It’s Social Media Atlanta week and the ShopVisible team attended several panel discussions including “Social Media for Start-Ups,” “Social, Viral, and Experiential is the New Boom Boom Pow of Marketing,” and “Social Media Innovations.” We came away with some great information about social media strategies for ecommerce companies.

With worldwide broadband access increasing from 55 to 90% in 2012 and over 1.7 billion internet users worldwide, there’s no denying the importance of an ecommerce strategy. How do you best reach those users and potential customers?

Social media presence is no longer optional, its a necessity. Yvette Evans, director of business development at Vitrue, notes that the average time spent on social media sites increased 82% from 2008 to 2009. Facebook and Twitter are easy and affordable ways to reach a captive audience. The key to success and measurable increases in sales is to build relationships with your fans and encourage loyalty by keeping them active. What are the five important things should you consider when building your social media campaign?

(1) Improve Customer Service

Think of social media as another avenue for customer service. Respond to tweets and posts that have complaints, suggestions, or compliments. Listen to what consumers are saying and respond accordingly. Your customers will appreciate the individual attention and remember it the next time they purchase.

(2) Leverage Your Social Network

Build personal relationships with influential followers. Seek out consumers that have a large social media following and take the time to get to know them. Offer a giveaway on their blog, or an exclusive discount code they can give their readers. You’ll reach a new audience and potential customers you did not have access to previously.

(3) Create Content

Keep your content fresh and up to date. Nicole Jayne, Social Media Manager for Scoutmob, stresses the importance of identifying your voice and keeping it authentic to your brand. Once you’ve found it, produce relevant and compelling content often to keep consumers engaged.

(4) Offer Incentives

Run promotions, contests, discounts, and ads on Facebook. Consumers will share deals with their friends and expand your advertising reach exponentially at little cost to you. According to a study by BBDO, 82% of Facebook users say that businesses could improve their page by adding more deals and coupons. Listen to the people, leverage opportunities during slow periods and holidays to increase sales.

(5) Give Your Customer A Voice

Add customer reviews to your site. Dean Trevelino of Trevelino Keller notes that 72% of people trust peer reviews and only fourteen percent trust traditional advertising methods. Not only do these reviews give new customers guidance when purchasing, but they naturally increase your SEO by providing fresh content to your site on a frequent basis.

What can we expect to see in 2011? The panelists focused a great deal on the opportunities brought about by mobile devices. With the explosive adoption of smartphone and tablet use, consumers will do a large portion of their shopping with these mobile devices. Implementing a mobile solution like ShopVisible’s Mobile Commerce solutions ensures that your customer stays connected to your site, wherever they’re searching.

Additionally, panelists discussed social media innovations in the form of twitter payments, targeted coupon offers through Facebook, and blog search engines. With the ability to reach 500 million consumers on Facebook and 145 million consumers on Twitter, this is an exciting time for social media. Retailers and brands should join the conversation.

ShopVisible believes the time of tacitly sitting on the sideline has passed. You have to get in the conversation, and begin to engage customers in ways that will end up providing a great return on investment - returns on your dollars, and your customers' time spent.

ATLANTA – August 3, 2010

ShopVisible, a leading provider of on-demand ecommerce solutions, today announced seamless integrations with retail channels including Buy.com, Amazon, Craigslist, eBay and Overstock. Through these integrations, the ShopVisible solution enables retailers to manage their entire product catalog at a granular level across diverse channels through one management console. ShopVisible is the only ecommerce platform provider that also enables retailers to automate the entire product approval process for all channels.

“To be successful in ecommerce, you need to increase the opportunities for your customers to purchase your products beyond your own website by opening up your catalog to channels like Buy.com,” said Lance Stern, ecommerce manager at Paul’s TV. “We chose ShopVisible because it makes the process of integrating new sales channels into our ecommerce strategy seamless. No matter what channel someone makes a purchase through, it all flows back through our central ShopVisible solution. Since offering our products through retail channels like Buy.com, we have seen a tremendous growth in sales without the pain often associated with managing and fulfilling the orders.”

Using the ShopVisible solution, retailers can fully manage and automate the sale of their products and services through all major retail channels. Unlike other ecommerce providers, ShopVisible provides a direct, two-way interaction with these marketplaces where products can be selectively pushed to specific online marketplaces and comparison shopping engines and orders are all managed and organized in a single user interface.

