PSPINC Official Company Blog

Employee Spotlight: Meet Yume

6月

15日

We pride ourselves on our fantastic sales team and have an amazing and supportive staff. In this series, we will highlight and showcase a number of those friendly faces who are standing by to take your call or email, help with your IT problems, and assist with your online solutions. This time, we’re shining a spotlight on our sales team member, Yume Veliquette.

Meet Yume

Yume is in charge of Sales and Marketing at our San Diego office! We sat down with Yume and asked her a series of questions to get to know her better.

What do you do at PSPINC?
I work in social media marketing and run San Diego Town and Los Angeles Town, which are both local Japanese portal sites. I consult with clients about their websites as well as on social media content and designs.

What does a typical day on the job look like for you?
My day usually includes holding meetings with customers, interviewing and visiting local businesses to write blog content for them, and other marketing tasks. It really depends, honestly.

How did you first learn about PSPINC? What drew you to the position?
I saw a job listing for San Diego Town, and since I have experience building websites for myself, helping small businesses grow online sounded like something I’d like to do.

How long have you been working at PSPINC?
Since December 2020, so it’s only my second year working at PSPINC!

What's your favorite part about working here?
Meeting new people almost every day and helping them grow their business online. Also, I love that I’m able to try new ideas and have such a helpful team.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Helping customers build their website from scratch for brand new businesses. It mostly consists of consulting for businesses, but I also love that part of my job.

Before working for PSPINC, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?
I was the owner of a small ballgown boutique in Okinawa, Japan that was imported from the New York and Los Angeles fashion districts.

What have you learned about sales/marketing since working here?
The biggest thing that I’ve learned from our CEO is to serve, not sell. I’ve also learned communication and consulting skills as well as how to maximize my team members’ potential.

What kinds of skills do you think a salesperson needs to succeed?
Listening skills to determine what customers really need and being helpful are essential skills to have in sales.

What is your proudest moment at PSPINC?
I have a customer that came to us for help with social media marketing and their goal was to hire employees through social media. Within the first month of starting that project, we achieved that goal.

Tell us about your family.
I have a husband and a baby boy who just turned one!

What is your favorite movie?
I can’t pick just one, but my favorites include Burlesque, Hairspray, Free Guy, and Guardians of the Galaxy. I like most of the Marvel movies, really.

Where would you want to go on your ideal vacation?
I’d like to go back to Okinawa, which is also my hometown.

What’s your favorite food?
Taco rice, which is Okinawan soul food! It’s just taco ingredients on top of rice, but it tastes so good!

What have you been most passionate about?
I was a color guard in a marching band for seven years and we went to nationals every year. After graduation, I coached at a high school as well as an elementary school.

Anything else you want to mention?
I have a smart house, so my whole house talks.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Yume today! If you’re a business in the San Diego or Los Angeles area that wants to grow their business online, don’t hesitate to call Yume at 619-806-7242. She and her team are the experts dedicated to helping you!

Do you like what you heard about PSPINC? Check our open positions. We are always looking for talented individuals looking to fast-track their career in technology!

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#business #employee #employees #employeespotlight #friends #jamesbond #losangeles #losangelestown #marketing #pacificsoftwarepublishinginc #pspinc #sales #salespeople #salesperson #sandiego #sandiegotown #seattle #smallbusiness #thenotebook #tullys

PSPINC What’s New Newsletter Vol. 119 “ShopSite Plans on Sale for New Customers”

6月

10日

YourHost is PSPINC's easy and reliable e-commerce hosting solution. With the power of ShopSite, customers get resourceful e-commerce tools to help build and maintain your online store. We’re excited to announce that we’ve just reduced our price plans specifically for new customers! For the first two years, new YourHost ShopSite customers can start selling online with an impressive e-commerce site starting at just $15/month! After the first two years, standard rates will apply.

shopsite plans with pricing and features included in all 3 plans

shopsite plans with pricing and features included in all 3 plans

With our ShopSite plans, customers get incredible web hosting features! All ShopSite plan customers get access to our YourHost Neo web and email features, an SSL certificate, an initial setup by a trained technician, over 50 themes to choose from, over 25 payment methods, and U.S-based support from our team! Those who choose our Pro plan will also get many more features such as:

• Unlimited products
• Store search
• Real-time shipping rates
• Coupons
• Quantity pricing
• Cross-selling
• Product reviews
• Facebook store

