Bellwether Magazine from Blytheco - The Ecommerce Issue - Q1 2014

BELLWETHER Volume 5 | Issue 1 | First Quarter 2014

Bellwether Magazine | First Quarter 20142
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ARNING
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• 100% accurate results-every time
• Direct integration with your SAGE General Ledger
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Budget Maestro makes spreadsheet errors a thing
of the past with automated budgeting, forecasting
and reporting software made for Sage Users
• Built-in business and financial logic allows you to
easily and accurately project your accounting system
into the future
• Automatically create accurate forecasted balance sheet,
cash flow, and income statements based on forecast data
or assumptions at any time and for any budget period
• Modify your model or assumptions with just a few mouse
clicks, that require no calculations or programming for
100% accuracy
• Direct integration with your Sage General Ledger

3bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership
4 Clever Pay-Per-Click Opportunities
Ecommerce Marketers Won’t Want to Miss
10
sections
Letter from the Editor 5
Leadership 7
Technology 10
Sales & Marketing 16
Cover Story 22
Industry News 24
Corporate Finance 38
Human Resources 40
18
“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is - it is what
consumers tell each other it is.” – Scott Cook, co-founder Intuit
22
38
28

LETTERFROMTHEEDITOR
BELLWETHER
A Blytheco Magazine
Volume 5
First Quarter, 2014
www.blytheco.com
www.bellwethermagazine.com
STAFF EDITOR
Apryl Hanson
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Greg Went
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Urs Bockli
Shaun Boros
Rachael Brownell
Chris Darbi
Oli Gardner
Joni Girardi
Alan Hart
Jane Johnson
Dr. Stephen Josephs
Brian Nunes
Shane Ratigan
Kathleen Richardson-Mauro
Paul Ziliak
ADVERTISING SALES
Ginger Kittinger
SUBSCRIPTIONS
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of Bellwether Magazine.

Blood, sweat and tears; late nights and weekends spent working; sacrificed
vacations and family time – indeed, a CEO’s feelings toward his or her
business often mirror those of a parent has for a child.
Transition: The Blind Spot
for Many Business Owners
Handing Off Your Baby Isn’t Easy – Or Simple,
Experts Say by Kathleen Richardson-Mauro and Jane Johnson
LEADERSHIP
Unfortunately, when it comes time to take the next step in life, the
gravity of letting their baby go can prove overwhelming, say Kathleen
Richardson-Mauro and Jane M. Johnson, two business owners
who specialize in helping CEOs plan and execute their business
ownership transitions.
“Successful business owners tend to pore over every detail in
order to improve the venture; but what they often overlook is the
fact that, like parents to a child, they will someday have to allow
that baby to move on,” says Johnson, co-author with Richardson-
Mauro of a practical new guide, “Cashing Out of Your Business,” and
complementary website of self-help resources, Business Transition
Academy (www.BusinessTransitionAcademy.com.)
“As business owners, we’ve both experienced difficult
transitions professionally and personally,”
Richardson-Mauro says. “So many CEOs,
rather than dealing with the reality of their
business’ future without them, carry on as if
nothing will change.”
Richardson-Mauro and Johnson, both
Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisors
and Business Exit Consultants, say there
are a number of measures owners
can take to ensure the transition is
smooth and they have what they
need to be happy on the other
side of it.
• Change is natural; learn
to accept it with regard to
your business. If you’re like
most owners, you have
invested some or most
of the best years of
your life, and
most of your
f i n a n c i a l
resources, in
your business.
By now, your
identity and
that of the
business may now
actually be one and
the same. Take heart: Now is the time to focus on your other
passions, which may be family, traveling, catching up on reading,
fitness and so much more. Consider your next act as a rebirth of
you.
• Learn to count beans – outside of your business. Now is
the time to take stock of the assets you’ve saved outside of the
business and determine how much income you’ll need post-
transition. Then, calculate how much money you’ll need to receive
from the ownership transition. Most owners are not independently
wealthy without their business; most need to extract money
from their companies to fund the rest of their lives. The more a
business profits, the more owners tend to spread the wealth to
family members, or ratchet up spending in other ways. Be realistic
about how you want your money to be spent in the next phase.
• Is your business transitioning “in-house”? Small businesses –
those with less than 500 employees – are responsible for nearly
half of the GDP and employment in the United States. Many of
these are family-run enterprises; naturally, owners often want
to keep it in the family, which doesn’t always work out. Often,
parents want to distribute evenly to their sons and daughters,
even though only one was actually active in the business.
Attempts to be “fair” can cause businesses to crumble, with an
absentee owner trying to call the same shots as someone who’s
always there. Be honest about what will actually be good for the
business and its employees.
About Kathleen Richardson-Mauro
Kathleen Richardson-Mauro, CFP, CBEC,
CM&AA, CBI, has owned and operated
five small companies and has successfully
assisted more than 150 business owners
in achieving their transition goals.
About Jane Johnson
Jane Johnson, CPA, CBEC, CM&AA,
owned her own business, which she
exited successfully in 2007. She has been
providing advisory services to business
owners on how to plan and execute
successful ownership transitions since
that time. In 2010, Jane received the
Excellence in Exit Planning Achievement
Award from Pinnacle Equity Solutions.

Financial/Tax/Corporate/
Avatax
Concur
Meridian
Sage Payroll Tax Forms & eFiling
Reporting/Analytics/Budgeting
BizNet
Budget Maestro
DataSelf
Supply Chain/Procurement
Avercast
eRequester
Paramount
TaskCentre
Alerts/Workflow Management
Alerts & Workflow/Knowledgesync
Paramount
TaskCentre
Barcode/Warehouse Management
bly:Warehouse
JOScan/WOScan
OzLINK
Scanco
Scanforce
Document Management
ACOM
Altec
EDI – Electronic Data Interchange
HighJump/TrueCommerce
MAPADOC
eCommerce
InSynch
OzLINK
SeeVolution
Websitepipeline
xkzero
Shipping
bly:Carrier
OzLINK
Smartlinc
Starship
xkzero
Mobile
bly:Mobile
OzLINK
Scanco
xkzero
Sales Intelligence
InsideView
SeeVolution
Human Resources
CompuPay
Talent Management by Cornerstone
Cyber Recruiter
HR Actions
Insperity Timestar
PerformancePAM
Sage Payroll Tax Forms & eFiling
Marketing Automation
HubSpot
SalesFusion
Swiftpage
Call Center
NewBridge
CRM to ERP Integration
bly:Connector
Guided Selling/Quote to Order
Smart Catalog

