ETD: 681 Google Ads; MasterCard Settles As Antitrust Trial
Opens; Internet E-Mail Stamp; Internet Sales Tax again; Tabletop
Marketers Must Embrace Experiential Marketing to Reinvigorate Sales
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post@gapent.com
Tue, 29 Apr 2003 07:04:30 -0400
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0681 April 29, 2003
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem@gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Google Ads
[3] Internet E-Mail Stamp
----- ---- --- -- -> Important Offer <- -- --- ---- ---- --
[4] Internet Sales Tax again
[5] MasterCard Settles As Antitrust Trial Opens
[6] Tabletop Marketers Must Embrace Experiential Marketing to
Reinvigorate Sales
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
We have another full issue today. Our list members have provided some very
insightful information on these important topics.
Interesting to note that MasterCard has settled the class action suit
brought against them and Visa by WalMart and millions of other
retailers. Supposedly it will result in lower charges on debit cards,
which will mean more use of them in the US (IMHO). Although I can't figure
out how MC or Visa will make any money if debit cards are used - it's
transaction fees only, which means less money earned. Our Global Pay
Systems earns money on transactions, and many times we considered
fractional reserves or offering credit, but decided against it. The risk
wasn't worth the reward, albeit a very high reward.
Has anybody tried Google Ads or anything similar (click thrus and
keywords)? I'm curious to know your results.
What's happening with the upcoming Mother's Day, Father's Day and
graduation season? How's business?
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
Dr. George Matyjewicz
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem@gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Google Ads
===================================================================
Does anybody have any experience with Google Ads? We just started a couple
for high end services. In the past we had some excellent results. A
colleague on WC List wrote and gave some excellent results that they had
with selling products:
"Google ads are doing quite well. I especially like them now because you
only pay for click-thru's instead of "imprints" which used to really run up
the bill. One site I run, which sells video transfer services, a
relatively hi-price item, has gotten 13,700 hits since September from
Google at an average cost of $0.36/hit and we're getting about a 12% buy
rate. Not too bad for a fairly vertical market item. Another site, which
is an online store selling over-the-counter health and beauty stuff, has
gotten 2350 hits since April at an average cost of $0.25/hit, but at a
lower buy %, probably because their prices are not very competitive, but
we're working on that. You really have to baby sit and tweak Google to get
the click-thru's, and Google will summarily dump keywords if they don't
perform up to their standards (maintain a 0.5% CTR) but I have found that
position isn't super important unless you're really down below the bottom
border of the browser window because people tend to shop the whole array of
ads. On the video transfer site, they're looking for the most convincing
evidence of know-how and capability. On the on-line store, it's all about
price. However, the short answer to your question is I'm satisfied with
the ROI on Google."
Anybody have any comments or experiences with Google? Any other favorites?
George
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[3] Internet E-Mail Stamp
===================================================================
Looks like I got the discussion revved up on the e-stamp issue. Here's
scenario four.
Many people are changing their email addresses every year to avoid spam
meaning genuine direct list marketers have a cost to keep up with their
genuine customers. Other than that, the customer (remember them) do not
want to receive unsolicited mail and why should they absorb the cost of a
email clean up programme?
So the cost should go to the person who sent the email. I agree we (need
to) have an open web society and that it has helped small business get
going and the cost is minimal.
Its not the one email to my friend that's the issue - its the six million
emails that are the issue - they are clogging up the system and filling up
the inbox throughout the world. I pay on an ADSL volume basis so the more
spam I am sent the more I pay! As many others move to this model the spam
backlash will begin
Another anology is that of real estate - an agent I know tells me that they
have a budget for advertising in their office - and they spread the cost of
advertising across the properties they sell - they charge on the basis of
margin of sale. So every property that lists either to see what the market
is offering or asks insane prices for the property (and therefore don't
sell) cost me money when I sell.
To my mind an open market is one which is deregulated but which attributes
cost appropriately - if you want to send spam then don't penalize me - the
recipient
At the end of the day sensible marketers will understand buyer behavior and
desist from spam and undesirable direct tactics.
