. 14. TutorAre you a math expert? Do you play an instrument, or have great computer skills? Then you can become a tutor, and all it costs is your knowledge. You can conduct tutoring sessions in person or virtually, charging by the hour or half-hour. Your level of experience and client base will determine how much you can charge for your services. 15. ConsultantBusinesses need advice, but not all of them want to hire a full-time employee to get it. That is where consultants come in. Use your background and expertise to find the areas where you would bring the most value. That may be marketing, accounting, engineering, information technology or any other skill set you can find demand for. If you provide good service at a reasonable cost, your reputation will grow, allowing you to expand your business. To get up and running, you'll need a website or social media presence and the ability to network. 16. Professional organizerPeople looking to declutter often turn to a professional organizer for help. Customers pay around $80 to $140 an hour and more than $1,000 for an entire home. The overhead costs to become a professional organizer are very little at the onset: You just have to invest in training and education, create a website, and land your initial customers. 17. TranslatorIf you are fluent in another language, you can easily launch a translation service. There is demand from the medical, legal, publishing and small business communities for people who can translate information into English. A freelance translation business won't cost you anything in startup expenses and can easily expand as your customer base grows. 18. Mobile public notaryCertain documents require approval from a public notary, including wills, loan paperwork, power of attorney, property deeds and other court papers. A mobile public notary visits clients at their homes or places of business. Depending on where you live, it can cost $50 to $150 a year to become a public notary. Some states require training courses in addition to those fees. Volume is the key to making money as a public notary: You can charge anywhere from 25 cents to $20 a document. 19. Laundry serviceIf you have a home washer or dryer or access to a laundromat, you could offer washing, drying, ironing, and pickup and delivery services to people in your community. Before you get started, figure out if you will use your own equipment or bring it to the laundromat. After that, the only costs are detergent and laundry bags or baskets. 20. Cleaning serviceAmericans are busy, and the last thing many of them want to do at the end of a week is clean their home or apartment. That is where a cleaning service comes in. According to FreshBooks, the average cost to clean a home is $90 to $150, depending on the size of the property. Launching a cleaning service won't break the bank; all you need is a good vacuum, cleaning supplies and a positive attitude. |
| Posted: 15 Jan 2021 04:30 AM PST  As a small business owner, you want to ensure you're getting the most productivity out of your employees – especially when you're starting out. With more and more of today's work being done digitally, the threat of constant distractions looms large on the workday. With the assistance of keystroke loggers and other types of employee monitoring software, you can closely monitor your employees' online behavior – but there are some risks involved. What is keystroke logging?With the advent of employee monitoring software, employers have access to the necessary tools to keep close tabs on individual employees' productivity levels during business hours. One such tool many vendors offer is keystroke logging software. Also known as a "keylogger" or "keystroke logger," this type of employee monitoring software keeps a by-the-moment record of each key an employee presses on their keyboard. Though these programs are generally offered as software that's difficult for employees to detect, physical keystroke loggers are also options on the market.
Editor's note: Looking for the right employee monitoring software for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. How does keystroke logging work?At a fundamental level, keystroke loggers do what the name suggests – they log every keystroke made on the monitored keyboard, as well as every other action taken on the monitored device. Generally, these programs make their way onto computers in one of two ways: Either the employer purposely installed the software on a work machine before issuing it to an employee, or it was accidentally downloaded as a malicious program through an infected file download. With either method, the keylogger gets the most useful results if the employee or monitored individual is not aware that it exists on the machine. Keystroke loggers surreptitiously installed onto a system are among the most common types of spyware used by malicious actors on the internet. The ability to track a user's login information – including their password – for various sites and pick up other sensitive data is why keylogging malware is an extremely popular tool among identity thieves. A keylogger can also collect data through clipboard logging, screen logging and internet activity tracking. Types of keystroke loggersThere are two types of keystroke loggers on the market today: software-based keystroke loggers and hardware keystroke loggers.
