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Looking for a program to comply with your court order or simply for help, support and understanding of why you shoplifted and how to stop doing it, in order to prevent a future incident or arrest? If so:

You’ve Come To The Right Place

The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), a non-profit organization, has developed a unique program for people in your position called the Shoplifters Alternative Course (SA Course). The program is used in hundreds of courts nationwide and presents everything you would ever want to know about shoplifting, so that you will have all the facts you need to help you make future decisions which are best for you.

Theft Class Online Registration

How Shoplifting Becomes An Addiction

While most non-professional shoplifters feel guilty, ashamed and fearful of getting caught, the excitement they experience from shoplifting entices them back, again and again. The excitement of “getting away with it” produces a chemical reaction which is described as an incredible “rush” or “high”. Many shoplifters say that this is the “true reward” of shoplifting rather than the item itself.

A shoplifter’s habit or addiction can develop quickly when a person discovers that the “high” they experience helps to temporarily relieve such feelings as depression, frustration, deprivation, anger or boredom. At these times, people feel the desire to give themselves a reward, a gift or lift which they feel they need or deserve.  READ MORE

As a crime prevention organization, NASP provides programs and technical support for retail theft with its primary focus on petty theft or non-professional consumer shoplifting – a crime generally defined as stealing merchandise from a retail store with the intent to deprive the owner of that property.

While the dollar amounts which define petty theft vary from state to state, stealing from a retail store is always shoplifting and is always a crime which steals from all of us.

NASP’s programs, services and technical assistance for the prevention of shoplifting and retail theft are available to law enforcement, criminal and juvenile justice and local communities as well as retail loss prevention practioners – from national chains to small independent stores without dedicated loss prevention resources. NASP also provides shoplifting programs, shoplifter services and offender solutions directly to the parents of juveniles caught shoplifting and the offenders and people (consumer shoplifters) caught up in a shoplifting problem who want help to stop shoplifting.

E-commerce Carts

Our ecommerce solution is trusted by thousands of successful business owners nationwide. Web-based administrator area and installation wizard make setup and maintenance of the shopping cart as easy as point and click.  No programming knowledge is required to run our ecommerce solution. Our shopping cart has no logical limitations on the number of products you can enter. Our cart is optimized for smooth performance with up to 20,000 products.

Below are some of the features our ecommerce solution has to offer:

• Wide range of ecommerce features
• Flexible “tableless” design
• Easy text content modification using WYSIWYG tools
• W3C XHTML 1.0 compliance
• SEO friendly product catalog
• Web-based administration
• On-line payment gateways support
• Real-time shipping cost estimation based on product dimensions
• Inventory management
• Full multilanguage support
• Reports management
• View Full Ecommerce Features

The Expanded World of Ecommerce

Ecommerce has thoroughly revolutionized the way commerce is conducted. The expansion of Ecommerce that coincided with the growth of the internet has made Ecommerce industries into multi-million dollar economic powerhouses. Part of the reason for this is that Ecommerce allows even the smallest, local company the ability to conduct business on a global scale. It is humorous, to a certain degree, when one realizes that Ecommerce is merely an updated version of the weird world of mail order purchasing that was en vogue in previous generations.

Remembering Old School Mail Order Purchases

Allow six to eight weeks for delivery. That is a lengthy amount of time to wait for a package. Then again, it is being shipped all the way from Battle Creek, MI. In fact, there will a million mail order products that were delivered from the mysterious, far off land known as Battle Creek, MI.

Comedian George Carlin once opined that there were no human beings living in Battle Creek, MI and that the area consisted of little more than a humungous amount of post office boxes that magically delivered products to all those strange people who enjoyed purchasing things through the mail. Yes, at one time in popular culture, it was considered “odd” to purchase things through the mail.

Conventional wisdom at the time seemingly wondered why people would send away for items in the mail that could be purchased in a store. Because of this, some of the most successful mail order items were also among the most bizarre items one could imagine (sea monkeys, anyone?) possible.

