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THE MAGAZINE FOR WEBSITE SUCCESS OCTOBER 2015
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Disruptive
BUSINESS OPERATIONS From ride-sharing and baby monitoring to lead scoring and billing, there are companies making processes and products better – disrupting how people do and expect to do business. They are speeding up digital business and enterprises (both emerging and established) will need to find ways to operate in far more effective, modern and data-driven ways to keep pace. THIS MONTH IN WEBSITE MAGAZINE Choosing the Optimal ECM Enterprises have different needs for their content management system, requiring a detailed research process.
Explore Website Magazine’s
DEPARTMENTS Stat Watch: The Data on Big Data
Enterprise Ready: Accounting & Finance
Small Business Lab: A Customer Service Homerun
Launch an Affiliate Program
Quiz Time:
While affiliate marketing can be a highly productive revenue stream, optimizing the launch is crucial to the viability of the channel.
Think You Know Social?
Top 50: Essential Social Media Solutions
E-Commerce Express:
Email in the Customer Lifecycle If executed properly, transactional emails can generate two to six times more revenue than the average email marketing message.
Tips to Increase Social Sharing
Mastering Search: Optimizing Local Authority
Design & Development: Smarter Digital Redesigns
Domain Staying Power for Publishers While dot com is still the most popular TLD, new extensions have big potential for information publishers in the long-term.
Building a Better Lightbox A virtual blessing for time on site and other engagement metrics, lightboxes offer numerous benefits when implemented well.
Web Commentary: Your Mom’s Great Expectations
GET THE DIGITAL SCOOP Check out Website Magazine’s email newsletters covering search, e-commerce, social, design and more at wsm.co/webscoop.
From the
EDITOR Thoughtfully Disruptive There’s a lot of talk of new companies improving old industries, as well as startups creating entirely new ones. There has never been a time in the history of business, however, when this hasn’t been the case.
Find Website Magazine at these Internet industry tradeshows. Shop.Org Oct. 5-7 Philadelphia, PA Luxury Interactive Summit Oct. 13-15 New York, NY Ad: Tech Oct. 13-14 London Mobile Shopping Summit Oct. 14-16 Palm Springs, CA
The difference in 2015 though is the speed at which innovators can get their products/services to market and generate awareness – thanks to, of course, the Web and the many marketing channels it provides. It is not just their offerings (although some are proving quite disruptive for everything from billing to transportation) that are challenging the way products and services are delivered compared to existing competitors, but also the way in which these disruptors are operating in the day to day. Today’s disruptors – although many are hurried to launch before they are quite ready – are leveraging the foundations of Web success (infrastructure and reliability, analytics and optimization, and acquisition and retention) in creative and inspiring ways. This month’s feature not only looks at the technologies speeding up digital business, but also their processes that will change how even the oldest companies will want to do business today. Disruption can, of course, be seen in many industries. This issue of Website Magazine also addresses changes to how local businesses can be found on the search engines today, as well as how the digital redesign process is (or at least can be) smarter, faster and simply better than it was before thanks to supporting technologies and more redesign precedent. This issue also includes considerations to make when selecting an enterprise content management system, as well as ones to make in the future as industries and expectations rapidly evolve. And, as Website Magazine (and the professionals it serves), looks to holiday marketing, readers will find guidance on how to make the most out of transactional emails, which are nearly always opened but nearly never optimized. CELEBRATING As always, we hope you enjoy this issue and invite you to join us on the ‘Net where our editors and industry contributors explore the topics that matter most to your digital success. Best Web Wishes,
10 YEARS
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The Countdown to 100!
Website Magazine is celebrating its 10-year anniversary – and with only a few issues away from our 100th issue, we want to celebrate with the person who has helped us get here – you, of course. Look for the phrase, “maximum reach” (hint: it’s in orange and bold in the second half of the magazine), open up the October 2015 digital edition of Website Magazine at wsm.co/digitalwm15 and click on that phrase. Participants will then be directed to a special landing page where they can enter to win a $500 prize.
Website Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 10, October 2015, (ISSN# 1942-0633) is published 12 times a year, January through December by Website Services, Inc., 999 E. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018. Periodicals Postage Paid at Des Plaines, IL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Website Magazine, 999 E. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018. Canada Post: Please send undeliverable items to: 2835 Kew Drive, Windsor ON, N8T 3B7 Copyright 2015 by Website Magazine. All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. For reprints of any article, contact the editor. *The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of Website Magazine.
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Resource Center FINELY FOCUSED INFORMATION FROM INDUSTRY SPONSORS Scan to visit our Resource Center at www.WebsiteMagazine.com/resources
Website Magazine’s Resource Center presents whitepapers from our sponsors that provide information, specifics and metrics to help you make decisions for website success. Download free at www.WebsiteMagazine.com/resources.
How to Win at Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Internet Performance for Dummies
This holiday season it’s imperative that retailers serve up personalized offers to create a more integrated experience, making it easier for consumers to shop their way. Download this whitepaper to learn more about the top-five trends for the 2015 shopping season. Sponsored by Avalara
All this talk about Internet infrastructure, cloud infrastructure optimization and Internet Performance can be overwhelming – even for experienced Internet professionals. To help untangle the “Web” of confusion, check out the “Internet Performance for Dummies Guide.” Sponsored by Dyn
The Truth About Responsive Web Design
Back in the Hopper: The Marketplace Fairness Act
Automated Replenishment Guide
How to Make Shoppers Feel Safe Online
As brands invest in RWD to deliver a consistent online experience, it pays to consider the options available to brands to optimize their mobile strategies. In this whitepaper, you will find a comprehensive assessment of RWD’s benefits and challenges, the key factors to consider before choosing responsive, and the value of considering or investing in additional or hybrid Web solutions. Sponsored by Usablenet
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Three versions of remote sales tax legislation are in circulation and each would create different consequences for those selling online. Read this two-page overview of the three bills to learn why and how passage of a federal Internet sales tax law could impact your business, and why you may already be affected by “Internet sales tax” legislation enacted by individual states. Sponsored by Avalara
According to Symantec research, one in eight legitimate websites has a critical vulnerability and 38 percent of mobile users have experienced cybercrime in the past 12 months. Fortunately, there are ways retailers can earn shoppers’ trust and business. Sponsored by Norton Shopping Guarantee
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Net
BRIEFS
QUICK HITS EBAY RETOOLS SELLER RATINGS Good news for merchants marketing their goods on eBay’s marketplace – seller ratings will no longer be negatively impacted by returns, exchanges or by late shipments that have been determined to be outside of a merchant’s control. Under a new set of metrics, eBay will base seller ratings on delivery and service, as illustrated by the volume of seller-canceled transactions for out-of-stock items that can’t be fulfilled and cases that are closed without seller resolution. The new rules are expected to take effect in Feb. 2016.
MARKETING SILOS PERSIST (STILL) Despite all of the omnichannel chatter, marketing initiatives are still operating in silos. A report from PR firm Hotwire found that 46 percent of respondents tend to run their campaigns in isolation, with 30 percent stating that their campaigns are not designed for multichannel use. Another surprising finding was the breakdown of channel spending. Online advertising, for example, is included in just 52 percent of marketing budgets, while social media is used in 27 percent of budgets and SEO is used in only 21 percent.
WHO’S DOMINATING THE
SOCIAL LOGIN WARS? Customer identity management company, Gigya, released data that revealed end-users have a strong preference (66 percent) toward using their Facebook credentials to log into other websites. In comparison, the second-most used credential was Google+ at just 20 percent, followed by Twitter at 6 percent.
$ WHO GOT PAID? $23 Million CartoDB, location-data
analysis and visualization company, closed a $23 million Series B investment round led by Accel Partners, with additional participation from Salesforce Ventures, Earlybird Ventures and Kibo Ventures.
$35
Million Crossbar Inc., a resistive RAM (RRAM) technology provider, completed a $35 million Series D funding round. Tyche Partners, Oriza Holdings and Cheerful Link joined the company’s existing investors in the round.
$4.2 Million XOR Data Exchange,
a data analytics company that creates transparent permission-based data exchanges, secured $4.2 million in Series A funding led by Fenway Summer Ventures and participation from existing investors in Chicago Ventures and KGC Capital.
? OF THE MONTH
QUESTION
Which social network is the most valuable to your Web-based business, and why? To answer this question and possibly be included in an upcoming issue of Website Magazine, visit wsm.co/octqotm.
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BRIEFS POPULAR WITH WM READERS +
4 Habits of Successful Web Designers
+
It is no longer enough for Web designers to develop a functioning site. In 2015, they need to also take consumer expectations into consideration and compete against the growing do-it-yourself industry. Keep reading at wsm.co/habitspros
APP WATCH Foster Teamwork in the Office Did you know that just 38 percent of professionals find their company’s intranet effective when it comes to helping them learn more about their coworkers? Fortunately, LinkedIn is making it easier for colleagues to get acquainted with its new Lookup app. Through the app, users can easily find, learn about and contact their coworkers, making collaboration initiatives easier than ever. At launch the app is only available for iOS.
Discover more apps at ApplicationMagazine.com
Check Your Tech: Considerations to Make When Launching Apps Worldwide Success or failure can depend on a company’s ability to quickly adapt and prepare for the unexpected, including the varying network and carrier speeds across the globe.
+
How to Get More Positive Reviews on Yelp Some positive reviews on Yelp get buried unbeknownst to business owners. Now, it is time for companies to give those reviews a virtual “push” to make them visible to online researchers.