ACOM
www.blytheco.com/acom
Sage 100 ERP, 500 ERP
EZContentManager is a powerful document management
solution that enables you to build a secure digital
document library—an efficient electronic filing system for
the myriad of documents your business relies on.
Starts at $25,000
Alerts & Workflow
www.blytheco.com/knowledgesync
Sage 100 ERP, 500 ERP, SageCRM Sage HRMS
Monitor your business data, automate the production
and delivery of documents and automatically trigger
workflow to update applications, schedule tasks and move
information between systems.
Starts at $4,000
Altec
www.blytheco.com/altec
doc-link™ software is an integrated document
management system (IDMS) that is interfaced with your
business system to effectively eliminate paper from your
office.
Starts at $25,000
Avatax
www.blytheco.com/avatax
A hosted, web-service-based solution that automatically
performs address validation, sales tax jurisdiction research
and rate calculation – all on the fly within your accounting
application, with no change to your existing workflow.
Starts at $10,000
Avercast
www.blytheco.com/avercast
Sage 100 ERP, 500 ERP, NetSuite
Avercast has become the supply chain planning tool of
choice for many companies in both the small/midsized as
well as the large business marketplace.
Starts at $10,000
BizNet
www.blytheco.com/biznet
Business reporting and analytics platform that provides
real-time access to your business data from Microsoft
Office Excel.
Starts at $5,000
bly:Carrier
www.blytheco.com/blycarrier
Sage 500 ERP
bly:Carrier brings tightly integrated shipping into your
Sage 500 ERP system. All shipping tasks are done from
right within ERP. You can rate shop and get real-time
carrier pricing between major carriers. Shipping detail
flows automatically to operations, finance, and executives.
Custom Pricing
bly:Connector
www.blytheco.com/blyconnector
Sage 100 ERP, SugarCRM
It allows the two software packages to “talk with each
other” by synchronizing customers, inventory items,
non-inventory items, and service items, invoice and sales
receipt history, and sales orders/estimates between
SugarCRM and Sage 100. The synchronization between
the packages is set to run on a scheduler, typically every 10
minutes.
Starts at $1,499/year
bly:Mobile
www.blytheco.com/blymobile
Sage 100 ERP
bly:Mobile brings Sage 100 ERP to smartphone, tablet and
internet browsers.
Starts at $3,800
bly:Warehouse
www.blytheco.com/blywarehouse
Sage 500 ERP
bly:Warehouse is a Windows CE (Embedded Compact)
application for a wireless interface with Sage 500. This
solution, coupled with the use of handheld RF Wireless
devices, provides mobile workstations with the capability
of updating Sage 500.
Custom Pricing
Budget Maestro
www.blytheco.com/maestro
Budget Maestro works with your accounting or ERP system
to enhance your business budgeting and forecasting
capabilities and improve budget and forecasting accuracy.
Starts at $6,000
CompuPay
www.blytheco.com/compupay
Sage ERP, Sage HRMS
Sage Partner CompuPay is one of the country’s leading
experts in payroll, tax filing and HR-related services. The
company has become a major force in the industry by
tailoring innovative, cost-effective payroll solutions for
small and mid-sized businesses in all 50 states.
Starts at $4,000
TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY
Concur
www.blytheco.com/concur
Concur helps organizations simplify travel & expense
management with a customizable, intuitive, end-to-end
tool that streamlines the entire process. And now, Blytheco
has teamed up with Concur to offer our clients a discount
on this powerful solution.
Custom Pricing
Cyber Recruiter
www.blytheco.com/cyber-recruiter
Sage HRMS
Effectively manage and communicate during the entire
recruiting process with Sage HRMS Cyber Recruiter by
Visibility Software, a Sage Endorsed Solution to help fill
open positions more quickly and efficiently.
Starts at $6,700/20-150 ee
DataSelf
www.blytheco.com/dataself
Sage ERP, Sage CRM, SalesLogix
DataSelf Business Intelligence is easy to use, quick to
deploy and costs a fraction of comparable up-market
offerings. The easy-to-customize solution comes
pre-configured with a data warehouse, OLAP cubes,
dashboards and over 2,000 reports and KPIs.
Starts at $300/month
eRequester
www.blytheco.com/erequester
eRequester is a Web-based procurement management,
purchase requisition, authorization routing, and purchase
order system. It allows companies to define and implement
standardized purchasing practices, which streamlines and
manages supply chains.
Starts at $25,000
HighJump
www.blytheco.com/truecommerce
TrueCommerce EDI Solutions – everything you need
to fully implement an EDI system from one source.
Implementing EDI with TrueCommerce is simple.
Starts at $13,000
HR Actions
www.blytheco.com/hr-actions
Sage HRMS
Streamline the collection and approval of employee data
using the web. Sage HRMS HR Actions lets you easily
create paperless forms using any fields from Sage HRMS.
Starts at $4,070/150 ee
HubSpot
www.blytheco.com/hubspot
SalesLogix, SugarCRM
Attract scores of high-quality leads with blogs, social
media and search. Nurture sales prospects with the right
content at the right time. Measure it all. HubSpot makes it
possible.
Starts at $12,000/year
InsideView
www.blytheco.com/insideview
SalesLogix, SugarCRM
InsideView maximizes sales team productivity by delivering
a one-stop shop for your prospecting needs and
accelerates the sales cycle by enabling sales people to call
the right prospects at the right time.
Starts at $29-99/user/month
Insperity Timestar
www.blytheco.com/timestar
Sage HRMS
Payroll is often the largest expense for most companies,
especially service-oriented businesses. Insperity
TimeStar™ time-tracking software can help you get the
most value from your workforce by ensuring that your
employees are working the right hours, in the right place
— and are accurately compensated for their time.
Custom Pricing
In-Synch
www.blytheco.com/insynch
Sage 100 ERP
IN-SYNCH allows you to pull sales orders from a website;
the product is customizable and can be expanded to
accomplish many more Sage 100 ERP integration and
synchronization needs.
Starts at $11,000
JOScan/WOScan
www.blytheco.com/joscan
Sage 100 ERP, JobOps
JOScan is the handheld and/or desktop barcode
scanning and data collection solution designed to allow
manufacturers and field service organizations to minimize
costs, maximize productivity and maintain a competitive
edge in today’s marketplace.
Starts at $4,000
Mapadoc
www.blytheco.com/mapadoc
Sage 100 ERP, 500 ERP, X3 ERP
MAPADOC is a fully integrated, easy to use electronic data
interchange (EDI) software solution for Sage 100, Sage 500
and Sage X3 that will: dramatically cut data entry time and
costs, improve communications with trading partners and
reduce mapping time by over 75%.
Starts at $5,500

BUYERSGUIDE
Meridian Network Services
www.blytheco.com/meridian
Meridian provides consulting, sales and implementation
support to SMB and large enterprises world-wide for their
phone, data and internet needs. As an independent carrier
agent, they offer a single point of contact to over 100
industry-leading vendors.
Custom Pricing
NewBridge
www.blytheco.com/newbridge
SageCRM
Newbridge offers our clients a comprehensive hosted and
managed Cloud Call Center Solution. Newbridge melds
managed customer experience solutions with the benefits
of state of the art, customized technology.
$99/user/month
OzLINK for NetSuite
www.blytheco.com/ozlink
NetSuite
OzLINK provides you seamless NetSuite integration,
streamlining your order fulfillment processes, while
increasing your productivity and cutting costs in the
warehouse.
Multiple Price Options
Paramount WorkPlace
www.blytheco.com/workplace
Sage ERP
Paramount Workplace automates requisition,
procurement, inventory management, project accounting,
and time and expense transactions to make internal
workflow processes more efficient, improve employee
productivity, reduce time and errors and save money.
Starts at $20,000
PerformancePAM
www.blytheco.com/performance
Sage HRMS
PerformancePAM is the premier talent management
solution designed specifically to work with Sage HRMS.
Performance PAM is developed with direction from
HR professionals resulting in a system that encourages
employee development and increases workplace
performance and satisfaction.
Starts at $14,000/300 ee
Sage Payroll Tax Forms and eFiling
www.blytheco.com/aatrix
Sage ERP, Sage HRMS
With Sage Payroll Tax Forms and eFiling by Aatrix, you
can meet all state and federal reporting and payment
requirements right from your Sage HRMS Payroll software.
It is easy to use and saves you time by eliminating the
need to create reports manually.
$500/year/unlimited filings
SalesFusion
www.blytheco.com/salesfusion
Sage CRM, SalesLogix, SugarCRM
SalesFUSION is an enterprise b2b marketing automation
software platform designed to support the business,
technology and process needs of B2B marketers.
Starts at $550/month
Scanco
www.blytheco.com/scanco
Scanco specializes in an extensive line of products
designed to increase warehouse productivity. From basic
barcode label printing to wireless inventory management,
there is a solution to fit every budget and need.
Starts at $25,000
ScanForce
www.blytheco.com/scanforce
Sage 100 ERP
ScanForce combines the affordability of a batch
upload solution with the cutting edge technology of
wireless communication. Warehouse Automation, Sales
Automation, Remote Sales Automation and Labeling.
Starts at $20,000
SeeVolution
www.blytheco.com/seevolution
SeeVolution’s Real-Time Tools display analytics and
heatmaps directly on YOUR website. No complicated
dashboards - everything is simplified and easy to
understand.
Starts at $79/month
Smart Catalog
www.blytheco.com/smartcatalog
SalesLogix
SmartCatalog™ is a best-in-class guided selling and
configuration platform. To achieve the optimal quality
level, the internal complexities and nuances of your
business cannot be the burden of those who do business
with you.
Starts at $2,000
SmartLinc
www.blytheco.com/smartlinc
Count on Shipping by SmartLinc. Reduce costs while
processing shipments accurately and on time, every time.
Starts at $13,000

BUYERSGUIDETECHNOLOGY
Starship
www.blytheco.com/starship
StarShip integrates tightly with your Sage ERP system and
makes the entire shipping process more fluid. Plus, when
combined with the pick, pack, and ship feature built into
the Sales Order module, StarShip helps your company
become a more competitive business.
Starts at $6,000
Swiftpage
www.blytheco.com/swiftpage
SalesLogix
Sage SalesLogix E-Marketing enables you to reach out
to your contacts, grow your customer base, nurture and
qualify leads, and automate sales and marketing practices.
$250/month
Talent Management by Cornerstone
www.blytheco.com/cornerstone
Sage HRMS
Increase employee engagement, productivity, retention
and alignment with organizational goals with Sage HRMS
Talent Management by Cornerstone OnDemand.
Custom Pricing
TaskCentre
www.blytheco.com/taskcentre
Sage ERP, SalesLogix
What do you want to Automate? TaskCentre is a business
process management suite that offers workflow, advanced
business alerts, document automation and integration.
TaskCentre takes an everyday manual repetitive process
and automates it according to your business rules.
Starts at $3,750
Websitepipeline
www.blytheco.com/websitepipeline
With websitepipeline, you can get an eCommerce
website with SEO tools, fully integrated with Sage 100
ERP, including a web-based, non-technical content
management system, and running on a MS SQL Server
database. All in less than 30 days.
Starts at $35,000
Xkzero
www.blytheco.com/xkzero
xkzero creates technologies to further the success of
companies with supply chain management and distribution
needs.
Multiple Price Options