"Just as Buy.com is committed to giving our customers the highest level of service, we are equally committed to providing our marketplace partners with the best experience possible," said Neel Grover, CEO and president of Buy.com.  "Integrating with ShopVisible helps our marketplace partners better manage their online sales and, therefore, supports our mission to serve as a leading marketplace for a variety of products and marketplace sellers."

“There’s no reason retailers need to rely solely on their primary websites to drive traffic and revenues. In addition to retailers’ own websites, they need to take advantage of as many avenues for exposure as they can,” said Sean Cook, CEO of ShopVisible. “In today’s marketplace, retailers have a host of new options beyond selling their products and services via their own stores. ShopVisible helps retailers take advantage of online sites such as Buy.com, Amazon and eBay which allow them to market and sell their products to massive groups of consumers. By opening up the retail ecosystem, ShopVisible provides a one-stop shop for retailers to manage their online retail sites and leverage online retail channels.”   

About ShopVisible

ShopVisible is an on-demand ecommerce solution provider that delivers tools and services designed to streamline and advance retailers’ online businesses.  From initial design or re-design to multi-channel strategies, proven search engine optimization implementation, content management, CRM, shipping, back office systems and analytics, ShopVisible provides unified management of the entire e-tail ecosystem, providing the flexibility and insight to meet even the most complex business needs.  ShopVisible powers some of e-tail’s most successful brands, ensuring speed to market, security and constant innovation. For more information, visit www.shopvisible.com, or call (866) 493-7037.

Contact:

Lisa Astor or Jessica Cascio

PAN Communications

978-474-1900

ShopVisible Launches Mobile ecommerce Solution

ShopVisible Mobile Creates Unique ecommerce Experience on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile Devices

ATLANTA – June 22, 2010 – ShopVisible, a leading provider of on-demand ecommerce solutions, today announced the availability of ShopVisible Mobile, an ecommerce platform that extends its comprehensive tools and services to the mobile environment, creating a rich mobile retail experience for consumers. ShopVisible Mobile runs on all major mobile devices, including iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile devices and was designed with the specific requirements of the mobile environment in mind.

“We have seen more and more consumers using mobile devices for purchases and buying decisions,” said Puneet Mehta, co-founder of Foothealth.com. “In order to stay competitive in the marketplace, we knew that we needed to offer a robust mobile retail site on par with our online storefront. Partnering with ShopVisible, the transition to mobile has been seamless. Our customers can now easily and quickly enjoy the same rich experience on their mobile phones as they do from their home computers.”

Today, more and more consumers are making their buying and purchasing decisions via the mobile platform. While purchasing made via mobile devices is still in its infancy, a significant number of consumers research their purchases in real time via a mobile device, making it imperative for retailers to create an optimum mobile experience. ShopVisible Mobile puts the user experience first. Its mobile ecommerce platform enables faster load times by creating “lighter versions” of ShopVisible client sites specifically optimized for a mobile browsing and shopping experience. Its simple interface makes it easy for users to browse retailers’ products and even make simple, fast purchases via services like PayPal or Amazon right from their mobile phone.

“Mobile devices get smarter all the time; today, these devices aren’t just capable of voice and messaging, but allow consumers to view streaming video and make online purchases. Retailers are realizing that mcommerce is a new and growing way to drive customer interaction and increase revenue. This opens up real opportunities for retailers to reach consumers through a medium they are familiar with and using on a daily basis,” said Sean Cook, CEO of ShopVisible. “The creation of ShopVisible Mobile is a natural of extension of what we already do – allow retailers to focus on growing their businesses through a multi-channel approach to ecommerce.”

ShopVisible makes it easy for retailers to extend their online business to the mobile environment by enabling them to manage their websites, online channels and mobile sites all from one platform. Retailers do not need to spend cycles setting up separate environments for their online and mobile presences; the ShopVisible Mobile solution recognizes when a consumer is accessing the retailer’s site from a mobile device and automatically makes adjustments to customize the site and viewing experience.

Major features of ShopVisible Mobile include:

• Easy integration with Amazon Mobile Payments and Mobile PayPal
• In-site search functionality and mobile search friendly infrastructure
• Highly SEO-friendly for mobile search
• Consumers can buy products directly from the device or push a button to order by phone
• Retailers can control and change content
• Eliminates the need for extra integrations, tying all orders and traffic directly into the same site management tools and business processes already in place
• Comprehensive and simple traffic and order analytics

• Easy-to-deploy promotion codes
• Live shipping calculations against UPS, Fedex and USPS

ShopVisible Mobile is available today. For more information, please visit http://www.shopvisible.com/mobile-commerce.aspx.