Keep reading at wsm.co/techglobal
Keep reading at wsm.co/pushyelp
# WEBTECHWATCH See what has the ‘Net community all abuzz with Website Magazine’s #WebTechWatch series, a monthly roundup profiling both emerging and established technologies and some of the most useful solutions for today’s Web workers. If you have a digital product or service you think deserves a mention, tweet @WebsiteMagazine with the hashtag #WebTechWatch. + Bumpsale: Sell digital products using incremental pricing automatically. + AdPushup: Optimize a publishing website’s advertising layout for increased revenue. + Solid: Help meeting attendees prepare, focus and receive action items. + Sketchboard: Collaborate, brainstorm and problem solve (see image).
Have tips, stories, or funding or acquisition news to share?
Tweet us @WebsiteMagazine
Stat
WATCH
The Data On
BIG DATA Big data is complicated for even the most experienced Web professional. While “data” itself is an important part of any business (as it can illustrate which initiatives are successful and which are not), “big data” does much more than simply skim the surface to provide insights on traffic, clicks or conversions. With so much personal and behavioral information available to be collected and analyzed, implementing a big data initiative is far too complicated for any analytics professional to undertake without some support from a technology platform. In fact, the biggest obstacle that companies face when it comes to leveraging big data is “insufficient existing infrastructure” according to a recent study from CA Technologies. Despite this significant challenge, business professionals seem to understand just how important the practice of collecting and acting on information can be to their organization’s bottom line, as 84 percent of the study’s respondents noted they have already, or plan to, implement a big data project within the next year due to well-documented benefits including improving the customer experience (e.g. more complete customer profiles for deeper personalization) and increasing revenue (such as connecting social profiles with potential buyers for better lead generation). “While organizations face challenges in tackling complexities associated with implementation efforts, the results overwhelmingly demonstrate that companies are committed to developing and deploying fully integrated big data strategies,” said David Hodgson, general manager, Mainframe, CA Technologies. “By overcoming the obstacles, companies can successfully compete in the application economy.” Despite how overwhelming implementing a big data strategy may seem, the benefits do outweigh the challenges. Brands that realize this and fully leverage all available data will be the ones positioned for success now and in the future.
Of the top five obstacles for leveraging big data, 26 percent of companies cite “security/compliance concerns.” (CA Technologies,April 2015)
26% The amount of data generated daily is 2.5 exabytes. (Adepta, March 2015)
2.5 Exabytes The number of organizations with deployed/implemented data-driven projects has increased by 125 percent in the last year. (IDG Enterprise, March 2015)
125% IBM announced that it will educate more than 1 million data scientists and engineers on Spark, a new open-source engine for big data processing. (IBM, June 2015)
1Million In organizations where big data is viewed as the single most important way to gain a competitive advantage, 51 percent have CEOs who personally focus on big data initiatives. (Forbes Insights, 2015)
51% The big data market reached $27.4 billion in 2014. (Wikibon, March 2015)
$27.4 Billion OCT OB E R 2015
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Enterprise
READY
MONEY MATTERS Accounting & Finance for Web Professionals By Peter Prestipino, Editor-In-Chief
Of the myriad responsibilities required of today’s Web professional (from promotional activities to user-experience optimization), those related to managing an enterprise’s finances and accounting are often the most complex. It’s also one of the least favorite activities, and as a result, is rarely discussed in any meaningful depth. Yet enterprise financials are really important. Fortunately, there are many powerful technology solutions available, which are making money matters far less cumbersome than ever before. Poor accounting, of course, can lead to some serious problems, not the least of which are legal concerns like tax fraud and tax evasion, but damage to a company’s reputation is another important reason to take the practice seriously. Unfortunately, not every brand has the knowledge or resources (time and money) to handle an enterprise’s accounting requirements, despite knowing its obvious importance. Attention to accounting is vital however, so from time to time it proves useful to explore the landscape of tools and resources available to help with this vital aspect of ‘Net business. Accounting software essentially enables companies to maintain their business ledgers, track
The Accounting Software Big List This month’s Enterprise Ready only scratches the surface of the solutions available to Web professionals. There are many others that deserve a closer look including Wave, Bill.com, Kashoo, Less Accounting and others. Start focusing on the books and check out Website Magazine’s “Big List of Accounting Software” at wsm.co/listacct. 10
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incoming and outgoing transactions and automate the many processes surrounding their accounts, such as invoicing and reconciliation (ensuring that two sets of records, such as the balances of two accounts, are in agreement) – but their offerings don’t stop there. Often, accounting software also includes features that enable companies to engage in dunning (the process of communicating with customers to ensure the collections of accounts receivable), and handle payroll, time tracking and expenses, and may even be an application of, or integrated with, a company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) software. One of the reasons that such solutions have likely not been more widely adopted is because there are, simply, so many different types available (for every size and every type of company) and they satisfy every possible need of the digital enterprise. Some of the most common include features such as those for billing, payroll, purchasing, as well as time and expense management, but again, there are many others ‘Net professionals will encounter during their selection process. For large enterprises (those who deal with greater financial complexity, corporate tax solutions, performance management offerings for budgeting, forecasting and financial consolidation, as well as ERP) solutions including those from Oracle, SAP, Sage Software, NetSuite and Microsoft are often the norm, but let’s explore what some of the other top accounting solutions (regardless of organizational size) provide and identify a few of the leading vendors. While many companies simply won’t need the full set of features provided by more robust accounting software, the following can serve as a viable starting point as Web professionals embark on this important business journey.
QUICKBOOKS Easily the most recognizable name in the accounting space, Intuit’s QuickBooks is often the first brand today’s companies think of for accounting technology – and for good reason. The solution offers an extensive checklist of features for accounts payable and receivable, billing and invoicing, as well as those for cash management and collections. With good support and a modest $12/month price tag per user, QuickBooks is consistently a top performer and should be considered as such by those seeking out best-of-breed accounting software. FRESHBOOKS While not nearly as robust as QuickBooks, or as open and available to other systems through integrations, Freshbooks has long stood as one of the best options available and has proved to be a very reliable accounting software solution. The cloud-based solution offers strong core features in accounts receivables, as well as for billing and invoicing, and even features an easy-to-use expense tracking feature. ZOHO BOOKS Offering all the essential features for recording, monitoring and reconciling bank accounts and transactions, where the Zoho
Books solution really shines is in its ability to integrate with Zoho CRM (similar to the manner in which solutions like Oracle and SAP operate). Zoho Books offers all the necessary features, but with excellent support, ease of use and a $9/month price tag, this option should be one that tops the list of accounting solutions. XERO Those looking for a robust accounting solution (something comparable to high-end solutions) but without the premium price tag would be wise to consider Xero (at $9/month per user). Founded in 2006, New Zealand-based Xero is very popular among accounting professionals thanks to a deep feature list that includes the basics of accounts payable/receivable, as well as expertly handling expense tracking, revenue recognition and tax management. Startups fail for so many reasons. According to business sources, 90 percent fail – the bleak truth of entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, you are probably well aware of a number of reasons why failure occurs and you’re probably aware that poor accounting is definitely one of them.
Small
BUSINESS LAB
Hitting a Customer Service Homerun By Allison Howen, Associate Editor
Seventy-six percent of consumers will stop doing business with a brand after a bad customer service experience (Ovum, 2015). These “bad” experiences, however, aren’t limited to brickand-mortar stores. Increasingly, consumers are demanding high levels of service across channels (Web, mobile and social), and do not hesitate to voice their dissatisfaction when their expectations are not met. Despite increased expectations and the growing number of channels available to share experiences (good and bad), brands can still win at customer service, but doing so requires more than just displaying contact information on a website. Rather, brands should consider the following three tips when strategizing a winning digital customer service plan.
1. Make mobile the MVP. In today’s always-connected world, a smartphone is rarely out of its owner’s sights. This is why Ross Haskell, senior director of products at BoldChat by LogMeIn, suggests that brands make mobile the most valuable player (MVP) of their customer service initiatives. “The single biggest trend is the ongoing move to the mobile Web,” said Haskell. “Smartphones and tablets are the center of an increasing number of users’ digital experiences, so it is critical that brands embrace not only mobile websites and apps, but mobile engagement as well.” Brands can offer mobile customer support in a variety of ways, including by adding live chat to mobile websites and native applications. For example, TouchCommerce not only offers live chat for mobile sites, but Self-service options, like TouchGuides also recently launched an API (read more at from TouchCommerce, help users wsm.co/touchapi ) that enables users to solve common issues on their own integrate live-chat capabilities into their nato the benefit of reducing operational tive mobile apps. The API streamlines the costs and increasing conversions. customer service experience by enabling
companies to assist customers without directing them to an outside website or call center. In addition to live chat via native apps or mobile sites, companies can leverage a very familiar mobile feature to better serve their customers – SMS messaging (a.k.a. text messaging). BoldChat Enterprise, for example, offers this functionality, which Haskell notes is a fast, cost-effective and growing channel for inbound requests. Aside from texting, brands can also serve customers from another familiar channel – social.
2. Throw a social strike. Ovum’s 2015 research revealed that 14 percent of consumers leverage social media to reach businesses with customer support questions, which is up from 5 percent just two years ago. What’s more, social presents a great opportunity for brands trying to separate themselves from the competition, as only 5 percent of customers say that social media has been a reliable channel for resolving issues on their first attempt. Although it can be difficult to cut through the social noise to serve customers in this channel, it is important brands respond to social customer service requests due to the fact that these conversations are public. By responding, companies demonstrate that they are listening, engaging and doing their best to meet their customers’ needs.
