Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

4 Reasons to Start Using KikScore Right Now to Demonstrate Trust & Increase Sales

So many times we have friends, family and now potential customers and small businesses that ask us why should I use KikScore.  So I am going to give you 4 quick reasons (there are more than 4 but 4 seemed like a good quick number) for why small businesses should start using KikScore. The unique thing about this post is I am actually going to use some of our old blog posts to explain why and to give you the reasons:

1) In at least 7 different ways, Kikscore helps small businesses and online merchants demonstrate trust to shoppers and visitors to your website. KikScore actually helps a small business with each of these 7 Steps to Increased Trust for More Online Sales.

2. You can Solicit and Listen to Customer Feedback. The KikScore seal and KikReport gives your small business a dynamic feedback platform to interact with your customers.  By using KikScore, you can listen, manage and respond to comments and also display customer feedback as testimonials for your business.  Tell your customers to skip Yelp and those other review sites and have those comments posted on your site instead of third party sites!

3. Your small business can use KikScore to introduce itself to the world through a video introduction.  Small Business are increasing Using Videos to Help Your Small Business and if you use the KikScore service you will be able to use our video platform on the KikReport to not only introduce yourself, but also as a product, educational and thought leadership video.

4.  It works!  Small businesses that have signed up for KikScore and placed the seal and KikReport on their sites, have seen an increase in their sales because they are giving their customers more information about their business.  These small businesses are also being more transparent to shoppers.  The success actually goes back to our very first customers that signed up late last year when we launched.  Here is just one of the testimonials that we have received about KikScore heping demonstrate trust for a small business and increasing the small businesses’ sales.

So please try KikScore out!  Or if you have questions about our service, please either call 1-877-KikScore or email us at support@kikscore.com.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

PressTV Interviews KikScore on Hot CyberSecurity Issues

Late last week, PressTV asked to interview KikScore about some recent developments in cybersecurity and cybercrime.  PressTV’s Rhonda Pence sat down with me to discuss a number of topics related to online fraud, safe online shopping, the security of our networks and the rise in power and damage that hackers inflict on the public.  Her report also covered a recent study that found that 1 in 5 online shoppers have experienced a cybersecurity issue when they shop online.  This echoes what we previously covered in an earlier post about a March 2010 government report that found a 22% increase in cybercrime complaints.

Take a look at the video report. It is short and about 2 minutes long.

After watching the video, you may want to take a look at our 5 Must Read Tips for Safe Online Shopping.  It will help you increase your chances of staying safe.  Also special thanks to Rhonda and Nick Ewing for helping me with getting a copy of the video interview.  Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Kikscore Interviews World of Toy Car's Mike Miller on Selling Online

I came across Mike Miller from the World of Toy Cars on Twitter a few months ago. The World of Toys Cars (WOTC) is an online store that focuses on diecast vehicles and vintage toys.  Its a car and toy collector’s paradise and Mike has some really amazing models including NASCAR, motorcycles,  Hot Wheels and aircraft just to name a few.  In this post,  KikScore sits down with Mike so that he can tell our community his small business story and more about his very cool website.

1. Tell us about WOTC and who you focuses on serving?

World of Toy Cars was created in such a fashion that collectors can easily find specific toy cars. Most collectors are always looking for specific models, either Volkswagons, Corvettes, trucks or maybe just Police Cars…but each collector is defined by something they like. There are always collectors that just collect Matchbox,..or just Hot Wheels,..but again, the ones they cant find in stores, they have to revert to the second market like eBay or sites such World of Toy Cars.

2. How did you get your started selling online?

I started selling online back in 1998, when eBay was just getting started. I was listing items with no pictures, and selling usually all the time. The client base was new and wanting items. I soon learned the art of pictures, uploading, taught myself HTLM, and created eye catching auctions which drastically improved my results.

3. Where will WOTC focus most of its energy in 2010?

WOTC will continue bringing new and exciting models to the online community. The task of documenting each item, photographing, and creating each listing individually is exhausting. Its also something that can only be done by myself, as condition of the card or package, the item itself, are there variations, year, where it was made, and the rarity (value) of the complete item is Critical.