Sage ERP Document Management
Unlockyour potential for improved efficiencies and significant cost
savings. Sage ERP Document Management is tightly integrated
with your Sage ERP solution to increase control, document visibility,
productivity and customer service. With the versatility of Sage ERP
Document Management, you can make any process or department
into a paperless one.
Sage ERP Document Management by Altec is the key to automating
and accelerating your business processes.
Altec │ 800.997.9921 │ 23422 Mill Creek Drive, Suite 225, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 │ www.altec-inc.com
The Key to Going Paperless
LEAD
MEInboundMarketing
The software, support,
and methodology you
need to transform your
marketing.
Blogging
Email
Landing Pages
Sites
SEO
Social
blytheco.com/hubspot
Don't hide under the covers and hope the problems go
away - wake up and see what your business is missing!
ALARMING
It’s
www.blytheco.com/quiz
How much time and money are wasted due to
old and inefficient processes.
800.425.9843

by Oli Gardner
SALES&MARKETING
Step 1. Define your target market & campaign goal
Before you start building anything you need to know who you are
marketing to. The chances are you’re creating a campaign for one of
the following targets:
1. Existing customers: You might think that having a customer
means you don’t need to continue marketing to them. Sometimes
a customer is inactive so your goal is reengagement, through
exposure to new content or product demos that may turn them
from a fence sitter back into a real customer.
2. Leads in your email or CRM lists: Once you’ve established a list
of leads, your goal should be to nurture them with more content
and events to turn them into customers. Perhaps you get them
to register for an e-course using autoresponders to drip content
into their inboxes, slowly building a rapport that eventually moves
from a soft sell content marketing strategy, to a request to sign up
(potentially with a special offer).
3. Prospects: This is the purest form of lead capture, where you
are chasing entirely new prospects through the use of content
marketing.
Lead form tip: If you are marketing to customers or leads, pre-populate
as many of your lead capture landing page form fields as you can, to
reduce the friction involved in filling out the form, and to create a sense
of personalization.
Step 2. Define & create a relevant reward
Having established your target audience, you need to figure out what
to offer them in order to get their important personal or business data.
Everyone likes to be rewarded, getting free stuff is awesome. But with
lead gen there’s a little work to do first, and it gets pretty personal.
Typically the very minimum a prospect, lead or customer will have to
part with is an email address (covered in step #3).
Before thinking about what you’re asking for in exchange for your
content, you need to define the content, and make it relevant to your
target’s needs. Here are some of the things you can create:
Digital content to give away
There is a ton of digital content you can give away, first we’ll list them,
then explain how they should be used differently for prospects, leads
and customers.
• An ecourse delivered over a period of time
• Report/whitepaper with important industry stats
• Ebooks – comprehensive guides to different aspects of your business
• A newsletter with tips related to your area of subject matter expertise
• A podcast – useful for people who like to listen during a commute
or workout
• Checklists/scorecards – good for people that need to see how well
they are doing and produce a to-do list of things to improve
• Webinars – live sessions, often with Q&A with experts and special
guest presenters
• Presentations – slides you can incorporate into your own
presentations
• Consultation – this is when someone requests your time to explore
if they want to use your product or service
Prospects
Prospects are people you haven’t come into contact with yet, so
they need extra reasons to believe in what you’re giving away. They
need a softer sell, usually educational material that doesn’t push your
product, like an ebook.
Leads
Leads are prospects who have converted by already consuming some
of your content. These are the people you really want to convert into
customers. As such they should be receiving content with signup
CTAs and links to register for product demos.
Customers
Customers come in two forms: active and inactive. Your goals here
are to keep active customers happy with instructional material that
makes their life easier, and then re-engage your inactive customers
with special offers, and updates on new features that could reactivate
them. Customers are prime candidates for newsletters and ecourses.
If you’re looking to build a lead capture landing page, it’s not just a matter of slapping a
form on a page and driving traffic to it. Well, you could, but it wouldn’t perform well.
Instead, follow these 15 steps and create a high performance landing page designed
specifically for gathering leads.
15 Steps to the Ultimate Lead
Capture Landing Page

Webinar tips: Have a webinar calendar to allow people to sign up in
advance. List each session as beginner, intermediate or advance –
much like you would with a yoga calendar. And remember to inform
people on your landing pages that they will receive a recording of the
webinar the next day if they are unable to attend – this will increase
registration significantly.
Crucial to your success with lead gen is to balance the reward (the size
of the prize) with the friction involved in getting it. This is where your
choice of form fields come into play…
Step 3. Define the required form fields
What’s an appropriate number of form fields to ask for in exchange
for your content? Ideally, you would test this to find out what number
of fields converts the best, while still getting the data you need to
successfully segment and re-market to them in the future.
Here’s a breakdown of the content listed in the last section with an
appropriate level of information you should ask for (note these are
simple guidelines – every situation will be slightly different).
Email only
• Presentation slides
• Checklist/scorecard
• Podcast
Name and email
For a more personalized experience over a period of time.
• Ebook
• Newsletter
• Ecourse
• Report/whitepaper
Name, email and company information
Company information might include: size of company and phone
number. Often used for longer sales cycle items.
• Webinar
• Consultation
• Product demo
Note, you could ask for a lot more if you want to, but realistically, an
email is all you really need for most things.
Form tip: Scale how much information you ask from prospect, lead,
customer (prospect being the least, and customer the most).
To see tips 4-15, go to: http://think.blytheco.com/marketing/15-
steps-to-the-ultimate-lead-capture-landing-page/
Oli is Co-Founder & Creative Director at Unbounce. A recognized authority on the topic of landing page optimization,
he has looked at over 27,000 landing pages. He is the author of several ebooks including “The Ultimate Guide to
Conversion Centered Design”, “The Ultimate Guide to Landing Page Optimization”, and his writing on marketing
theory has appeared on popular blogs such as MOZ, HubSpot and of course the Unbounce blog. You should follow Oli
on Twitter
About the Author
Finally, ONE Source for ALL
of Your Telecom Needs
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carriers
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plans, implements and cost manages clients’ networks. Our
extensive industry knowledge and experience allows us to
match the most suitable carriers for your particular needs.
www.blytheco.com/meridian
949.388.0555

That’s why I wanted to examine some of the quickest, easiest
PPC levers that ecommerce marketers can pull that allow you to
be smart with your digital ad spend, and keep that online edge
over competition. All of these tips still allow you to be inbound-
minded with your PPC spend -- finding fantastic opportunities to
keep your business top of mind for consumers right when they’re
looking for you. Here are some of your biggest, low-hanging
fruit ecommerce PPC opportunities, and how to take advantage
of them.
Model Number Campaigns
Imagine you sell tires and rims for a living. You just opened
a location on the same street as a number of different auto
dealerships (I know, you’re an ecommerce marketer, but stay
with me here). You see customers walking in every day that are
still in research mode and have no idea what brand they want
or which size tire they even need. You find that many of those
walking into your store tend to talk with your employees for
advice and end up leaving with you in mind, but clearly go look
elsewhere for a better price now that they are more informed in
the decision making process.
Now let’s imagine you came across a number of customers
who knew exactly which tires they needed, down to the specific
model number. These customers who are much further down the
sales cycle are much more likely to purchase from you if they
walk in your store first.
There is a very similar scenario being played out in the
ecommerce space for those bidding on competitive terms, for
example “Cheap Tires” or “Tire Deals Online”. Users may click
on 4-5 different ads, use your site to do some research, and then
purchase from whoever has the lowest price.
While you may never escape the vicious cycle of paying for
expensive clicks on the more general and competitive keywords,
you can begin to balance it out by targeting the other end of the
spectrum -- the ultra-specific keywords like model numbers, part
names, UPC codes, that sort of thing.
You will probably (nay, almost certainly) not see the same volume
of users typing in queries with this level of granularity. But there
are plenty of potential customers out there who know exactly
what they want and just need to figure out the easiest way to
get it. Not only are the clicks significantly cheaper due to the low
competition on model number keywords, but the conversion
rates are incredibly higher, which will help bring your overall CPA
down. Additionally, when someone clicks on your model number
ad, you can send them directly to your product page which gives
them everything they were looking for in one step.
Long-Tail Keyword Expansion
Let’s continue on the same thought process but work our way
backward from model number keywords, to those customers
who know may know a lot of the specific details they’re looking
for, but aren’t quite typing in a UPC code just yet. These are
your long-tail keywords, things like “red capri pants in petite,”
or “Red Sox bleacher seats.”
In the AdWords interface, take a peek in your Search Query
Report (if you’re having trouble finding it, look within a campaign
under “Keyword Details”), which shows the exact keywords
being searched that triggered your ads from either phrase or
broad keyword match types. Sort by the keywords that have
converted and try to identify those long-tail keywords, which will
tend to contain a few specific product details.
by Chris Darabi
If you’re a PPC veteran, it’s tempting to devote all your
time to the bigger picture and finding creative new
ways to drive cheap, conversion-friendly clicks. This is
especially true for ecommerce businesses, which are playing
in an incredibly complex space, particularly when using PPC.
As a result, it’s quite common to overlook some of the low-
hanging fruit -- the kind of stuff that’s easy to implement and
delivers fast results.
4 Clever Pay-Per-Click
Opportunities Ecommerce
Marketers Won’t Want to Miss