3. Take a swing at self-service. While traditional live chat is a common feature for many websites nowadays (discover three ways to spruce up live chat initiatives at wsm.co/livechatplus), brands can enhance their site’s customer service offerings by adding a self-service option. “Today’s consumers are much more likely to use self-service than in the past,” said Marina Kalika, director of product marketing at TouchCommerce. “This is especially the case for millennials as compared to older demographics. They are self-sufficient; they are efficient in using their time and resources; and they want to get the answers quickly.” One way to help customers serve themselves is by featuring frequently asked question (FAQ) sections on websites. Additionally, brands can integrate self-service solutions like TouchCommerce’s TouchGuides, which present customers with automated guides to help them resolve common issues on their own (see image).
Batting Order By putting together an omnichannel customer service plan, brands can position themselves to hit a homerun whenever, and wherever, a customer service request arises.
Quiz
TIME
Think You Know Social? 1. True or False: Google bought Waze, a popular social traffic and navigation app, in 2013. a. True b. False While Facebook is rapidly losing interest among teens (a 2015 report from BI Intelligence revealed only 14 percent of teens listed the social network as “most important” compared to 42 percent in 2012), the majority of this valuable demographic is moving to Facebook’s own company – Instagram. In fact, the same report shows steady growth among teens on the image-dominated network. Aside from Snapchat (which wasn’t included before), Instagram was the only social network with increased importance among the group from Spring 2014 to Spring 2015. Despite the teen exodus from Facebook, the network announced that for the first time ever, 1 billion people used Facebook in a single day (Aug. 24, 2015) – read more at wsm.co/fbook1day. The question becomes: How privy were brands/marketers to all of these developments and milestones? This month’s Quiz Time tests your knowledge of some of the biggest acquisitions, changes and offerings in the social media landscape. If you find yourself stumped, make sure to bookmark Website Magazine’s Social Media Mavens channel at wsm.co/socialmavens to get regular coverage of the social news that matters most to ‘Net professionals.
2. Aside from Polyvore, the social network with the highest average order value is…? a. Instagram b. Pinterest c. Facebook d. LinkedIn
3. Which social app did Facebook unsuccessfully try to acquire for $3 billion? a. Pinterest b. Snapchat c. LinkedIn d. WhatsApp
4. What are the top two benefits of social media marketing for businesses? a. Increase exposure and increase traffic b. Get more likes and shares c. Grow follower numbers and profile views d. Improve customer service and increase conversions
5. What is Venmo?
For the answers to this month’s Quiz Time, go to wsm.co/qtoct15 or scan the QR code on the left.
a. An instant-messenger app b. A social-payments network c. A question-and-answer network d. A social-shopping service
Top
50
RANK WEBSITE
Essential Social Media Management Solutions Social media has changed the ‘Net landscape. The channel has forced brands to be more reactive to customer concerns (limiting complaints), provided platforms on which to distribute messaging in a very personalized way to prospects and existing customers (increasing awareness inexpensively) and perhaps most importantly, offered measurable performance along the way. So why aren’t more companies making the most of their investment in social media? Perhaps it is because they simply aren’t using the right tools. There is no debating that social media is still experiencing rapid growth. Facebook recently reported that it achieved a rather significant milestone – just over 1 billion people used the network in a single day (that’s 1 in 7 people on earth and nearly one-third of global active Internet users). For comparison, Twitter has just 316 million monthly active users (MAUs) and sees roughly 500 million Tweets sent per day (on average). That’s not necessarily a digital indictment of Twitter though as these networks are very, very different. Employed by users for a variety of activities, it is a brand’s responsibility to know not only which networks their users are active on, but also how to interact with their audience within the constraints of each. For this reason, social media management tools have quickly proved useful in terms of offering a single, unified solution to the complexities of multi-network engagement initiatives – including monitoring, production, distribution and analysis. Social media management is, in essence, a very broad term for both the technologies and techniques/tactics in use by marketers to help simplify the processes in this increasingly important channel. The hundreds of available solutions on the market today essentially make it possible to manage digital interactions in a more efficient manner, streamlining and consolidating messaging and communication and making brands active participants in conversations with their audiences wherever they may occur – from Twitter to Facebook and every social Web community in between. In this edition of Top 50 from Website Magazine, we’re focusing on the technology offerings available now that provide these benefits to enterprises of any size or type. Readers will find some well-known brands, along with some unique upstarts that are poised to be immensely useful to today’s Web brands.
BUILDING A SOCIAL WEBSITE Discover seven types of software that can instantly make your website more social, drive audience engagement and shorten the path to conversion for all at wsm.co/7socialsite.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Adobe.com Salesforce.com Hootsuite.com Canva.com Topsy.com Bufferapp.com SproutSocial.com Cision.com Lithium.com Socialbakers.com Percolate.com Mention.com SocialMention.com Sysomos.com Brandwatch.com AgoraPulse.com Offerpop.com SocialBro.com Spredfast.com SumAll.com SocialOomph.com Shoutlet.com MeetEdgar.com Crowdlinker.com Sprinklr.com ReviewTrackers.com Trackur.com Sendible.com GroSocial.com TweetDeck.com MavSocial.com Rignite.com GetSocial.io ReadyPulse.com Oktopost.com WhosTalkin.com Buzzsumo.com AddShoppers.com SignalEngage.com Plugg.io Gremln.com CrowdBooster.com FanChimp.com BundlePost.com HowSociable.com Conversocial.com SocialFlow.com PinAlerts.com FalconSocial.com BuzzLogix.com
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E-Commerce
EXPRESS
3 Tips to Compete with Subscription Services on Social By Amberly Dressler, Managing Editor
Subscription services are having huge implications on how retail transactions are being played out on social channels. From Bombfell (a men’s personal stylist clothing subscription) to Stitch Fix (a similar idea, but for women) recurring shipments of personalized product collections are filling up social newsfeeds because users of these services are compelled to compliment (or complain) about the latest items selected for them– even requesting advice from their peers on whether to purchase the item or not. These companies are benefiting from this user-generated content and the corresponding social media publicity in myriad ways, but more traditional retailers can too. For the unfamiliar, these services charge a monthly fee or a one-time styling fee ($20 in the case of Stich Fix) to pull items from shelves (digital or otherwise) to meet a user’s clothing needs. It’s proving to be an accessible and convenient alternative to scouring the ‘Net or the mall for a perfect outfit for a wedding, trip or everyday life. These services look for the best options by first getting a client’s measurements and style preferences. Using this information (even a person’s Pinterest boards), Stitch Fix’s recommendation algorithm then matches inventory to clients with the help of “expert” human stylists according to the company. Items are 16
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then sent to the person’s home for her to try on and keep or send back. With Stitch Fix, items not kept are simply put in a pre-labeled/paid mailing bag (much easier than most e-commerce returns). Through technology (e.g. personalized style quizzes, checklists, profile matching, etc.) and direct feedback (e.g. “I would have liked this if…”), both Stitch Fix’s algorithm and staff learn what a shopper will want to buy in the future to improve the next “Fix” – what the company calls the curated shipments of clothes it sends to its clients. The reason why these experiences are being shared so often on social media networks is because they are convenient and luxurious. Traditional retailers looking to increase social sharing may want to implement a few of their tactics.
Help Customers Help You When brands provide genuine value, customers are more likely to share their experiences. Stitch Fix’s “styling cards,” for example, show customers how they can wear the pieces received with items they may already own (see image). By helping customers in this way, Stitch Fix customers are actually helping the company by sharing these cards (along with pictures of themselves in the outfits) within social media channels. They are doing so quite frequently
on Instagram, where many brands still don’t have a presence. When companies are helpful, they can create brand advocates for them on networks they may not be on quite yet and then evaluate whether resources should be spent on those particular channels.
Make an Immediate Impression Many retailers think of the packaging that their products are sent in as an operational line item, but marketers within organizations have the ability to get involved and wow customers – and increase social sharing – by being thoughtful about the box, tape, tissue paper and more. Subscription companies like Birchbox and Stitch Fix (see image below) take great care in how shipments are presented and other companies should too. In fact, Dotcom Distribution found that shoppers are 1.5 times more likely to share pictures of gift-like boxes on social than traditional brown boxes.
Stitch Fix’s styling cards (which encourage conversions) are being shared on social daily.
The challenge of being helpful, however, is being helpful at scale. Even without a technology backend to support an initiative like Stich Fix’s, any retailer can use transactional data to identify popular items and make recommendations to customer groups.
Show Appreciation by Featuring Customers Stitch Fix clients are sharing their “Fixes” throughout the Web and inspiring their friends to try the unconventional service. The result is that the company is benefiting from word-of-mouth marketing from its brand advocates, as well as the content they are creating. As a retailer, why not take advantage of that good will? While most Web professionals know the benefits of content marketing by now (e.g. improvements in engagement metrics and, hopefully, conversions), producing an adequate amount of content proves difficult. In the case of a company where consumers are creating content for them, it’s quick work to reach out to social fans, ask if they’d be willing to share their experience (for example, a Q&A for the blog that profiles or features them – and their good choices in a flattering way). This could (1) create a customer for life, (2) inspire others to share their purchases and (3) provide the company with quick, compelling content that answers other customers’ questions and can be shared across channels. For a list of other no-brainer retail content, visit wsm.co/retailcm.
