Okay, so it is official: The folks at Amazon have in fact solidified themselves as the preeminent online commerce entity at this point. Their purchase today of Zappos.com brings the extraordinary power of zappos' social marketing machine, integrated warehouse-to-site capabilities to the already superb customer experience and unmatched scalability that Amazon provides. Ladies and gentlemen, we have now seen the completion of the "Next Wal-Mart" of retail.
And yes... I still think they can do this after they start charging sales tax everywhere. :-)
Sad day for Shoes.com, shoebuy.com and the other online-only footwear retailers. This combination will be unstoppable in footwear and accessories online only. Only the smart multi-channel retailer will survive this.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Time to pay the tax man...
The days of the tax-free retailing online in the US are dwindling. July 1, 2008 marks the start of Destination Oriented tax collection in the state of Washington. This change, means that the old rules of "nexus" no longer apply in terms of whether or not a customer pays taxes on their purchase. You now pay taxes based on the delivery location, not the billing address.
Granted, the implementation in WA is voluntary right now during a trial period but... over 1000 retailers have signed up for it. And, as the sales tax revenue begins to increase based on these purchases rolls in... and with the current downward economic trend negatively affecting local tax revenues, experts are predicting that in fact customers should continue to expect this collection trend to be come mandatory sooner rather than later. I tend to agree.
What does this mean? Well, it is the beginning of the removal of the pure-play "advantage" of avoiding sales tax collection. Given that many pure-plays were "cheaper" from a price standpoint based on their "tax-free" play... many are going to have to compete on their core price of the merchandise, and not on a tax advantage.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out... I imagine that the smaller operations will be hit harder not only from a development perspective (load the local tax tables for EVERY zipcode in the US now) but also from a competitive advantage standpoint. Now the logistics and buying capabilities of a Walmart vs. those of Wally's Widgets are going to make it really tough for Wally to compete.
Cheers,
ORG
Granted, the implementation in WA is voluntary right now during a trial period but... over 1000 retailers have signed up for it. And, as the sales tax revenue begins to increase based on these purchases rolls in... and with the current downward economic trend negatively affecting local tax revenues, experts are predicting that in fact customers should continue to expect this collection trend to be come mandatory sooner rather than later. I tend to agree.
What does this mean? Well, it is the beginning of the removal of the pure-play "advantage" of avoiding sales tax collection. Given that many pure-plays were "cheaper" from a price standpoint based on their "tax-free" play... many are going to have to compete on their core price of the merchandise, and not on a tax advantage.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out... I imagine that the smaller operations will be hit harder not only from a development perspective (load the local tax tables for EVERY zipcode in the US now) but also from a competitive advantage standpoint. Now the logistics and buying capabilities of a Walmart vs. those of Wally's Widgets are going to make it really tough for Wally to compete.
Cheers,
ORG
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Paying for your loyalty... in search
So if you haven't seen it, Live.com/cashback released on 05/21/08. It is a rebate-based program that gives customers cash back for using Live Search to originate their product purchases.
The move is getting a lot of play in the "Search World." Some see it as an act of despiration to "buy eyes" to the fledgling Microsoft Live Search. Others see it as a "game changer" along the lines of google checkout and its free shipping during the holiday 07 season. One thing the move HAS done... is opened up a very interesting CPA-Based model for online retailers.
CPC vs. CPA is one of those "open source vs. microsoft" or "chocolate vs. vanilla" arguments that can go on forever and usually give me a headache. Bottom line is this: CPC - measureable to a point for a retailer, probably drives more eyeballs but less quality. CPA - more measurable (you can attribute a sale easier) drives more quality eyballs... but... it typically costs more per "unit."
That being said... there haven't been a lot of compelling "search engine" CPA opportunities until now. The ones that have tried in the past... have met with limited or no success. Most of the time, they were designed to be a product to offer for the retailer or "acquirer" and not to have much benefit to the "owner" of the program. In this case... it is really a strong attempt by Microsoft to grow their name in search. This means... the retailer or acquirer could be in a distinct advantage if they get in while the buzz is hot. It also isn't a bad deal for the consumer either!
Consumers... like this type of loyalty acquistion in the short term. But as I once heard true loyalty cannot be acquired... it is attained. So... the bet here is that the consumer will try the product in the "bought phase" and see how things grow from there.
All in all... interesting plan.
Cheers,
ORG
In the interest of full disclosure, ORG is affliated with Live.com, however is NOT affiliated in any way with this program.
The move is getting a lot of play in the "Search World." Some see it as an act of despiration to "buy eyes" to the fledgling Microsoft Live Search. Others see it as a "game changer" along the lines of google checkout and its free shipping during the holiday 07 season. One thing the move HAS done... is opened up a very interesting CPA-Based model for online retailers.
CPC vs. CPA is one of those "open source vs. microsoft" or "chocolate vs. vanilla" arguments that can go on forever and usually give me a headache. Bottom line is this: CPC - measureable to a point for a retailer, probably drives more eyeballs but less quality. CPA - more measurable (you can attribute a sale easier) drives more quality eyballs... but... it typically costs more per "unit."
That being said... there haven't been a lot of compelling "search engine" CPA opportunities until now. The ones that have tried in the past... have met with limited or no success. Most of the time, they were designed to be a product to offer for the retailer or "acquirer" and not to have much benefit to the "owner" of the program. In this case... it is really a strong attempt by Microsoft to grow their name in search. This means... the retailer or acquirer could be in a distinct advantage if they get in while the buzz is hot. It also isn't a bad deal for the consumer either!
Consumers... like this type of loyalty acquistion in the short term. But as I once heard true loyalty cannot be acquired... it is attained. So... the bet here is that the consumer will try the product in the "bought phase" and see how things grow from there.
