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Friday
June 4, 2010 Save Thousands in Credit Card Processing FeesFiled under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits Does your jaw drop to the floor each time you open your credit card statement? One comment I often hear from members is they’re getting “killed” with additional merchant account fees. You may not know, but there are two types of merchant account rate/fee structures:
Ours is a B2B industry and most cards used are key-in business/commercial cards. With most merchant accounts being the “tiered” type, the majority of transactions fall to the higher non-qualified (NQ) rate, which can be as high as 4% or more, depending on the processor/provider. Yikes! An ICP account eliminates all of those additional mid and non-qualified fees. However, ICP pricing is traditionally limited to large volume merchant accounts ($120,000-$250,000 in annual processing volume). Now, this is no longer the case, thanks to a new and exclusive ASI member program. To help members save even more, ASI affiliate Access Group has agreed to offer all ASI members interchange plus pricing, regardless of their processing volume. You can even get a free, no obligation savings comparison to see how much you will save by switching to the ASI member program. The comment I hear the most from members who have switched to Access Group is “Wow, I’m saving at least 30% on processing costs each month.” Some bigger member companies who switched are now saving as much as $40,000 annually. Be sure to take a few minutes to look into this great ASI member benefit, get your savings comparison and let me know what you think. Click here to request your free, no-obligation savings comparison to see how much you can save with the ASI member merchant account processing program. In addition to discounts on merchant account processing, ASI members save on shipping, equipment lease lines of credit, wireless services with Sprint™, graphic and design services, and much more. Visit http://www.spotasisavings.com/ (asicentral username and password required) to learn more about how your ASI membership can save you thousands each year. Please don’t hesitate to email benefits@asicentral.com with questions, comments or suggestions regarding ASI’s Member Benefit programs. — Cathy Cathy Martino is ASI’s affiliate relations manager.
Monday
May 3, 2010 Integration and Innovation: ProfitMaker Meets ESPFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI If you’re at our New York Show this week, be sure to stop by booth 615 to see the experts from ASI Computer Systems. They’re anxious to share the news on our latest innovation: ESP Orders now integrates with ProfitMaker to help greater simplify operations and speed up the sales process. ASI Computer Systems is the leading provider of business management software in the advertising specialty industry for good reason. They’re always on the lookout for ways to help make your business smarter and faster. Thanks in large part to their efforts, ProfitMaker — the premier order management and accounting system — now allows distributors to send completed sales orders from their ESP Order’s browser to ProfitMaker from anywhere. Users can choose to start the processing immediately or at a specific day and time, and reports will be stored in a corresponding and easily-accessible directory. David Wirth, president and chief operations officer of ASI Computer Systems, tells me distributors, suppliers and decorators love ProfitMaker because they have more time for selling and spend way less time on order management and office tasks. Not only is it more powerful software, it works alone or with other office programs, to make your business operations one seamless process. So please stop by booth 615 for more info at the New York show, which starts today with a full slate of education offerings. And let me know how ProfitMaker is working for you by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
March 22, 2010 Let the Revolution Begin: ESP Web and ESP Orders DebutFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI Tomorrow, one of the most ambitious efforts we’ve ever undertaken becomes reality when we start rolling out the new ESP Web and ESP Orders during our first virtual trade show of 2010. If you haven’t seen what ESP Web and ESP Orders will do to revolutionize how distributors and suppliers interact, watch the video here. The roll-out is the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work on the next generation of ESP and a new product, called ESP Orders. From the start, we put you – our members – front and center, and we reviewed thousands of your comments to develop revolutionary new services that satisfy your business needs. We also relied on a number of beta testers, like Bobby Lehew, director of operations for Robyn Promo (asi/309656), who took the new services out for a test drive and provided feedback. His conclusion? “ESP Web is simple sophistication at its best. I submitted a project to a client within minutes of using it for the first time. I have the freedom to access ESP Web from anywhere and it lets me concentrate on my clients and their needs.” This next generation of ESP is now browser-based, meaning it will run in Explorer, Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. ESP Orders, brand-new, will allow distributors to easily transfer information from ESP into a sales order and then into standard purchase orders that can be sent to suppliers with the click of one button. The data will be easily integrated into ASI Computer’s ProfitMaker, QuickBooks or your own enterprise financial system. No one has to rekey data, and this is a huge time-saver everyone will love. It sounds simple, but getting this right required an entirely new approach to ESP – figuring out how to provide a true web-based platform, preserve the functionality users depend on every day and reduce inefficiencies between distributors and suppliers. ESP Web and ESP Orders will start rolling out to segments of ESP users during the virtual trade show taking place live from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT tomorrow, Tuesday, March 23. A graduated rollout will continue throughout the spring. Training videos covering major new features of the services will be available on the log-in screen of ESP Web. Demonstrations of ESP Web and ESP Orders will continue in the training room at the ASI booth and in select “power session” rooms at all upcoming super regional ASI Shows, including ASI New York and ASI Chicago. I’d love to know what you think so please, kick the tires and take it for a spin if you can. Then post a comment or email me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
