Dynamic eBusiness

In today’s sprawling digital landscape, you can’t control how and when a customer first comes into contract with your brand. This adds complexity to the customer journey from first contact to purchase. Different marketing channels affects customers at different points along the path.

Google built an interesting interactive chart that shows you whether a marketing channel is providing more of an “assist interaction” or more of a “last interaction,” and the variations by industry and region. See the full chart.

In our series New Internet Taxes: Parts I and II, we discussed how an Internet tax may come soon to a business near you. We covered the bill itself, the Marketplace Fairness Act, its supporters, opponents, and what compliance issues you would need to be aware of.  So while, yes, an Internet sales tax places an additional burden on your company, there’s no reason to turn into Chicken Little, screaming that the Cloud is falling.  As an eCommerce company, you are versatile and able to leverage the competitive advantages you still have.

What’s the “Travel Advantage”?

While an Internet sales tax treats you the same as a brick-and-mortar store when it comes to taxation, there’s still an added cost in driving to your local store:  gas.  With exorbitant gas prices, customers still pay more to go to a brick-and-mortar store. But travel is a double-edged sword for eCommerce.  The flipside of this issue is shipping because your goods still have to travel to the consumer.

• To leverage your “travel advantage”, offer free shipping whenever possible.  And also offer options to upgrade for next-day or two-day delivery.

How Can I Encourage Customers To Shop With Me?

Another advantage for eCommerce is that many people simply don’t enjoy spending their day in a busy storefront.  Getting someone to help you in a big retailer like Best Buy is sometimes an exercise in futility.  Even with an Internet sales tax, your company is in a position to offer a substantially better customer experience.

• To differentiate yourself from these retailers, emphasize your fantastic customer service.  Always have a contact page with phone numbers, email addresses, and even live chat for support.

Another advantage eCommerce has over its physical competitors is that it is available all hours of the day.  No Internet sales tax is going to take away the simplicity of ordering something while still in your pajamas.

• With “all hours” as one of your prime advantages, do your best to extend your customer service support as long as you can into the night.  Read More …

Tags: Internet Tax, manufacturing ebusiness best practices, Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, online sales tax

In Part I of this series, we covered what the Marketplace Fairness Act is and how the imposition of an Internet sales tax may be introduced to eCommerce companies. To learn what the bill is and the influencers involved, we recommend that you check out the previous post.

For Part II, we cover remaining questions, including the compliance issues you should be aware of and how you should prepare if The Marketplace Fairness Act becomes law.

When Would The Marketplace Fairness Act Take Effect?

The earliest a state could begin enforcing the law is the first day of the calendar quarter that is at least 90 days after the Marketplace Fairness Act bill becomes a law. This means that if the bill passes in November 2013 (for example), then states may begin taxing in April 2014. They could not start in January of 2014 because, even though that’s the beginning of the new quarter, 90 days had not elapsed since November. The 90 days rule applies to states that are members of the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) Governing Board, as well as non-SST states that meet alternative criteria.

What is the SST Organization?

The SST organization is designed to create a national standard for state sales tax product definitions, tax rates, and administration. Basically, the goal of the SST project is to simplify the tax code for the purposes of interstate commerce and an Internet sales tax. If the Marketplace Fairness Act passes, the states will have to abide by the Streamlined Sales & Use Tax Agreement or implement a minimum set of simplification measures. While currently only 22 states are members of the SST organization, 44 support the SST project, and it’s expected that the other states will join if a national mandate on internet sales tax becomes law.

If you’re wondering why this SST stuff is important, that’s because you’ll want your tax collection software to be certified by the SST Governing Board.

What Software Should My eBusiness Implement?

For that, we recommend our partner Avalara, whose AvaTax software is SST-certified. Avalara provides end-to-end sales tax compliance, reducing audit rates and helping you calculate tax rates, manage exemptions, file forms, and remit payments. Read More …

Tags: Internet Tax, manufacturing ebusiness best practices, Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, online sales tax

If you’re involved with eCommerce, you’ve likely heard about an impending Internet sales tax. And if you’re like many others, you’ve got questions: Is this a new tax? Who does this apply to? When would it take effect? And what should I do to get ready?

We at Dynamicweb hope to clear up some confusion. We’ll go through what the change is, what it isn’t, and what you need to know to comply to keep your eCommerce business as vibrant as ever.

What’s The Current Situation?

The current status of sales tax with regards to eCommerce is that an Internet company only has to collect taxes where it has a nexus. A nexus is some sort of physical presence within a tax jurisdiction. This includes stores or warehouses.

If an eCommerce company does not have a nexus, then they are not required to collect an Internet sales tax themselves, rather the onus is on the consumer to file the tax on their own purchases. Technically, the sales tax still exists, but consumers are supposed to report it themselves. It’s not enforced, however, and people rarely (if ever) report it. Needless to say, state governments don’t like that, and they see an opportunity for additional revenue.

What Change Is Coming?

The current incarnation of change takes the form of federal legislation in The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. This bill would allow states to compel out-of-state businesses to collect an Internet sales tax, which they would then have to pay to the state.

So, if this bill becomes law, rather than expect consumers to do the reporting themselves, which doesn’t happen, the burden of paying is shifted to the out-of-state business (which basically means companies that sell stuff on the Internet.)

Is Anyone Exempt?

Retailers and e-tailers with less than $1 million in US sales are exempt from paying the Internet sales tax. So the smallest of eCommerce businesses will not have to worry about compliance with the bill.  Read More …

Tags: B2B eCommerce, B2C eCommerce, eCommerce Compliance, eCommerce Tips, Internet Tax, Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, new online taxes

“If you ask the question, ‘Why do people love our brand?’ and you answer with something that is about your brand, you’re not fostering community. The answer will lie in your behavior. Until it does, the only community you’ll ever have is servers full of wireframes and profiles — hollow containers of what could be.” –Jason Falls, Social Media Explorer

That’s a powerful statement and an important question to answer, but what sort of impact can a customer community have on your business.

• 80% of people who belong to private communities are there to help others by sharing information
• 40% of business technology decision makers are influenced by the discussions and information in customer communities
• Customers who engage with companies through social media spend 20% – 40% more than other customers

Get more information in the infographic below and in the full article on CMSwire.