A Stitch Fix client shares a photo of her shipment’s packaging on Instagram with the caption, “Happy Monday to me!”
Consumers are also taking pride in purchasing products from companies that offer sustainable packaging. Dotcom Distribution found that 61 percent of consumers have considered green packaging when deciding where to shop. For more info on the costs, pros and considerations of offering sustainable packaging, check out our Q&A with Dotcom Distribution CEO Maria Haggerty at wsm.co/packgreen. While many retailers can find ways to compete with companies like Birchbox, Bombfell and Stitch Fix in the subscription and personalization space (read, “3 Top Rules for Subscription Management” at wsm.co/mgmtsub), their initiatives can get started right away on social, where a retailer only needs to be helpful, encouraging and thoughtful for customers to want to share their experiences with their peers.
Group-Gifting Online GiftStarter is bringing a collaborative approach to the experience of giving, receiving and fulfilling gifts online. Read more at wsm.co/giftstarter15.
Mastering
SEARCH
AUTHORITY: The Link to Local SEO Success By Peter Prestipino, Editor-In-Chief
When Google released its Pigeon update in late 2014, few knew just how significantly the results pages would change and ultimately how sophisticated the search engine itself would become in relation to identifying queries with local intent – but that is exactly what has happened. Search engine optimization (SEO) has always been a very “dynamic” practice, where changes in how the engines index and return websites and their content determine how a digital presence is optimized. This is quite evident in recent changes to the Google Local pack. Google essentially rolled out an update in early August in how it displays local businesses within its results pages. Instead of the 7-pack of listings that most consumers and Web professionals grew accustom to since the Pigeon update, Google now only displays three local listings. And there are even more changes that SEOs would be wise to understand if local website optimization is their responsibility. In addition to the number of listings returned, Google has also replaced the exact address with the street name only, removed phone numbers and Google+ links, and added opening and closing times. When users click on the title of a listing today, they are presented with (and redirected to) more details on that business (within a popup that is overlaid on a map along with up to 20 other listings). Only when a user clicks specifically on the website icon in the listing pack will their click end up on a website.
Looking for Links? Start Here. Discover where to get your first 44 backlinks (many of which are local citations) at wsm.co/44backlinks.
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The good news (and what is generating the most discussion among SEOs) is that the frequency with which the 3-pack is being displayed has increased dramatically, along with local websites’ visibility in the search results. Recent research from SEO Clarity, for example, revealed that the new local listing format shows in the #1 rank position 93 percent of the time, a big increase from the 25 percent of the time that the old 7-pack was shown in the first position. As it stands today, the new format seems to be the standard across nearly every keyword with local intent. Clearly, this is not the local search optimization that enterprises planned for, so what can and should they do? Accuracy and completeness of data in Google My Business, as well as relevance and quality signals onpage (presence of name, address and phone number data) are still incredibly important to local SEO, but these factors are still not what will ensure placement in the 3-pack (at least not alone). Google has long been on a mission to localize its results (no mystery there) and there have been plenty of updates (e.g. Pigeon) to validate that claim. While traditional local SEO still works (claiming and optimizing a company’s profile and ensuring more detailed information like open/close times and categories is included and updated as needed), top positions can only be achieved by establishing authority – and that means building lots of quality local links over time. There’s no shortcut to building links (e.g. it takes time), but when one knows what to spend that time doing, they’ll find the rewards are that much greater. If there is a secret however, it is to focus almost exclusively on building links through active involvement in a community or with prospective audience/customers and participating in the conversations about the product provided. From sponsoring local charity events to establishing relationships with media/publishing websites in the company’s area, even offering local groups discounted services, a commitment to involving a brand with the happenings of a local population is, and will likely always be, the secret to local SEO success. Google, and any search engine for that matter, can only take cues from the Web about what’s important – on a local level as much as globally. If an SEO can influence (and optimize) the authority signals sent to Google and other engines, a brand will be better off for it – particularly for local queries. Local SEO isn’t easy – even for experienced digital professionals. There is as much competition offline as on these days, but if you have the patience, work ethic and a willingness to engage in some trial and error along the way, you’ll start seeing results in no time and benefit from the effort well into the future.
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Design and
DEVELOPMENT
The Digital Redesign Process Smarter, Faster, Stronger
By Peter Prestipino, Editor-In-Chief
There are few things more stress-inducing than redesigning a website. With so much to consider and address – from the user experience to the indexing of pages for search engines – it is not an endeavor that is taken lightly by the digital community.
Don’t Forget the SEO With a majority of a website’s traffic sourced from search engines these days, ensuring that pages remain indexed (and hopefully improved) should be a top priority as a website is being redesigned. There is a long list of considerations to address, so Website Magazine has put together a guide, “SEO-Focused Website Redesign” available online at wsm.co/seofocusdes.
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Fortunately, millions of websites are redesigned each year (likely many more) so there is some precedent. Processes have emerged that anyone can – and arguably should – follow if and when the notion to retool, rework and reorganize a website strikes. While there is no one best formal process for a redesign (since all websites are different), let the following serve as a foundation as you build new… again.
Break it Down, to Build it Up No website redesign should begin before enterprises understand (1) what they want to change, and (2) what should remain the same. This phase requires a range of research tactics including user surveys, heatmap analysis and interviews with key stakeholders. The aim is to understand what is expected, what it will take to achieve success and the resources available to make it all happen. The aim is to break down the redesign into the most manageable pieces, so that it can be rebuilt with those elements most meaningful to the success of an enterprise.
Analyzing the Competitive Landscape
Drafting with Wireframes
It has happened to the best of us; a company redesigns a website only for a new trend to emerge just a few weeks or months later, or for its competition to launch its own redesign that surpasses it in every way. While there is little designers can do to ensure the latter does not happen to them, they most certainly can make an effort to stay on top of the trends in their industry by performing a competitive analysis. Every effort should be made to analyze other brands’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as to identify opportunities to capitalize upon and approaches or techniques to avoid. While a designer won’t have access to details on a competitor’s performance, even a cursory glance can provide insight into what is likely working and what is not. A company should not proceed with a redesign until it knows for sure that the site being developed does not at least meet the standard set by others.
Understanding what information needs to take center stage is important, but it is even more important that there is a flow to the website; and there’s no other way to do that (outside of figuring it out as one goes along) than to wireframe the entire site. Wireframes essentially provide an outline of a website, which makes it easy to understand not how content will be organized but how that organized content works together. Wireframes also offer an opportunity to think through problems and get approval on broader concepts, helping to visualize how individual site elements fit together and providing a sense of the flow of each page and how everything relates.
Prioritize Information Architecture Websites today can evolve into digital behemoths with thousands of pages (if not millions in some rare cases). This makes information architecture a key consideration when redesigning a website. After the evaluations are compete, physically (or virtually) drawing a diagram that takes into account the needs of audience and personnel should be the number one priority. Learn how to create natural and intuitive information architecture for your target audience that accommodates a range of needs and behaviors at wsm.co/iaguide15.
Design Inspiration With much of the hard work out of the way, designers can do what they do best – design – but it is important not to work in a silo. Fortunately, inspiration can come from many places (including competitive analysis), but idea collection and curation should be a daily task for designers to stay up to date. One of the most popular practices is to develop inspiration boards for key elements including navigation, color, typography and complete sites that are visually compelling.
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A company should not proceed with a redesign until it knows for sure that the site being developed does not at least meet the standards set by others.
Developing Mockups & Prototypes Wireframes are useful, but as a redesign nears completion, stakeholders will need to see the new site in action, which means designers must release mockups and prototypes that showcase nearly finished products in a real environment. Explore suggested tools for developing mockups, prototypes and wireframes in a “Master list of Tools & Resources for Digital Designers” at wsm.co/deslist15.
The Optimal Start Time Redesigning a digital presence takes a lot of effort. With a moving target and so many considerations that must be addressed, it’s important to have processes and procedures in place to manage this initiative. While these certainly aren’t the only steps to take in a website redesign, they will enable enterprises to design smarter, faster and stronger.
Open the Feedback Loop Designers know a great deal about creating the optimal user experience, but they too must remain open to the possibility of change and so must continue keeping the feedback loop open. Fortunately, there are numerous tools to help manage the feedback received: wsm.co/morefeedbackpls.
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Disruptive
BUSINESS OPERATIONS By Amberly Dressler, Managing Editor
Whether it’s within an entire industry, a specific tactic or at a workplace, disrupting the status quo can be quite lucrative. The example most often/recently cited is that of ride-sharing company Uber. By offering a far-better experience than most taxi companies (see sidebar), Uber has nearly doubled drivers’ salaries in some cities (the company reports its drivers make $30.35/hour on average in New York compared to $15.17/hour for drivers in the same city). Even more impressive, the company is now valued at more than the entire industry it has impacted and disrupted. In 2014, Uber closed a funding round that valued the company at $18.2 billion (and many estimate that number to be two times that today), which is higher than the taxi industry’s total revenue ($16 billion according to 2015 data from IBISWorld). For comparison, GoDaddy was bought in 2011 for a reported $2.25 billion while messaging service Whatsapp was acquired by Facebook last year for roughly $22 billion. For a roundup of today’s biggest tech price tags, visit wsm.co/techprice.
What You Can Learn from the Uber Difference Discover ways the ride-sharing company has improved the user experience at wsm.co/uberfactor.
