SAMSA Continues to Launch Successful E-Commerce Sites

Gentle Solutions, LLC provides consumers with all-natural products that help them lose weight and feel better about themselves. In comparison to competitors in its industry, Gentle Solutions' unique E-commerce site offers a larger selection of packages to choose from.

Their website features the ability for customers to write testimonials about their experiences shopping at Gentle Solutions and using their products. Also featured is a product review area where customers can rate the products using a scale of one to five stars and add any additional comments about the product as well. The information is then automatically posted to the site for potential customers to read. Tricia McDaniel, owner, finds that these features are very beneficial to the business and customers alike. The business receives feedback and helps their sales while the customer gains confidence in making purchasing decisions by reading about the experiences others just like them have had with a particular product. Tricia says that the product reviews are viewed hundreds of times.

Gentle Solutions currently markets itself by playing radio ads across the country. To increase their marketing, they plan to add additional radio stations to their current line-up. Radio marketing can be very difficult in terms of the number of ads to run weekly and the time of day to run them but Gentle Solutions has been able to successfully master the learning curve involved, thus being able to make cost effective decisions for future radio ads. They are excited about their upcoming product line extension that features a liquid collagen dietary supplement. This product allows Gentle Solutions to tap into another market of people - those who cannot or do not prefer taking pills. This product will make its debut on their website within the next couple of weeks. With the growth of their business, Gentle Solutions is in the process of building a new office and hiring additional staff to be able to efficiently handle the large volume of phone calls they receive on a daily basis.

Gentle Solutions has overcome many obstacles in developing their present website. From having a basic site that struggled aesthetically, to not being trained to run shopping cart software, and not receiving the support necessary to correct credit card processing problems, the struggles continued for months. During this time Tricia McDaniel was referred to SAMSA by their distributor, Tactical Solutions. Brought aboard as a SAMSA client, Hillary Norfleet was able to have the Gentle Solutions E-commerce site fully functional within one week. Tricia says that Hillary is still right there to answer questions and help whenever she sends her an email.

When asked her opinion about SAMSA, Tricia McDaniel states, "I came to SAMSA because my other web designers could not fix the problems we were having with our credit card processing website. I needed someone who knew what they were doing to help fix my website and fix it fast! SAMSA did that! I have already referred several business contacts to SAMSA! Anyone who needs web work done should call SAMSA."

Visit Gentle Solutions, LLC.

 

SAMSA Offers New Service: Medical Billing Software

In this fast paced and always changing world of technology, the medical business is shifting from traditional paper files to management on the computer. SAMSA is proud to announce that we are now offering medical enterprises the Elligence program, a healthcare management system software by Data Strategies Incorporated. This Windows-based practice management software is economical and time saving for practices of all sizes and health related fields.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT METHOD FOR YOUR PRACTICE
We are offering Elligence software to clients in two methods, Turnkey and Application Service Provider

Your medical practice can make an investment by purchasing a server and the Elligence software, called the turn key solution, and in turn have the advantage to own and be fully in charge of running the software at your facility. For those with smaller practices, you may consider our ASP (Application Service Provider) solution, where your practice connects to SAMSA via the internet and we take care of keeping your software running through our server. The benefits for this method are outstanding; there is no up front cost, your practice will not be tied down with the responsibility of maintaining the server, payments are monthly for using the software and server, and there is flexibility to walk away at any time if you decide this isn't right for you. For more information visit SAMSA Medical Software.

Highlights of the Elligence software include:

• Detailed patient folders that are easy to navigate
  
• Detailed appointment scheduling
  
• Software detects electronic billing information errors
  
• Closely track financial activity
  
• Create your own documents or use already made ones like superbills, patient statements, and insurance forms for client business
  
• Preview patient information to avoid claim discrepancies later
  
• Print receipts for patients
  
• Transaction information is virtually stamped with the user's name, date, and time
  
• Process EOBs in a timely fashion

INTERFACING FOR MEDICAL BILLING
Elligence interfaces with Electronic Medical Records (EMR) via the HL7 protocol to share information between the billing and EMR programs. With this unique feature, data is easy and secure to exchange and the time to transmit takes virtually seconds.

WHY PURCHASE ELLIGENCE?

• For medical practices in Michigan, the pay-per-click method of submitting non-blue cross claims to insurance payers is eliminated, submit free of charge!
  
• No more hassles with paper files and endless time filing them
  
• All electronic transactions meet HIPAA requirements
  
• Save space in your office

SAMSA is continuously searching for new, innovative ways, to take advantage of the endless possibilities our world of technology allows us. We work with our clients to make the technical aspects of their business lives easier. Because we are always on the prowl for advancement and enhancement, SAMSA has a wide range of products and services that can be tailored to suit your establishment's specific needs.

