ShopSite Newsletter – June 2005

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LexiConn ShopSite Newsletter – June 2005
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In this month’s issue:
- Special Offer for merchant account and payment gateway
- ShopSite add-on modules to enhance your store
- Tip: Have you checked your checkout process lately?

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*** Special Offer ***

1.99% discount rate merchant accounts!

FREE set up on Cardservice International Merchant Account
FREE set up on Authorize.net Payment Gateway

If you are currently processing transactions manually through your ShopSite store and looking to automate the process using real time transactions, or you are unhappy with the service given by your current merchant account provider, there has never been a better time to look into LexiConn’s payment solutions. LexiConn has partnered with CardService International to offer internet merchant accounts and with Authorize.net to provide payment gateway services.

For a limited time (through July 31, 2005) LexiConn is providing FREE setup for any client that signs up for a CardService International merchant account through our web site… a $99.00 savings! Also, the discount rate applied by Visa and Mastercard has been reduced to 1.99% (normally 2.39%) for all new signups received by the end of July.

In addition, if you sign up for an Authorize.net payment gateway at the same time, LexiConn will waive the $149.00 Authorize.net setup fee! This promotion is perfect for any client looking to switch to a new merchant account provider with better service and more competitive rates, or for someone looking to automate the order process in relation to processing credit card charges in realtime. If you are solely interested in an Authorize.net payment gateway account and wish to stay with your current merchant account provider, the setup fee for Authorize.net has been lowered to $49.00 until July 31, 2005.

Cardservice International is a proven industry leader with regard to Internet merchant account services. With a low discount rate of 1.99% per transaction, a $10 monthly fee, and a $0.30 per transaction fee for all internet purchases ($0.25 for cards swiped through a terminal), CSI provides a competitive, stable service that is backed up with outstanding support. With the current 1.99% discount rate and free set up, switching your merchant account to CardService International through LexiConn can be a seamless, no-cost transition that could result in significant savings in comparison to your current merchant account provider.

Authorize.net is one of the largest and most stable payment gateway providers in the industry. Fees are $0.10 per transaction, and $20 per month. Best of all, the one time $149.00 setup fee is waived if you sign up for a Cardservice International merchant account at the same time. Full details and sign up links can be found on our website at:

http://www.lexiconn.com/ecommerce/credit_cards.html

Changing your payment gateway or merchant account provider is a seamless process that can be done with *NO* interruption to your online store.

LexiConn is an Authorize.net reseller and is partnered with Cardservice International, allowing us to help support both of these services for our clients. If you would like to discuss this further, or take a more detailed look at your current solution and rates, feel free to call 1-800-817-6881 ext. 201 or email sales@lexiconn.com
(This special offer ends July 31, 2005.)

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ShopSite add-on modules to enhance your store

LexiConn offers a number of free and low cost add-on modules that can help you get the most out of your ShopSite store. A brief summary of each is below. Full details can be found on our website at:

http://www.lexiconn.com/shopsite/shopsite_addons.html

Product Review Module (Free) – Offer your customers the ability to review and rate your products. This module makes it easy to add a full review system to your Manager or Pro store, regardless of whether it is ShopSite generated or built using custom pages with OrderAnywhere.

FedEx realtime shipping module (Free) – Integrate realtime FedEx shipping rates into your shopping cart. Requires ShopSite Pro 6.1 or higher.

USPS realtime shipping module (Free) – Integrate realtime US Postal Service shipping rates into your shopping cart. Requires ShopSite Pro 6.1 or higher.

Order Status Module (one time $99 fee) – Give your customers the ability to view the status of their orders online and retrieve tracking information. This module provides an easy-to-use interface for updating the status of any order received via ShopSite and can automatically email the customer anytime the status of their order changes.

Urchin Statistics Module ($15 per month) – Standard reports include number of transactions, products by revenue, products by quantity, and in depth drill-down reports for each item. This Urchin powered module can provide any Shopsite Pro store with comprehensive ecommerce statistics containing complete revenue reports by region, referrer, search terms, search engines, and more…

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Tip: Have you checked your checkout process lately?

Although most merchants are diligent about updating and improving their website on a regular basis, the cart experience is often setup in the beginning and ignored. This can be a crucial mistake, as the shopping cart process is the key link in converting a window shopper to a buyer. Listed below are a few things you can check and improve upon on a regular basis to make sure shoppers are easily guided through the checkout process.

- Do you have a “View Cart” or “Checkout” button/link easily found on your web pages? You do not want potential buyers hunting around trying to find out how to get back to the cart.

- In the shopping cart, does your “Continue Shopping” button return the user to the page they were just on? If this page is a More Info page, is there sufficient navigation so they can go back to your store and buy more items easily? If not, you may want to set the “Continue Shopping” button to a specific URL/page instead like a list of products or specials. This can be set in the ShopSite backoffice under: Commerce Setup.

- Have you tested going to your checkout page lately? Does the secure padlock or key appear in the bottom right of the web browser screen? If not, you may be calling images or CSS styles non-securely, which may cause a warning to appear to customers about insecure items, or stop the padlock from appearing in the browser. All images and css style calls need to be called via the secure https call on the checkout and thank you page to avoid warnings.

- Is the process from the cart to checkout streamlined? Do you have clear and concise instructions for how to complete a purchase? Are you asking for the minimum information to complete the transaction? Have a friend or random person sit down in front of a computer and try buying an item and completing a purchase on your site. Ask them if it was easy, what could be improved, etc… You may be surprised what a person not familiar with your site and cart will run into when going through the process.

- Take advantage of ShopSite’s ability to customize error messages. Make these error messages as complete as possible so shoppers are not confused and move on to another store. If you use a realtime payment gateway, an important error message to customize is the “Card declined” message. Make sure the shopper knows the various reasons a card can be declined, and what they can do to contact you to complete a sale if they are having problems.

Testing your cart process frequently, and making it easier to complete a purchase, will help you boost your conversion from looking to buying.

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As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at:
http://www.lexiconn.com/support.html

Sincerely,
- The LexiConn Team

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LexiConn Internet Services, Inc.
100 Lebanon Avenue
Colchester, CT 06415

http://www.lexiconn.com/
support@lexiconn.com
Toll-free: (800) 817-6881
Phone: (860) 537-9672
Fax: (860) 537-9675

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