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DEFINING DISRUPTION Clearly there are billions of dollars up for grabs for “those changing the way products or services are delivered, when compared to existing competitors” – the definition of disruption according to Flaunt Digital Co-Founder and CEO Lee Fuller whose fully remote agency is disruptive in its own right (see sidebar on the next page). Disruption isn’t a guarantee for success of course. How a business operates every day levels the playing field for even the most ambitious startup, yet the foundations of success are often the same for every enterprise. Any company operating today needs to have a reliable and optimized user experience, as well as processes in place to acquire and support customers (and talent for that matter). If a company fails to do so, they risk becoming like a taxi driver (who demands to be paid in cash) in an Uber world (where mobile payment is frictionless). There are enterprising individuals and groups of people out there right now who have a genuine desire to make things better (and make money). What they don’t have, according to Gartner’s Don Scheibenreif, are legacy infrastructures and fear to hold them back. They are speeding up digital business, and enterprises (both old and new) will need to find ways to operate in far more effective, modern and data-driven ways to keep pace.
NO GUTS, NO GLORY Without the need to be accountable to shareholders and other stakeholders, many of today’s newest companies are launching before their products or services are “perfect.” According to Gartner’s Scheibenreif, they are getting feedback and retooling as they go, which may challenge and disrupt many businesses that tend to hold their cards closer to their chest – only revealing their work to the public when it’s 100 percent ready.
Considering Going Remote? Flaunt Digital discusses the pros, cons and considerations for businesses to know at wsm.co/remotepros.
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For early adopters, it was clear Owlet Baby Monitor took the “perfect-as-we-go” approach to launching its product – a “smart sock,” which enables parents of infants to monitor their baby’s heart and oxygen levels from an app, as well as be alerted when those vital signs go too high or too low. While the product itself is disruptive (for its uniqueness), Owlet’s communication efforts and transparency as a brand challenges the status quo, helped shape the product being sold today and likely contributed to the $7 million it received in funding in August of this year. To begin with, however, Owlet was nowhere near ready to meet the demand for its product, which could have been detrimental to the user experience had the company not mitigated the ordering friction with updates on production, wait lists, pre-orders and then, finally, shipments. The main reason so many were willing to wait, however, is that Owlet truly provided a unique offering that couldn’t be purchased anywhere else. Its closest competitor, Sproutling (a wearable band for infants that senses heart rate, skin temperature, motion and position), has been sold out since early this year. Unlike Owlet, Sproutling likely only added to prospective customers’ frustration because it retargeted individuals pretty aggressively around the ‘Net, despite (1) the product not being available and (2) the user already completing the call to action (e.g. “join wait list”). For three retargeting best practices, visit wsm.co/3retarget. While both companies struggled to meet demand, the Owlet difference was in its operations, such as more updates and quicker fulfillment for those waitlisted. Sometimes disruption is as simple as transparency.
360-Degree Analysis
Five Companies Disrupting the Web By solving everyday problems, the companies mentioned at wsm.co/disruptfive
are changing everything from sales training to beer dispensing, as well as how your company may have to operate in the future.
Companies can also learn from Owlet’s willingness to gather feedback and retool. Aside from a few surveys distributed via email (some of which only included a single question – increasing the chances of completion), Owlet had internal quality assurance processes as well (re-sending smart socks voluntarily because the previous ones didn’t meet internal standards). Owlet’s analysis and optimization efforts can also be seen in its strategy toward Amazon reviews. While the product is only “secretly” on Amazon at time of print (see image A), Owlet has long asked customers – in a hypothetical setting – what their Amazon review would say if they were to review Owlet on the marketplace. By vetting the reviews beforehand, Owlet then sent out an email to those with positive “pre-reviews” (at least presumably). As of print, Owlet Baby Monitor boasts 4.9 out of five stars on Amazon, with many parents scoring the product a five even with product “quirks.” The genius behind this approach is that Owlet likely knew way in advance what the parents were going to say because they asked them, and parents were willing to tell them, likely because (1) the product is very personal to their family and (2) as early adopters, they were involved in the retooling of the product through feedback and updates – essentially becoming advocates and testers.
A. Owlet Baby Monitor asked for hypothetical Amazon reviews from its early adopters before soliciting real reviews on the marketplace.
This perfect-as-we-go type mentality can be, as was in the case of Owlet, bolstered with supporting technologies. Owlet, for instance, is wise to use a solution like Zendesk for its customer support, because the baby monitor is unlike any before it so people likely have more questions than they would with a traditional product. The product also, as previously mentioned, has some quirks (like false alarms and hyper-sensitivity), which requires extra support. By leveraging cloud-based customer service platform, Zendesk, Owlet streamlines its customer care via ticketing, selfservice options (e.g. a help desk, trending questions, etc.) and other customer support features. Additionally, Owlet deploys Zopim – a Zendesk company – for live chat on its website to answer any questions visitors have, which (if all goes well) will move them to purchase. On today’s Web, disruptive companies must be backed by sound customer service solutions. Otherwise, a company risks losing an online audience to bad reviews, social complaints and more. Before customer service options should even be a blip on the digital radar, however, companies will want to consider a Web content management system (CMS) that will support the perfect-as-you-go approach. Organizations that platform with Sitecore, for example, can collect feedback and ideas from multiple channels, compile it and apply it to a profile of a new or improved product or service. This, according to Beth Torrie, VP of strategic engagement at Sitecore, happens in a few ways. “When a new product or service is launched, organizations can collect feedback through proactive and reactive questions, polls and conversations,” said Torrie. “Within each user’s profile, Sitecore can capture and deliver personalized experiences to communicate when and what improvements will be made.”
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YEARS
One of Sitecore’s strongest abilities is being able to connect silos – whether that’s teams, channels or new devices. Torrie believes that the modular way that Sitecore’s platform is built makes it so when the next disruptive Internet of Things (IoT) device comes out, Sitecore will be able to connect to it, collect the data and apply into the customer/brand journey. This is an important capability of a CMS even for online brands not operating in the IoT realm currently. As Scheibenreif of Gartner pointed out at the company’s Customer Summit in San Diego, it’s only a matter of time before everything that can be connected to the Internet will be connected in order for products to actively participate in a person’s life. Even so, the website is still at the center of building a customer base (even for IoT devices), as it is often the destination where people are sent to research products and services – making Web-based customer acquisition the livelihood of any business (disruptive or not).
NEW-AGE ACQUISITION & RETENTION
Did You Know? Images comprise 50-60 percent of the average page’s total size; Yet 48 percent of the top 100 sites (as ranked by Alexa.com) received an “F” score from webpagetest.org for image compression. (Source: Radware, 2015)
Despite how a company is launched or maintained, every business needs customers – whatever they look like for that particular organization (readers, home owners, software purchasers, clothes shoppers, etc.). While acquisition and retention have always been about knowing who potential or current customers are, and how to best find them and then support them, emerging solutions have made easier work out of doing so. InsideSales.com, for instance, gamifies the sales experience to see how a sales person is performing against other reps, as well as provides scores to help individuals prioritize their leads (based on how likely they are to purchase and to be contacted at all). It’s a sales acceleration platform that sits in between marketing automation vendors and customer relationship management solutions. While it’s not the only company in this niche, InsideSales.com’s is quite sophisticated in its ability to predict (and self-learn) who its sales team should contact, when they should contact them and how they should contact them. The company does so, according to Chief Marketing Officer Mick Hollison, through its data structure of 80 billion sales interactions and a predictive analytics engine that sits atop that big data to analyze the information and prioritize leads. A lot of what InsideSales.com offers takes the guesswork out of sales interactions and it’s proving quite disruptive. For instance, one of its features guides individual sales reps to the right time to send an email. In other words, when the prospect is most likely to open and engage with that message. The sales rep will also receive real-time alerts for email opens, link clicks, attachment downloads, email forwards and website visits, which can help them act on these buying signals. By empowering a sales team with actionable data, InsideSales.com is making the experience of both selling and purchasing business-to-business (B2B) products simpler. InsideSales.com doesn’t stop there, however. The company offers sales hiring software that predicts the success of an individual before the company hires him or her (based
on a perceived ability to meet quotas). For more software helping companies hire smarter, visit wsm.co/techwanted. Disruptive acquisition tactics can only get a company so far though. Customers will leave in spades at the slightest hint of unreliable support (read “How to Predict Churn” at wsm.co/nochurn15 ). Everything from product updates to billing need to be executed flawlessly – this is especially true in B2B sales where the stakes are higher than a routine digital shopping trip. Big Blue Digital – an Australia-based agency – found out the hard way about how unproductive and inaccurate manual time tracking could be. As a result, according to the company’s CEO, Brendon O’Sullivan, Big Blue Digital billed clients late who then paid late, which resulted in its cash flow being constantly behind – a tough position for a company to be in, especially one looking to grow. “Many other agencies experience the same pain point where their employees often keep their timesheets at the bottom of the priority list,” said O’Sullivan. “Further, even when employees filled out their timesheets, they weren’t reliable. It’s impossible to accurately track how much time you spend answering client emails or discussing projects with your cubemate. When you don’t include these times in your timesheet, you’re likely to bill them a smaller amount and are essentially doing work for free.” Big Blue Digital turned to AffinityLive to disrupt its operations by mitigating those vital issues. By automating its systems, Big Blue Digital started to have accurate timesheets, which enabled it to shorten the period between project completion and receiving payment. By implementing AffinityLive’s system, Big Blue Digital was able to get paid three times faster and increase revenue by almost 50 percent by cutting back on leaked time overhead. The company’s goal is to increase productivity by 75 percent – and it’s on its way. “No one creates their own business because they want to spend their time doing administrative tasks like time tracking and billing,” said O’Sullivan. “It’s necessary for profitability, and having a tool like AffinityLive take care of those mundane chores frees up my time and my team’s time to do what we love.” While accurate billing is certainly a requirement for both the biller and the billed, client/customer retention goes far beyond transactions. In order to stay competitive, a company’s products/services must not only offer a better experience and solve pain points, but also provide intrigue – and pure disruption is one way to do so if all systems are running on all cylinders.