 

SAMSA Launches Successful E-commerce Web Site

System and Market Service of America (SAMSA) recently created a new E-commerce web site for client Home Storage USA. The partnership replaced an outdated site with cutting edge technology that has helped grow their customer base by offering a user-friendly website with lots of extras.

From once having a technologically outdated website that was hurting their sales, Home Storage USA has overcome many obstacles in bringing their new site to life. After a long search for the right company to build it and a web designer who would listen to their needs and help them with the potential growth of their e-commerce site, SAMSA was chosen after talking to various companies.

Why SAMSA?
The deciding factor in choosing SAMSA came from excellent communication from the SAMSA staff. They were extremely pleased with Hillary Norfleet's genuineness in directly answering all of their questions and concerns. Owners Dennis and Terri Meguiar say, "Finding SAMSA was definitely the biggest hurdle. When we decided that we wanted to have a new e-commerce site built, I searched on the Internet for different web site designers. I liked SAMSA's site and all of the information that they have posted on their website. We called them and here we are today. We have been in business since 1999 and we want our business to keep growing. We could not grow with our other website."

About the Site
Home Storage USA sells storage and organizational home products that help consumers simplify their stressful lives.

Home Storage USA's website carries complete lines for each product rather than a bit of each line like others in its industry. They strive to give their customers the greatest amount of choices to select from while offering the best price. If a customer finds an identical product from a competitor at a lower price, Home Storage USA will beat the final price, including shipping by 10%, thus guaranteeing the lowest prices.

Special features on the website include organized, easily navigable product lines, the lowest possible pricing, and a shipping option called "best shipping rate," designed to keep the customer's shipping costs down. There are monthly specials offered each month.

Looking Ahead
Home Storage USA plans to keep growing in order to continue making consumer's lives easier. To help, they plan to continue working with SAMSA for their Internet marketing while tackling local marketing themselves. Be on the lookout for additional product line throughout the coming year including but not limited to kitchen and bath area products. They are eagerly anticipating the addition of an office product line that will debut in the next month. Home Storage USA plans to enhance their site with a FAQ page, testimonial page, and additional reviews. They also plan to consult with SAMSA for suggestions of any further enhancements they feel will be beneficial.

A Partnership That Works
When asked their opinion about SAMSA, Dennis and Terri say, "We would definitely recommend SAMSA to others, we are always telling people about SAMSA. They are great people to work with. They have all of the answers to your questions. The work is done pretty quickly and the pricing is reasonable. I can not say anything negative about them since there is nothing negative to tell. They are here to help you in any way that they can."

 

Becoming an E-Commerce Business

The thought of doing business on the web may be intimidating or feel unrealistic to some. The truth though is that E-commerce can open up the doors to many new sales opportunities. Consumers once used the Yellow Page directories to find a business that could suit their needs, but as more and more people turn to the Internet to fulfill their shopping needs, a "findable" website that consumers can shop on is becoming more important than ever before for already established E-businesses and those wishing to join in.

Benefits of Going E-Commerce:

• A navigable and detailed site allows staff at your brick and mortar business to concentrate on daily tasks without as many questions coming in on the telephone
• Consumers can shop at their convenience, which can boost your sales from those persons not available to shop at competitors' brick and mortar stores during the 9-5 business day
• A frequently updated, "findable," well-kept site can cut down on the cost of printed marketing materials
• You can reach more customers at a lower price with special e-coupons and e-mail newsletters compared to the lower number and higher costs incurred utilizing the United States Postal Service

SAMSA can help you with Search Engine Optimization, setting up software for secure online transactions and payments, Web Site Hosting, and getting a domain name set up for your business, all of which are very crucial elements to becoming a successful E-commerce business.

 

Safety Guidelines for Businesses in Protecting Their Assets and Organization

The U.S. Cyber Unit, an independent team founded by the Department of Homeland Security has recently announced precautions that businesses should take to protect themselves against attackers of all types. These guidelines, accompanied by SAMSA's own tech tips, can help ensure security for your business.

To protect your network, hardware, and software:

• Keep Window's software, your firewall, anti-virus, and spyware software up to date and make sure it is running properly
• Keep an accurate inventory of computer equipment and label it with some method of identification so it can be tracked
• Enforce a well defined policy of what kinds of equipment can be removed from the business and what the authorization process is
• Account for all equipment periodically and make sure it is in the proper place
• Implement a security camera system or alarm system to protect your equipment and to deter trespassing when not in operating hours
• Protect access points (CD drives and USB ports) to private business information by covering them with plugs or covers
• For e-commerce business transactions, pay close attention in order to identify if transactions involve unusual patterns or hint at unusual customer information
• Require all computer users to login to the system with passwords that have a combination of alpha and numeral characters and make it mandatory for employees to change them periodically
• Monitor computer usage to ensure private information is not being sent out of the organization
• When connecting new applications to your network, run tests to determine if there is a vulnerability

To protect your employees:

• Encourage password storing in a private place and don't click "remember me" buttons on pages that cause your information to be stored
• Don't give out private information via the internet or telephone, such as social security numbers
• Inform your employees with clues that will help them identify suspicious activities (such as the computer unit making unusual noises)
• Change business passwords on computer systems when an employee who had access to them leaves the organization

SAMSA has a proactive stance on security which allows our clients to feel confident with the level of protection they are provided with. We believe that being proactive allows foreseen problems to be corrected before they become overwhelming and costly to the client.