SALES&MARKETING
For example, if you were bidding on the term ‘New Rims’ in
broad but someone searched the brand + size + color rims they
were looking for and ended up purchasing from your site, you
should definitely add that long-tail keyword to the appropriate
ad group and bid on it aggressively, since you already know it
converts well. Think of your broad keywords as casting a wide
net -- they will catch a great deal of volume, but ultimately, in
order to find those gems you’ll need to dig through the data to
see which keywords actually converted, and how many of those
were long-tail keywords that you were missing.
Competitive Campaign
Now that you’ve covered those users searching for specific
products, why leave out those searching to buy specifically from
your competition? Plenty of searches come from those who
have heard about a specific brand to buy from ... but they’re not
entirely convinced yet, and are open to other options should you
make yourself available with a better offer.
Could you imagine someone about to walk into a Michelin while
you’re holding a sign right in front of their door saying you can
beat their price, and have a much larger selection? It sounds
extreme, but this is essentially what you’re doing when you
create campaigns targeting competitor keywords with a simple
ad making customers aware that you are an alternative option
should they decide to explore their options.
Now, I want to clarify one thing. This is not a recommendation
that you target a competitor’s branded keywords. A few things
might happen if you target your competitor’s branded keywords:
You’ll be paying for less qualified traffic
When your competitor notices, they may drive up your costs
dramatically by bidding just a little bit more themselves (because
they have a higher quality score)
Your competitors could complain to Google and you’ll get a slap
on the wrist (or worse)
You’ll look like a poor sport, some might even say a bit of
a jerk
None of those are too appealing. Instead if directly targeting
competitors’brandedkeywords,takecuesfromyourcompetitors’
PPC ads to help inform your own strategy. For example, if a
competitor is bidding on keywords that are important for your
business, you might consider getting a paid presence for those
terms, too (unless you’re already winning organically). Or maybe
it’s the flip side of the coin -- a couple competitors are winning
organically for keywords that are important to you, but it’s going
to take you a couple months to edge them out organically. In the
interim, using PPC to win some traffic for those terms is a great
stopgap.
Pricing in Ads
With the limited amount of characters we can use in text ads and
the rising cost per click, it has become increasingly important
to qualify your traffic the best you can before they actually click
on your ad. What I mean by this is that you may want to target
certain keywords, but there is only so much you can infer from
a person who types in general terms. You can’t ask them how
serious of a buyer they are, whether they are still in research
mode, or what their level of intent is.
However, what you can do is make sure to screen out less
qualified people by setting an expectation of your pricing ... by
simply putting prices in your ads. Seems simple, right? It is; that’s
why it’s low hanging fruit. If you let someone who is only willing
to spend, say, $40 on a product know beforehand that all your
products are on the higher end from $75 and above, chances
are they will not click your ad. This saves your ad spend for those
qualified individuals who saw your prices, knew what to expect
already, and are much more likely to convert into a sale (or at
least less likely to suffer sticker shock).
There you go, four great tips on increasing your sales while
lowering your cost per conversion without any fluff or jargon-
filled explanations. Go ahead and test them out in your own
campaigns and see how it affects performance. Of course, these
are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an ecommerce
PPC strategy. For a more comprehensive understanding of how
to take your business to the next level, reserve your spot on our
webinar co-hosted by National Positions & Google.
Chris Darabi is an SEM Analyst for National Positions, an industry leading internet marketing company with over 1,000 clients
around the globe including Wal-Mart, Land Rover, Club Med and Samsung.
About the Author

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1. What is an Amazon law?
The term “Amazon Law” does not have a clear or established
definition. The term is really journalistic and political
shorthand for a law intended to compel sales tax collection
upon vendors who make sales in states where they lack
physical presence—a legal requirement for ecommerce
vendors to collect sales tax in states besides their own
tests the concept of nexus. Nexus is a legal concept that
describes the minimum connections a vendor must have
with a state before that state can compel collection of sales
taxes on sales within its borders.
In plain talk, an “Amazon Law” is a law to compel or pressure
collection of sales tax by a vendor who lacks ‘traditional’
contacts with a state, such as an office or headquarters,
employees on the ground or other physical or tangible
connections.
These laws are associated with Amazon, Inc. in part due
to the Internet vendor’s massive profile in the ecommerce
space. When many folks think about ecommerce, Amazon
is the first company they consider. The connection is
a compliment to Amazon’s tremendous growth and
high profile in the ecommerce space. The laws are also
associated with Amazon, Inc.’s determined early challenges
against demands to collect sales tax in many states. The
fervor of Amazon, Inc.’s resistance to sales tax collection
has faded some in the past few years, but the company’s
aggressive early stance and continuing focus on sales tax
collection have forced a policy conversation about sales tax
and ecommerce among ecommerce providers, government
and business leaders, economists and consumers.
2. What kinds of Amazon laws are there?
• Click-Through Laws
Under this model, when a customer clicks on a website
ad, they are directed to the vendor’s ecommerce portal to
complete a sale. The placement of an ad on a website based
in New York triggers the obligation to collect sales taxes on
New York sales made by the company who placed the ad.
New York began the push in 2009 for these types of rules.
The state legislature passed a presumption into law that
Internet advertisers who solicit customers via ‘click-through’
advertisements establish nexus through those solicitations.
The law aims squarely at vendors who place ads on third-
party websites.
In New York, the presumption that “click through”
advertisements trigger nexus is rebuttable, but there are
additional compliance burdens necessary to successfully
defend a rebuttal, but in December 2013, the US Supreme
Court refused to hear arguments against the click-through
law. This effectively supported New York’s ability to compel
sales tax collection on remote sellers with click-through
relationships in state. In the subsequent 3 years, Rhode
Island, North Carolina, Arkansas, California, Connecticut
and Georgia have passed similar laws. In Pennsylvania, the
DOR issued administrative guidance indicating the same
approach. California repealed its law three months after it
was passed.
On the other hand, a similar law in IL was rendered un-
enforceable by a state appeals court and will not be enforced
for the time being. The broad take away is the states are
testing the limits of nexus to expand the class of vendors
who are obligated to collect sales tax on sales made in their
states.
• Related Entity Laws
Another legislative strategy is to broadly define the types
of subsidiaries or other related entities that trigger nexus
for out of state companies. Laws of this nature challenge
entity isolation techniques employed by vendors wishing
So-called “Amazon Laws” focus on the ability of states to compel sales tax collection by vendors outside of
their state borders. Amazon Laws do not impose any new taxes, but rather compel or pressure remote sellers
to collect sales tax already due. As the volume of Internet-based and virtual commerce grows rapidly, states
are searching for an acceptable legal path to compel collection. The states must work within the framework
established by the Courts. The paths taken by various states are divergent, adding an additional layer of
murkiness to an already cloudy area of law.
by Shane Ratigan
how amazon laws affect
eCommerce sales tax
COVERSTORY

to avoid the complications of nexus, but they also may
apply to affiliations derived from any possible genesis.
The laws primarily look at shared ownership as a gateway
to collection obligation, even for entities that have
separate functions or management. New York, Colorado,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, Illinois, South Dakota
and Texas have expanded the types and categories of
related entities that trigger nexus in their states with
these types of laws.
• Consumer Notification Laws
A third legislative strategy requires ecommerce vendors
to provide retail customers an accurate use tax obligation
calculation for each sale. The notification laws and
proposals often also include a state reporting component
where vendors may be required to report in-state sales
to revenue authorities annually as well. Oklahoma,
Colorado and South Dakota have put these types of
notification laws on their books. The Colorado law was
successfully challenged in US District Court, but later
that decision was overruled. In a publication from 2013,
Colorado indicated that they won’t enforce the rules in
the near term.
3. What is happening now?
The types of laws designed to compel or encourage
sales tax collection may or may not pass legal challenges
in every state, nor may these rules ever be adopted a
majority of states. However, the one unquestioned
accomplishment of these rules has been to push the
discussion surrounding sales tax obligations and remote
sellers to the fore. Advocates for and against collection
of sales taxes on remote sales declare the existence of
“Amazon Laws” indicates the desire for greater uniformity
and a more reliable legal standard for collection, or not,
of sales taxes on remote sales.
In the meantime, Amazon has agreed to begin collecting
sales taxes in many states. Amazon’s evolving strategy in
this space likely means a reduction in their litigation costs
and an increase in collected sales taxes for some states;
but for other remote sellers, the challenge to become
aware and comply with these type laws remains an active
one.
There is one constant that remains at the heart of the
remote seller/sales tax collection issue: the US Supreme
Court consistently advises that the US Congress has the
Constitutional power to regulate remote seller sales.
So far, the US Congress has chosen not to do so. The
first modern sales taxes in the US were established in
the 1930’s, so Congress has had a long time to consider
its role concerning sales taxes. The new phenomenon
driving the current policy interest is the explosion of
ecommerce.
The rapidly expanding ecommerce marketplace has
dragged the issue of sales tax collection by remote
sellers from the pages of dusty industry and economic
journals to the front page of the Wall Street Journal and
the New York Times. One result of the exposure is a new
focus on the US Congress and its Constitutional ability to
bring some measure of uniformity and reliability to this
area of law. Currently, there are a few proposed pieces
of legislation in the US Congress that seek to do just that.
The proposed Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 was
actually voted on and passed in the US Senate. The
proposed law did not get a vote in the US House of
Representatives in 2013. The proposed legislation
consists of mandatory collection of sales taxes by remote
sellers, a sales volume floor, whereby smaller companies
would be exempted and a requirement that states
improve administrative burdens for out of state filers by
making filing and complying easier.
4. What’s next??
The inevitability of Congressional action is debatable
of course. If the US Congress dips its toe in the sales
tax waters, all bets are off as to the future of state efforts
to compel collection like we talked about above. If
Congressional action satisfies the state’s interests, the
current group of “Amazon Laws” could be rendered
moot almost overnight and may be scrubbed from the
books entirely. On the other hand, if Congressional
action does not meet the requirements of the states, the
patchwork of “Amazon Laws” could remain active and
possibly expand to other states.
Ecommerce providers and even traditional vendors who
make sales across state lines must remain aware of states’
and federal efforts to alter the way remote sellers transact
sales, whether those efforts are called “Amazon Laws” or
not.
Shane Ratigan began his career as a self-employed business owner. After 10 years in the motorcycle business, he earned a B.S. in Accounting and
a B.S. in Business Administration at the State University of New York. He earned his Juris Doctorate at Syracuse University College of Law and his
LLM (Masters of Taxation) at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle. Shane spent several years counseling small business owners on
tax and succession planning. Shane currently works in sales tax law and sales tax compliance with Avalara, a Software-as-a-Service end-to-end
sales tax solution for businesses of all sizes.
About the Author