DISRUPTABILITY VIA PERFORMANCE With countless options to choose from, even the most subtle benefit (price, baggage, loyalty perks, food options, destinations, times, etc.) can move a traveler from one airline to another. High levels of competition in the industry puts a company at risk if it fails to meet customer expectations, which is the situation Frontier Airlines has found itself in as of late.
According to a Sept. 2015 article from the Denver Business Journal, Frontier Airlines sits in second-to-last place among major carriers for complaints – only exceeded by discount carrier Spirit Airlines. Likely an attempt to fill its seats and save face, Frontier launched a “Fly for a Buck” sale last month, with very mixed results. This is because a company can be as disruptive as it wants to be – through products, acquisition, retention and everyday operations – but solid performance is how the initiative will ultimately be judged. In the case of Frontier Airlines’ disruptive $1 sale, it had to redirect potential customers (who were likely eager and ready to take advantage of the lucrative sale) to a book.flyfrontier.com/sorry landing page (see image B) as the result of not being able to accommodate the influx of traffic caused by its rather disruptive promotion – very frustrating for the end-user, of course. Asked to monitor the outage for Website Magazine, Dynatrace started seeing an issue with Frontier’s website (a slow down on Flight Search and Details pages) starting the morning of the one-day sale (Sept. 2) around 8 a.m. EST and lasting for almost six hours (see image C). The Dynatrace Root Cause Analyzer looked through hundreds of page requests and thousands of objects to highlight where the major issues were. Specifically it found that requests to back-end services were responding slowly. The report showed that requests were taking a long time for the Frontier servers to respond and appeared to be entirely server side. This is the type of issue that Dynatrace Application Monitoring helps enterprises with and, as a result, mitigates operational risk, improves business continuity and protects online revenue. “In this situation, companies like Frontier should focus on enhancing internal alignment between their business units and technology partners,” said David Jones, an APM technical evangelist with Dynatrace. “In cases like this it is not uncommon for a business unit to not communicate with other business units about operational changes, promotions, etc.” As mentioned, even the most disruptive business idea needs to be rooted in flawless performance, as website visitors expect a site to load in 3 seconds or less or about half of them will leave the site. Despite this well-accepted benchmark, Radware’s “State of the Union for E-Commerce Page Speed & Web Performance” report (Summer 2015) indicates just 12 percent of the top 100 e-commerce sites (as ranked by Alexa.com) render featured content within the optimal 3-second window. How do slow page load times affect conversion? While there is certainly plenty of benchmark data available, the Impact product from Cedexis correlates performance problems with key performance indicators (KPIs) such as conversions. Released in mid-2015, Cedexis’s Impact offering allows IT professionals to verify to their marketing colleagues that improving page load time will improve KPIs (e.g. increase pages viewed, decrease bounce rates and improve conversion rates across conversion types).
B. The Frontier Airlines website suffered massive delays lasting for roughly six hours during its disruptive “Fly for a Buck” sale on Sept. 2.
C. At its peak, the Flights page on Frontier’s website took nearly a minute to load.
If a company knows, for example, they invested in a shopping cart solution or put time and resources into simplifying the product information pages, now they can determine to what effect (based on what conversions they’ve identified, like whitepaper downloads, a purchase, an email sign-up, etc.). The solution essentially enables the business to gauge whether changes are resulting in more conversions, as well as prioritize where to invest in the future. Knowing that a technology investment is being directly tied into business results, according to Cedexis VP of Marketing and Business Development Rob Malnati, means companies can look at each section of the website independently. If they are deploying a content delivery network (CDN) for the first time, for example, it allows them to see if that investment has resulted in better business results. Rarely has the Web industry seen such disruption in the form of evidence to support business purchases that promise to improve performance, like a new shopping cart, a CDN, a CMS or other critical technologies.
READY & WILLING? From ride-sharing and baby monitoring to lead scoring and billing, there are companies making processes and products better – disrupting how people do and expect to do business online and off. Despite changes, the foundations of Web success will remain the same. Even those ready, willing and worthy of disruption will need to provide a reliable and optimized user experience, while acquiring and retaining customers in modern and efficient ways.
Software
EVERYWHERE
THE RIGHT STUFF Choosing the Optimal Enterprise Content Management System
By Warren Glick, Director of Corporate Marketing for ACOM Solutions, Inc.
The market offers many choices for an enterprise content management (ECM) system — and therein lays the problem. When companies start comparing the features of various platforms, the process quickly becomes bewildering. These selection tips will help keep your search on a straight path to making the right choice for your organization.
Document Current ECM Requirements
Before even looking at ECM features and benefits, decision-makers should document their high-level functional requirements, and to the greatest extent possible – separating “must-have” functions from “nice-to-have” functions. Important considerations include: What are the data and document capture requirements? Does the platform need to support EDI, ACH, XML, etc.? What specific active (e.g. Web pages) and fixed (e.g. paid invoices) content will be captured and stored? Which employees, customers, suppliers, and/or business partners will be accessing stored content, and on what devices will they retrieve it? Is the user base computer-savvy or likely to have a steep learning curve? Does computer competence vary from department to department, and if so, where does each user group stand? (Accounts payable, human resources, purchasing/procurement, etc., typically utilize ECM systems.) With what internal systems must the ECM integrate? Finally, what is the budget? These questions will help professionals zero-in on an ECM platform with a sweet spot that matches their core needs — and just as important in the initial stages of their search, they should eliminate platforms that are poorly aligned and would only confuse and complicate the search process. 30
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Document Future Requirements
How will ECM requirements change over the next three to five years? This is a very important (and exciting) question to consider before beginning the search, because scalability may be a crucial platform attribute. For instance, a retail/e-commerce organization offering 1,000 products could utilize a “basic” ECM platform quite easily. However, if the company plans to sell 25,000 products within a few years, will this “basic” platform still be efficient? Similarly, organizations with an aggressive acquisition strategy may require a system with very sophisticated collaborative functionality.
Look at ECM Platforms Beyond Raw Functionality
Identifying an ECM platform that aligns with present and future requirements is obviously important, but the search process should not end there; in fact, it may be just the beginning. In the rapidly changing world of technology, companies come and go, and slick software is no guarantee the company behind it will be around to support the system for years to come. Factors to consider when assessing the company behind an ECM deployment include: Is the provider open-source or proprietary software? If proprietary system, companies are locked into the system to a very high degree, and reliant on that provider’s internal development staff for upgrades. Open-source software, in contrast, allows users all over the world to participate in the system’s development. If the provider is open-source, does it have a large, active user base? To the extent it does, the likelihood of rapid innovation with platform stability is greater. Is ECM a sizable part of the provider’s product offering, a small part or an afterthought? How much support is the provider ready, willing and able to commit to its ECM platform? Does the provider have a track record of success? Is it new to the business or a reliable, highly regarded firm? Is it financially sound? Does it have a talented and stable (by technology industry standards) leadership team?
Start Big, Then Go Small
It’s important not to get bogged down in functionality details early in the search process. After one has narrowed the field by looking at these big-picture areas — current requirements, future requirements and a provider’s organizational attributes — the time is then right for technical specialists to dig into specifics. Remember that no ECM will be a perfect match. However, a well-developed ECM platform will follow industry best practices, and whatever internal adjustments are needed to use them will probably be in your firm’s best long-term interest.
THE WAIT
IS OVER
Order your copy of Domains 360 Website Magazine’s latest book by Editor-In-Chief Peter Prestipino is available for purchase at www.domains360book.com.
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+ A Brief History of Domains + Details on the Technical Landscape + Guidance on Mastering Domain Management
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Affiliate
INSIDER
4 Steps to Optimize Your Affiliate Program Launch By Jesse Ashkin, Account Director at Affiliate Window
Affiliate marketing (cost per action or cost per sale) is a form of online advertising that differs from traditional online display (cost per thousand impressions) or search advertising (cost per click) as payment is triggered by an outcome, such as purchasing a product. In addition to being a highly accountable, low-risk model, affiliate marketing provides online advertisers maximum reach across a broad range of publisher types. From coupon sites and bloggers to loyalty programs and niche forums, each publisher site can give an advertiser access to a customer base with different purchase intents and behaviors. Affiliate programs can essentially help brands diversify their online efforts, but there are four main steps to take when launching such a program to ensure brands maximize and optimize their efforts.
1. Define Goals
As with any business initiative there should be goals associated with an affiliate program launch. Define these not only for the company, but also for the affiliate network representative as sharing these expectations will ensure clear, focused and effective efforts all around. Defining goals will allow for the network 32
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to provide the most relevant recommendations as to who would be the best partners to recruit in order to achieve these goals. In addition to defining goals, it is also wise to define key performance indicators (KPIs). From an enterprise’s perspective, what will indicate successful program performance? Should a brand/advertiser gauge performance based on the amount of traffic driven, the number of orders placed, the value of revenue or the types of products purchased?
