How to select a new ecommerce platform
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
In “Why change ecommerce platforms?,” my post last month, I discussed my decision to switch ecommerce platforms ? from Volusion to Bigcommerce ? in the fall of 2013. I made that decision based on several things that I felt were holding us back. Since the migration, I?ve talked to dozens of folks who have felt the similar pain points with their current provider. They’ve asked what they
What HTML5 Means for Ecommerce Merchants
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
What is one thing all?ecommerce stores have in common? They use HTML. In fact, just about every website uses HTML. That means when an update to HTML comes out, it has far-reaching effects.What Is HTML?HTML ??HyperText Markup Language ? describes how a web page is structured. A web browser ? e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer ? uses that description to render the page on your screen.For example, a
How to Run a Proper Online Contest
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
Contests can build awareness and help grow lists for future marketing. Moonray’s, a seller of landscape accessories, runs sweepstakes on Facebook. Folks simply enter for a chance to win.A well run online contest can bolster your social media following, energize loyal customers, collect information about the folks who enter, and help build lists for further marketing.Contest marketing uses contest
Image Recognition APIs May Help Ecommerce
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
A pair of new image-analysis solutions could open the door for powerful ecommerce and retail applications that significantly improve shopping experiences or create new marketing opportunities.On Feb. 18, 2016, Google released the beta version of its image recognition service as a public, paid application programing interface called Cloud Vision API.Google Cloud Vision APIOpen to everyone, Cloud Vision
Pop-ups bad for the web, bad for business
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
Our company is approached frequently by app makers that are selling pop-ups, or modals, for our ecommerce site. The pitch is usually the same: Use our pop-up to get more email subscribers, close more deals, and keep visitors on your website. But the question isn’t which app to go with. It’s whether we should use pop-ups at all.Let me first separate categories of pop-ups. There are user-expe
Entrepreneur, founder, C.E.O.?
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
What is a C.E.O.? If you founded and are running a start-up, when should you really take C.E.O. as a title?These are questions I?ve struggled with over the last year. It?s easy to look at Silicon Valley unicorns ? companies with at least $1 billion in valuation ? or public companies and see their C.E.O.s as ?true C.E.O.s.? But what about bootstrapped start-ups? It seems like every person who has an ide
Ecommerce in South Korea: Aggressive Discounting, Rewards
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
South Korea is a hotly competitive ecommerce market. Consumers there often prefer marketplaces, such as 11street, shown above, as well as aggressive discounts and loyalty-reward programs.South Korea is the seventh largest retail ecommerce market in the world and the third largest in Asia Pacific, after China and Japan. It boasts the fastest Internet speeds in the world, which drives one of the hi
Instagram Ads: Low CPAs for Right Audience
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
Instagram ads, such as these from Michael Kors (left) and Ben and Jerry’s closely mimic non-promotional Instagram posts. ?With compelling photography, advertisers can often achieve a low cost per acquisition ? provided their target audience aligns with Instagram’s. ?Images courtesy of Postano.com.If you asked an ecommerce marketer what her?lowest cost-per-acquisition channel is, she would l
A tale of two suppliers
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
The attitude of some suppliers amazes me. Recently, we have been going to trade shows to find new products. We have been looking for quality, niche suppliers that have higher-value goods, to increase our average sale and margins.At the trade shows, there were two types of suppliers. There were the ones that spotted us at their stand and made us welcome. They offered us coffee and took the time to show
For PPC ads, filter by demographic data
March 14, 2016 4:24 pm
Driving traffic is at the heart of building a successful ecommerce business. There are so many retailers and so many options?for consumers that you must continually find new ways to drive traffic. The most common methods are search engine optimization and pay-per-click search ads.In this article I will focus on PPC ads. It is much faster to implement than SEO, but, conversely, it typically costs a lot