On behalf of the customer
Kind Regards
Michael Campbell
Director
Selling Innovation
http://www.sellinginnovation.co.nz
+++ [Next Post] +++
This is a complex subject that requires a lot of strategic thought on a
global basis. As in Michael's case, and in other areas where you pay for
web access by "traffic volume" Spam has a greater negative affect.
Here are my current thoughts off the cuff.
There is no one that would like to get less "Spam" than me. I get well over
100 junk e-mails each and every day.
I consider Spam to be mass collected "un-targeted" e-mails that have false
Subject lines and/or with bogus sender/reply-to addresses, porn and
gambling, that have no thought for relevant or related content to me.
I do not consider targeted e-mails with relevant and real subject lines and
content sent from a real sender to be Spam, whether I know them or not. And
if this is all I received I would be happy as a clam. Sure I would get
things that I don't have an interest in, but I'm on the web to send and
receive information and weeding through some stuff is expected and a cost
of doing business on the web.
The bulk of the trouble that I can see so far, (and I don't have 20/20 web
vision) comes from overseas "Spam" factories. It's hard to stop them, and
not affect the people that play by the rules.
I really don't mind the concept of a "Stamp" or other verification method
that would allow people to get through to my e-mail box and weed out
others. In fact, I would love to have the National Mail Order Association
be the certifier.
However, I don't like the idea of a charge for each and every e-mail sent.
This puts an extra cost burden on small companies and start-ups. Perhaps
opt-in list houses would carry a blanket "Stamp" that would cover all the
e-mail lists they manage.
And if you do your own e-mailings you could buy a permit like a bulk mail
permit from the USPS, and that would last a year. And if you were found to
be going against the rules you could loose your permit. Strong proof would
have to be presented to loose your permit though, to avoid frivolous
accusations from your competitors or nuts with nothing better to do than to
try and shut you down.
You would then have to have the Internet community follow by supporting the
"stamp" or "permit".
But if history has taught me anything, the bad guys can shut down and be
back up under a new disguise at will no matter what is done. Just like
people that do mail fraud and telephone fraud.
I expect that eventually the problem may start correcting itself through
economics if people stop buying from Spammers or e-mails that do not carry
full company information with a phone number. Perhaps what needs to be done
is a International PR campaign that tells people not to buy from e-mails
without the proper company identification in the e-mail.
There you have my thoughts for today on the subject.
--
Best regards,
John Schulte
Chairman
National Mail Order Association
Email: schulte@nmoa.org
Tel: 612-788-1673
Direct Marketing Discussions at: www.DMchat.com
+++ [Next Post] +++
Our moderator wrote...
>PayPal is an alternative, but only goes down to cents. A stamp
>would need micro payments - down to six decimal places.
We've used jfax (j2.com) for fax communications for about 5 years now (and
still love it, especially when on the road).
Their model for sending is to ding your card for $10. When the balance is
gone, they'll ding it again.
Micropayments *can* be made from an accounts of this type, since the
standard money processing systems only see the $10 txn. Perhaps the jfax
model is one possible solution to the micropayments issue.
Mark Riffey
Granite Bear
Vertical Business Management Software
http://www.granitebear.com
+++ [Next Post] +++
A stamp would merely legitimatize spam. How much does it cost to stuff and
send a snail-mail brochure? $1.00? $1.50?
Would you pay $150 to ask an e-mail list of web consultants one question
about something? Would you pay $150 to answer such a question? (I think a
dot-com tried just that in 1996...)
Would you pay $900 to ask one question of a list of fellow allergics what
they do about air filtration? Would you pay $900 to answer such a question
with your own observations and personal experiences???
And how many thousands of dollars in revenue would you have to
earn, George, per issue of E-Tailer's Digest to keep this work of love going?