Web-based Control Panel

• Password-protected administrative access
• All changes are real-time
• Control the cart from anywhere in the world using your web browser
• Unlimited number of admin accounts
• Support for restricted “shipping/fulfillment” admin accounts
• User-defined date/time format
• Ability for administrator to act on behalf of other users (e.g. to place phone orders for customers and use X-Cart as web based point of sale system)

Design and Layout

• 100% template-based design with separate template sets for the storefront and back end
• Fully customizable CSS-based design & layout
• W3C XHTML 1.0 Transitional compliant code
• Intuitive navigation
• WYSIWYG editor for product/category/manufacturer descriptions, language variables and static pages
• Automated product thumbnails generation with a sharpness filter
• Category thumbnail images
• Side-bar “mini-cart” viewable at all pages
• Build-in template editor: preview, edit and restore templates
• WYSIWYG text editor (webmaster mode)
• Debug console: displays a tree of templates for all pages
• The possibility to find, create and modify static HTML pages
• Customizable heading tabs
• HTML emails

Product Catalog

• Unlimited number of products
• Unlimited number of categories
• Unlimited category nesting
• Products can be assigned to unlimited number of categories
• Ability to modify multiple products simultaneously
• Members-only categories
• “Featured Products” box
• Automated display of bestsellers
• Related products, up selling and cross selling
• 1-click enable/disable switch for products and categories
• Support for up to two different currencies in the products catalog (NOTE: payment processing is possible in one currency only!)
• Automatical currency conversion
• Configurable search by title, description, category, SKU, price and weight
• “Stop words filter” for product search facility (a special filter ensures that service and link words occurring in the search pattern are ignored when search by individual words is performed – available for English language only)

Voice Over Recording

It is easy for the uninitiated to assume that voice over recording is a relatively simple process and not worthy of much thought, but it is exactly the opposite. A professional voice over recording requires not just a good voice, but a healthy dose of creativity, talent, and in many cases, voice training to ensure that each and every word is properly enunciated, and the proper timbre is reached for the desired effect.

A voice over artist understands all these factors and more, and must also possess a good technical understanding of how their voice is captured during the recording process. Knowledge and training is very important for both the voice over recording artist and the consumer that is requiring a voice over for a project.

A professional voice over recording is often a critical factor in the success of many projects. While each project might be unique, it is always important that the voice over recording is clear and commanding, easily capturing the attention of the audience and capable of exhibiting a wide range of emotions that best befits the mood and focus of the project.

Contact Voice Overs.

Mark Russak: Professional Voice Over Artist

Commercials:
Voice Over for television and radio commercials, advertisements and spots.

Television Promotion:
Voice services for television promotions and station identification.

Radio Imaging:
Radio station voice imaging or sweepers, liners, promotions and station identification.

Narration:
Audio books, corporate presentations, documentaries, CD rooms, training and tutorials for both corporate and industrial markets.

On Hold Voice Services:
For auto attendants, voice prompts, narration over music for “on hold” services, voice mail trees, answering machine broadcast messages or advertisements.

Character Voices and accents:
For film, television, animation and radio

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  Fundamentals of a Well-Built SAN

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  HP LeftHand P4000 SAN Solutions Family Data sheet

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  Confidence in a downturn: Growing revenue fast on an HP BladeSystem and HP LeftHand P4000 SAN

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Split testing is a conversion-tracking method that separates your message into two or more variations to see which gets the best response. Different visitors see different versions of the message and the results are tracked to determine the best return.

We wanted to learn more about conducting split tests (also known as A/B tests), and so we corresponded with Paras Chopra, founder of Wingify, a company that produces Visual Website Optimizer, a split-testing tool for ecommerce merchants and other web operators.

Chopra cited the example of a holiday A/B test conducted recently by MedaliaArt, an online art gallery specializing in Caribbean and Latin America art. “MedaliaArt put up a holiday sale where they offered 5 to 55 percent discounts on all paintings,” he said. “They wanted to determine the best location on the home page to put the message so as to optimize for bounce rate.”

The challenge for the company was to determine where to show the message. “Displaying it prominently on the home page will make more visitors notice it, but some visitors may find it too intrusive and leave the site immediately,” said Chopra. “On the other hand, putting it at a not-so-noticeable location may have no effect at all.”

An Example Split Test

For its split test, MedaliaArt created a couple of versions of its home page with “Holiday Sale” displayed at two different home page locations. One version represented what Chopra calls an “in-your-face ‘Holiday Sale’ message displayed in big, red font prominently on the homepage.”

“In-your-face” Holiday Sale message placement.

The second version was a sidebar “Holiday Sale” message in a smaller font.

Sidebar Holiday Sale message placement.

“Usually, split testing tools track conversion rates (percentage of visitors doing desired action). But, to track the bounce rate, MedaliaArt defined a click on any link on the home page as conversion. Thus the conversion rate of, for example, 40 percent corresponded to a 60 percent (100 percent less 40 percent) bounce rate.”

The first batch of conclusive results was available within two weeks.