Erik Lefkofsky, founder and CEO of Groupon said in a blog early this year that his primary
investment interests are businesses that meet in the intersection of ecommerce and
mobile. Because my company, xkzero, works with Sage business in the intersection of
those two sectors, and because Mr. Lefkofsky founded a business that went from $0 to $1
billion in revenue faster than any company in history, I pay attention to what he has to say.
by Paul Ziliak
2013 came to a close with $1 trillion transacted via ecommerce. That is
a staggering amount and it only stands to grow.
But in the face of that staggering statistic, I feel obliged to tell you that
you may want to consider taking down your ecommerce site now – it
may be costing you hard-earned customers.
What could be so bad that it should convince you take down your
ecommerce site? If your site does not provide a meaningful,
informative and intuitive experience for your customers, then they
might not place their online orders with you. And if they want to do
their ordering online, they’re likely taking their business elsewhere –
potentially on a permanent basis.
Ten years ago you may have been able to offer a horrid website
experience and your client would forgive you. But those days are over;
it’s not 2004 anymore. Your customers are getting younger; they are
increasingly making business and personal purchases online and using
sites that have everything your site does not have.
I hope you are not taking offense to this. My intent is to help you take
a hard look at your site from the perspective of your customers, to
see what they see (but might not be telling you about), and help you
pinpoint ways to improve it. So, in that spirit, I’d like to provide a
few measures to help you assess your site with customer experience
in mind:
A Short List to Improve Your B2B Ecommerce Site
1. Branding – make sure that your shopping site is clean, easy to look
at, and consistent with the branding found on your public website.
Details matter, so be sure to consider small details like choice and
consistent application of fonts.
2. Product Images – be sure you have current images taken by
professional photographers. The user should see a thumbnail
image, but also be able to zoom in for a closer look. High resolution
images only – if your images are grainy, what is the shopper to think
of the actual product?
3. Information – whether your product is simple or complex, be sure
to give a clear and accurate description of the product being
purchased. Try to avoid abbreviations or loose usage of alias
descriptions – tell them what it is – succinctly. If the product is
complex, provide a link to a PDF white paper, drawing or other
detailed information, but don’t fill up a shopping page with endless
text, it will send people elsewhere.
4. Pricing, Quantities, etc. – be sure pricing and quantities are
current. I don’t think it is necessary to show the exact warehouse
quantity, but an indication of ‘In Stock / Out of Stock’ is better than
no indication at all. I recently made a purchase on a consumer site
that was silent about product availability. 5 DAYS LATER I received
an email indicating that the product was out of stock. Shame on
me for placing an order without having that info.
5. Cross Sell and Up Sell – a good salesperson on the phone or in
person is always going to encourage you to consider how else to
complete your purchase. Don’t you think your ecommerce site
should do the same thing?
6. Check Out – make it easy for the customer to check out. Some B2B
sites require the user to get training just to find the darned Check
Out button. Don’t be that site. Like the rest of your design – make
checkout simple, clean, clear and easy.
You’ve built a great business and you’ve invested a great deal of
money to run your business on a world class ERP through Sage. Take a
good look at your B2B site and ask yourself if it reflects everything you
want your customers to know about your company and your products.
Or, if you don’t feel you have a good eye for that sort of thing – survey
a cross section of your customers and ask them what they think.
The bottom line is make sure they are as happy doing business with
you online as they are on the phone or in person.
Happy selling!
Your B2B Ecommerce Site May
Be Losing You Customers
INDUSTRYNEWS

The modern consumer is spoiled rotten. They can walk around Best
Buy, scanning pictures of the latest flat-screen TVs, while comparing
prices on Wal-Mart’s smart phone app and eventually purchasing from
Amazon.
Today’s consumers are connected. They have the most up-to-date,
detailed information available to them via the “usual” media of
television, radio, and direct mail - but also through email, blogs,
social networks, web sites, and mobile ads. Popular e-commerce
sites equip consumers with high definition pictures and videos of
an endless assortment of products – and often include free two-
day shipping, generous return policies, discounts at checkout,
etc., etc., etc.
Once the decision to buy is made, consumers can make their
purchase at the brick-and-mortar store on the corner - or via
computer, tablet or smart phone.
How does anyone outside of the Wal-Marts and Amazons of
the world succeed, when every retailer and ‘big box’ supplier is
competing to meet the consumers’ growing needs? Here are a
few ideas:
1. Create an aggressive E-Commerce strategy – The benefits
of E-Commerce are plentiful. Those who do it right are
given a great opportunity to land more sales in a boundless
market, while affording customers superior visibility into the
product line. The best companies are those that give accurate
and copious information, with several pictures and, when
appropriate, videos. Take a look at Amazon for inspiration. To
be successful does require the right infrastructure in support,
including the ability to fulfill orders with the right inventory from
the right distribution center. This is key to meeting customer
expectations and optimizing profitability.
2. Strengthen shipping and warehousing capabilities –
Consumer expectations will keep pressure on both retailers
and suppliers to get the product on shelves or front steps
as fast as possible. It is integral to ensure maximization and
flexibility of shipping and warehouse processes to meet each
customer’s needs. With the rise of direct to consumer orders,
free returns and free shipping, companies will have to bolster
their warehouse management with software or enhanced
process. Integrated warehouse management systems (WMS)
can help.
3. Automate as much as possible – EDI (Electronic Data
Interchange) is required by an ever-growing number of retailers.
The optimization of this mode has changed the speed with
which retailers can monitor and react to shipping information,
inventory levels, and other data. While there are some benefits
of EDI for suppliers as well, the manual entry and precision
required for these documents
can prove extremely costly for
those who do not automate with
their system. The same goes
for warehouse and shipping
information, E-Commerce, and
many other internal processes.
Without automation, companies
waste time and risk mistakes which
can lead to costly chargebacks from
retailers.
4. Take advantage of analytics – Top
supply chain performers leverage
sales, product performance,
manufacturing, shipping, or other
data in order to make quick and
profitable decisions. There are
many tools on the market targeted
for every piece of the supply
chain. Even the largest
retailers can aggregate
their sales and product
performance data for
suppliers via EDI. This
data can be organized by
some suppliers’ EDI tools
or leveraged within an
analytical tool. Point of
sale data is often sent out
very regularly, allowing
more informed inventory
and sales decisions.
So don’t lose hope! With
determined internet
marketing, robust supply
chain control, effective back-
office automation and timely
business intelligence, you can
stay in front of the modern
consumer and effectively
compete and grow in today’s
fluid retail environment.
How The Power Of The
Consumer Is Transforming
The Retail Industry by David Freschi
INDUSTRYNEWS

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If you are a manufacturer or distributor, this statement may ring true
for you. However, the problem with this statement isn’t the fact that
you may not need a shopping cart. The problem is that you may have
too narrow a view of eCommerce. The “e” in eCommerce stands
for “electronic”. The word “electronic” in relation to eCommerce
means: Involving or concerned with the representation, storage,
or transmission of information by electronic systems.
One of the earliest uses of an electronic commerce had its
birth in 1948 during the Berlin Blockade and Airlift by a logistics
officer in the army. Officer Edward A. Guilbert set up a system
of ordering through telex, radio-teletype, and telephone to
help eliminate the bottleneck caused by slow moving paper
orders. Unfortunately there are many manufacturers and
distributors that are using that very same 1948 technology to
interact with their customers today.
There seems to be an unnecessary disconnect in the B2B world
between companies and their customers. Even in 2014, most
of the transactions and requests related to orders, pricing,
inventory, shipments, invoices, and payments happen primarily
through phone, fax, and email. These requests and transactions
can only be handled during normal business hours. So how
can these manufacturers and distributors utilize the power of
B2B eCommerce in a meaningful way? Answer: Automating
customer service.
As a company, you maintain all of this information in a system
of record, or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software.
When your customer calls in to place an order, check available
inventory, inquire about their outstanding balance, track
shipments, track returns, and other inquires; you have customer
service representatives that help them. The reps access their
ERP software that holds all this information in order to provide
answers to questions and place transactions on the customer’s
behalf. Customer Service Automation (CSA) technology
is available today, and can allow your customers to quickly
access information that they could only get previously by
calling, emailing, or faxing. CSA has been used in the banking
industry for over 50 years. The introduction of ATM (Automatic
Teller Machine) revolutionized the banking industry by allowing
customers to self-serve on many of the tasks they could only
do by physically going into the bank and interacting with a
teller. Would you even consider doing business with a bank
today that did not have ATM’s? The reality is, it would be nearly
impossible to find a bank that doesn’t offer access to an ATM.
Will it be the same for manufacturers and distributors? Is there
a future where the customers will decide to do business with
you based on whether or not you offer automated services?
Let’s take a look at a (fictional) real-world example without the
benefit of Customer Service Automation.
The customer: John Smith – Manager of RadioHut store #101
in South Carolina.
The wholesale distributor: Celtek – Wholesaler of wireless
accessories in Southern California.
The business case:
RadioHut currently offers a line of 10 wireless accessory SKUs
from Celtek . RadioHut has negotiated pricing because of the
large volume it does nationwide. John has a coupon mailer
that will hit homes on Friday and expects a busy weekend,
so he pulls a report from his POS system and realizes that
he needs more product before Saturday morning. John
is stressing out a little because it is Thursday night and he
needs these products on the shelf by Saturday.
Scenario 1: No Customer Service Automation
John closes down the store for the day, makes a call to Celtek
customer service at 7:30pm EST, and Angie from customer
service answers his call.
Angie: Thank you for calling Celtek, your best source for
wholesale wireless accessories. How may I help you?
John: Hi Angie, this is John Smith from RadioHut store
#101 in South Carolina and I need to place a rush order for
overnight delivery.
by Brian Nunes
INDUSTRYNEWS
Shopping cart??
We don’t need no
stinkin’ shopping cart!