Fees like that would kill mailing lists. It would force them to get
sponsors who then start demanding content conform to their advertising
needs. I write about vitamins and health as a hobby, helping those with
severe allergies, mostly to perfumes and solvents. When a pharmaceutical
company started buying trailers on one of the allergy lists I wrote a lot
on, their sponsor objected to all posts on vitamins because they saw
vitamins as competition to their expensive pills. I and several others
were barred from the list for our explanations of how vitamins and such
helped us cure our own allergies and arthritis.
The minute money enters into this, financial competition will drive honesty
off the internet!
Now, with many search engines selling raking, the voices of those who are
harmed by products and those who have cheaper ways that they do not profit
from, are being muffled. Speech is not free, it becomes more and more
expensive as the collective wisdom and experiences of the people are being
obscured by those with ulterior motives.
We need to give the common man his right to free speech on the web. We
also need to keep bullies with bullhorns from drowning him out, as they
have on the Usenet News forums, arguably the greatest communications
experience that ever was.
My proposal has been at http://www.mall-net.com/spam/ since 1996. You
decide what to charge unknowns based on topic and/or domain name. If they
bid enough for your eyeballs, you get their e-mail. If not, no
charge. Those whom you know, you charge nothing for. Bulk attempts to
reach this would be clear commercial fraud.
Biggest plus? All normal economic forces of any media will apply to force
the usual evolutionary business of competing for your eyeballs. And YOU
pocket the money!
Anyone want to help me develop this idea?
-javilk-
------------------- IMAGINEERING --------------------
--------------- Every click, a vote. ----------------
----- Do people vote for, or against your pages? ----
-- What people want: http://www.SitePsych.com/free --
-----------------------------------------------------
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Thanks all. Great comments.
While we are looking at this to stop spam, as Javilk points out, it can
hurt legitimate business. For example, I would have to reconsider
publishing E-Tailer's Digest. I do it for the love of it, nothing
else. If I had to pay, I would have to think twice.
John Schulte's suggestion on boycotting could work. However, would people
really stop buying? I won't buy any Symantec product because of the
bombardment of spam for their products. I told them that I subscribe to
the Boulder Pledge, which doesn't seem to affect them.
What do you think?
George
==================================================================
----- ---- --- -- -> Important Offer <- -- --- ---- ---- --
IMPROVE YOUR CLOSING RATIO
If you sell a service or an intangible product, we will
improve your sales closing ratio. GUARANTEED!
See results within three months.
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----- ---- --- -- -> Important Offer <- -- --- ---- ---- --
==================================================================
[4] Internet Sales Tax again
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The telephone or mail-order company is not required to collect sales tax
for any jurisdiction in which it has no physical presence. Many of the
larger ones have been bullied into doing it, but the Supreme Court has
ruled that if a vendor has no physical presence in a state, it is not
required to collect sales tax. Period.
This is because the vendor receives no services from that state where it
has no presence. New York State might as well try to get Ontario or Iceland
to collect NYS sales tax.
Cheers,
CMA
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
By the same token, a company that does not collect sales tax cannot use the
judicial system in that state, to collect delinquencies or fraud for
example. They get around it by using lawyers or collection services
chartered to do business in that state.
George
+++ [Next Post] +++
Internet Sales Tax again-- Regarding an "unfair advantage" by not charging
sales tax:
I know that in my state, sales tax must be paid for *any* sale (retail,
catalogue, or internet) if you sell within the state's boundaries.
Currently, that means that if I sell in all 130 or so counties in my home
state, that I must fill out 130+ Sales and Use forms, as well as calculate
and charge 130+ *different* sales tax percentages, as the sales tax varies
from county to county. This is unlike a traditional retailer that only has
to charge one sales tax rate for the county where they are physically
located, regardless of where their customers come from. According to my
accountant, our state's current system is set up to pay sales tax not at
the rate in the county that the e-tailer resides, but to pay the rate of
the county where the *buyer* resides. This is opposite of traditional
retail sales tax rules.