“Clearly, the in-your-face, prominent promotional message has a dramatically lower bounce rate (60 percent) than the sidebar one (76 percent), said Chopra. “The reduction in the bounce rate of 21 percent is statistically significant (at 95 percent confidence level) so the in-your-face variation obviously represents a better version. The improvement in bounce rate means more interest by visitors in the paintings they are selling and potentially more sales.”

Without split testing the company could have never known the optimal position of its promotional message. And, fears that a prominently displayed promotional message might backlash by irritating visitors proved not to be an issue.

How To Improve A/B Test Results

Chopra had a suggestion for MedaliaArt (and other ecommerce merchants considering A/B testing). “Also include a variation without the ‘Holiday Sales’ messaging. If MedaliaArt had included such a variation, it would have provided a benchmark to see the effect of the sales message, irrespective of the position.”

Chopra said MedaliaArt could also have used different versions of text in addition to different home page positions. “Maybe a message with the word ‘discount’ (such as ‘55 percent discount on paintings this holiday season’) would have worked better than the default message (‘Holiday Sale’). And, optimizing for bounce rate is fine, but a better metric would have been to measure and optimize for sales, which is what really matters to an ecommerce site.”

Conclusion

Chopra said he believes split testing is the only way to really know what will work and what won’t. “It is essential to check assumptions related to promotional messages, checkout process, product category ordering, buy now button, and more.”

He suggested that merchants should be a little adventurous and test radically different home page designs and ideas. “You can always choose to include only a small percentage of traffic and can disable non-performing variations at a click of a button.”

by Kate Monteith

Few people ask the “What is Twitter?” question any longer. Oprah helped take care of that one. However, one that I am asked with great frequency is, “How do I use Twitter for business?”

At the outset let me say Twitter is an amazing application with manifold uses. Companies as large as Dell and Zappos have created business models around it. Small businesses, including ecommerce merchants, are also proving its case as a channel for sales.

In fact, a recent survey said that most users (89%) of Twitter agree that companies should engage their customers there. Over 80 percent indicated they also have a better impression of companies that use Twitter for customer service (81%).

Businesses are using Twitter to:

• Network with others in their industry or community
• Stay connected to customers and prospects
• Monitor what is being said about their company, products, services, industry and competition
• Gather valuable feedback about products or services
• Raise awareness about the company, product or service
• Find answers and get advice
• Offer proactive customer service
• Promote events, products and services
• Drive traffic to the company Web site or blog
• Incite word of mouth among customers and others
• Share helpful content such as articles or blog posts
• Generate leads

As you can see the list is extensive and limited only by your imagination. In fact, due to its amazing simplicity, Twitter can be used in just about any manner you see fit. It is malleable. You don’t have to adapt yourself to Twitter’s use. Instead, it adapts to you.

How to Start Using Twitter for Business

I’m going to begin by outlining a simple, workable marketing strategy that applies to any form of social media engagement, including Twitter. So simple, in fact, it consists of only three words: Listen, Follow and Engage.

Listen

You cannot become an effective social media marketer if you don’t first listen to what’s being said about you, your company, brand, service, industry and competition. Listening is the new marketing, but it’s not something we’re prone to do. Still, that’s where it begins.

Monitoring your online reputation is one of the most significant ways Twitter can be used for marketing purposes and one way do so is to use Twitter search. There are a number of applications suited to this purpose. Here are the two I use most often:

• Twitter’s own search engine
• Tweetbeep

Follow

The way you build your network in Twitter is by following others, then engaging them in conversation. But, whom should you follow?

Keeping in mind that Twitter is another marketing channel, go back to the basics and ask yourself the same questions you’d ask when considering any other form of marketing: “Who is my market?” “Who am I attempting to reach?” “What niche am I seeking to penetrate?”

• Think in terms of demographics and geography
• Follow those you already know
• Follow influentials
• Follow keyword users
• Follow hashtag users
• Follow those who follow you

For a more extensive list of tips on who to follow, see my blog post, Fifteen Twitter Follow Dos and Don’ts.

Engage

Google Rankings

Once you 1) see what people are saying relative to the keyword searches, 2) give yourself some time to gain perspective by reading other’s Tweets and 3) have started following a few folks, the next step is to jump into the Twitterstream and engage them in conversation. But, how do you go about doing so?

Years ago, my father took a rather direct approach at teaching me to swim. One summer’s day we boarded in our small boat and paddled out to the middle of the pond on our property. Dad grabbed me up, threw me in the water and stated matter-of-factly, “swim or drown.”