Angie: No problem John, I will be glad to help you. What is
your customer number? If you don’t know it, you can look at
the top right of your current invoice.
John: Hold on a sec, let me go grab that from my office.
[2 minutes later] It is 73B (as in boy) 56S (as in Sam) F (as in
Frank) 3522.
Angie: Ok, just pulling up your account here. Are you still at
111 East Main St.?
John: Yes
Angie: How can I help you?
John: I need to order 40 units of SKU# RH5124, 25 units of
RH2323, and 75 units of RH1123
Angie: I notice that we only have 53 units available for SKU#
RH1123.
John: That will have to do for now. What is my price on the
RH5124?
Angie: Your price is $8.75 and the retail on that is $15.99.
Your total cost for the whole order $967.23. You mentioned
that you need it overnight so it should probably get there
sometime tomorrow afternoon.
John: Ok, that is fine. If you think it won’t make it, then
please have someone contact me in the morning because I
will need to check with another supplier since I have to have
this in on the shelves.
Angie: Mr. Smith, I notice there is an outstanding past due
balance on your account in the amount of $542.67. This will
need to be taken care of before I place this order. How would
you like to handle this?
John: Hold on a minute, I need to get my credit card and you
can put it on that. (1 minute later) Ok.. this is an Amex, card
number 3734 xxx x xxxxx.
Angie: Expiration date?
John: 08/2016
Angie: Thank you for your payment Mr. Smith. I will submit
this order for you and it should arrive sometime tomorrow
afternoon.
John: Thank you
The next morning John gets to the store at 8am EST and at
9am EST he calls Celtek to get an update because he did
not receive an email confirmation with any shipment tracking
information. Unknown to John, the email server at Celtek
went down before the shipments left the warehouse. When
he calls, he gets the automated message stating that business
hours are from 8am PST to 5pm PST. He will not be able to
talk to a customer service representative until 11am EST. Now
he is sweating a little. If the shipment did not go out, then
he is going to have to scramble to get an order placed with
a higher priced local supplier. He calls back at 11:15am EST
and is notified that the shipment did go out last night and
they give him his shipment tracking # and that it will arrive in
5 boxes.
As the saying goes, “all’s well, that ends well”. However,
there may come a time when John finds a distributor that will
make things a little easier for him by offering tools that allow
him to order, track, and view his account information 24/7.
Let’s take a look at the same scenario where Celtek offers
Customer Service Automation technology.
Scenario 1: Customer Service Automation
Because the website is tightly integrated with his Sage ERP
software, John has access to much of the same information a
live customer service rep would have for his specific account.
Here is John’s experience via Customer Service
Automation.
• John doesn’t call anyone.
• He logs into the Celtek website.
• He can see all his invoices and pay past due balances
• He can browse or search for products and view live inventory
levels.
• If he knows exactly what he wants, he can opt to use the
quick order tool to enter his SKUs and quantities with
lightning speed.
• He can create a favorites list of items he orders often so he
can get to them quickly.
• He can see his own pricing on all items, as well as his own
SKU aliases.
• He adds his items to the cart and all his payment options
are available.
• He submits the order and is sent to a confirmation page.
• He receives an email with the order details
• Once his order is shipped, he will receive shipment tracking
information by email. He can also log into the website at
any time and see order details, invoices, payments and
shipments.
So, as you can see, you can utilize the power of B2B
eCommerce in meaningful ways through Customer Service
Automation.
If you would like to investigate the options available to you in
regards to Customer Service Automation, please contact your
Blytheco representative. www.blytheco.com/websitepipeline

by Shaun Boros
Traditional brick and mortar businesses are becoming a nostalgic thing of the past. E-commerce (that
is, the online purchasing of goods and services) is booming, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing
down. According to recent estimates, e-commerce has grown 21.1 percent each year and – just last year
– online sales exceeded $1 trillion. As e-commerce continues to grow worldwide, manufacturers and
distributors are having to rethink their strategies when it comes to warehouse management.
E-commerce is having a huge impact on warehouses all around
the world. While it presents a huge opportunity for growth
and profitability, many warehouses are struggling to make
the transition to e-commerce work. As customer demand
continues to rise, warehouses will only fall more and more
behind if they do nothing. At this stage in the game, nothing
is not an option. In order to succeed with this new business
model, you will need to embrace the changes e-commerce
brings to the order fulfillment table.
While it may take some time and adjustment, transitioning
your warehouse to meet the needs of e-commerce order
fulfillment does not have to be difficult. We’ve helped many
manufacturers and distributors make the transition and have
created a list of what to expect as you make the transition.
Keep the following in mind as you move your warehouse to
that of an e-commerce model:
• You will experience a higher volume of orders, and you
will need to fulfill these orders quickly. Rethink the layout of
your warehouse and make sure that your products are placed
in optimum locations. Consider implementing warehouse
automation software, such as barcoding solutions. These
will help you speed up the order fulfillment cycle so you can
get your products to your customers’ on-time, every time.
• Expect to experience sales fluctuations. The traditional
business model offered predictability – you could generally
expect sales to be stable throughout the year. E-commerce,
however, is unpredictable and driven by consumer demand
and trends. Your warehouse will need to be able to support
both the highs and lows associated with e-commerce sales.
This may require adopting new technologies, new strategies,
and new skills in the warehouse environment. Make sure
your employees are aware of potential fluctuations and arm
them with the right technology to get the job done right
and on-time.
• Your customers will have higher expectations of your
company. While e-commerce may be new to your company,
it is not a new idea in the business world. Retailers such
as Amazon and Overstock.com have
mastered the e-commerce model
and with that comes high customer
expectations. These companies
have set the standard for fast order
fulfillment, considerate return
policies, and low shipping costs. If
your company cannot successfully
meet these same standards, your
customers will go elsewhere.
How E-Commerce is Changing
the Warehouse as We Know It
INDUSTRYNEWS

800.462.4016 info.vtechnologies.com/blytheco shipsage@vtechnologies.com
StarShip is the GOLD standard when it comes to Sage ERP integrated shipping.
Twenty-five years and thousands of Sage customers later, StarShip has been trusted
to get over a billion packages out the door! WORK LESS. SHIP MORE.
• Expect to see an influx in product returns. Products
bought online have a greater probability of being returned
to the warehouse than products bought through traditional
methods. Recent research has shown that 22 percent
of e-commerce products are returned, whereas only 10
percent of offline product purchases are returned. In some
cases (such as clothing purchases), the return rates can reach
50 percent! Your warehouse will need to have a strategic
method for dealing with product returns and replacement
in the warehouse.
Meet E-Commerce Demands with Scanco
If you want your company to grow and succeed, you will need to
embrace e-commerce and what it means for your warehouse.
Meeting e-commerce demands requires complete warehouse
automation. Recent advances in technology have already
made this possible and can help you make the transition to
e-commerce a seamless one. Warehouse automation software
and barcoding solutions are certainly helpful when it comes to
preparing your warehouse for e-commerce, but why don’t you
use devices you already own to automate and manage your
warehouse? With Scanco Warehouse for Sage 100 ERP, you
can!
Scanco Warehouse is the first fully mobile warehouse
management app designed to work with any iOS, Windows, or
Android device, giving you the flexibility to perform each and
every warehouse management task without wasting any time.
Designed with the 21st century warehouse in mind, Scanco
Warehouse makes it easy to transition from a traditional
business model to an e-commerce model. Users can mix and
match hardware as they please (as long as it’s compatible
with the app). Your warehouse receiving operators can use
iPads to perform receiving tasks. Mobile phones can be used
for performing the physical count (or cycle counting), and
handheld devices (or mobile phones with barcode scanning
attachments) can be used during the shipping process. With
Scanco Warehouse, your options are endless!
Meeting the demands e-commerce has placed on the
warehouse does not have to mean investing in costly warehouse
automation solutions. By adopting practical strategies and
tools designed to lower costs and increase the speed of order
fulfillment, you can create a 21st century warehouse. To learn
more about how our solutions support e-commerce, visit
www.blytheco.com/scanco

