If you offer products and services that generate recurring revenue through subscriptions (including software, music, games, media or wireless plans), remarketing to your existing customers is the most important part of your business – as they say, it costs 5 times more to acquire a new customer than to satisfy an existing one. An upgrade or renewal email is an effective way to keep the customer “in the fold.” Some businesses bank on existing... 

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” OK, so perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but having spent the last several months thinking about the holiday season ahead (much like you, I imagine), it’s good to officially launch the 2010 eHoliday Study with our partner, BIGresearch . I’m calling all retailers to participate in our annual pre-holiday survey, this year featuring 14questions across marketing, promotions,... 

In the last couple of weeks, there have been a couple of economic news items from China which may be of interest to readers. China Now 2nd Largest Economy The first was the big news that after three decades of continuous double-digit growth, China has recently passed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy behind the United States. Although this had been widely anticipated for some time and is largely symbolic, it confirms that... 

My kids were flipping through one of our favorite family magazines when all of sudden I heard giggles. You know the giggles that mean they are doing something they shouldn’t be. I come around the corner to see what they are doing and I see an advertisement that is clearly not appropriate for children. It wasn’t horrible, it certainly could have been worse, but let’s just say I didn’t enjoy my 8 year-olds running around the house saying... 

When you work with a full-service eCommerce development company to manage the production of your new website project, make sure you understand the overall timeline and phases before breaking ground. Your chosen eCommerce provider should present a timeline unique to your project. The phases/length may differ, but the concepts should be similar. Please note that this timeline and phase outline is geared more towards a full-service eCommerce development... 

It’s Fall here in Utah.. ok, not really Fall, but the kids start school in August, so from a mom’s standpoint.. it’s a little bit of Fall.. not to mention a little bit of heaven. There’s a clear sense of a fresh start in the Fall, right? I love it, it’s my favorite season, and yesterday.. it snowed in the mountains. Just a little bit, but ski season is coming : ) So I’m feeling refreshed and hopeful. I’m... 

As a business owner, there are many times when you have to do it all: hire, fire, answer phones, solve UPS problems, pick & pack orders…you name it! Some of the most challenging parts of my job is not the business aspect of running the company but instead the people aspect of it. At eHobbies we have distinct roles and responsibilities for all of our staff. However, in order to be successful, you  Read More →

As soon as the August 13 application deadline for the Shop.org Think Tank expired, the Judging Committee (comprised of 5 volunteers from the Shop.org Board of Directors) set straight to work, poring over the many applications to identify the 12 candidates – 6 from retail and 6 from associate member companies – who would become the Charter Members of the Shop.org Think Tank. Congratulations are due to the 12 winning candidates, but not... 

[ Dave Birch ] So far as the commonly-discussed “next billion” consumers are concerned, the idea of some kind of universal payment card is vanishing. We’ve spent the last 50 years trying to make Visa, MasterCard, Amex and others into globally-accepted brands and I, like many other consumers, get off the plane anywhere on Earth and expect my UK-issued Visa debit, MasterCard credit and Amex credit cards to work without let or hinderance... 

While practical e-commerce is celebrating five years eBay is celebrating 15 years. This amazing world of the Internet is ever-changing and growing with businesses celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and grand openings while I write this post and while you read this post too! The freedom and opportunities online are endless and Practical eCommerce and eBay and both great examples showing the proof to everyone that the possibilities are endless... 

It’s a topic that is on the forefront of every one of our agendas: mastering the art of cross-channel optimization.  Whether you are a big box retailer or a specialty chain, we are all confronted with the same core issues of delivering seamless customer experiences across our channels of business.  I’ll be tackling this topic during a session at the upcoming Annual Summit ( Optimizing the Cross-Channel Experience…  Read More →

[ Dave Birch ] Over at the GSMA’s Mobile Money Exchange they’ve created a wiki for mobile money in an attempt to facilitate communication by pulling together a common set of definitions for the space, which is a laudable goal. If you’re interested in the topic, it’s definitely worth popping in and adding to the sum total of human knowledge. I’m sure that won’t mind a little vigorous debate either! If their efforts... 

Bloggers Digest is our monthly ritual that highlight posts from other blogs that are of value and interest to online retailers and Internet marketers. August 2010 will go down as “checklist month” as I found a lot of great checklist style posts in my feed reader, check ‘em out: The 5 Minute Conversion Health Scorecard by @unbounce The SEO Audit Checklist via @lunametrics What to look for in your web analytics by @richpage Another... 

This year’s Shop.org summit is just around the corner. Judging from the impressive line-up of speakers and sessions, it promises to be packed with valuable insight and collaboration with your peers. Here are just a few tips to ensure you make the most out of your trip to Dallas September 27-29. 1. Plan It sounds like a given, but take time on the Summit website to plan which panels, speakers and exhibitors to check out. Winging it guarantees... 

As eCommerce marketers, often our opinions about our customers’ shopping behavior clouds our judgment and leads us to make decisions that may harm our conversion rate. It’s easy to make incorrect assumptions based on web analytics data, or worse, to presume that our customers think and behave the same way we do. Research into the real attitudes and behavior of our customers can provide insights that contradict our assumptions....