Looking back, I’m sure he would not have allowed the latter. At the time, however, I determined the best course of action was to make for the shore, which I did with all haste. And, guess what? In the process I learned to swim.

I’m a bit like dad when it comes to Twitter in that I think the best approach is to joining or starting conversations is “swim or drown.” Just jump in and start conversing.

OK, for the faint of heart, here are some “rules of engagement”:

• Respond to what others are saying by adding your two cents
• Provide information those in your target market would consider valuable
• Engage in casual conversation with your followers

One thing you don’t want to do is solicit business or “pitch” people. You know the type: “Thanks for the follow. Check out my blog at _.” It’s okay to let people know what you do, but Twitter is a medium for conversation, not solicitation. Include a link to your Web site in your Twitter bio. Those who have an interest will check you out.

Conclusion

Hopefully, that’s got you started down the path to using Twitter. If you’d like more information, I offer a free ebook (no registration required) which you can download here. You may also wish to check out my new book The Digital Handshake, which includes an entire chapter on the subject.

There are many other great books on the subject too. Check them out at Amazon or other bookseller.

Next time, we’ll talk more about how to use Twitter for business and discuss some of the rules of the road. In the meantime, feel free to comment on this post.

Within every brand there’s a compelling idea. Our passion lies in uncovering these ideas and bringing them to life every time a customer engages with that brand.

Starfish is a strategic branding and marketing firm born of a desire to help clients create desirable brands and rewarding brand experiences. Because consumers form conscious and subconscious impressions of a brand through each and every brand interaction, Starfish designs and executes programs built to ensure that every consumer touchpoint is a full and intuitively satisfying expression of the brand. We call this approach In-Sync Branding.

David Kessler
Co-Founder
212.219.3330 x12
david@starfishco.com

Megan Kent
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megan@starfishco.com

Jeff Negrin
Managing Director
212.219.3330 x18
jeff@starfishco.com

Starfishco.
270 Lafayette Street, Suite 1510
New York, NY 10012
t 212.219.3330
f 212.219.7726
info@starfishco.com

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PricewaterhouseCoopers	Dunkin’ Donuts	Vizza, The Vertical Pizza!
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We at Research and Development Tax Credit specialize in analyzing businesses for the missed tax breaks they are entitled to. We offer a comprehensive R&D tax credit claim and advice services. Contact us today to see if your company qualifies for these and other missed tax advantages.

Century Business Solutions selection of Ring Binders includes 3 Ring Binders, Easel Binders,Loose Leaf Binders,Presentation Binders,Report Binders,Ring Binder Accessories,School Binders,View Binders, andZipper Binders.

Easel / Display – Presentation Binder, 1″ O-Ring – White
This extrawide, 3 ring binder flips into a selfsupporting display easel for instant public presentations. A great way to show graphs & charts! Plus, its extrawide vinyl cover is perfect for accommodating sheet protectors & oversized index tabs.Customize by placing your own graphic in the f
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Executive Memo Binder Kit
Handsome, handy, and half the size of the standard binders. Our Executive Memo Binder, with 25 included DoubleVu Sheet Protectors, are perfect for memos, executive stationery, small forms, even photos. Measures 814W x 9 1/8H x 1 5/8 with 1 Orings. Pages hold up to 5 1/5 x 812.li
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Executive Padded 3 Ring Binder – 1" O-Ring – Brown
Richly padded from front to back, our Castilian Padded Executive Binder has a black interior lining and black matte rings. Extrawide covers to fit sheet protectors and oversized index tabs.Inside front and back pockets add extra storageMade of richly padded Castilian Vinyl1 backmou
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Vinyl Binder Envelope (100/pk)
These threehole punched page protectors include extra horizontal pockets. Use for batching cards, envelopes, letterfolded documents, and more. Has clear front and back for easy view of contents from both sides. Lightweight, 4.5 gauge vinyl.Format Holds an 812 x 11 page with three 3 5/8
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Economy 3 Ring Binder – 1-1/2″ O-Ring – Black
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Economy 3 Ring Binder – 1-1/2″ O-Ring – Royal Blue
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Display 3 Ring View Binder – 1″ O-Ring – White
Clear vinyl spine and front cover view pockets provide display space to spotlight your project or company documents. Simply slip in your customized title page or company logo for a professionally finished look.Inside front and back cover pockets1 spinemounted, nickelplate OringsSi
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Display 3 Ring View Binder, Oversized – 1-1/2″ D-Ring – White
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Archival Storage Box with Binder – Black
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