INDUSTRYNEWS
WorkPlace users select their PunchOut vendor
with a single click from the WorkPlace Requisition
page to be taken directly to the customer specific
site. Many of the major vendors of office supplies,
technology, medical supplies, scientific tools and
supplies, and industrial products offer PunchOut
catalogs and electronic ordering. Examples are
Office Max, Staples, Office Depot, Dell, CDW,
Henry Schein, McKesson, and HD Supply.
PunchOut catalogs are set up to display
products and prices negotiated between the
client and supplier. The requester selects the
items needed and adds them to the shopping
cart. The catalogs checkout adds the selected
items, quantities, descriptions, and prices to
the requisition. Requisitions flow through all the
required approval workflows followed by a review
by the purchasing agent. Instead of issuing a
Purchase Order, a cXML transaction places the
order with the supplier.
ThebenefitsofPunchOutcXMLintegrated
with a procurement solution are:
• No Catalog Maintenance. Catalogs are
maintained by the suppliers. PunchOut
catalogs eliminate the risk of ordering items
that are no longer available, or where prices
changed.
• Better Product Information. Buyers have
access to
up-to-date
details about
product
availability,
discounts,
and shipping
information, all
maintained by the
supplier, in real time.
• Spend Management.
By accessing approved
catalogs from within WorkPlace,
procurement managers reap the benefits of
negotiated prices with preferred vendors.
PunchOut catalogs promote purchasing
consolidation with easy access to the favored
suppliers.
• Improved Shopping Experience. PunchOut
catalogs simplify the buying process by
letting users conduct product searches, read
descriptions and user reviews, and compare
items.
• Higher Productivity. PunchOut eliminates
the duplicate entry of products selected into
Requisitions and Purchase Orders and the
printing and mailing of paper PO documents.
Paramount WorkPlace Requisition, Purchasing,
and AP Invoice Automation offer best in class
features including PunchOut and out-of-the box
seamless integration with Sage 100, 300 and 500.
www.blytheco.com/workplace
What is PunchOut? It is an industry standard based on cXML (commerce
eXtensible Markup Language) to connect Requisition and Procurement
applications directly to major e-commerce vendors. PunchOut enables a
requisitioner to select approved items at negotiated prices within their purchasing
system, for purchase directly from a vendor’s website. All browsing, shopping, real-
time inventory availability and pricing are done from the vendor’s website and their
catalog.
PunchOut – Electronic
Purchasing from Catalogsby Urs Bockli

Our clients tell us that stability and reliability are
the two factors they value most in our relationship.
With 30 plus years of experience and hundreds of
thousands of hours of consulting, we continuously
look for ways to improve our relationships with our
clients. If you are in the market for a new partner,
we would love the opportunity to show you how
we work with our clients to help them get the most
from their business software.
What does your business need?
A Partner With a National Presence?
A Partner With Size, Stability and a
Proven Track Record?
A Partner That is Reliable?
A Partner That is Able To Support
Your Business?
A Partner That Offers Additional
Products & Services?
ATLANTA, GA COLUMBUS, OH DENVER, CO GREENVILLE, SC
MINNEAPOLIS, MN ORANGE COUNTY, CA TAMPA, FL
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ○ CRM ○ ERP ○ HRMS
PRODUCT SELECTION ○ IMPLEMENTATION ○ INTEGRATION
PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
800.425.9843
Download “Why Work With Blytheco” at
www.blytheco.com/partners

INDUSTRYNEWS
That is the question of the hour.
Does improving your eCommerce system feel like that? Tracking
visitor numbers and tweaking website traffic flow; determining
pricing and just the right words to optimize SEO... all the while
wondering just where you are and where you are going to end up?
Analytics replaces much of this “by guess and by golly” decision-
making with specific measurements. It is like handing a GPS system to
that old-time captain. Analytics report the progress toward specific,
fixed “stars” - called KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators). How would
your eCommerce decision-making improve with instant feedback as
to your website’s ever-changing position relative to:
• Profitability by specific products, product groupings and customer
demographics?
• Inventory turnover versus your website promotions?
• Check-out abandonment percentages over time or against
changes to website design?
• Shipping and overhead costs by warehouse for different
geographical regions (and product groupings...) (do you need to
open another warehouse, or relocate an existing one?)
• Percentage of orders unshipped, or shipped incomplete, by next
business day? What do the late shipments have in common from a
supplier, product or warehouse management standpoint?
• Finding out regular customers who stopped buying?
When business managers implement analytics for eCommerce,
they start with tracking and monitoring KPI’s such as those listed
above. This defines an appropriate starting point for measuring the
business. From here, they can set goals, monitor progress and decide
what’s optimum. Some KPIs may come strictly from an eCommerce
or Google analytics database; others, from various combinations
of integration of the web data with the ERP and CRM systems.
Fortunately, the market offers several proven analytics solutions that
can elevate an eCommerce business to the next level by providing a
comprehensive performance measurement platform.
Joni Girardi, CEO of DataSelf, an acknowledged thought leader in
the analytics market, provides eCommerce companies some keen
insight: “eCommerce is about finding an edge on the competition
across your entire business; it’s absolutely critical to continually
improve KPIs. Often, this means analyzing combined data from
eCommerce and back office systems to uncover better ways of doing
business. We’ve been helping mid-sized eCommerce companies for
many years, by providing them with an intuitive analytics solution
that comes with over 2,000 reports, KPIs, and dashboards right out
of the box! We support several back office solutions such as the
Sage family of CRM & ERP solutions and Swiftpage SalesLogix. In
a nutshell, DataSelf, by integrating technology from our strategic
partners Tableau and Microsoft BI, simplifies and amplifies analytics
for anyone, regardless of their technical ability.”
About DataSelf
DataSelf provides best-of-breed and easy-to-use analytics and business intelligence
solutions for medium-sized businesses (SMB). DataSelf’s solutions have grown out of more
than 13 years of experience providing best-practice analytics, reporting and ultralight data
warehousing solutions.
DataSelf simplifies and amplifies BI with Tableau and Microsoft BI technologies.
DataSelf simplifies them by adding its own technology that eliminates
programming. DataSelf amplifies them by providing BI expertise and
comprehensive out-of-the-box solutions with thousands of KPIs
& dashboards plus ultralight data warehouses to popular
mid-market business applications such as Everest
Software, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft
Dynamics NAV, Sage CRM, Sage 100 (MAS
90 / MAS 200), Sage 300 (Accpac),
Sage 500 (MAS 500), Sage
Pro, Sage PFW, Sage
X3, and Swiftpage
SalesLogix.
Visit
www.blytheco.com/dataself
to learn more.
What would it have been like to set sail with just a sextant, a compass, and a general
knowledge of the currents and trade winds? Steering by the sun and stars, using intuition
and experience to guess at your progress across the ocean?
Analytics: A GPS for Effectively
Sailing the eCommerce Seas

HUMANRESOURCESINDUSTRYNEWS
How much value is your organization getting out of
the budget process, once the budget is created? Is
management able to quickly and intelligently make decisions
driven by actual operations results compared with budgeted
expectations? How often do you have an opportunity to decide
whether changes are required, and to evaluate alternatives?
How complete and accurate is your forecast? Do you employ
the best-in-class tools to provide you with the information you
need?
Management, and their supporting functions, one of
which is the finance department, usually tasked with the
budget preparation, should consider these questions
very seriously.
I recently interviewed a manufacturing business owner
who said he tries to analyze actual results against his
forecast on a weekly basis, as it gives his organization
52 chances a year to make corrections versus only 12
times a year if done on a monthly basis. You may not be
able to do this weekly, but how about monthly?
Fortunately, present day accounting systems are fully
computerized and automated, which gives us very good
access to the information we need and on a regular
basis. It is fairly common, with the right setup, to be
able to seamlessly interface our general ledger with our
budgeting and forecasting software, in a manner that
will allow us to transfer, on a monthly basis, account
balances and other chosen data into our budgeting
software.
Another hindrance to a successful analysis of actuals
vs. budget is the inability of most organizations to
accurately forecast their balance sheet. Not knowing
what your forecasted balance sheet is going to look
like throughout the budget process can severely impair
your ability to anticipate changes to your organization’s
financial health. Find a budgeting tool that allows you
to forecast your entire chart of accounts and gain insight
into much more useful data than just the revenue and
expense forecast. Without an accurate, forecasted
balance sheet, your budget process is incomplete.
If you do that, right after month-end close, you can
quickly and effectively analyze your actual results
against the budget data. The advantages to doing this
are considerable: When you do this frequently and as
soon as actual data is available, you are able to make
decisions that will impact the organization’s future
performance much quicker. You may decide to adjust
your forecast, or perhaps, re-align your operation in
order to drive it more on course toward your budgeted
and expected results. Simply put, you are more
equipped to deal with deviations from your original
plan and goals.
The Budget & Forecast Process –
What Really Matters
by Alan Hart

Alan Hart, MBA, is Principal Consultant at Pacific Shine Group in
Portland, Oregon, with responsibility for client business development
and hands-on client project implementations. Read more at
www.budgetingexpert.com
About the Author
I have worked with numerous systems over the years
from Tier 1 solutions to homegrown, spreadsheet-
based systems. Through experience, I’ve grown to
like the software solutions from Centage Corporation
(www.centage.com), particularly Budget Maestro and
Analytics Maestro. This is the only solution capable of
fully addressing the issues outlined above. As a great
bonus, using the Link Maestro utility, you can seamlessly
link their budgeting and forecasting main application
Budget Maestro with the Sage ERP 100, 300 or 500
accounting software GL.
This means that as soon as you close an accounting
period, your trial balance can be automatically transferred
into the Budget Maestro internal chart of accounts (which
mirrors your Sage GL chart of accounts).
Then, you can immediately start analyzing your
actual performance against your budget data
and through the reporting system, especially
when using the Analytics Maestro module,
management decisions can be made with
confidence. These software tools, when
consistently used can really make a big
difference in how you run your business
and how you are able to make course
changes as needed and almost in real
time.
To me, going through a tedious and stressful budget
preparation process, without properly analyzing
the actual results against it, doing it infrequently, or
performing the analysis at a much later time after
actual data is available, seems like a waste of time and
resources. There is absolutely no value going through
this exercise unless you are going to use the results in
a meaningful way. Smart managements realize this and
employ the right budgeting tools and resources toward
achieving their goals.
Fortunately, with the use of your
Sage product linked to
Budget Maestro you can
accomplish all that. Your
company’s forecasted
financial health will be
visible and offer a lot more
insight into the present and
future business.