This will be an ongoing promotion for new customers, and the new prices will be in effect for customers’ first two years on one of our YourHost ShopSite plans. Plans are billed monthly. Grow your online business by creating a stunning e-commerce site with one of our YourHost ShopSite plans.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #ecommerce #hosting #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #sale #shopsite #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websitebuilder #webtools #yourhost

What Makes a Great E-Commerce Site

6月

8日

For small businesses that sell online, a great e-commerce site is essential. While there’s still something to be said for brick-and-mortar stores, the ease of purchasing online is unmatched. And it’s only become more popular during the last few years as online shopping revenue grew by 20% in 2021 (according to Retail Insider). It’s also important to acknowledge that much of that website traffic comes from a mobile device. The number of people shopping online with a mobile device increased by more than double since 2018 according to a 2021 survey of global consumer insights. This only means that creating effective and user-friendly e-commerce sites is even more important today than ever.

While every e-commerce site builder is different, there are still a handful of features that every good e-commerce site needs. Without them, it’s unlikely that users will complete the entire purchase cycle. For a customer, these aren’t things they actively seek in an online shopping site. Rather, they’re what they expect to see. Without them, customers find it blatantly obvious and if it’s an important enough feature, they may find the site unreliable. So, here’s everything you need to create an exceptional e-commerce site.

Necessary Features

someone holding a phone open to an e-commerce site

First and foremost, making sure the interface is user-friendly is the most important aspect of any website. But even more so for a shopping site. What this entails is a simplistic as well as responsive navigation menu. Especially given that so many website visitors will be using a mobile device. Users expect to see categories with some subcategories, all of which should be clear as to what they mean. The last thing you want is to confuse your customers all because you wanted to use a more creative yet unhelpful category name. Your navigation bar should also include:

• A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page
• A Contact Us page
• A way for shoppers to view their cart, which not only incudes product names but also an image with it

Additionally, with it being a site where payment’s involved, the checkout process shouldn’t just be streamlined but also secure. The easiest way to ensure this is by purchasing an SSL certificate, which PSPINC offers in addition to our web hosting. Other vital security features include an address verification system (AVS) and a credit card verification value (CVV).

Regarding the purchase process, additional costs, shipping details, and return instructions should be clearly outlined before users check out. And they should have multiple payment options as well. While product pages should include images of the product itself, they must be high-quality images. And seeing products from different angle as well as how it works in action through multiple photos or even a video will make them more attractive to customers. Lastly, product descriptions shouldn’t just include physical attributes but also the benefits they can provide your customers.

Additional E-Commerce Features

a woman at her laptop while holding a credit card

From a marketing perspective, there are also some other features worth adding. If a product isn’t exactly what they’re looking for, they may want to find something similar. Putting recommendations makes it that much easier for customers. Plus, you can create targeted newsletters based on what customers looked at and/or bought previously. Allowing users to create a wish list of items they want but aren’t ready to purchase yet as well as a guest account option will also result in a better user experience.

A wish list persuades users to come back to purchase later while a guest account allows them to bypass the longer account registration process. There’s also the option of adding newsletter pop-ups or even in-browser notifications to encourage brand loyalty. Lastly, there’s the abandoned cart reminder. About 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, according to Shopify. To take advantage of that statistic, creating a reminder that sends an email out afterward can be a way to get those users to come back. As popular as e-commerce sites are for businesses today, building them can be a hassle. Luckily, PSPINC has an easy and reliable e-commerce hosting solution, YourHost, to help build your e-commerce site.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #crm #customerservice #ecommerce #marketing #marketingdigital #mobile #onlinebusiness #onlineshopping #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websitebuilder #yourhost

PSPINC What’s New Newsletter Vol. 118 “What Problem Does Your Product Solve?”

6月

3日

Your business can make a hundred different products and still generate a meager number of sales. And there can be a variety of reasons why. But an important facet that you should consider when creating and marketing your product is this: what problem does it solve? Truly successful products give customers a solution to a glaring problem that your competitors haven’t figured out how to solve thus far. Take the invention of insulated water bottles, for example. For workers, these bottles keep their coffee warm on cold days. For hikers, it keeps their water cold throughout their entire trek.

