In today’s economy, every business is searching for a way to cut costs and monetize opportunities. Companies have looked to outsource services to offshore contact centers in the effort to reduce costs. While outsource labor may look to be a less expensive option on paper, what is the hidden cost of dissatisfied customers being sent to a non-US based, “offshore” agent to represent your business, brand and reputation?

An offshore agent’s speech may be impeccable, but cultural differences will prevail.  Brand image and passion about products are an absolute necessity in order for the agent to up sell, service and represent. USA products and services are best represented by USA agents who can identify with the service. Take for an example Apples.  A USA agent can relate to the numerous types of Apples; apple pie, applesauce, apple turnover, caramel apples and candied apples. Apples are not only part of our diet but we relate in our culture to apples. Would an offshore agent understand “Johnny Appleseed” and “American as Apple Pie” or of course “an Apple a Day keeps the Doctor Away”? The same concept applies to products marketed, used and made in the USA!

Communication is the key to success. American slang and colloquialism is commonly used in our country “y’all”, “you bet”, or “back in the day”. How can an offshore agent represent your brand if they do not have a relationship or understand the cultural differences of your clients? When building the business case, I strongly recommend utilizing a US-based and employed call center.  You will be able to increase your savings by Outsourcing “Onshore” with a Made in the USA Agent! This experience will be one that you will be proud to share with your customers.

Contact ILD’s  best in Service USA Outsource Center to meet your needs, inbound, outbound, back office support and lead generations. As Senior Vice President of ILD’s Outsourced Division, I promise you a quality conversation with a company willing to strategize and customize to your objective to meet the need of your business. Or check us out www.ildcorp.com.

Image Courtesy of CallCenterComics.com

Using a credit card for online purchases always make me a bit skittish.   Yes, I realize that millions of transactions occur daily with no issues.   However, every time I enter the card number, the CVV code, the expiration date and promise that I read the 62 page terms and conditions, I have visions of opening my monthly statement and finding a list of purchases including but not limited to first class tickets, a shopping spree at Versace and a 7-day stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.  The thought of working with the Fraud department to reverse these fraudulent charges makes me think long and hard how much I really want to make the purchase.

There is a much safer option now available for online purchases and that is Mobile Phone Billing.  This option has three easy steps: 1) I enter my Mobile number and billing zip code on one screen, 2) wait a few seconds for a text message on my phone containing a unique PIN number, 3) enter the PIN number on a second screen and I am done.  Because the PIN number is generated at the time of purchase and is only good for a few minutes for that specific transaction, the opportunity for fraudulent charges to my account are virtually gone.   The charges show up on my monthly mobile bill and I have an easy safe alternative payment option!

The fraud risk is mitigated by the unique PIN text.  My account and credit is protected, the merchant is protected, the phone carrier (billing entity) is protected and the scammers, fraudsters and thieves are shut out.

ILD’s Mobile Phone Billing option is available today for items that are consumed on the internet; this includes online games, streaming movies and TV, periodical subscriptions, technical support, ID theft protection, web conferencing, satellite radio, and the list continues.  Oh – and for parents (and merchants) that are nervous kids may go a bit crazy on the gaming sites – a text is sent to the main billing telephone number so they have an opportunity to reject the purchase!  Just by including this alternative billing option to your checkout page, will increase sales.  It provides  a billing option for consumers who refuse to use credit cards and consumers that do not have credit cards (29% according to a survey on Creditcard.com*).   The added benefit is protecting your revenue from credit card chargebacks on fraudulent credit card charges!

Image Courtesy of Report-Online-Scams.com.

You’re already using the 4 P’s (product, price, promotion, and place) to maximize revenue—but your marketing strategy may be missing the 5^th P: payment. Digital stores cannot live by credit cards alone. In fact, merchants who want to maximize their conversion rates need to offer alternative payment methods (APMs) to their shopping carts. Let’s consider a few facts:

• Interest rates on credit cards have climbed to record highs, with the average APR on a new credit card at nearly 15%.
• Almost 30% of consumers do not have a credit card.
• About 9 million U.S. households are unbanked, which means they cannot (or, in some cases, will not) use traditional banking services, like checking accounts or credit cards.
• Up to 64% of American online retailers have cart abandonment rates over 20%.

