Gaining sales intelligence
#dch_In Sales Intelligence: Preparing for Smarter Selling, Aberdeen Group Inc. analyzes the sales methods of best-in-class companies to determine what factors lead to their success.
Aberdeen found that 52 percent of best-in-class companies, on average, are achieving sales quotas, compared to 26 percent of organizations Aberdeen identifies as "laggards." The best companies also recently boasted an average 5 percent year-over-year reduction in the sales cycle time, compared to a 7 percent increase in sales cycle time among the laggard group.
To become more effective in sales, Aberdeen suggests organizations take remedial steps, including the integration and filtering of "external content so the right data - and only qualified leads - are introduced to sales practitioners." For full details, visit www.aberdeen.com/research/research-library.aspx.
VC investment trends for global payments
#dch_Mercator Advisory Group Inc. recently released a report detailing some of the most promising global payment companies that received venture capital (VC) investments in 2008 and 2009. It is titled Venture Capital in Payments 2010: How VC Funding Drives Global Payments Innovation.
The report gives insight into the innovations, business models and technologies that are attracting the most VC investors during these challenging financial times. VC investors often seek promising new innovations, or what they might deem a "better way" of processing global payments. Companies that receive the most VC backing are able to put their ideas into motion; with investment money available, payment companies can grow and implement their new systems smoothly.
Terry Xie, Director of Mercator's International Advisory Service and Principal Analyst on the report, stated, "By looking at the payments industry from the investors' perspective, people in the industry can get the chance to see what is emerging over the horizon and can potentially change their way of thinking and doing business."
The report is available at http://mercatoradvisorygroup.com/index.php?doc=international.
Protecting cardholder data with tokenization
#dch_Tokenization and end-to-end encryption are increasingly being implemented to secure cardholder data throughout the payment lifecycle. A new report from Aberdeen., Avoiding a Kick in the Head: The Value of Tokenization for Protecting Cardholder Data, addresses such questions as:
While Aberdeen acknowledges that merchants will make their own risk-based decisions about the pros and cons of data security methods, the consultancy strongly favors tokenization. This report reveals why. For more information, visit www.aberdeen.com/research/research-library.aspx.
Positive shift in health care payments
#dch_Investors seeking opportunities in the medical payments industry may soon find that change is on the horizon. In light of the recent health care bill passed by the U.S. Congress and changes occurring in the overall payments industry, the way providers and medical billing companies collect payments from patients may undergo a significant revamp.
According to a new report from Mercator titled Healthcare Payments: Pay Now or Pay Later, Preparation Meets Opportunity, the health care payments industry is eyeing new market opportunities and emerging product strategies to support both pre- and post-procedure billing.
It seems to be shifting toward a more customer-centric model, which will give patients choice, convenience and access to familiar payment methods when paying medical bills, according to the report.
"The largest market opportunity may lie in automating post-procedure medical billing and payment," Patricia Hewitt, Director of Mercator's Debit Advisory Service, stated in the report.
The report outlines opportunities involved in prepaid health care accounts. It analyzes consumer out-of-pocket expenditures and issues related to conversion to electronic payment methods. The research explores provider-to-consumer billing and provides reviews on various product delivery strategies such as credit, debit and prepaid cards.
More information is available at http://mercatoradvisorygroup.com/index.php?doc=debit&action=view_item&id=459&catid=4.
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
Prev Next