Why do some businesses use keystroke logging?With many Americans now working remotely, it's understandable that a small business owner would want to take measures like keystroke logging. Internet distractions are significantly harder to clamp down on when your workforce is scattered and operating in the privacy of their own homes. Without proper oversight, it could be easy for production to slow down, deadlines to be missed, and customers' confidence in your company's reliability to diminish. "For particularly startups and small business owners, the success of their company relies on determining and fine-tuning their productivity and revenue," said Omkar Dharmapuri, founder of TechLurn. "Lazy, inactive employees might cause the business to lose money – an issue with larger consequences in smaller businesses than larger ones." In addition to monitoring how an employee spends their day, keystroke logging software can impact other parts of a business's operations. By collecting data on current inefficiencies and identifying pain points that drag employee engagement down, a keylogger can help you streamline your business processes when implemented properly. One way some companies do this is by subverting the covert nature of keylogging, according to Dharmapuri. By letting employees know they're being monitored, you can encourage them to become better, more productive workers. "Some businesses opt to emphasize the fact that they're being monitored, which can have a boosting effect on employee performance," Dharmapuri said. "You can even go so far as to attach a reward system to it, using positive reinforcement to reward employees." Is keylogger software legal?Given the harm to a person's privacy and sensitive data a keylogger could pose if mishandled, it's understandable to worry whether these programs are legal to use. If your business operates solely within the United States, there are no laws that regulate or restrict your use of keyloggers as an employer. Though several key pieces of legislation deal with digital privacy, wiretapping and the collection of communications, keyloggers have not been directly named in those laws. The case for whether the laws could apply to keylogging in the future hasn't quite been made yet either. While there are no federal policies, some states have taken measures to make employer-installed keyloggers a violation of privacy law. New Hampshire, for example, has legislation on wiretapping and eavesdropping that defines the intercept of sensitive information as "the aural or other acquisition of, or the recording of, the contents of any telecommunication or oral communication." David Reischer, an employment lawyer and CEO of LegalAdvice.com, said there are laws for a business to follow when monitoring employee emails, social media accounts, keystrokes, etc. A business can comply with these laws by establishing a clear company monitoring policy, which it must properly communicate to all employees. "All [businesses] should learn local state laws when developing a monitoring policy," Reischer told business.com. "State laws may vary slightly from federal laws, which also require the disclosure of a monitoring policy." Along with double-checking for local and state legislation that directly relates to keyloggers, you should be forthcoming with your privacy and employee monitoring policy. "All monitoring software policies should be clearly defined, explicitly outlined, and properly documented, with a written acknowledgment by the employee," Reischer said. "All employees should sign off on a written policy that clarifies that there is no expectation of privacy whenever using company property. The policy should also clearly state that there is no monitoring unrelated to work performance." What are the risks associated with keystroke loggers?While keyloggers can certainly have some benefits for a business, there are some inherent risks with employee monitoring, depending on how you use such technology. One of the biggest sticking points for privacy advocates and most employees working under the electric eye of a keylogger is that it's indiscriminate. Built specifically to capture everything, keyloggers are "risky," according to Hubstaff CEO and co-founder Jared Brown. "Anyone who reviews the data can read any passwords the employee enters," he said. "Employees don't always know when their keystrokes are tracked or not. This creates tension between employees and employers." This issue further highlights the need to be transparent about your reasons for implementing a keystroke logger. The problems will compound if employees find out they've been monitored without their knowledge. While many employee monitoring software providers include a keylogger, Brown said his company refuses to do so – instead opting to use data like activity rates and other tracking efforts. Another risky area is where the logs are kept and how secure that data is. Since these keystroke logs contain account information and communications between employees, they're ripe for attack by hackers, whether to use for their own ends or to sell to an outside party. What are some keystroke logging tools?Once you've considered your options, checked local legislation on the use of keyloggers, and crafted a clear company policy on the practice, you're ready to look for a monitoring program. There are some employee monitoring software solutions that include keyloggers and are worth checking out. Some of the following options are among our best picks for employee monitoring software. SentryPCIf you run a very small operation, you'll want to keep SentryPC in mind. With affordable service plans and an intuitive interface, SentryPC is a cloud-based solution that can monitor both Mac and PC users. Recording keystrokes is just one of the ways it keeps tabs on your employees, and it does so in real time. It also has the ability to filter certain web content, track a device's IP address, and detect when a portable drive is inserted into the device. TeramindPoised as more enterprise-facing employee monitoring software, Teramind offers a range of monitoring methods. Through its real-time user activity monitoring, Teramind can keep track of keystrokes, as well as at least 12 different system objects, in real time. Those other trackable inputs include webpages, applications, emails, console commands, file transfers, instant messages, social media and on-screen content. SoftActivity MonitorThough not one of our best picks, SoftActivity Monitor is an affordable alternative that can silently monitor your employees' activities. Once installed, it can track keystrokes and actions taken on the computer, and even how long the user is on certain websites. This program can also record emails, monitor multiple computers on the same network, and generate reports of employee activity. |
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