In this week’s Five on Friday, IoT for All explores six key factors when considering the subscription model, Verifi offers tips for merchants to identify fraud and prevent chargebacks, SIIA breaks the news that regulators have proposed significant rate increases to postal rates (ouch!), the CMO Club and Conversant share ways to win customers with technology, and, in ad blocking news, Ars Technica tells us about Google Chrome’s plans to block auto-play videos in January 2018.

6 Key Factors When Considering iOT Subscription Models 

As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more of a thing, the opportunity for ‘IoT as a service’ joins other popular services like ‘software as a service’ and ‘platform as a service,’ creating new opportunities for monetization and business models. As IoT managers evaluate the best business model for their offerings, IoT for All explores six key factors to consider in their August 22 article, ‘IoT Subscription Models – 6 Key Considerations‘ by Benson Chan. Here’s a brief overview:

1. Is there a quantifiable (justifiable) value to be monetized?
2. Is the value aligned with the way your customer wants to consume your subscription offering – pay per use, pay per outcome or pay per time period?
3. What is the role of your reseller and services channels? Will these roles fit with your selected model?
4. How strong is your company’s commitment to the subscription offering?
5. Do we have the right team in place to support such a model?
6. Will our operational infrastructure support a subscription model?

Read the full article at IoTforAll.com here.

Merchants, Watch for These 6 Fraud Warning Signs This Holiday Season

Fa-la-la-la fraud is not fun or festive, particularly for merchants who may face serious chargebacks after the holidays are. Here are six fraud warning signs from Verifi to help merchants ferret out the bad guys before its too late:

• Repeated small orders can indicate card testing.
• Multiple purchases with different credit cards from the same IP address may indicate card testing.
• Bulk purchases of eGift cards may be a sign of a stolen card.
• Address Verification Service mismatches may signify a stolen card or customer error.
• Failure to respond to confirmation emails may indicate a friendly fraud chargeback is coming your way.
• Repeated CVV errors may mean the cardholder is not making the purchase, so the card could be stolen or the purchase unauthorized.

For more fraud prevention tips, and what to do if you suspect fraud, read Verifi’s Merchant’s Guide to the Holidays.

Are Postal Rates Going Up (Again)?

Are postal rates going up again? Maybe. On Monday, SIAA reported that the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued its findings after a year-long review of how postal rates are calculated. The review found that, though the U.S. Postal Service is financially sustainable in the short-term, it isn’t in the long-term. To help it achieve sustainability, the PRC made recommendations that could mean a price increase is coming. Among the recommendations are increases in additional pricing authority under certain conditions which could mean price increases for the mailing of periodicals like magazines. Read more about the recommendations and SIIA’s plans to comment here. 

Conversant & The CMO Club: 5 Ways to Win Customers with Technology

In a recent survey, Conversant Media interviewed hundreds of CMOs to discuss goals and challenges around using tech to create personal connections with their customers. Here are five takeaways from those surveys:

1. Form an emotional connection with each customer and build on that connection with each interaction.
2. Reach customers where they prefer to engage.
3. Deliver customers the most relevant message each and every time.
4. Measure your marketing to see what is effective and what isn’t.
5. Automate your digital marketing with end-to-end technology.

To read more about what CMOs had to say, and Conversant’s proposed solutions, read ‘5 Ways to Win Customers with Tech‘ here.

Google Chrome to Block Auto-play Videos in 2018

Have you ever visited a website and a video ad started playing as soon as you landed on the page? This is not only annoying but inconvenient, particularly if you’re at work and an ad starts blaring at top volume. If you’re a Google Chrome user, this will change soon. Starting with its expected release in January, Google Chrome 64 will begin blocking auto-play videos. Only muted video and user ‘interest in the media’ will be allowed by default, reports Ars Technica.

‘Users watch and listen to a lot of media, and autoplay can make it faster and easier to consume on the web. However, one of the most frequent user concerns is unexpected media playback, which can use data, consume power, and make unwanted noise while browsing. To address this, Chrome will be making autoplay more consistent with user expectations and will give users more control over audio,’ said Google in a September 14 blog post.

Users will also have the ability to completely disable audio for individual sites, so users have more control over the media playing in their browser. Are you excited about this as I am? Read more at Ars Technica here or on Google’s Chromium blog here.