2. Know Your Competition
Before an affiliate program is launched, researching the competition will prove useful. A network representative will most likely be able to provide some benchmarks or anonymized data, but if a company is eager to know more, its representative should conduct online searches, and check a competitor’s website for a link to its affiliate program page. Some of the key considerations to explore include: Commission Rates and Cookie Length. What are other programs within the same sector paying publishers and how long do they honor sales for (cookie length)? Knowing this information can help determine if the rates offered are competitive enough to attract publishers and promote one’s products over those of the competition.
Validation Times. How often are sales being validated (and thus paid) to affiliates? Keep this in mind when setting up a validation schedule. Managers want to be sure their publishers are being paid regularly (if not faster than the competition) so they can invest back into their business and in promoting their brand. Mobile Solution. Those launching an affiliate program should without a doubt have a mobile-optimized site with affiliate tracking enabled. Nowadays, most key publishers operate mobile apps, and often require that any partners have a mobile tracking and optimized site available. Knowing whether or not competitors have a mobile-optimized site with affiliate tracking enabled will allow a company to better position itself to publishers. Tools Available for Publishers. Do competitors offer a product feed? How about seasonal creative, website plugins, widgets, etc.? Do they provide publishers with insights into top-selling products to guide promotional activity? In the competitive affiliate marketing space, the more options to promote products the better. Managers should understand what the market currently offers and ultimately what publishers are expecting from a brand in that vertical. By being better informed brands can better compete across all key performance indicators.
3. Plan Ahead
Do not assume upon launch that publishers will be clamoring to promote a brand. While some publishers can turn around new partnerships fairly quickly, it’s best to assume that it will take a new partner about two weeks to get a brand fully listed on their site. To maximize launch, work with a network to produce a publisher target list – a list of websites a company wants to work with. Advertisers should ask their network representative for insights as to who is on the network, requesting introductions via email to identified sites. Start communicating with key partners before launch to nurture these relationships. Educate the publisher about the brand, the program’s unique selling propositions and ask for recommendations on how to be a good partner based on their individual site’s needs, as these will vary by site. While speaking with the publishers, advertisers should consult their own promotional calendar for any upcoming seasonal events. Are you a sportswear merchant whose launch will coincide with the college football season? Plan ahead and coordinate increased exposure or launch incentives to make sure the brand is not missing out on any key sales periods.
4. Define Processes
Once a program is launched there will be general housekeeping tasks that need to be completed on a reoccurring basis to keep the program healthy. To minimize downtime, do not wait on defining the steps for managing this. Advertisers will want to work with their internal teams and network representatives to determine who owns what tasks, and the frequency that these must be completed. Advertisers may also want to reference any service level agreements (SLAs), signed alongside the contract, which outline and address these responsibilities. Key tasks to consider include: Publisher Approvals. Determine who will be managing the approval of publishers interested in joining the program. How often will these approvals be processed? Sale Validations. How often will transaction validations be processed? Are there any return windows the network should be conscious of? Are there any network locking periods that advertisers should be aware of in order to process sales accordingly? Communication Strategy. Understand the tools available, via the network, to communicate with publishers. How often should be publishers be contacted? What should be communicated? Consult the network representative for best practice and recommendations and be sure your own team has been fully trained on how to use these tools, as maintaining communication with publishers is key to a program’s success. Commission Strategy. Confirm default commission rates. Will the program offer private rates for key publishers or throughout key sale periods? Is there budget allocated to placements with key publishers during select periods? Can commissions be awarded on all products or is a tiered commission for specific products being offered? Network Interface Training. A network’s interface can provide a wealth of knowledge on program performance, publisher base and outstanding tasks. Request training from account representatives if unfamiliar with the platform or lack confidence in using a specific tool or report. Affiliate marketing can be a highly effective revenue stream for a brand, which is why optimizing the program launch through defined goals and processes, competitor benchmarks and thoughtful planning are crucial steps for the viability of such a program.
How to Be an Affiliate Superhero Rescue your revenue at wsm.co/affhero.
EXPERIENCE
The Tricks & Treats of Transactional Email By EJ McGowan, GM of Campaigner
Don’t be duped by the mundane nature of the standard email communications brands send to acknowledge customers’ actions.
the customer communication lifecycle. To get started, here are some favorite transactional email treats to hand out to recipients, along with a few tricks to be aware of this Halloween season.
A purchase confirmation, shipping notification, password reset or even an unsubscribe email response is actually a marketing opportunity in disguise. Since contacts are anticipating the important information these messages contain, transactional email typically boasts a 100 percent open rate (according to internal data) compared to general marketing emails since they get opened multiple times. If executed properly, these expected emails can generate two to six times more revenue than the average email marketing message. In order to take advantage of this valuable customer engagement resource, avoid the scary pitfalls of depending on them too heavily for marketing purposes. Instead, incorporate transactional email into
messages as a backup marketing system? Boo! An influx of transactional emails could destroy the opportunity to engage contacts by prompting unsubscribes or triggering messages to be sent to spam. Most Internet service providers (ISPs) and email providers cap the number of simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) relays they’ll allow from specific senders in a given day or week. This method for controlling spam, however, can create significant problems for marketers with a robust contact list in the hundreds, thousands or even millions. To ensure transactional email messages skip the spamfilter bogeyman, make sure to work with a trusted SMTP relay partner.
Trick: Thinking about using transactional email
Continued on page 36
Your Transactional Emails are Revenue Opportunities... in Disguise This Halloween, reclaim your transactional emails from the deleted-folder graveyard — and let Campaigner turn them into real revenue!
If you’re not properly leveraging your transactional messages, these stats are just plain scary: • Transactional emails have nearly 100% open rates • Order confirmation emails with a cross-sell message have 20% higher transaction rates • Transactional emails with social media links have 55% higher click-rates
Download the White Paper: How to Convert Transactional Messages into Revenue Generators
www.campaigner.com/lp/SMTP
Questions about Email Marketing?
866.218.8347
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EXPERIENCE Treat: By delivering the expected transactional text response up front, brands earn an opportunity to invite contacts to engage with the brand; just keep any promotional material “below the fold.” Once the standard confirmation message is out of the way, marketers should use HTML in the lower half of the email to make additional messages really pop out visually without detracting from the primary purpose of the email. For example, if the message is an order confirmation for a Halloween costume, a company should consider using HTML to display a discount on a related costume or candy pail, offering a treat without scaring the contact off. Trick: It may be the season for disguises, but high open rates shouldn’t fool marketers. They should use promotional content wisely when it comes to transactional email. Since these messages contain valuable, and sometimes critical, information for the consumer, users may be annoyed to find marketing content when they are looking for the shipping status of their order. By erring on the conservative side, and only including marketing messages in a fraction of transactional email, brands won’t risk contaminating their customer relationships. A company will want to plan on keeping roughly 80 percent of transactional email completely free of promotional offers, so it maintains a high degree of credibility with its customers. Treat: Though a customer might be reluctant to respond to a promotional offer within an order confirmation email, they might be up for some socializing. Transactional emails that include links to social media sites have 55 percent higher click-rates than those without. A user that declines to subscribe to email marketing messages might respond well to brand engagement via Twitter or Facebook. Trick: If a company’s transactional email is man-
aged within a completely separate system than its email marketing, marketers may view them as two completely distinct beasts. The trick is to handle them as two parts of a cohesive communication plan. Just like marketing emails, track open and click-through rates of transactional email as well. A Get tips to optimize your welcome marketer should make sure his emails at wsm.co/ewelcomes. or her email marketing system
THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING!
Jane Doe, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jane Doe 999 E Touhy Ave. San Diego, CA United States
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Zazzle.com errs on the side of caution by only including a promotional code in a fraction of its transactional emails, as well as displays the promotional code below the fold and in an unobtrusive manner.
has the capability to relay transactional emails from the point-of-sale system to get the benefit of tracking engagement rates.
Treat: Brands should mix in some no-cost offers to keep their transactional email messages sweet. A link back to its site for free tips, a whitepaper, a new case study or promotional video can re-engage customers without making them sick of purchase requests. Since click rates are up to six times higher for transactional email compared to bulk email, the message is more likely to spark interest and earn a click in this communication channel. Trick and Treat
By treating transactional email as part of a broader customer lifecycle communication initiative, brands can enjoy both tricks and treats this Halloween and every season. EJ McGowan, general manager of Campaigner, has more than 25 years’ experience in the software industry with expertise in building highly available, scalable SaaS-based solutions.
