New York SBDC Research Network

From MarketingProfs : The Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sale Rule (TSR) includes regulations to support both law enforcement and consumers. It provides the FTC and state attorneys general law-enforcement tools to combat telemarketing fraud; it gives consumers added privacy protections and defenses against unscrupulous telemarketers; and it helps consumers differentiate between fraudulent and legitimate telemarketing. Key provisions of the TSR include, without limitation, the following: required disclosures, prohibited misrepresentations, limited call-time windows, required information on caller ID transmissions, abandoned outbound call prohibitions, billing and payment restrictions, upsell requirements, pre-recorded message restrictions, and recordkeeping obligations. However, with some exceptions, most telephone calls between a telemarketer and a business are exempt from the TSR, and telemarketers often rely on the B2B exemption from applicable Do Not Call (DNC) regi

From the Federal Reserve Bank's Business Payments Coalition: The Business Payments Coalition recently released the third version of its Small Business Payments Toolkit . This document, available as a free download, encourages the adoption of electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments by small businesses. Checks are the main way small businesses make B2B payments. This is a problem because checks are expensive, labor-intensive and prone to fraud. Using plain language, the Toolkit educates small businesses on the benefits of using electronic payment types such as Automated Clearing House credits and debits, wire transfers, and credit and debit cards instead of checks. It offers tips on working with bankers and covers what small businesses need to know to get started making and receiving electronic payments. It provides practical information on how to avoid losses due to payments fraud. An extensive resources section has links to additional information. The Toolkit isn’t just

Millennials B2B buyers want to interact directly with vendors' representatives far more than Gen X or Baby Boomers buyers when researching products and services, according to a recent report from IBM. The report was based on data from a survey of 704 people who influence or are responsible for B2B purchasing decisions of $10,000 or more for their company. Respondents came from 12 countries and 6 industries. The researchers compared the responses of Millennial employees (born 1980-1993) with those of Gen X (born 1965-1979) and Baby Boomers (born 1954-1964). Millennial buyers rely most heavily on information provided by vendors when researching products and services, the analysis found. In contrast, Gen X buyers rely most on third-party articles/blogs/reviews to research vendors, and Baby Boomers rely most on tradeshows. Read more from MarketingProfs