Consumers want and need alternative ways to pay for digital products and services.

The good news is that if you’re a merchant who sells digital products and services (content, software, downloads, subscriptions, gaming, etc.) you can offer an LEC billing option, such as ILD Teleservices’ Bill to Phone. What does this alternative payment method, which allows ecommerce shoppers to charge transactions to their phone bill, do for merchants?

• Provides instant access to more than 150 million North American consumers. What’s more, merchants enjoy access to markets that may have been previously out of reach, such as the unbanked or financially-conscious consumers not willing to pay credit card interest rates.
• Lowers shopping cart abandonment rates. Shoppers ditch transactions for a variety of reasons, whether they’re reluctant to share credit card info online or don’t want the hassle of opening a merchant account. Merchants who utilize ILD’s Bill to Phone offer consumers a safe and remarkably hassle free way to shop.

Whether you’re selling industry reports for the C-suite or online dating subscriptions for seniors, phone billing allows you to expand your reach and boost conversion. To learn more about lifting revenue with an alternative payment method, like Bill to Phone, contact the payment team at ILD.

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Are you one of the 15 million to 20 million people the FTC estimates are crammed each year? Cramming is when a company adds unauthorized or deceptive charges to a consumer’s phone bill. One of the reasons cramming is so common is that the amounts charged are often small, usually only a few dollars. As a result, many consumers don’t notice they’re paying extra for a product or service they didn’t order. So how can you stop cramming?

• Do review your phone bill every month. Yes, you’re busy—but one of the best ways to stop cramming is to review every phone bill. Look for charges you haven’t authorized, even if they sound legitimate. If you have ordered a new service, check the bill to make sure you’re being charged for what you ordered—and not more.
• Don’t cash checks without reading the fine print. Crammers sometimes send checks in small amounts—often a few dollars—to unsuspecting consumers. But by cashing the check, you agree to purchase a product or subscribe to a service that, chances are, you don’t want.
• Do consider a third-party billing block. A billing block prevents companies from charging your phone bill unless you contact the phone company first to authorize the charge. Contact your local phone company to learn how to place a third-party billing block on your line.
• Do contact the merchant or phone billing service when you find a suspicious charge.  As soon as you notice an unauthorized transaction, contact the company listed on the line item. Remember, even if you dispute a charge, you’re still required to pay the rest of the phone bill on time.

As a third-party payment processor, ILD Teleservices works closely with its partner merchants to ensure accurate billing.  We screen merchants before we work with them, monitor them to make sure they comply with good business practices, and require them to verify authorization of billing. Learn more about the ILD Consumer Protection Standards of Practice.

If you have questions about a bill, please visit our Help Center.

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You see consumers latching onto the gamification craze, whether they’re having fun in GagaVille or comparing running stats on Nike+–so how do you take advantage of this exciting new way to engage audiences and nurture long-term relationships? Here are five steps to get you started:

1. Do your homework. Social performance management company Rypple co-founder Daniel Debow advises tapping into experts who are already immersed in gamification motivation and design via the $50 billion game business. Also consider checking out these resources:

• Rewards, Motivation, Competition: How Businesses Can Benefit from the Rise of Gamification, Knowledge@Wharton.
• The CEO Guide to Business Gamification, Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Gamification: How Competition is Reinventing Business, Marketing & Everyday Life, Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable.
• 7 Winning Examples of Game Mechanics in Action, Gabe Zichermann on Mashable.