“Do You See Me?” “I see you! and so do your customers!” Take out an ad on WebsiteMagazine.com! If you want to reach a tech-savvy audience, advertise in the industry’s top publication. Over 50% of our subscribers are C-List executives, and overall, 84% of our subscribers influence purchases at their organizations. Go beyond! Website Magazine offers the following advertising opportunities: • White paper hosting • Job board advertising • Newsletters and eBlasts • Website advertising • Webinars • Video hosting • Listing on website
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Domain
MASTERS
Domain
STAYING POWER
for Information Publishers Digital Branding and the Namespace Race By Peter Prestipino, Editor-In-Chief
While dot com still rules, the new TLDs are emerging rapidly in terms of interest among the business community; butwhich of these new top-level domains has the greatest potential for information publishers over the long term? Like in many cases on the Web, Google may influence the answer to this question, as Alphabet (its newly formed parent company) recently announced the use of abc.xyz as its primary domain name. High-profile support of .XYZ (despite questions surrounding the methods the registry is accused of using for achieving such a meteoric ascent since the extension’s general availability – over 1.1 million domains and 15 percent market share among new TLDs) has left many wondering if it and the other new extensions are actually a viable option after all and give credence to the notion that there is life after .COM. While the total number of new generic top-level domains still pales in comparison to the number of .COM sites, growth in the sector is most certainly on an upward trajectory. There have been more than 7.2 million* nTLDs registered (at the time of writing in early September) with just 278,000 upcoming non-renewals (3.8 percent). The problem is that most of those registrations are (seemingly) coming from domain name speculators, as nearly 60 percent of the nTLDs are currently being parked (no website).
DEFENSIVE DOMAIN ACQUISITION If you are concerned about cybersquatting and misuse of your brand and trademarks, it is essential to engage in defensive domain acquisition. Find out which domains present the greatest threat to the wellbeing of an enterprise’s good name at wsm.co/domainsdef. 38
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There are some nTLD standouts of course. Blessings.buzz is ranked by Quantcast at 2,769, and 1000.menu (a Russian recipe website) comes in at 35,848 on Alexa. While the enterprises behind these domains are truly the ones responsible for the success to date, it does indicate that running a digital presence with one of the new top-level domains extensions is possible (once a domainer breaks through all the hype and identifies those with the most potential from a branding perspective). Greater awareness of the new TLDs among consumers/end-users will be important, but it is anyone’s guess which extensions will capture the attention of those in the namespace – the marketers, the advertisers and the ‘Net professionals who make the Web work – over the long-term. In the digital age of content marketing, this is particularly true for information publishers. If you are looking to differentiate the brand of an information publisher in compelling ways, consider these domains – and more importantly ideas – for your next digital project:
.REVIEW & .GUIDE – Information publishers are always looking for ways to stand out in the competitive content landscape, and domain extensions such as .review (#28 in popularity) could prove a compelling way to do just that. Either nTLD could, for example, be used as a content-driven site providing details on a specific type of product or service – from software tools to kitchen appliances.
.SUPPORT & .TRAINING – Consumers of products, services and information continually seek additional support and more extensive training, and the .support (#87) and .training (#86) extensions provide a terrific opportunity for information publishers to capitalize on consumers’ tendency to conduct research online. .CLUB & .SPACE – To achieve digital success, enterprises need to do more than just publish information; today’s most successful brands are giving community building the same priority as content production – and .club (#4) and .space (#18) are both strong extensions for this purpose. Keep in mind that new extensions will not, by themselves, result in higher organic rankings for a website. They can, however, subtly differentiate a listing among the millions of others on search return lists or within a social media new feeds. With some thoughtful attention paid to the branding and creative aspects of domain name selection, there’s a whole virtual world of possibility in terms of value that these extensions can provide. *Data provided in this article sourced from nTLDStats.com
Code
JUNKIE
Building a Better Lightbox Extend Time on Site & Deepen User Engagement with this Unique Interaction Experience By Peter Prestipino, Editor-In-Chief
Don’t underestimate the importance of even the tiniest of user interactions on a website, from link effects to scrolling and every digital detail in between. One common user interaction that takes place on millions of websites each day is the presentation of a lightbox. Presenting content through a lightbox (used most often to display images and videos) is now a very common practice for information publishers, service providers and Internet retailers, so knowing the most popular solutions in active use across the ‘Net will ensure a Web design is using nothing but the best for its digital presence – but there’s a whole lot more to know. A lightbox is essentially a JavaScript library that makes it possible to add a layer of content (e.g. images and video) in a separate window that fills the user’s screen, dimming out the rest of the page as the user interacts (e.g. views or navigates through images). The term is sometimes used interchangeably (and, arguably, mistakenly) with the term “modal.” The latter, however, is actually more specific to direct system messaging and interaction for the sake of an immediate event or conversion (e.g. entering data into a contact form), whereas lightboxes have been used traditionally (or should have been) to simply enhance the viewing experience of users. Not all lightboxes are created equally, however, in terms of their styling, animation and positioning. As responsive design becomes the norm, many best practices have, fortunately, emerged that designers can follow over the course of their design and optimization initiatives (Website Magazine has put together several at wsm.co/lightboxbp). That said, it will always be necessary to build out this unique digital experience with solutions that support such customization. One of the optimal lightbox solutions today is that of Lightbox; the original lightbox script from software developer Lokesh Dhakar who wrote the popular solution more than eight years ago. First developed in JavaScript, but now available in jQuery, the script is highly customizable making it a reliable choice for this essential interaction experience. There are, of course, many others. When the aforementioned Lightbox was released as open-source, many developers quickly modified the code to create plugins including Colorbox, Magnific Popup,
Slimbox and Thickbox, which are still used today. These are some of the best-known offerings available, but in the end, the ability to customize the design and actual interaction is what will matter most to designers and developers, and those released in the past 18 months to two years have focused on being smaller, smarter and more elegant in the process. Website Magazine covered Strip, for example, nearly one year ago and it was well received at that time by the digital design community. Another favorite of the digital design community that is currently being used in several projects recently is Featherlight by Noel Bossart. Coming in at just 6kb (400 lines Light and responsive, Chocolat enables designof Javascript, 100 of CSS), the ers to display one or several images and stay lightbox supports images, Ajax within the same page; either in a full window or and iframes, and could prove within a container. ideal for use as a gallery. Once again, different offerings will result in different experiences so it is always best to have a high awareness of both new and under-the-radar offerings as developers pursue those that are best for their own users interactions. Some of those offerings include FancyBox, Uglipop (modal), LightGallery and Chocolat (seen above), which enables designers to display one or several images and stay within the same page; either in a full window or within a container. These and other JavaScript libraries are featured regularly in Website Magazine’s Design & Development Digest at wsm.co/desdevdigest. Lightboxes can be a virtual blessing for time-onsite metrics and general activity, but they can also leave users with a poor impression of a website if they are difficult and cumbersome to use. Choose wisely and you’ll be on the fast track to ‘Net success.
Go-To List of Analytics & BI Solutions
Whether you like it or not, modals and popups are used regularly on the Web and to positive effect. Discover the best practices and guidance on maximizing the modal interaction experience for your users at wsm.co/moremodal.
Web
COMMENTARY
Listen to... Your Mom! By Allison Howen, Associate Editor
Like a bratty teenager, Internet professionals think they know it all when it comes to how an e-commerce website should look and function. This holiday season, however, it’s once-a-year online shoppers who brands can learn the most from. After all, as the world becomes more connected and technology becomes more accessible, even those who are not tech-savvy are dabbling in the e-commerce waters. What those shoppers are asking for, however, really isn’t all that complicated – especially for retailers fortunate enough to have a focus group just a call away.
Don’t display out-of-stock items Customers spend a lot of time looking for the “perfect gift” and when they discover the item is out of stock once they get to the product page, they are sure to be upset. Or even worse, they could have an experience like my mom, who made a purchase on Black Friday only to be informed via email a week before Christmas that the item was no longer in stock. This not only results in a lost customer for the retailer, but makes the annual online shopper (like my mom) have a negative outlook on e-commerce altogether. And, their kids are sure to hear about it – especially if they work in the industry. Fortunately retailers can remedy this problem by verifying their inventory levels match up across channels before the holiday season begins. Retailers should also ensure their merchandising software updates inventory in real-time and either removes out-of-stock items from their website completely, or prominently highlights 40
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items that are out of stock on inventory listing pages and offers a back-in-stock notification option on the product page (discover four back-in-stock solutions at wsm.co/itsbackecomm). Lastly, never wait until a week before the holiday to give your customer notice that the item will not ship – it’s rude to both novice and veteran shoppers alike.
Make checkouts painless Shopping online to avoid a mile-long line at a brickand-mortar store is only a positive experience if the e-commerce site has a painless checkout – which is not always the case. To give a pleasant experience to every skill level of online shoppers, retailers should provide a simple checkout by offering easy payment options like PayPal. Surprisingly (at least for me), PayPal is my mom’s favorite way to complete an online checkout, which goes to prove that PayPal may be just as popular as an easy-to-use platform like Facebook is with those who are not tech-savvy.
Motivation may be required Traditional brick-and-mortar shoppers like my mom have a habit of thinking they can hunt down the best sales by searching the weekly periodical ads and scouring the store shelves – especially during the peak of the holiday season. To motivate these consumers to convert online, e-commerce retailers must do much more than send Black Friday promotion emails and offer free shipping. In addition, they should consider offering free gifts with online purchases and exclusive flash sales to online shoppers. While it is obvious why everyone loves a free gift, offering limited-time sales promotes a sense of urgency, which motivates shoppers to take action immediately due to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Plus, exclusive online promotions enable retailers to satisfy even the most bargain-hungry shopper, and this can quickly turn a veteran brick-and-mortar customer into a motivated online-shopper-in-training.
Cater to the novice online shopper this holiday season Although it may seem that shoppers like my mom have some catching up to do when it comes to learning the ins-and-outs of online shopping, it is this customer segment that retailers can learn from the most. After all, veteran online shoppers are more likely to have patience when they run into a virtual roadblock. Novice online shoppers, however, still need e-commerce retailers to prove themselves as superior to their brickand-mortar counterparts.
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