T
here
has been a lot of industry press lately about what has been happening with
“e-commerce” and the billions of dollars that were spent by online
shoppers this past holiday season. Still, despite the buzz, some
e-commerce providers are finding difficulty in getting sales people to
sell the idea of commerce-enabled Web sites to their business clients.
Part of the concern has to do with fears about “e-business.” Wary
business owners have concerns about costs and security—and about
potentially negative ramifications that could happen with their Internet
storefronts. At the same time, there are not enough sales professionals
who have seen this as a lucrative opportunity and made the commitment to
get educated on the topic and to really sell e-Commerce.
GS:
How many commerce-enabled merchants are on your Web site (www.TASQ.com) so
far?
TASQ.com:
We currently have 22 merchant sites live.
GS:
How many commerce-enabled merchants are you adding (on average) each week?
TASQ.com:
We have spent the last few months perfecting the sales process and
troubleshooting the issues in the marketplace to better understand the
concerns of the ISOs, merchants, and ultimately, the consumers. This has
resulted in programs that are designed to make our ISO partners successful
in selling Internet as well as growing their physical world (brick and
mortar) business. We have implemented this program with several ISOs and
are beginning to gain momentum. We expect to be bringing on 10 merchant
sites live per week.
GS:
What kind of core businesses do you find to be your target market?
TASQ.com:
Our target market is the small- to medium-size merchant. The objective of
TASQ.com is to give this market an Internet advantage at a reasonable
cost. Most of the smaller merchants spend a good sum of money and time on
developing functional online Web sites through the integration of a host,
Web designer, shopping cart, and payment gateway. With TASQ.com we empower
the merchants to operate in the virtual world.
GS:
What obstacles have you encountered in selling your service—or even in
getting ISOs?
TASQ.com:
The most significant obstacle to selling e-commerce is training the ISOs
to overcome the misconception that one has to be Internet savvy in order
to conduct an Internet business. A lot of small-to medium-size merchants
do not have the time to research all of the necessary variables of being
e-commerce enabled. With TASQ.com our ISOs have the tools and support to
make it as simple as using a Microsoft Windows Wizard. We educate and
guide ISOs through the process and provide them opportunities to grow
their business.
GS:
Are you planning any advertising to merchants in the future to sell your
Internet mall?
TASQ.com:
TASQ Technology has designed an advertising partnership program based upon
our past two years of research and the pilot programs that have been
successful. This program is being offered to partners that will be
involved in this now proven process. TASQ is committed to the
implementation of this advertising program, which will make our partners
successful in selling Internet as well as growing their physical world
business.
GS:
How can an ISO make money with TASQ.com?
TASQ.com:
An ISO can make money with TASQ.com through the following revenue sharing
programs:
1. Commission on
the sale.
2. Credit card
processing fees.
3. Residual on the
monthly fees.
GS:
What kind of qualifying questions should ISOs be asking when selling your
e-commerce product?
TASQ.com:
The following are good questions to ask merchants when selling TASQ.com:
3
What
types of products and services do you offer?
3
Do you
have a physical store or are you a home-based business?
3
Do you
take credit cards?
3
Do you
have a computer?
3
Do you
have Internet access?
3
Do you
have an e-mail account?
3
Do you
currently have a Web site?
3
If so,
do you take credit card transactions online?
3 What advertising venues are you currently using?
GS:
Why use TASQ.com’s Internet mall, instead of each business having their
own individual “commerce-enabled” Web site?
TASQ.com:
Utilizing superior industry knowledge, TASQ Technology offers a complete
end-to-end e-commerce solution for an ISOs merchants with our Internet
community product and marketing strategy. TASQ utilizes a streamlined
process that efficiently creates affordable online stores that support SSL
Internet security levels. In addition, we host the site and provide
shopping cart and payment gateway. TASQ’s full-service solution includes
a Quality Control Team that continuously monitors an ISOs Internet stores
for content that meets our “family audience” standards. TASQ
Technology also includes full support to both the ISO and their merchants
with our marketing, design, and help-desk representatives. We complete
this Internet package with an advertising campaign, which is managed by
TASQ. TASQ does not charge transaction fees or an overall percentage of
sales like many other sites.
GS:
How do you address the Internet security issue?
TASQ.com:
A team of security experts has been selected to provide TASQ.com with
ongoing support. These experts continue to monitor and test services for
Internet security. Each store will have the ability to utilize the
Internet credit card transaction process, supported by Secure Socket
Layers (SSL) Technology and premium processing software. This technology
provides secure transportation of credit card information by coding, or
encrypting, the data. When shopping at a TASQ.com store, the shopper’s
Internet browser automatically encrypts payment information when sending
it to the TASQ server. This data is sent in a format that can only be
unscrambled by the TASQ.com software. By utilizing this technology, the
financial data transfers are simple and provide a stable, fast interface
to payment processors.
For
more information and ISO opportunities with TASQ.com, visit their Web site
at www.TASQ.com, or contact them by telephone at (916) 632-7600.
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