1. Think strategy. Treat this like any other project: establish concrete objectives that align with corporate goals, then you’ll be able to design the mechanics that help you achieve those objectives.
2. Choose motivation that makes sense. Will you establish a leaderboard, which ranks users against others? Introduce challenges to engage users with single or team play? Will you use Foursquare-type badges to provide easy-to-recognize social signals regarding status?  Will the tried-and-true points system engage your gamers? Always invest time in determining which mechanics will best engage the target market.
3. Integrate the right payment system. For businesses that need to complete gamification transactions, it’s critical to choose the right payment processor. Consumers want payment methods that are safe, convenient, and won’t interfere with the game experience. The good news is that gamification is LEC billable, which means consumers can safely and easily charge the transactions to their phone bill.
4. Invest in long-term participation. Got game? Then you need time. Like social media engagement, gamification is an ongoing process that needs daily TLC. Be sure you have the people-power needed to maintain game mechanics.  

For more info, check out What is Gamification for Business? A Beginner’s Guide.

When it’s time to integrate payments into your gamification strategy, contact ILD Teleservices to learn how our LEC billing system, Bill to Phone, will make transactions seamless and safe.

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Gamification: it seems to be the biggest buzz word since tweet rocketed into everyday usage just a few years ago. This beginner’s guide will help you sort out what it is and why it might be right for your business.

What is gamification?

It’s a term that describes the incorporation of gaming techniques and mechanisms into business and other non-game environments, like employee training. The goal is to keep consumers and others engaged by making online experiences fun and rewarding, according to Wharton’s Kevin Werbach, in a conversation with Knowledge@Wharton.

And gaming components are becoming big for business. Gartner predicts that more than 50% of businesses that manage innovation will gamify their processes by 2015. And, this fall, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School will offer an MBA course about gamification for business.

What are examples of gamification?

• Foursquare badges
• Rewards programs, such My Coke or Starbucks Rewards
• Nike+, which allows runners to track their progress and compare it against their friends’ progress
• GagaVille, the Lady Gaga-themed version of FarmVille

But gamification isn’t just for B2C companies. It also offers potential for B2Bs and even internal employee engagement programs, tech company Bunchball founder Rajat Paharia told Knowledge@Wharton.

Is gamification right for your business?

The addition of gaming components encourages involvement and engagement (often the long-term kind), and, internally, it stimulates innovation. It’s also LEC and mobile billable, making it easy for brands to complete gaming-related transactions with consumers.

Check back soon to learn more about how to make gamification work for your business.

Image courtesy of Stephen Davies on sxc.hu

What is phone billing? If you’re shopping on a website that sells digital services, such as gaming or downloads, you may see an option to charge the purchase to your telephone bill. But is this a safe way to pay online? How does phone billing work? Is it the same as cramming?

Here is a consumer FAQ guide to shopping smartly and safely with phone billing:

What is phone billing?

Phone billing allows online shoppers to buy ecommerce services and charge the transaction to a telephone bill. It’s not a credit card transaction, so you pay no interest or other fees that big banks tack onto credit card sales. When the transaction shows up on your phone bill, you simply pay it along with the rest of the bill, using whatever payment method you normally use, such as a check or money order. The entire transaction is handled by a third party payment processor, like ILD Teleservices.

But is this a safe way to shop online?

Absolutely! When you charge a purchase to a phone bill there are no credit card or bank account numbers to share over an Internet connection—and that significantly reduces your risk of identity theft. You’re not asked to provide any sensitive financial information; you’ll simply give your phone number as well as information to verify your identity.

Will I become the victim of cramming if I pay for digital goods through phone billing?

Cramming is when a consumer is subject to unauthorized charges on a phone bill. A reputable payment processor works very hard to ensure that customers are billed only for the goods and services they have ordered. At ILD, we take proactive steps to protect consumers from cramming. For instance, before we agree to handle phone billing for a merchant, we conduct a rigorous screening process to ensure that company maintains appropriate business practices.

If you ever have a question about an ILD charge that appears on your phone bill, we welcome you to contact our help center.

The volatile economy is causing many consumers to be more mindful of their wallets. Will they have a job in 6 months? How high will credit card interest rates rise? These are the discussions millions are having around their kitchen tables. In fact, the August 7^th Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed that consumer confidence dropped to its second-lowest point of the year.