4. If you had 2 lessons learned from your business that you could pass on to others about selling online, what are those?

Two very simple things that MUST be done if you want to sell online. You must spell correctly! And you must have perfect pictures. Both those things tell everything about a seller, and yet the buyer has hardly seen your stuff. Once a buyer detects bad spelling, or blurry pictures, they are GONE.

5. As 2010 starts, what do you see as 2 new trends in your business this year?

The ever changing search engine optimization. This is critical again in the online world, and Google who basically controls the strings here, is always updating…so you as a seller must update also. The second is not really a trend, but its opening up, is worldwide shipping. People must get onboard with shipping globally if they want to be successful. More and more information is available now about different countries and their guidelines. People must educate themselves and grab those open markets.

6. If WOTC could have a dream spokesperson for your company who would it be and why?

It would have to be someone with a sense of humor, people relate and remember when they are made to laugh!

7. How do the folks at WOTC let loose after a busy day working?

Usually a good meal, and then out to check stores to find new and fun toys!!

8. Do you have any parting thoughts for our readers and the small business community?

If you want to succeed on the WWW, you must learn to ship worldwide. You have the whole world at your doorstep, looking at your items, and your telling most of them to go away because you dont like where they live. Imagine if stores or restaurants did that!! I have been shipping all over the world for 12 years now, I communicate to everybody in their own language with Google translate, and international sales account fo over 50% of my business.

The other thing I have noticed is many sellers have tons of rules to deter business. I have had people refuse to sell to me simply because they dont want to go to the USPS, or the forms are too lengthy to fill out, so they cancel my purchase. Why are you even selling things? That baffles me…you want to sell…make it easy to buy…it happens, it works…so do it!

KikScore would like to thank Mike for this interview. If you have questions for Mike, leave them in the comments section below and we will make sure they get answered.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Social Commerce Camp DC Wrap-Up, Summary and Presentation Slides

Shashi B talking social media at KikScore's and Network Solutions Social Commerce Camp DC

Social Commerce Camp DC speakers and Sponsors Network Solutions, KikScore and MyBusinessAssistant

Last Saturday morning, KikScore, Network Solutions, and MyBusinessAssistant.com put on the first ever Social Commerce Camp DC at the downtown offices of Mayer Brown.  The event actually sold out after receiving considerable coverage in a number of places like  Techcocktail the Washington Examiner, WomenGrowBusinessand GrowSmartBusiness. More than 70 small businesses, social media enthusiasts and online sellers showed up for networking and learning.  The event featured three sessions from social media experts that included practical tips for using various social media tools, a real case study of social commerce success and great PR tips for small business. Pictures of the event, including the post-SCCDC Chipolte run, can be found here.

The morning got kicked off with some early networking, a great breakfast provided by the sponsors and everyone’s excitement about being in the absolutely gorgeous town hall conference room overlooking 19th Street.  After some introductory remarks, Network Solutions’ Shashi B got Social Commerce Camp DC going with his rousing, often funny and super useful Social Media 101 for Small Business. Check out Shashi’s slides below that cover a range of subjects on social media including the basics of a small business social media plan which are: 1) Set up Google Alerts about your business, industry and your own name; 2) Start participating in conversations; 3) Become a content publisher via Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, podcasts, Facebook etc 4) Claim you business on Yelp; 5) Encourage customers to review you and 6) Start using videos.

After a quick networking break, Steve Fisher and Mike Doughtery began the second session with an energetic and highly informative case study presentation on Creating a Killer Social Commerce Website Experience.  It featured the very interesting discussion of their launch and promotion of the movie Browncoats: Redemption. Steve and Mike got the audience engaged as they walked through the basic components of building a successful social commerce experience which are: 1) Social Shopping; 2) Ratings & Reviews; 3) Recommendations & Referrals; 4) Forums & Communities; 5) Social Media; and 6) Social advertising.

