Going to eTail East? Hope to meet you there (Booth 37)

Posted July 27th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

eTail-East-2010We’re busy this week lining up meetings at eTail East 2010, the big online retailing conference and expo that is going on in Baltimore during the week of August 9.

The week kicks off with Email Marketing and Segmentation Day, which Monetate is sponsoring. There are some great sessions on the schedule, including “Tear Down The Walls Between Email And Your Website” with Larry Cooper, Senior Marketing Manager at Under Armour, and “Increasing Sales Without Promotions: The Value Of Segmentation And Editorial Content” with Patrick O’Connell, Director of CRM, CustomInk.

This event follows the very successful format used at February’s Email Marketing and Personalization Summit. Our CEO, David Brussin, will again be participating, hosting a roundtable on the use of segmented marketing to drive revenue lift on retail websites. This time David will be joined by a very savvy online retailer, Alex Miller, who is VP of eCommerce and eMarketing at QVC. You can find more details of the day’s schedule here.

The next day, Tuesday, August 10, is the first full day of the eTail East 2010 conference, chaired by Robert Cell, CEO of MyBuys, and featuring a great slate of speakers and panel participants (Alex Miller will be on the panel titled: Targeting Customers And Improving Your Marketing ROI Through Innovative Personalization & Segmentation Strategies). On Wednesday the conference is chaired by Kevin Ertell, VP of Retail Strategy at ForeSee Results and a member of Monetate’s Strategic Advisory Board.

So, a busy week in Baltimore, and definitely a great event to attend if you are a retailer researching the latest strategies and techniques for increasing the ROI of your online operations, or maybe a marketer looking for the latest tips and tricks to give you an edge over the competition. (If you’re a retailer and haven’t registered yet, we can still get you 50% off the price of the 2-day event.)

If you’re in Baltimore that week we’d love to chat with you and answer any questions you might have about how Monetate can increase your website ROI and improve the online experience you deliver to your customers. Just drop us a line via the Contact page or email Marc Hatton direct: mhatton at monetate dot com. (And be sure to stop by Booth 37 if you’d like a chance to win an iPad.)

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Posted in Blog, Events, News

What Happened to Customer Service and the Personal Touch?

Posted July 22nd, 2010, by Tom Ellis

faceless customerHey everyone—Tom here again. I know it might not look like I’m here, but I am. (There is nothing wrong with your computer, do not adjust your set.) That faceless ”picture” of me is there to underline a point I am about to make, or rather, a point that Brett was making during one of our recent lunches.

If you caught the first two installments of my summer blog series, Lunches with Brett, you will know that Brett covered several important landing page tips. This week he was keen to talk about something different, something you might call “the lost art of online customer service.”

Brett also wanted to debunk some myths about website personalization, including the perception some companies have that the technical challenge is too big, and the return on investment is too unpredictable, to make it worth doing. So let’s looks at the facts, as Brett sees them from his position, that is, totally immersed in website optimization.

Fact #1: People love personalized attention. Whether we are physically in a store or shopping online it makes no difference, we humans love personal attention. And yet many e-commerce sites seem content to treat each online customer like just another blank face (see image above).

Do you know of any customers who appreciate this sort of generic, unfeeling treatment? I didn’t think so. At best, this type of impersonal service will do nothing; at worst it will spurn resentment, disloyalty and possibly even permanent defection. Here are some interesting recent statistics on this very topic.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Personalization, Strategy

Kevin Ertell: What I think is really interesting about Monetate

Posted July 20th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

We’re delighted to announce today that Kevin Ertell, one of the most-widely respected innovators in online retailing, is joining Monetate’s Strategic Advisory Board. In conjunction with that announcement we’re posting a short video that we recorded last week in which Kevin talks about the challenges facing online retailers. He explains why he thinks Monetate is “exactly the right solution for retailers to create a great customer experience that is right for every individual customer.” Take a look:

For those readers who are not familiar with Kevin, you can read more about him in today’s news release. Kevin has spent time running some serious online retailing operations such as borders.com. We can heartily recommend his terrific blog: Retail: Shaken Not Stirred. And you might want to follow him on Twitter.

