Recent Articles
FedEx Surprises Amazon with Contract Cancellation
It's not often that a market-leading disruptor has the tables turned on them, but that's what we saw this week when FedEx announced it's ending a lucrative package delivery contract with Amazon. It's always surprising when a corporation says no to millions in revenue from a “frenemy,” and it's even more surprising to see analysts applaud the action, but that is exactly what happened. Many have said they saw this coming and yes, the signs were there as Amazon has steadily built out its own logistics network over the past few years. But this was a bold move by FedEx, and it seems its board has decided it is best to cut the cord now in order to focus on providing better service to their remaining retail customer base. Looking forward, FedEx will still supply last-mile services for Amazon, and the departing business represents a surprisingly modest portion of overall revenue. Amazon still has its own expanding network to rely on, and they'll of course continue utilizing UPS and USPS for additional depth, so don’t be concerned your doorstep will
Freestyle at IRCE
Courtesy Pixabay | Pexels Attend our Regional Customer Meeting or book a One-on-One Session! Freestyle Solutions will be attending IRCE in Chicago from June 25th to the 27th and we look forward to meeting our customers, partners and prospects at the show. If you will be in Chicago, please consider spending time with us. We'll be holding a Regional Customer Meeting on June 25th, and will be booking One-on-One Meetings throughout the show. Learn about the exciting improvements we are planning for MOM and SiteLINK. Tell us about your vision for your business. We'll be happy to discuss how Freestyle can be a part of your success. Learn more about Freestyle at IRCE and to reserve your space at the Regional Meeting or book a One-on-One Meeting
eCommerce State Sales Tax Nexus & Compliance FAQ Page
Courtesy Pixabay | 905513 Over the past year, we have fielded hundreds of questions from our customers and prospects on the evolving State Sales Tax Nexus challenge. They want to know: How do I stay compliant? What is nexus? How do I know if I have nexus in a state? In response, we've published blog posts, added information to our web site and held Webinars to inform the M.O.M. user community, yet there is still confusion and doubt about the potential impact of Sales Tax Nexus on the eCommerce business community. So, we've taken an additional step to inform you, our community, about what your sales tax obligations are by collaborating with our partner, TaxJar, to publish a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs)...questions about what sales tax for eCommerce really means. We hope this will be the eCommerce industry’s one-stop resource to learn about State Sales Tax Nexus compliance. Visit our new, live Sales Tax Nexus FAQ page and let us know what additional questions you would like us to answer. You can also ask us how Freestyle
Love Me Two Times – Why Tracking Your M.O.M. Customer Retention Rate is Crucial
GUEST POST BY WISEGUYS MARKETING’S BRUCE GREGOIRE Courtesy Pixabay | Geralt Veteran marketers may remember The Doors – with lead guitarist Jim Morrison and band, one of their biggest hits was “Love Me Two Times...” “Love me two times baby / Love me twice today / Love me two times / girl I'm goin' away…” Now stop humming for a moment – this isn’t time for Karaoke! It’s time to discover how often your customers are loving you just one time, and never again. If you suspect you have way too many one-time buyers, you are not alone. Throughout our 20 years of experience browsing customer data files, it still often shocks us to see the prevalence of one-time buyers. In fact, as many as 80% of all customers fall into this category. Not a pretty sight. It’s no secret that customer retention rate is one of the best measures of customer loyalty. A wise marketing consultant once said that you can’t really call a first-time buyer a “customer” until the 2nd purchase. Up to that point, they may
5 Steps to Successful Sales Tax Nexus Compliance
Courtesy Pixabay | Megan_Rexazin Currently, there are 45 states plus Washington D.C. in the U.S. that require businesses to charge and collect sales tax and file/remit sales tax returns. What should you do if you have sales tax nexus in a state? Read on for 5 steps to sales tax compliance. STEP 1 – Know if and where you have sales tax nexus First figure out which states you’re selling in, then determine if you have sales tax nexus in each of them. How do you know if you have nexus in a state? Generally, if your sales in any state meet a certain threshold, it is likely that will establish nexus. You would then be required to register, collect and pay state sales tax. The amount that will establish nexus varies by state, but a fairly consistent baseline is you’ve established nexus if: you generated $100,000+/year in revenue Or you conducted more than 200 transactions in a year What creates sales tax nexus? Do you have nexus in a state? While the traditional qualifier or threshold was
How Much Is Free Shipping REALLY Costing You?
Courtesy Pixabay | Mediamodifier GUEST POST BY PULSE TV'S CO-FOUNDER & COO, ANISA Let’s get this out there…I’m old! I’ve been a marketer for over 30 years. I started my journey in flea markets, but found my niche in direct-to-consumer marketing via Catalogs, TV and now the Internet. I’ve seen a great deal. Gone are the days when you could actually make money on your shipping. Now marketers are all too willing to move to a Free Shipping model without being aware of the entire cost of shipping a package. I’m here to tell you if you are offering Free Shipping it is probably costing you 30% MORE than you think. I’ve talked to many companies who offer Free Shipping, and I ask them: “How can you afford this”? They answer: “I work the shipping into the product.” I then ask, what is the average number of items per order you ship? Most tell me the answer is less than two items per order. Keep this in mind. It’s an important number which I will delve into