After setting the baseline for the audience of the basics of the social commerce experience, Mike highlighted how the Browncoats: Redemption experience used a 6 step strategy to create awareness and buzz around the movie.  The 6 steps were: 1)   Establish your goals; 2) Build the community; 3) Give them good content; 4) Get them involved; 5) Get them investing and 6) Share the success.  Check out their slides and the embedded video clips in them for more on the highly anticipated movie, their case study and these 6 steps:

The final session of the day featured the very highly regarded PR and social media specialist, Shonali Burke, who gave the attendees a great hands-on tutorial on PR Best Practices for Small Business. Shonali stressed that so much of PR today for small business is about relationships, presenting yourself in a consistent and presentable manner through your various online and offline channels.  The audience got great tips on tools to use to get to know their customers better with survey tools like Survey Monkey along with good press release tools like Pitch Engine.  Here are Shonali’s highly informative slides:

Some quick final thoughts.  We think it was a great first event and thank all of the participants and speakers.   Check out the hastag #sccdc on Twitter for the stream and conversation about the Social Commerce DC.  Lastly, look out as the next Social Commerce Camp will be in Denver later this spring.  In the meantime, we encourage all participants to keep up the good vibes and connect with each other! Also please check out the KikScore (SCCDC’s sponsor!) website out. We would love comments/feedback/thoughts on our new look and feel.  We encourage you to sign up for our service if you have a business online. Its completely free.  Try us out.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Has the Bad Economy Driven Social Media Growth By Small Businesses?

As you all know, we at KikScore are passionate about small business.  We take every opportunity to hype small business as much as we can.  Well a very interesting study was released last week about the state of American small businesses.   The very informative  Small Business Success Index (SBSI), sponsored by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business had some interesting findings  (The SBSI can be found at www.growsmartbusiness.com).  In particular, there are some very informative findings in the study about the growth of social media use and adoption by small businesses over the last year and especially during the time of our rough economy.  Here are just a few of the key findings in that area:

• Social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year.

• 75% surveyed have a company page on a social networking site

• 61% use social media for identifying and attracting new customers

• 57% have built a network through a site like LinkedIn

• 45% expect social media to be profitable in the next twelve months

What may this mean?  One theory is that as we went through the rough economic times over the last 18 months, small business may have decided to slow down traditional spending on marketing and focused on devoting more time and resources on using free marketing tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.  While we know that these are not really “free”, because there is a precious value that is associated with the time that small businesses spent using these tools, nevertheless the low cost marketing alternatives that these tools offer may have really proved to be great options during leaner times.  And that is could very well be why we are seeing this growth in small business social media adoption.

I can tell you this, at KikScore as we have described in some previous posts social media has really been the core driving force of our marketing efforts and it will continue to be in the future. As an example, everyone of the links to the tools mentioned above actually goes to a KikScore social media property.  In fact, just yesterday we set up a Flickr page.  We have used each of these tools instead of spending our precious cash on traditional marketing efforts.  The SBSI findings seem to indicate that we are part of a growing group of businesses that are doing just that.

I do wonder whether these trends will continue as the economy hopefully starts to pick up.  What do you think is the reasons behind this growth in social media that was found in the study?

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Why you need to Build the Right Team for small business success

On Sundays, my husband and I usually try to plan out our week… which in turn yields discussions of when I have KikScore conference calls to when he can go have some beers with his buds, while juggling our 2-year old daughter’s bedtime schedule.   The KikScore conference calls change in frequency week to week, depending on the next big item we are working to push through or brainstorm on.  And I realized that having a key team and truly enjoying the people you do business with is crucial to not only its success, but your own sanity.  I was reading in Business Week about Hunch, and Caterina Fake brings up a very critical component of small business success — Building the Right Team.

Anyone can come up with a business idea, but taking that idea and making it a viable venture that can grow and prosper requires more brain power than one can share.  Creating a team of that nature isn’t easy by any means.  When I explain the KikScore story (at least since my involvement) to family and friends… it’s best summarized as: KikScore is the side-business I’ve been working on with a group of talented friends – ranging from development, project management, business development and lawyers… a few from previous jobs/lives and combination thereof.  The thing is, I wasn’t the one with the big idea, but when the core founders Mike, Raj and Joel approached me to jump in and help streamline the KikScore scoring algorithm,  I was honored and ecstatic to be part of an entrepreneurial journey.