Digital merchants who want to succeed in these uncertain times need to take action.

One of the simplest paths to easing consumers’ concerns and making their decision to spend money on your ecommerce store easier is by offering alternative payment methods (APMs), like phone billing. This payment alternative works by allowing consumers to purchase digital goods and services, like downloads or Internet services, by charging the purchase to their phone bill.

Phone billing saves consumers money.

Shoppers spent less on credit cards during July 2011, according to a First Data report. As credit card companies increase interest rates and impose steeper penalties on late payments, plastic is becoming a less attractive way to pay for ecommerce products.

Digital merchants who add a phone billing option to their shopping cart give consumers a no-additional-cost way to complete the transaction. Shoppers aren’t forced to pay interest or fees to banks in order to get the goods and services they want. It’s a win for the customer; and that means it’s a win for you, too.

To start integrating consumer-friendly phone billing into your ecommerce store, contact ILD Teleservices, a leader in the third party payment processing industry. Our Bill to Phone alternative payment method offers timely settlements, increased customer satisfaction, and an easy-to-integrate interface. Learn more today.

Selling digital goods and services to the lucrative college set isn’t always easy. While it’s challenging enough to stay ahead of trends and fads, it can be even trickier to find the perfect ecommerce payment method to offer. Why? Not every college student has a credit card, and those who do may not want to add to their debt by making online purchases.  

Here are a few facts about young adults and credit card use:

• Only 51% of 18-24 year-old Americans had used a credit card in the preceding month. (creditcards.com,  from Javelin)
• The average credit card balance for undergrads is about $3,100. 21% of those had balances between $3,000 and $7,000. (creditcards.com,  from Sallie Mae)
• Only 17% of credit card using students paid off their balance each month. (creditcards.com,  from Sallie Mae)

Give your college market the option to pay without a credit card.

Between college students who don’t have credit cards and those who have them but don’t want to add to their debt, you could be losing revenue if you don’t offer alterative payment methods (APM), like Bill to Phone, also known as LEC billing.

ILD Teleservices’ Bill to Phone is one of the easiest APMs to offer your target market. It works by allowing college students who want to buy your ecommerce goods or services to simply charge the purchase to their phone bill.

Grow your business with Bill to Phone.

Our system is easy to integrate into your checkout process and it comes with a management portal that allows you to access the account information that will help you make profit-building decisions. Learn how ILD will lift your revenue with LEC billing.

Is the cardholder legitimate? Is the credit card valid? For years, these types of questions have dogged the digital merchants who rely on card-not-present transactions to do business. And while credit card sales aren’t likely to disappear in the near future, there are strategies merchants can implement to manage the risk of fraud. Here are four to consider:

1. Invest in the right third party payment processor. A payment partner should be more than the “system that handles the money.” The right processor will understand the risks of operating in the digital space as well as provide the tools and expertise to reduce fraud exposure. For example, ILD’s Bill to Phone, which charges transactions to the customer’s phone bill, offers a real-time verification system that validates the customer’s identity.
2. Develop risk management procedures. Implement the internal controls that lower your brand’s risk of losing revenue to cybercriminals and “friendly” fraud transactions. Review everything from the sales order process to real-time customer identity verification.
3. Educate staff. Those risk management procedures won’t be worth much if employees aren’t familiar with them. Teach staff about your company’s fraud prevention tools and strategies. New and established employees should also understand how to follow the risk management procedures you’ve implemented.
4. Review risk management plans on a regular basis. Fraud reduction and prevention is not the work of a single day or week. Criminals find new ways to steal from businesses. Payment processors develop new fraud prevention strategies. To maximize return on a risk management plan, regularly review the strategies and tactics.

ILD Teleservices is a trusted third party payment processor for a range of industries, from telecommunications and ISP to gaming and home security. Our Bill to Phone alternative payment method allows you to build predictable revenue streams while reducing your exposure to fraud. To learn more about our ecommerce payment solution and real-time customer identity verification, contact our team.