But the measure of true success with insulated water bottles is the fact that many refer to them as a thermos. Would you be surprised to know that the term didn’t exist until the company, Thermos, came out with these insulated water bottles in 1904? It didn’t happen on purpose, but Thermos became synonymous with an insulated water bottle. Now, Thermos makes plenty of other products, namely other types of drinkware as well as food storage containers. But Thermos will forever be known for how they revolutionized the drinkware industry. So, if you want to be truly successful with your business, think about what kind of problem your products and services will solve for the customer. If you do, you might find yourself standing alongside successful brands like Thermos.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #brand #branding #business #businesstips #example #insulatedwaterbottles #insulation #marketing #problem #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #smallbusiness #solution #success #technology #thermos #waterbottle #waterbottles

PSPINC What’s New Newsletter Vol. 117 “The Value of Teamwork”

5月

27日

At PSPINC, we work in teams. Over the years, it’s proven to be helpful in all business tasks. At the end of the day, everyone works together to get the job done. That includes processes from creating a new product or service to marketing it. For example, every new product or service we create must go through a launch checklist before we release it to the public. This ensures that it goes through multiple hands before we publicly release it to the market.

While PSPINC started as a one-man operation in 1987. But the company only became the success that it is today thanks to all our employees. At the start, PSPINC only developed and sold software to a few clients. Since then, the company’s evolved to include web design services and marketing solutions, all to tens of thousands of clients. And that only became possible by creating teams that each have a specific purpose and goal in mind. So, if you need any help with your business website, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #blog #business #businesstips #hosting #newsletter #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #team #teamwork #tech #technology #web #webdevelopment #webhosting #website

Upgrading to Google Analytics 4

5月

25日

If you’re a small business owner or a digital marketer, you’ve probably seen the top banner in Google Analytics telling you that Google Analytics will be phasing out Universal Analytics (UA). Additionally, it tells you to switch and set up Google Analytics 4. Simply put, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a new version of Google Analytics that uses machine learning. By mid-2021, users already started switching over to GA4, less than a year after Google first announced it in October 2020. In fact, 60% of marketing professionals already updated their Google Analytics account by May 2021 according to databox. And an additional 22.7% said they hadn’t done it yet but planned to.

So, why the switch? Other than Google phasing out UA by July 2023, GA4’s use of machine learning allows it to offer new and attractive features. It’s also important to note that GA4 doesn’t use historical data, i.e., all the data users have built up over the years. But it can use data it’s gathered over time, so switching over to GA4 sooner is better than later. That way, it’ll start accumulating data in the new system before the old one gets shut off. Plus, it means you won't be starting from scratch when setting it up after support for Universal Analytics ends. And GA4 will improve over time, resulting in more accurate results when using its new predictive modeling features.

Google Analytics 4 Features

someone pointing a pen towards a tablet with google analytics open

GA4 uses a more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI), which allows it to provide better insights into understanding the data moving forward. And it uses historical evidence it’s gathered over time to predict future outcomes. But GA4’s use of machine learning is continually evolving so it’s likely that it’ll introduce more AI tools in the future. The hope is that GA4 will eventually allow marketers to identify which users are more likely to convert based on specific website interactions. Other additional features GA4 offers include funnel analysis, tree diagrams, overlapping audiences or segments, and many more.

For users with multiple Google Analytics properties, it can be difficult to track individuals across multiple properties. And if you’ve ever used Google Analytics in a high-traffic area, you’re probably all-too-familiar with the loading bar, which can take several minutes to load. Google has made the process much faster by redesigning it from the ground up instead of relying on what was a 10-year-old data mining process. Additionally, tracking visitors’ overall customer journey as they travel between multiple channels is much simpler with GA4’s “Information Streams” feature.

To switch, all you have to do is connect Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 in the admin panel. Or you can switch by replacing an embed code. If the embed code is particularly old and doesn't reference gtag.js in it, the code will have to be replaced.

If you need any help in switching over to Google Analytics 4, please don’t hesitate to 800-232-3989 or emailing us at support@pspinc.com.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#ai #analytics #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #crm #digitalmarketing #google #googleanalytics #googleanalytics4 #machinelearning #marketing #tech #technology #universalanalytics #update #web #webdevelopment #website #websites #webtools

PSPINC What’s New Newsletter Vol. 116 “Changing with the Times”

5月

20日

We’ve been in business for over 30 years now. But one of the keys to our success is continually learning about our industry. Over time, the technology sector’s changed and evolved drastically. We’ve all, as a result, evolved and adapted along with it. Other businesses, namely very successful ones, have done the same. Take Netflix, for example. Netflix used to just distribute DVDs to customers and in turn, customers would return them after they were done with them. Much like Blockbuster, or the more modern example, Redbox. In 2007, that changed. Netflix went from physically distributing DVDs to streaming film and TV content online. Since then, Netflix disrupted the entertainment space.