About ShopVisible

ShopVisible is an on-demand ecommerce solution provider that delivers tools and services designed to streamline and advance retailers’ online businesses.  From initial design or re-design to multi-channel strategies, proven search engine optimization implementation, content management, CRM, shipping, back office systems and analytics, ShopVisible provides unified management of the entire e-tail ecosystem, providing the flexibility and insight to meet even the most complex business needs. ShopVisible powers some of e-tail’s most successful brands, ensuring speed to market, security and constant innovation. For more information, visit www.shopvisible.com, or call (866) 493-7037.

ShopVisible attended a re-platforming seminar conducted by Eli Katz, President of Ashford.com at the 2010 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition and shared a few thoughts on how the ShopVisible e-commerce platform stands up to some of the biggest challenges retailers face in re-platforming their business.

The discussion centered on some of the critical issues retailers should consider when going through a re-platforming for their ecommerce business. Mr. Katz has launched a beautiful new and robust site for Ashford.com, but pointed out some cautionary tales of common issues the businesses face. When your site requires five (or more) different systems that require additional resources, time and money to do what one system should do seamlessly, re-platforming may be the right solution. But be careful that the new system does not end up requiring five new ones, and many new resources in the process.

Also, speed is crucial to the success any re-platforming process because time is money. Have you noticed how all the additional customizations push back your site launch weeks sometimes months longer than anticipated?

When Ashford.com made their switch from their original open source platform provider, they expected the aforementioned inefficiencies would be resolved with their re-launched platform powered by their new enterprise solution. However, with even the best of plans and intentions, there can be forks in the road and an aggressive 6 month launch plan can take 4 times that time. Mr, Katz mentioned a few specific common stumbling blocks that etailers should watch out for…


(1) Often, the catalog and data structure more complex than anticipated

(2) More third party tools needed to be implemented than originally planned that may introduce more time, complexity and risks than anticipated

(3) Projects can frequently run over budget and behind schedule

(4) Migrations can leave small, but important details overlooked potentially breaking tracking, disrupting existing business processes, and losing marketing traction in search

ShopVisible’s re-platforming process is efficient, in most cases requiring one-third of the time to market compared to our competitors. Because we build and implement our own sites for our clients, there is great attention to detail of how the site, the business, and the underlying technology synchronizes. To ensure seamless and non-disruptive migration ShopVisible’s platform utilizes automatic 301 redirects to preserve search rankings and existing traffic sources and our suite of platform migration tools to ensure smooth launches. While we understand that re-platforming can be scary business, don’t get trapped into a lengthy process that is more complex than what you started with. Just ask AbsoluteBarStools.com, whose site we launched in 45 days!

Please join us at the Internet Retailer 2010 Conference & Exhibition held at McCormick Place West in Chicago from June 8-11.

Now in its sixth year, IRCE 2010 is the world's largest ecommerce conference, each year drawing more than 5,000 attendees. This year's show features 175 e-retailing experts on its speaker faculty, 91 conference sessions on all e-retailing topics, and five targeted workshops. It also features the largest exhibition of ecommerce solutions in the world—400 exhibitors in all, including the ShopVisible booth. Please visit us at Booth 685 so that we can show you what we can do to improve your online retail performance.

At the show, look out for ShopVisible client Susan Aplin, CEO of bambeco.com.  Susan will be speaking on Social Media: Closing the Loop – How Going Social Leads to Sales during the general conference session on June 10 at 11:45 AM.

We hope to see you at IRCE 2010!

As we continue to break new ground and provide constant innovation to our clients, the world takes notice!

ShopVisible and client RightSize Health & Nutrition were noted in USA Today for the successful launch of ShopVisible's Facebook application, created to expand sales channels for online retailers.

“Today’s business needs to understand the power of social networking in order to thrive," says Jennifer Goodner, Corporate Support Manager of RightSize Health & Nutrition. "Part of the success of RightSize is our ability to interact with our customer in a personal way. The ShopVisible Facebook integration enables us to present our products for immediate purchase to those who are seeking unbiased reviews from the Facebook community."

Several ShopVisible clients are taking advantage of the unique application that allows them to include up to 16 products on their Facebook page. 