CORPORATEFINANCE
Beyond the Shopping Cart –
Sales Tax Considerations
Obviously, the answers to that are complex, yet one thing
is clear. Without the right shopping cart (the interface
between the customer and the online venture), efforts to
sell online are dramatically less successful. Avalara has had
in-depth conversations with industry insiders, who helped
identify four key questions for companies to consider
when selecting a shopping cart:
1. What does your company need a shopping cart to
address?
2. How important is a product catalog to your larger
ecommerce goals?
3. How can shopping cart software address abandoned
shopping carts and increase customer satisfaction?
4. Does the shopping cart support core business
functions and help ecommerce merchants comply
with applicable local, state, and federal regulations?
We are going to dive deeper into number four. Does the
shopping cart support core business functions and help
ecommerce merchants comply with applicable local,
state, and federal regulations?
Most ecommerce merchants are aware that their cart
needs to be PCI compliant (Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standard), by maintaining a secure environment.
Other crucial tasks, like applying the correct sales tax rate
or managing exemption certificates, are often overlooked.
Someone looking for an affordable easy-to-use shopping
carttosellgoodsandservicesonlineisnotlikelytoprioritize
compliance capabilities unless they’ve been on the wrong
end of an audit. However, the shopping cart software
must incorporate compliance functions, either through
a native service or an add-on like Avalara, or companies
face an increased risk of audit. To address compliance,
the ecommerce shopping cart software needs to integrate
with core business functions. Something many companies
don’t consider until it’s too late, especially since questions
of design and customer engagement, usability and brand
presence often dominate shopping cart strategy.
Companies will be exposed to audit risk and customer
complaints unless the shopping cart incorporates
compliance capabilities. Calculating sales tax, shipping,
Ecommerce,buyingandsellingonline,isone
of the fastest growing sectors of the retail
economy. Ecommerce is more than a gateway
to new markets, however. It’s also a way for
merchants to go to market faster, with fewer
fixed costs and lower administrative overhead.
But if selling online is so great, why do so many online retailers fail?
by Rachael Brownell, Avalara

and tracking exemption certificates correctly within the
cart means finding a solution that integrates tax calculation
and address verification, handles tax exempt transactions,
manages exemption certificates, and so forth. As more
and more states collect online sales tax, more and more
ecommerce businesses will be required to remit it.
Automating the sales tax processes within the shopping
cart software itself solves one of the key challenges facing
ecommerce—how to accurately collect, file, and remit sales
tax to the right jurisdiction at the right time. In the U.S. alone
there are over 10,000 taxing jurisdictions, many of which
(e.g., Florida, Texas, California) are requiring out of state
ecommerce companies to collect sales tax for the first time.
If the national effort to effectively end sales tax-free online
shopping succeeds, the already difficult risk-prone sales tax
problem will worsen. The solution? Automating the process
with a cloud-based sales tax solution that resides within the
shopping cart itself, or is easily added on.
Once ecommerce merchants expand to global markets,
VAT (value added tax) adds another component to the
tax rules puzzle. Sales, use, VAT rules and rates require
a comprehensive transactional tax solution, one that
integrates seamlessly with your shopping cart.
Finding and setting up a world class ecommerce shopping
cart to take your business to new markets in the U.S.
and abroad doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but
strategic planning and research can set the stage for easier
implementation.
Over 10,000 businesses have outsourced and automated
their sales tax management with Avalara. Avalara has over
200+ integrations with ERP/financial software, ecommerce,
and retail applications. If you are interested in reading the
full brief on online shopping carts from Avalara “Beyond
the Shopping Cart: Sales Tax & the Internet Retailer,”
please fill out the contact us form to request your copy at:
http://auth.avalara.com/Bellwether

HUMANRESOURCES
Sitting down with the intention of stilling one’s mind and body is no longer the
sole province of hippies and Eastern medicine aficionados, says leadership
expert Dr. Stephen Josephs.
Nike, 50 Cent and the Marine Corps all embrace the benefits of mindfulness
meditation, he says.
“The benefits of mindfulness meditation do not exist
in a vacuum; mindfulness meditation not only lowers
your blood pressure, it also offers a host of other
positives, including increasing business acumen,”
says Josephs, who has coached executives for more
than 30 years and recently authored the new book,
“Dragons at Work,” (www.DragonsAtWork.com).
“It sharpens your intuitive business sense. By relaxing
your body, breathing evenly, and paying attention to
the present moment, you notice things you might
otherwise miss. Paying exquisite attention is the
key to staying real, and daily meditation builds that
capacity.”
The benefits of a calm and focused mind are
ubiquitous; Josephs offers tips for business leaders.
• If you’re faced with what looks like an enticing
opportunity, don’t just do something. Sit there.
Breathe quietly and let the fear and greed subside.
The easiest way to fool yourself in a deal, negotiation
or transaction is to let your thinking stray from
what’s happening and get seduced by a dream. It
could be the dream your counterpart is spinning for
you or simply the dream of results, good or bad.
Like most people, you have probably experienced
moments when you knew something – a business
relationship, an investment – was going south, but
you hesitated to act because you didn’t have facts
to support your intuition. Sometimes, your intuition
knows something that your logical mind does not.
• Pay attention to what your body is telling you; you
may be expressing signals that your logical mind is
slow to notice. In a psychological study titled “The
Iowa Gambling Task,” researchers gave subjects
the task of making the most money possible by
choosing cards from four decks. Unbeknownst to
the subjects, the decks were stacked. Some were
“good decks” (producing winners more of the time)
and some were “bad decks,” (producing losers).
After about 40 to 50 picks, most subjects caught
on to which decks produced winners and losers.
Their bodies knew something that their rational
minds had missed. After about 10 picks they began
to produce physiological symptoms of stress when
their hands reached for the bad decks. If you’re not
paying attention to those subtle signals, your innate
wisdom is inaccessible.
• Meditation develops emotional balance and a
better business mind. If you’ve never meditated,
try it! Start small by simply sitting still and keeping
your eyes closed for five minutes. Feel the weight
of your body in its sitting position. Try to simplify
your thoughts to basic things, down to the subtle
sounds of the room, your breathing. Mindfulness
meditation does not require extensive study in
ancient traditions. Notice the difference after only
five minutes; you will feel more relaxed. Later, try
it for 10 minutes, and then longer. Do your due
diligence in that state of mind. The equanimity that
will sharpen your acumen is also the source of your
happiness in life. Don’t trade it for anything.
by Dr. Stephen Josephs
Meditative Focus Improves Both Health and Business
Intuition, Says Veteran Consultant
With more than 30 years experience as an executive coach and consultant, Stephen Josephs, Ed. D, helps leaders
build vitality and focus to make their companies profitable – and great places to work. His doctorate at the University
of Massachusetts focused on Aesthetics in Education: how to teach anything through art, music, drama and movement.
Josephs is particularly interested in the intersection of business performance, psychology and mind/body disciplines. His
new novel, “Dragons at Work,” tells the story of a tightly wound executive – a fictionalized case study of coaching that
produces fundamental changes in a leader. Josephs has also co-authored “Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery in
Anticipating and Initiating Change” (Jossey-Bass, 2006) with Bill Joiner, which shows how certain stages of psychological
development affect leadership.
About the Author

Join us for the
Blytheco
Webinar
10/29/2013
2 PM EST
800.725.4408
Control Spending
from One Place.
Mobile app for expense entry
Easily manage capital projects
Enforce corporate travel policies
Requistion
Invoice
Approval
Expense
Purchasing
www.paramounttechnologies.com/Bellwether.aspxhttps://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/871456289
800.725.4408
www.ParamountTechnologies.com/Bellwether.aspx Join us for the Blytheco webinar 2/18/14 @ 2 EST
Control Spending
From One Place
Mobile app for expense entry
Easily manage capital projects
Enforce corporate travel policies
Requistion
AP Invoice
Approval Expense
Purchasing

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Bellwether Magazine from Blytheco - The Ecommerce Issue - Q1 2014

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Bellwether Magazine from Blytheco - The Ecommerce Issue - Q1 2014