Many more streaming platforms popped up afterward as they became direct competitors. However, none of them obtained the market share that Netflix dominated. Now, Netflix creates its own original content as well. And again, other streaming platforms followed by doing the same. Alternatively, Blockbuster no longer exists because they refused to change with the times. PSPINC has grown greatly as a web hosting and email hosting company. But it has since evolved into so much more. Today, we also offer web design and marketing services and develop other online tools for other small businesses. So, the key to sustaining a successful small business is to change as the industry changes.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blockbuster #blog #business #businesstips #change #marketing #netflix #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #redbox #smallbusiness #tech #technology #webdesign #webtools

Japanese Version of the DENREI App Now Available

5月

19日

Following last month’s release of the English version of our new DENREI app, we’re pleased to announce that a Japanese version is now available! With this new update, people in Japan can now try our app, DENREI.

With DENREI, users can only exchange messages with other DENREI members. Using the power of email, DENREI is the securest way to send and receive messages. We designed DENREI specifically to prevent the abundance of spam issues traditional email faces as well as non-delivery. Currently, the app is limited to iOS users, but it’s now available for our customers in Japan through the Japanese app store. Download the app and sign up for DENREI today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#app #appdevelopment #apple #blog #business #businesstools #denrei #ios #japan #japanese #mobile #pspinc #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #update #web #webdevelopment #websites

Announcement: Dreamersi Admin Panel Updates

5月

19日

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve updated our admin panel for our premiere web hosting service, Dreamersi! As a big thank you to our loyal customers, Dreamersi users will now see that their admin panel now includes a link to a special promotion. When you sign in to your account, you’ll now see a banner at the top for an exclusive opportunity to save more on one of our other online tools. Currently, our Dreamersi customers can save up to 45% on a new eCommerce site with one of our YourHost ShopSite plans:
dreamersi admin panel with promotional banner

dreamersi admin panel with promotional banner

Additionally, this new update also makes it easier to sign up for our other various online business tools. These products not only go well with our web hosting, but they’ll also make it easier to grow your business online.

#blog #business #businesstools #customerservice #dreamersi #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #shopsite #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #update #web #webdevelopment #webhosting #website #websitebuilder #websites #webtools #yourhost

The Benefits of Online Forms

5月

18日

Online forms are largely used by businesses for a variety of business and marketing purposes. They’re much more modern compared to paper forms and simplify and optimize the entire process for businesses. Online forms are generally cloud-based, meaning that the data’s instantly digitalized and stored in the system. This gives business owners instant access to accurate, verified, and up-to-date information and makes it easier to process this data further. Online forms also greatly reduce cost while optimizing for efficiency because it’s no longer necessary to physically print, mail, store, and organize them. It also decreases the possibility of misplacing, burying, or even destroying the data, which is a very likely occurrence when dealing with paper forms.

Marketing Purposes of Online Forms

Other than simplifying and digitalizing processes on the administrative side, online forms can be great for marketing as well. Much like other digital marketing efforts, it’s easy to track how well online forms are performing and adjust them as needed. When placed on your business website, it can be a great way to drive lead generation, serving as an email newsletter opt-in, or an alternative for users to contact your business.

Other than that, you can get feedback directly from your customers about your company’s offerings and/or their overall experience on your website. For example, after purchasing a product/service, customers can review the product/service they bought or answer questions about the checkout experience, both of which can be done with an online form. After that, businesses can even create an automated and personalized response to people who filled out the form. Because it’s an online form, the responses are immediately sent after they’re filled out and submitted.

Online Form Builders

someone holding a tablet open to an empty online form

As great as online forms can be for your business, creating one can involve a lot of coding, which isn’t a capability all business owners have. This is exactly why PSPINC created InforMakers, our intuitive form builder. With InforMakers, you can easily create, customize, and embed as many online forms as you need. Once created, you can customize the messages users get upon completion. After embedding and placing it on your site, you can view all your form submission data and export it into a tidy CSV file for your records. InforMakers is just $8/month. Or if you’re one of our Dreamersi customers, you can get it for free in addition to your web and/or email hosting.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.