 

SAMSA Welcomes New Clients

SAMSA is proud to welcome its two newest clients, Boat Spotters and Reliable Analysis.

SAMSA completed a large website project for Boat Spotters, located at http://www.boatspotters.com/. Under this newly implemented system, anyone interested in selling their boat can post a Boat Ad for $39, which includes a detailed description and three pictures. A boat will stay listed until it is sold. Also under this unique system, dealers are able to sign-up and upload an unlimited number of boats available for sale by their company. The website is controlled by a PHP/MySQL backend. The owners of the site are able to simply login and make changes or updates to the Boat Database without having to worry about the hassles of coding and web design. Boat Spotters is a website designed to assist in joining Michigan boat sellers and buyers together.

SAMSA is currently working with Reliable Analysis, Inc., a mechanical, physical, metallurgical, and life cycle testing, and molding and failure analysis entity, to improve their online quotation system. With these improvements, employees can easily create quotes to send to their customers. Also, customers are able to request a quote on a various number of items available. Reliable Analysis, Inc. can be found at http://www.ralab.com.

 

SAMSA Completes Projects for Clients

SAMSA recently set up a login area for Valley Industrial Products, Inc. employees on their company website, http://www.valleyindprod.com/. In this area, staff members can read updates that have been made by administration. Valley Industrial is a trusted supplier of engineered products, from Abrasives to Woodruff Keys and more.

A second recent project involved improvements to CKB Products electronic mailing list. An html version of their mailing list has been added and existing clients will now find it easier to add/remove themselves from the mailing list. This has been made possible with the customization feature found in the "My Account" area. Under "Newsletter Subscriptions," clients can maintain subscriptions to both formatted and plain text versions. Mailing lists/newsletters are sent out monthly and contain discounts, coupons, new items, and updates made to their site. CKB Products, a wholesale distributor of various products can be found at http://www.ckbproducts.com/.

 

Do It Yourself Website Maintenance

As a client, you can maintain your own website without having to learn new software thus saving you time and money in the long run. SAMSA can train you to perform the simple process. No matter what your technical background, SAMSA can provide a method of website maintenance that works for you.

Web-based FTP (file transfer protocol)
You'll be able to edit web page files on your computer using Front Page or other editing program, drag and drop the files into your browser window, and they'll go to the server and update your page.

Clients presently using this method of website maintenance:
PowerKool Filtration - www.powerkool.com
Volunteers for China - www.volunteersforchina.org

Easy Does It
Our most popular editing method involves creating a simple administration center using a database. The client logs in to a secure area of his website that can be as sophisticated or as low tech as the client is comfortable with. Simply typing into a text area and clicking "Save Changes" will automatically save revised content to the page or pages that you request. Images can also be uploaded from your computer, and will be automatically resized and optimized for use on the site. This allows you to make changes to your site without worrying about interfering with the design of the site.

Clients presently using this method of website maintenance:
Bay Area Association of Michigan Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors -
www.baamp.com
Featured Projects
Shorkey Builders - www.shorkeybuilders.com
News
Motivational Speaker Chuck Cote - www.chuckcote.com
Daily Message
Wohlfeil's - www.wohlfeil.com
Seasonal Products
Valley Ob-GYN Clinic, P.C. - www.vobsaginaw.com
Affiliates, Category and Sub-Category Links, News, On-Calls,Providers and Daily Snapshot

Direct Access
For more technically inclined clients, SAMSA offers direct FTP access for Dreamweaver Contribute, a stand alone website maintenance program.

Clients presently using this method of website maintenance:
Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks - www.michiganclerks.org
Hartland Township - www.hartlandtwp.com

 

IBM Targets Small Companies

Small company owners are feeling excitement over IBM's newest "business class" mainframe computer geared especially for them. IBM has come out with a much less expensive version for small companies, with a starting cost of $100,000, compared with million dollar IBM z9 mainframes used by larger institutions and organizations for complex tasks. The new version will be able to handle tasks that include encrypting data and processing transactions. The only difference with its larger counterpart is the amount of workload it can handle. IBM will continue researching and developing products that expand the types and amount of tasks users can perform on an individual machine.