Zero to Sixty: There's still time for technology to jump start your online retailing

Posted September 30th, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

watch60When I noticed that the Cyber Monday countdown timer had hit 60 days today, I mentioned it on Twitter.

But then it occurred to me that my point might not have been clear (it’s tricky to encompass more than one layer of meaning in 140 characters or less).

My point is that retailers still have time to introduce new technology to their online stores–technology that will increase conversion rates and average order value over current performance–even though Cyber Monday is just 60 days away. However, to do that successfully you need to make sure that the technology you choose has certain characteristics. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Industry, Strategy, marketing

Thanks for Stopping By!

Posted September 28th, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

Moneate Logo CloudThis blog post is not about insights into online merchandising and I have no amazing statistics to convey, just a sincere “Thank You!” from everyone at Monetate to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Shop.org Annual Summit in Las Vegas last week.

We enjoyed meeting you and we appreciated the chance to find out more about what you do. It was a pleasure to answer your questions about Monetate and to start conversations that doubtless will be continued in the weeks ahead.

We were also delighted to have a chance to show off our new logo cloud, proudly featuring some of our great clients.

As you can see from the picture on the left, our Sales Director, Marc Hatton, agreed to pose next to the cloud for an iPhone photo that I could send back to the talented folks at head office who had worked on the design. They had not seen the finished product because, to save both time and money, our supplier shipped it direct to the show for us. Thanks, San Diego Sign Company! And Thanks Marc, for carrying it back to the office right after the show!

p.s. Stand by for practical, money-saving merchandising tips in the next blog post, coming later this week.

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Posted in Events, General, Industry

Visit Monetate at Shop.org Annual Summit 2009, Booth 547

Posted September 9th, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

The Shop.org Annual Summit is the place where the worlds of retailing and online commerce come together. This year they come together at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from September 21 to 24, and we will be there. To be precise, we will be at Booth 547, a prime number in a prime location.Monetate at Shop.org Annual Summit 2009 As you can see from the map on the left, we are in a corner booth, located between the Food Court and the Google-sponsored WiFi area.

(Click the map for links to full conference info and floor plan.)

If you’re planning to be at the show, please stop by and say hi, whether you’re an existing customer or just passing through on your way from the Food Court to the WiFi area.

We’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have. We’re always keen to hear about the more challenging online marketing problems you’re trying to solve on your retail sites. I’m not saying that Monetate can solve every problem, but here are two things to bear in mind:

a. Our engineers are always expanding the list of problems that Monetate does solve.

b. We’ll tell you what we think is the easiest way to solve your problem, even if it doesn’t involve using Monetate.

For a list of 25 challenges that Monetate is already meeting for our customers, click here.

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Posted in Events, Industry

Labor Day Shout Out to the Retailers of America

Posted September 7th, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

labor-dayJust before Labor Day last year, in a nod to the non-traditional workers who labor to create and maintain our virtual world, I wrote a post titled “Happy Labor Day, Internet Builders!” This year I  thought I’d give a shout out to the retailers of America. Why? Well, Labor Day is traditionally “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers…a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2008)

However, while a lot of American workers are able to celebrate this day, the first Monday in September, by not going to work, many of the folks who staff the retail establishments of America work on this day (often at Labor Day Sales Events). As an American consumer, I appreciate them doing that.

Now, as the talking heads on the nightly news so often remind us, economic recovery from the Great Recession likely will be led by American consumers. And most of those consumers buy from American retailers. Thus, those retailers have a vital role to play in our economy, in contributing to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

In tough economic times like these, retailers work extra hard for their money and many of them don’t let up for Labor Day. Furthermore, the leading retailers are not just putting in long hours, they are digging deep to invest in new technology that improves the efficiency of the retail process. These improvements enable American consumers to find and acquire the goods and services they need, more quickly, with less effort, and at prices that are often the most affordable in the world.

So here’s to America’s retailers! And here’s hoping that all of America’s workers will participate in a recovery that arrives well before the next Labor Day.
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Posted in General, Industry

Free Webinar Explores Recession Marketing: From Pre-click to Post-click

Posted September 4th, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

Please join us on September 16 at 12pm EDT / 9am PDT, for a free online marketing webinar: “Recession Marketing: From Pre-click to Post-click.” Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • How persona marketing works, from end-to-end, even when times are tough.
  • Why there’s never been a better time to steal market share from your competitors.
  • Practical tips for using your existing analytics data to assess what segmented marketing can do for your bottom line.

This free event features three of the best minds in the business: Bryan Eisenberg, Craig Danuloff, and David Brussin. Just in case these guys are not all equally familiar to you, allow me to add some background:3-experts

Bryan Eisenberg is Chief Persuasion Officer and Co-Founder of FutureNow, and frequent contributor to GrokDotCom, the Marketing Optimization Blog. Bryan is also the author of several marketing bestsellers, including: Call to Action; Waiting For Your Cat To Bark; and Always Be Testing.

Craig Danuloff is President and Founder of ClickEquations, Inc., a leader in paid search management. Craig is a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as SMX and he regularly shares his paid search expertise in the ClickEquations Blog.

As CEO and Co-Founder of Monetate, David Brussin has been working closely with some of the largest and most aggressive online retailers to perfect SaaS-based web site personalization technology and develop winning campaign strategies.

Here’s what they will be talking about: Bryan will explain how “recession marketing” can steal market share from your competitors in this challenging economy; Craig will describe SEM techniques for targeting profitable customers via search campaign design and deep analytics; David will discuss the art and science of deriving and acting upon persona information in the post-click experience.

Hope you can make it. Again, here’s the link to register.

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Posted in Events, General, Industry, marketing

Leading Consumer Brands Segment, Target, and Personalize with Monetate

Posted September 1st, 2009, by Stephen Cobb

60th post on the Monetate blogIn case you missed it on the wire and in the social networks, below is the text of our latest news release. We wouldn’t normally post a release on the blog, but we’re particularly proud of this one because it demonstrates Monetate’s growing penetration of multichannel retail market. You can find an archive of our news releases here.

(We’re also pleased to note that this is the 60th posting on this blog since it was launched at the end of August last year. Your readership and comments have been much appreciated. Thanks!)

More Leading Consumer Brands Segment, Target, and Personalize with Monetate

To provide web site visitors with an even more personal, relevant, and compelling site experience, Casual Male Retail Group selects Monetate

Philadelphia, PA / September 1, 2009 — Online marketing tools like personalization and behavioral targeting are one way that retailers seek to meet and beat the challenge of today’s tough economy. One supplier of such tools, Philadelphia-based Monetate, today announced that five more consumer brands have joined the growing list of web sites employing its platform to segment, target, and personalize. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in General, Housekeeping, Industry