The team continued to build from there as we quickly found that off-shoring all of our development was not only costly and time-consuming, but left us with little control over the integrity of the code.  So we searched (again from previous jobs/lives) to find an in-house development resource that could oversee the coding efforts and allow us to piecemeal items off-shore as needed, but not as a 100% solution.

Since we are still a night/weekend business, we have many conference calls and e-mails flying about daily.  Another key component to a strong team is keeping the communication open and being able to speak your mind — we argue, which in turn generates new ideas and challenges each of us to listen with respect.  This re-iterates the need for a strong team focus.  Each member has their primary role (albeit marketing, development, design, etc) but we all wear multiple hats when it comes to driving the KikScore business forward and setting priorities. In a start-up environment, flexibility is vital – what was a hot priority last week, can take a complete 180 turn the following week based upon customer feedback or some unforeseen influence.  The team needs to be able to react, respond and regroup —  effectively.

If you are working on a new business idea, who will you pull into your inner circle to make it happen?  Be selective… you’ll be spending way more time (on late night conference calls, etc.) with them, than with your family.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Send Us Your Questions For Social Commerce Camp DC

As many of you know tomorrow  KikScore, Network Solutions, and MyBusinessAssistant.com will be putting on a first of its kind event in Washington DC from 8am-noon called Social Commerce Camp DC.  As we mentioned before this first time FREE event is getting some serious buzz with the recent coverage in Techcocktail and the Washington Examiner.  It has also been covered on multiple blogs including WomenGrowBusiness and GrowSmartBusiness. We are excited to announce that the event is now completely SOLD OUT!  Thanks to the more than 100 small businesses, social media enthusiasts and online sellers that have signed up.

Since this event is more about the participants than the organizers, sponsors and the speakers we want to know what are your questions that you would like covered during the morning sessions.  Please leave us your thoughts and questions in our comments section below.  We will make sure they get them to Shashi B, Shonali Burke and Steve Fisher.  Or find us on Twitter at @kikscore, @shashib,  @shonali or @stevenfisher.

If you have any questions about the agenda for tomorrow’s Social Commerce Camp DC, please visit the event page we set up.

On behalf of the organizers, sponsors and everyone else involved with pulling Social Commerce Camp DC together we want to convey our thanks to the community as we prepare for tomorrow’s event!  Bring your questions and get ready to participate and network.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Small Business Interview with CardSauce.com owner Kevin Hoyle

It’s February 15th… How did you celebrate the weekend with your Special Valentine?   Chances are high you sent or gave a card.  So, how long did you stand there in the card aisle, climbing over other sentiment seekers, trying to find the perfect one?  Our KikScore interview today is with a unique online card company that not only offers one of a kind designs and sentiments, but will also print and mail it for you! CardSauce has surely spiced up the greeting card industry and we are excited that owner Kevin Hoyle took the time to share his story.

1. Tell us about CardSauce.com and who you focus on serving?
CardSauce.com.comis a new online hub for quality, physical greeting cards and we’re here to spice-up the industry by offering a unique, user-driven experience! At CardSauce.com, we cater to…
– Buyers: When a customer places an order, we print the card(s) and mail it to the recipient(s) for them.
– Sellers: Artists (or graphic designer, photographer, etc) have the opportunity to upload original sauces (greeting cards) and sell them. Each time an artist’s design is purchased, he/she makes $1. It’s a true user-driven experience. While we do feature some original CardSauce.com designs, the cards featured are mainly “by the people, for the people”.
 

2. How did you get started selling online?
When the amount of times I found myself staring at unoriginal, unexciting cards at traditional stores and reseller outlets began to add up. I realized I was spending more time looking for an appealing card than I was on celebrating the actual event that the card was intended for. So I thought, why not move the future of greeting cards away from the mainstream corporations and place it into the hands of everyday people like you and me? Whether physical greeting cards are given to remind of an old memory shared, create a new memory, serve as inspiration, or spark a laugh, they all serve a common purpose: to relate or connect in some way to the recipient. So by allowing everyone and anyone the opportunity to create and sell original designs – not only does it generate creative cards for buyers to choose from – but it adds a level of authenticity to the industry as well. Sellers from various backgrounds, cultures, religions, etc can put a little piece of their life into their designs – building a portfolio of cards that offers something for everyone.