The problem with an internet sales tax is that this problem has the
potential to be multiplied a thousand fold, as each county asks for its own
percentage of the sales tax, requiring the e-tailer to fill out not just
one single Sales Tax and Use form, but thousands of forms.
L Martin
Decorate Now
Patterns and Supplies for the Professional Drapery Workroom
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Nope. There will not be the unwieldy tax collections issues as reported at
the beginning of this thread. Right now there are 7,500 jurisdictions in
40 states. 35 states are trying to coordinate their laws to create a far
simpler, more uniform sales tax - Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement
that state budget officials hammered out in meetings over several
years. That will make it uniform throughout the US. When ten states adopt
SSUTA it will be in effect - probably July. Now the issue is what happens
with non-US businesses?
George
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[5] MasterCard Settles As Antitrust Trial Opens
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MasterCard International settled its part of the antitrust lawsuit filed by
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and millions of other retailers in a surprise move
just as the trial was set to begin on April 28, 2003. MasterCard’s
co-defendant Visa USA did not settle with the plaintiffs.
No terms of the settlement have been disclosed. U.S. District Judge John
Gleeson referred to MasterCard’s decision as one of the “11th hour,” and
ordered MasterCard, Visa, Wal-Mart and the other plaintiffs not to speak
publicly about the agreement.
The retailers claim that as part of an “honor all cards” policy, Visa and
MasterCard have been violating antitrust laws by forcing merchants to
accept more costly offline debit cards, which require a signature, rather
than less expensive online debit cards, which require a PIN. They are
seeking billions of dollars in damages. Visa and MasterCard have argued
that the policy is in the best interest of consumers.
Before the settlement, many experts estimated that the trial would persist
for many months and a verdict could be delayed for years on appeal.
Visa’s attorneys began picking a jury and opening arguments in the trial
are expected to begin on the afternoon of the 28th.
http://www.greensheet.com/breakingnews.html
I understand from the news that the settlement was for $1 billion.
George
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[6] Tabletop Marketers Must Embrace Experiential Marketing to
Reinvigorate Sales
===================================================================
Today's tabletop industry, a mature slow-growth $8 billion market, must
stop driving the business from a product perspective, as a range of
different shapes, styles, designs and patterns for the table, but as an
industry that provides consumers with things to enhance the dining and
entertaining experience.
In a presentation today at the National Tabletop and Giftware Association's
Bridal Conference in New York, Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing
said, "The 4P's of traditional marketing — product, price, placement and
promotion — ignore the most important 'P' of all — the People! Rather than
selling things for people to eat on, tabletop marketers and retailers
should view the business from the consumers' perspective as providing
consumers with the necessary tools and equipment to enhance their pleasure
and enjoyment of dining and entertaining."
With consumers' focus on enhancing the dining experience, it is easy to see
why consumers today choose easy-care tableware twice as often as the
higher-priced formal tableware. "Today's consumers don't view fine
tabletop, including china dinnerware, crystal stemware or sterling silver
that requires special care, as relevant to their lifestyle.
"Rather they demand dinnerware, glassware and display pieces that they can
live with and that fits their fast-paced, multitasking lifestyles. Fine
bone china plates and sterling silver flatware is an anachronism, a remnant
of a long lost time. For today's homemaker and hostess, dinnerware must go
from freezer, to oven, to table, to dishwasher and still be pretty enough
to display on the shelf," Danizger says. "Nobody has time today to hand
wash the crystal or polish the silver."
Unity Marketing publishes a research report, TABLETOP - Tabletop Report
2002: The Market, Competitors, Trends, to provide marketers and retailers
with the facts and figures they need to build a vibrant tabletop business
now and into the future. Based upon market research surveys among tabletop
consumers, tabletop companies and retailers, it gives executives insight
into the marketplace, where consumers shop for tabletop, how much they
spend and why they buy. For more information on the report, visit
www.unitymarketingonline.com.
A copy of Pam's speech is available at
http://www.whypeoplebuy.com/topics/presentations.html
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