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Posted in Industry, News, Opinion, marketing

Bryan Eisenberg on how Monetate takes marketing to the next level

Posted July 19th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

Chances are, you already know that Bryan Eisenberg is a recognized authority and pioneer in online marketing. What you may not know is that he recently joined Monetate’s Strategic Advisory Board. In this short video, Bryan talks about testing, online retailing, and how Monetate is “taking this to the next level.” Here’s what he has to say.

Obviously, we are very excited about Bryan’s enthusiasm for Monetate. When you spend years developing a radical new approach to a seemingly intractable problem it is very rewarding when an established expert in the field validates your approach. And with Bryan’s insight and input we will be able to make Monetate even better.

BTW, if you don’t know who Bryan is, a good place to find out is the news release about his decision to join the Monetate Strategic Advisory Board.

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Posted in Blog, Industry, News, Opinion, marketing, testing

Another Global Brand Chooses Monetate for Testing, Targeting, and Personalization

Posted July 13th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

Wow! Apparently, the world really does pay attention when you sign a client whose products are sold in more than 80 countries, particularly when that company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has recently announced a 37 percent increase in operating profit on annual revenues of $770 million.

L'Occitane choses MonetateSuch is the case with L’Occitane, one of Monetate’s newest and most global clients. The news story that we put out this morning was tweeted faster than any previous wire release we have done. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the company’s Director of E-Commerce & CRM, Matt Kritzer, had some very nice things to say about Monetate:

“We chose Monetate after taking a close look at all the competing solutions. The power of the Monetate solution, combined with its ease of use and integration, was what won us over.”

It’s always a rush when clients say good things about what you’re selling and they’re buying (you might have noticed some new quotes on the web site from our steadily growing client list). And it’s hugely exciting to see word of mouth spread round the world.

BTW, if you’re not hip to who or what L’Occitane is, check out entry in Wikipedia. It’s a great story of enterprise and innovation that positively reflects both traditional and progressive values.

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Posted in News

Lunches with Brett: Landing page anchors, what they are and why you need them

Posted July 12th, 2010, by Tom Ellis

Tom EllisWelcome back to Monetate’s summer blog series: “Lunches with Brett.” If you missed the first installment, allow me to introduce myself, I’m the guy in the picture, Tom Ellis, a Wharton MBA summer intern here at Monetate, and I’m busy gathering nuggets of marketing knowledge from Brett Bair, the ecommerce mastermind here at Monetate.

In the first installment Brett revealed some great ideas about landing pages (if you haven’t read, it, you should, now, then come back and read on). Fortunately, when you’ve got someone like Brett on your team, there’s more where that came from, which brings me to this week’s theme: The Landing Page Anchor.

What is a “landing page anchor?” I asked Brett over a particularly tasty turkey club sandwich over here at our headquarters on the north side of Philadelphia.

Brett began his answer by explaining that the landing pages which a site visitor sees upon clicking the best search results tend to contain the most relevant information, by design. Typically, these are pages that… Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Personalization, Strategy, marketing

Monetate Client ModCloth on TechCrunch TV: A new model for fashion retailing

Posted July 2nd, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

TechCrunch TV Interviews ModCloth FoundersThis week TechCrunch TV interviewed one of Monetate’s first clients, ModCloth, a web-based retailer specializing in retro and indie fashion. The ModCloth story is an inspiring one if you’re the least bit entrepreneurially-inclined or marketing-minded. And we’re very proud to say that ModCloth has been a Monetate client since 2008. In that year ModCloth achieved revenues of $3.2 million.

In the next year, 2009, ModCloth’s revenue was over $19 million! It’s a great story about smart marketing and the vistas that open up when you take a web-savvy approach to retailing. So here are ModCloth’s founders, Susan and Eric Koger, talking to Jason Kincaid on TechCrunch TV. It’s worth watching.

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Posted in Blog, General, Industry, News

Lunches with Brett: Beyond the Landing Page

Posted June 24th, 2010, by Tom Ellis

Tom EllisWelcome to the kickoff post in Monetate’s summer blog series: “Lunches with Brett.” Who’s Brett? Brett is Brett Bair, the ecommerce mastermind here at Monetate.