February 22, 2010 LogoMall Has Actors Walking Across the ScreenFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI
ASI’s LogoMall is reaching for the stars as well, using the latest in digital marketing – walking, talking onscreen personalities – to engage visitors and potential buyers. It works like this: Click on a LogoMall website and an actor of your choice actually walks out onto the screen, says hello and proceeds to guide you through the site, helping you find promotional products and ideas. The first time I saw it, one word popped into my mind: Cool. The videos – and there are plenty to choose from – are professionally produced by ASI affiliate RIVWorks Inc. They can also create custom video to further personalize your site. No matter what you choose, the end result is further reinforcement of your brand and higher sales conversions. To view an online demo, click here. The best part of this incredible new marketing tool is it’s easy. Instead of spending time and money making the videos yourself, we do it for you, leaving you more time for selling. As an added bonus, real-time analytics track each campaign to show you your video impressions and click-through rates to document leads. The interactive platform also records whether visitors are first-time or return, and then it delivers the right video instantly. Distributors with a LogoMall site can join the future of online marketing and subscribe to the new video service immediately, at special pricing for ASI members. Tell me what cutting-edge moves your company’s made recently by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
January 25, 2010 Strong Momentum for ESP Web and ESP OrdersFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI Everyone enjoys positive feedback, which is why I’m pleased to share some recent testimonials about ASI’s ESP Web and ESP Orders. Philip Myers, owner of Myers Printing (asi/278937), went so far as to call the upcoming new services “awesome.” For more comments, and to read the press release, click here. In development for almost a year, the new ESP Web runs on standard Internet browsers – including Explorer, Firefox and Apple’s Safari – for instant access anytime to products, supplier data, ESP Orders and customer information. ESP Orders is a total order management system, available with ESP Web, that allows distributors to create sales orders, purchase orders and invoices electronically and without rekeying any data. All order information is replicated automatically, dramatically improving efficiency and providing more time for selling. For a sneak-peek video of the revolutionary new ESP Web — which begins rolling out to all ESP users at the end of March — and ESP Orders, click here. And don’t forget to check out demonstrations of ESP Web and ESP Orders at all upcoming ASI Shows, including ASI Dallas (Monday, February 1, through Wednesday, February 3) and ASI San Diego (Wednesday, February 24, through Friday, February 26), in the training room at the ASI booth and in select “power session” rooms. If you were one of the 400 who participated in ESP sessions during education day during our first show of the year in Orlando, tell me what you thought by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
January 4, 2010 ASI Provides Savings with UPS Ocean FreightFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI Good deals are wonderful. Great deals are even better, which is what supplier members now get when they ship ocean freight with UPS. This latest ASI benefit can add up to annual savings between $3,000-$10,000. The UPS Ocean Freight program provides suppliers with a full array of global freight and transportation solutions for almost any size shipment, including less-than-container loads, full-container loads, special equipment, and oversized cargo. We specifically chose UPS because it’s a world-class supply chain and transportation leader, with over 100 years of proven service, which is exactly what companies need to help them maneuver today’s complex shipping regulations. For complete details, click here to read the press release. And if you’re at ASI Show Orlando, look out for UPS representatives, who will be on site through Tuesday to discuss the new benefits. I’d love to know how similar benefits have saved your company money, so post a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
December 30, 2009 Sneak-Peek Video of ESP Web and ESP OrdersFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI For my final blog post of 2009, I’d like to offer my best wishes for a very happy New Year – and share with you a cool video we just posted (final edits to come) with a sneak-peek of the new ESP Web and ESP Orders – click here to watch. In the fall, many of you replied to my email requesting feedback on ESP Online and we took literally hundreds of your comments and incorporated them into the new version of ESP and our all-new ESP Orders product. This revolutionary new ESP Web is available across standard Internet browsers — including Explorer, Firefox and Apple’s Safari — for instant access anytime and anywhere to products, supplier data, orders and customer information. The intelligent search engine allows users to find just the right product for clients, and it uses the same technology on sites like Barnes & Noble and Wal-Mart. ESP Orders is a total order management system available with ESP Web that allows distributors to create sales orders, purchase orders and invoices without rekeying any information. The video covers the highlights, but if you or a colleague want to find out more, and you’re at ASI Orlando, Sunday, January 3, through Tuesday, January 5, attend one of the quick free demos of ESP Web and ESP Orders in the training room at the ASI booth (you can’t miss it!) and in “Power Session” rooms. Please let me know any questions you have (or any reactions) by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