Why is CardSauce.com physically online, you may ask?  Well, in addition to it being more cost-effective to start (I’m a “one-man-band” with limited funding), it adds convenience for buyers and sellers.  Buyers can quickly browse the database of designs by category or key word, and can purchase and send cards from the comfort of their own home (plus let’s face it… gas money and stamps add up).  Meanwhile, sellers can pursue a hobby they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to pursue – all while making a profit, or royalties, on each sale.
 

3. Where will CardSauce.com focus most of its energy in 2010?
In 2008 we focused our resources on web development and software.  Once CardSauce.com went live to the public in 2009, we realized we were not yet where we wanted to be and continued our focus on site enhancements.  Now that we feel comfortable with our offering from a web standpoint, we’ll focus our energy toward generating awareness and site traffic in 2010 – while continuing to enhance our core offerings.

4. If you had 2 lessons learned from your business that you could pass on to others about selling online, what are those?
My two lessons would be more about business start-up than CardSauce.com.  First and foremost, technology – computers and the web in particular – is not as accommodating as people may assume. Sure, technology continues to advance at an incredibly fast rate and there are gadgets and software that exist today that people never assumed possible.   But that doesn’t mean you can “do whatever you want” with a website (remember, I’m not the IT guy here).

When I was first scoping out my idea to potential web developers, I lost count of the amount of times I heard “that’s not doable”, “there’s no way to build that”, or “we can do that, but it’s going to be incredibly time-consuming and will cost you thousands of dollars”. I essentially had to change the blueprints of the website throughout the process and it was very educational.  Things seemingly as simple as having PayPal split a single payment to two recipients is not doable, and that altered the entire make-up of the CardSauce.com checkout process.  It’s really incredible – though sometimes it causes some road bumps.

The second lesson I learned is don’t rush it, no matter what “it” is!  For example: Card Sauce, Inc. was incorporated in the fall of 2007 based on expectations set by my original web developer that the site would go live to the public within the next four months.  The site didn’t go live to the public until the summer of 2009! That’s two years of paying federal and state taxes without any source of revenue… NOT cool! 

Another example is when CardSauce.com.com finally did go live in June of 2009, it was not ready from a visual standpoint or a functional standpoint.  I was forced to hire on a new web developer and start from the ground up behind the scenes, while the original site just kind of took up real-estate on the web. With first impressions being so powerful, it’s important to capitalize on potential customers (buyers and sellers) immediately and we were unable to do that. There’s no telling how much business we lost in those early months.

5. As 2010 begins, what do you see as 2 new trends in your business this year?
Growth and revenue. With ’08 and ’09 being all about web development and 2010 being all about generating awareness and site traffic, it’s difficult to imagine any other trend(s) taking over one of the top two spots.

6. If your business/store could be any movie or movie character, what movie/movie character would it be and why?
Great question; I think I’ll go with Finding Nemo.  With industry powerhouses like Hallmark and American Greeting Corp. around, CardSauce.com is a classic “little fish trying to make it in a big pond” scenario – but in the end I think we’ll be able to pull it off.

7. If CardSauce.com could have a dream spokesperson for your company who would it be and why?
Not really sure; greeting cards aren’t exactly the type of product or gift that fall into the “seeking celebrity endorsements” category. I’d imagine we’d probably work the humor angle and find someone witty and original to exemplify the user-generated designs available for purchase.

8. How do the folks at CardSauce.com let loose after a busy day working?
Well, I’m currently operating a “one-man-band” that is only just beginning to focus on generating awareness and site traffic (revenue), remember? So, until CardSauce.com starts to pick up, it is my “after hours” gig. I currently work full-time during the day and spend many a late nights trying to perfect the sauce. When I’m not working, I enjoy letting loose in a variety of ways – whether it be dabbling in some physical activity (the gym, ice hockey, etc) or a frosty beverage with friends/family. Now that it’s ski/snowboard season here in Boston, I hope to be able to make a few treks north as well.