Brett is not the guy in the picture. That’s me, Tom Ellis, the lowly Wharton MBA summer intern, and I’m looking to glean weekly nuggets of marketing knowledge from Brett and share them with the larger web community.

Specifically, I am focusing on best practices—things that all online retailers, or indeed anyone in the ecommerce world—should be doing to optimize their websites to drive sales.

CAUTION: Information beyond this point is only for those who want to differentiate themselves and become consistently more profitable than their competition…

This week’s theme is “Beyond the Landing Page.” It’s about providing your customers with a consistent, full-site experience for a given marketing campaign… Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Strategy, marketing

These Badges Don’t Stink: Highlighting product shots shows positive results

Posted June 17th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

What irony! The best-known quote about badges refers to “stinking badges” despite the fact that badges are generally not stinky. In fact, they are almost always a good thing. From merit badges to badges of honor, most real world connotations have been positive. And now digital badges are proving both positive and helpful to e-commerce.

product shot badge

I’m talking about the badges you see on retail websites. These online store badges say things like: New Arrival; Staff Favorite; Special Value; and Top Pick. (The example on the left is from one of our clients, Freshpair, whose site sports one of the great e-commerce taglines: “buy underwear in your underwear”.)

Placing badges on product shots can make a big difference to the way shoppers interact with your site. In fact, whenever our clients have introduced badging the effects have been positive (defined as an increase in conversion rate, an increase in average order value, or both). In my opinion the most likely reason for this is that… Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Personalization, Strategy

iPad as Marketing Tool? Trade show field test proves positive

Posted June 10th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

In the spirit on sharing hi-tech marketing tips and tricks as fast as possible, we thought we would pass along our experience using Apple iPads to demonstrate our marketing software at this week’s Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE).

IRCE is the largest annual event for online retailers and attendance is up this year. That means a lot of traffic in the aisles, which is good, but how do you get all of those people to take a look at your product? This might be the answer:

Show off your product on an iPad

Here you see Marc Hatton, Monetate’s Sales Director, with one of a number of iPads which we’re using at IRCE to demonstrate our testing, targeting, and personalization services.

Before the iPad, the normal strategy for making sure everyone passing your booth could at least catch a glimpse of your demo was… Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Events, marketing

Blair Lyon’s Business Cards: A true story of chance, marketing, and an iPad

Posted June 9th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

Who is Blair Lyon and why were his Monetate business cards scattered on the street around the Chicago Hilton this week? Here are the bullet points:

  • Front and back of Blair's business cardsBlair’s Monetate business cards, from Next Day Flyers, were supposed to be delivered to the Chicago Hilton by Fedex on Monday.
  • Several hundred of Blair’s cards were spotted on the sidewalk in the vicinity of Wabash and 8th on Monday morning, while Blair was still in Philadelphia.
  • By late Monday his cards had been spotted as far north as Jackson and Michigan.
  • Nobody who works for Monetate would ever intentionally litter the streets of Chicago or any other city.

So who is Blair and what were his cards doing in the street? Inquiring minds want to know, especially marketing minds, and particularly marketing minds attending  IRCE, the Internet Retailer Conference and Exposition at McCormick Place in Chicago this week… Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Housekeeping, News

Which 3 Product Features to Highlight? We picked a dynamic trio of marketing marvels

Posted June 8th, 2010, by Stephen Cobb

Sales Director Marc Hatton demos Monetate booth Several members of Team Monetate will be in Chicago this week at the world’s largest event for Internet retailers: IRCE (as is “Internet Retailer Conference and Exposition” opening today at the McCormick center).

Success at trade shows often hinges on what you do before you get there. When you’re prepping for an event like this it’s important to make sure everyone is “on message.” At high traffic trade shows it’s just not possible to show off every feature of every product to everyone who stop by your booth.

So we decided to focus on 3 features at IRCE that are unique to the Monetate Real-time Marketer product, things we can do for online retailers that nobody else can. Our feature picks went out in a news release but I will be going into more detail about the dynamic trio here on the blog:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Blog, Personalization, marketing, testing
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