 

As Josh Lloyd, CTO and Co-Founder of ShopVisible says, “With more than 250 million members, Facebook allows our customers to significantly enhance their reach to potential buyers and customers... Additionally, our team can help retailers create a greater customer experience to increase loyal 'followers' and turn them into brand advocates.”

Calling all retailers: Get 50 percent off the two day main conference at Etail West 2010 courtesy of ShopVisible ecommerce solution.

Download the brochure and register online here.

Etail West provides you with high-level, tactical presentations and panel discussions and creates a platform for you to swap ideas and network. Attend intimate and interactive sessions, built upon the relationship-building between retailers that you can’t receive at huge tradeshows.

At the show, stop by the ShopVisible booth where we will be holding a special clinic entitled:

Visibility = Sales

Visibility in search, channels and comparison-shopping engines

Visibility into your business – orders, shipping, inventory and more!

Visibility everywhere

If you sign up to attend Etail, feel free to contact us at info@shopvisible.com or 866-493-7037 to set up a time for a one-on-one website consultation session with our ecommerce experts at the show. We will prepare an exclusive document for you in advance of the event to take with you free of charge that includes tips on how you can improve your visibility and website performance.

Etail West 2010

February 22-25 (Main conference: February 23-24)

JW Marriott Desert Springs

Palm Desert, CA

ShopVisible proudly announces that two of our ecommerce clients were honored in Internet Retailer Hot 100 Retail Websites 2010. This prestigious accolade is designed to showcase the best and brightest in the field of online retail. Internet Retailer sorts through an enormous amount of websites, submitted by readers, editors and industry experts each year to come up with the industry's best and brightest. In ShopVisible's case, we captured two of the highly coveted spots with Case-Mate and Bambeco, two progressively innovative pioneers online.

The Internet Retailer Hot 100 celebrates how "etailers responded to the recession with a burst of creativity" and identifies ten aspects of positive online commerce making ecommerce excel in spite of the economic downturn. ShopVisible clients Case-Mate and Bambeco are making waves online by:

 

1. (1) Connecting with customers
2. (2) Going mobile
3. (3) Becoming expert sources for online retail
4. (4) Making navigation more useful
5. (5) Personalizing the online experience for shoppers
6. (6) Making tough purchases easy
7. (7) Selling themselves
8. (8) Creating a sense of online urgency
9. (9) Connecting the site and the store
10. (10) Playing the value card

Case-Mate excels online for functionality, aesthetics and online selling prowess. Their inherent SEO driven platform provided by ShopVisible enables them to focus on driving sales, integrating into selling channels and thinking creatively as their ecommerce provider manages inventory, search and back-end business processes.

Bambeco is touching upon what is desirable in the market. Their eco-friendly online presence has helped them find a niche in the green retail and luxury home and decor spaces. Innovative and perceptive web marketing has helped enable Bambeco to sell creatively and with the help of ShopVisible, sell widely in an array of channels and online shopping marketplaces.

ShopVisible is so proud of our ecommerce family of clients, staff, developers and marketers. As we grow our brand we help push our etailing clients to the top of search positioning on the web. By being seen in all places online where shoppers are looking, vendors like Case-Mate and Bambeco can flourish.

As the ShopVisible Ecommerce Security team has been undergoing its PCI level one assessment we have become quite familiar with the late David Taylor via his prodigiously informative PCI Knowledge Base. The Payment Card Industry and the online security community in general lost a true scholar recently with the unexpected passing of fifty seven year old David Taylor, formerly of Protegrity and Gartner.

Those familiar with online Ecommerce security and PCI compliance have likely read posts from Taylor and heard him warmly and simplistically address the often misunderstood and esoteric realm of online security in his webinars. For online security laymen, Taylor provided a perspective that was grounded in data security standards and payment protection. Companies without large IT infrastructures and the human resources to undertake such projects as PCI compliance looked to Taylor for instruction on proceeding with security compliance and for definition of technical elements like File Integrity Monitoring, Application Firewalls and Penetration Tests.

David Taylor was indeed an expert in a field incomprehensible to many. In of his most recent posts from the PCI Knowledge Base, Taylor delved deep into Ecommerce security and organizational management as he addressed how PCI compliance can coalesce with risk management policy to better protect Ecommerce firms. His erudite approach to safeguarding online business was transparent and honest and will be well received for years in the fields of security compliance and online fraud prevention.