9. Do you have any parting thoughts for our readers and the small business community?
Only to support the CardSauce.com revolution and buy your quality, physical greeting cards online, of course!

So, get out the calendar, outline your greeting card list this year and surprise someone with a unique CardSauce.com design! And, share your spokesperson ideas with Kevin and CardSauce.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

Super Bowl Sunday & Baby Outfits (Cute Picture Included)

Its Super Bowl Sunday!!!  And my Cleveland Browns are once again not in the Super Bowl.  Again the refrain rings in my head that I have heard over and over again the last 30 some years….”There is always next year!”  Luckily, with a new front office in Cleveland there is now indeed hope.  I am also filled with hope because if the Saints can make it to the Super Bowl, my Cleveland Browns certainly can. For those unaware of the history of near misses of this great franchises, here is a video history of the Browns.

That brings me to the picture.  My six-week old daughter does not have a Browns outfit yet (though she does have a Lebron one thanks to my buddy Sanjiv) so she doesn’t have football outfit to wear for the big game tonight.  So the next best thing is she is going to wear a KikScore onesie today as she watches her first Super Bowl.  Thanks to our dear friends the Kashkaris (who also share our love for the Browns) for the outfit and Rush Dufner at Design2Print for the super cute outfit.  Check Design2Print out for all your printing and promotional products. We got our KikScore hats there.

Happy watching tonight!  Go Browns…I mean Saints.

Tweet This Post

Archive for the ‘KikScore & KikReport’ Category

KikScore Update: Acting on Feedback, Our Product Enhancements for Online Sellers & Ecommerce Stores

As a startup with  a new product, we at Kikscore have mentioned here a number of times the importance that we and others have stressed on taking user feedback and comments and then acting on them.   If your business and management stick your head in the ground and think you know the market better than your customers, you have a very low chance of succeeding as a business, especially a startup.  We know our product may not be perfect, but as we mentioned earlier this week instead of waiting for perfection we decided as a company that we wanted to push Kikscore out to market in beta form in late 2009 so we could get feedback from online sellers and e-commerce users that had stores.

So here we are in early 2010.  Where are we with the KikScore product? Well here is an update on some of the recent key changes and enhancements we have made to the KikScore product.  These changes came directly from our users, the community and other generous friends, family members and colleagues that took the time to sign up and use our product or take a look at live users of the KikScore product.

1. Load & Uptime Improvements – We improved response and load times of every KikScore seal and KikReport that resides on an online seller’s site.   Uptime for the seals is now the best it has ever been and we will continue to monitor KikScore seal uptimes as we know the importance that has for our customers.

2. Updated User Interface & Look and Feel – We updated the look and feel of the tabs on the KikReport.  This included making the look and feel of Management and Shopping Security tabs easier to read and to include even more easy to use information about a seller’s business, website, background and track record of trustworthiness.  The user interface for the KikReport and some of these tabs was also updated based on feedback so shoppers could easily recognize and interpret the information and data presented in the KikReport of a seller.

3. Updated Comment Platform – We modified and enhanced the comment management platform on the merchant’s KikReport making it even easier for comments about a shopper’s experience to be displayed to online visitors to a small business website.

4. Updated Seal – The KikScore seal has been updated based on both seller and shopper feedback to make the initial KikScore seal that resides on a seller’s website easier to read and interpret.

5. Easier Sign-Up– We listened to our beta users and have made the KikScore sign-up process for merchants more intuitive and easy for merchants.

6. Scoring Model Updates – Based on the data and feedback we continue to receive, we are also making enhancements along with updates to our scoring model that analyzes the trustworthiness and reliability of small businesses, online sellers and merchants.

These are just some of the enhancements and updates to the KikScore product.  We continue to solicit and receive feedback.  During the coming months, you will not only see more enhancements and updates but also much more.  We cannot go into too much detail in the “much more” but the next few months will be exciting for our customers, new customers, the community and the market (and us too!).

Let us know what you think about our enhancements and updates. Also feel free to send us more feedback on KikScore. We love it.

Tweet This Post