All in all... interesting plan.
Cheers,
ORG
In the interest of full disclosure, ORG is affliated with Live.com, however is NOT affiliated in any way with this program.
Online Retailers are you THERE?
Welcome to the new online reality: Even if you aren't there, you ARE there. And in this case, "being there" means... you'll be charging and paying local sales taxes sooner than you'd thought.
The economy is hurting, and tax revenue is slumping. With this backdrop, the states have started to step up their efforts to collect sales taxes as brick and mortar or "click n' brick" retailers currently do. Currently, the set of decisions and laws that govern this area operate on the "nexus" principle. This basically means... if you have "nexus" in the state where the sale took place, you are to charge and pay sales tax. Online only retailers have been able to get around charging their customers sales tax in only a few states where they have physical operations (headquarters, warehouses, etc.).
But now comes a couple of significant challenges that look like they're going to have some possible impact.
First, in New York, Amazon is getting challenged by a new law that says their affiliate program has members that "have nexus" in the state of New York. The law says that Amazon needs to collect sales tax for all sales originating in and shipping to NY saying that because they pay out affiliate checks to New York-based affiliates... it is just like having a store in the state and paying an employee.
Next comes Texas. Shortly after the announcement and signing of the New York law, the state of Texas started to investigate Amazon, its affiliate program, and a distribution center that's operated as a "wholy owned subsidiary" of Amazon.
Finally, comes the City of Chicago... now suing eBay and STUBHUB over not collecting local ticket taxes. Stubhub has made the mistake of having an office in Chicago so they're pretty much going to have to pay. It is unclear whether or not eBay has an office within the city limits or not.
In all of the cases the nexus rules are being stretched and pulled. But, keep in mind that in an economy where people are spending less overall... tax revenue goes down. The states are hurting for revenue... they're trying to get back some of what has been lost by the growing online retail trend. While this has been rumored for a while... and different attemps have been made to start collecting sales tax... this is the first time some of the "larger states" like Texas and New York have been able to make headway. Also, don't forget... "it is all about the economy stupid."
What does this mean? Well for the large guys like the Amazon's, the Stubhubs and the eBays... it is an inconvenience but... not a show stopper. For the smaller online only retailers... they might want to look at how they're going to be collecting taxes sooner rather than later. I'd had hate to be a small retailer that has to write a "back taxes check." In the past, states have proposed amnisty for those who have voluntarily collected sales tax (Dell Computer is one). For affiliates... if an affliate is the ONLY reason that an online retailer is proved to have nexus in a state... I wonder who will be the first to add in the development and administrative costs for tax collection... in the overall ROI proposition for their affiliate program.
Interesting times for sure.
Cheers!
ORG
The economy is hurting, and tax revenue is slumping. With this backdrop, the states have started to step up their efforts to collect sales taxes as brick and mortar or "click n' brick" retailers currently do. Currently, the set of decisions and laws that govern this area operate on the "nexus" principle. This basically means... if you have "nexus" in the state where the sale took place, you are to charge and pay sales tax. Online only retailers have been able to get around charging their customers sales tax in only a few states where they have physical operations (headquarters, warehouses, etc.).
But now comes a couple of significant challenges that look like they're going to have some possible impact.
First, in New York, Amazon is getting challenged by a new law that says their affiliate program has members that "have nexus" in the state of New York. The law says that Amazon needs to collect sales tax for all sales originating in and shipping to NY saying that because they pay out affiliate checks to New York-based affiliates... it is just like having a store in the state and paying an employee.
Next comes Texas. Shortly after the announcement and signing of the New York law, the state of Texas started to investigate Amazon, its affiliate program, and a distribution center that's operated as a "wholy owned subsidiary" of Amazon.
Finally, comes the City of Chicago... now suing eBay and STUBHUB over not collecting local ticket taxes. Stubhub has made the mistake of having an office in Chicago so they're pretty much going to have to pay. It is unclear whether or not eBay has an office within the city limits or not.
In all of the cases the nexus rules are being stretched and pulled. But, keep in mind that in an economy where people are spending less overall... tax revenue goes down. The states are hurting for revenue... they're trying to get back some of what has been lost by the growing online retail trend. While this has been rumored for a while... and different attemps have been made to start collecting sales tax... this is the first time some of the "larger states" like Texas and New York have been able to make headway. Also, don't forget... "it is all about the economy stupid."
What does this mean? Well for the large guys like the Amazon's, the Stubhubs and the eBays... it is an inconvenience but... not a show stopper. For the smaller online only retailers... they might want to look at how they're going to be collecting taxes sooner rather than later. I'd had hate to be a small retailer that has to write a "back taxes check." In the past, states have proposed amnisty for those who have voluntarily collected sales tax (Dell Computer is one). For affiliates... if an affliate is the ONLY reason that an online retailer is proved to have nexus in a state... I wonder who will be the first to add in the development and administrative costs for tax collection... in the overall ROI proposition for their affiliate program.
Interesting times for sure.
Cheers!
ORG
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Hey shopper... we're tired of trying to figure out what you want. Do it yourself!
So here's one that makes me finally get off the bench and speak up. I don't know whether to laugh, cry or applaud but I have a feeling of all of the above here.
An article on eCommerce Times about a new startup named iStorez has me in this quandary. So what we have here, basically is the ability for the shopper to assemble their OWN store, real-time based on a set of either search criteria... or some other relevent group.
The challenge is... there are a LOT of us consumers out there... building each of us a custom "store front" isn't really scalable. Therefore, the retailer has to "guess" based on the data they have. This has them walking the fine line between what they think "feels" personalized vs. what we think is "down right creepy." This is a tough one you try to "guess" as a retailer. Paraphrasing Carrie Johnson from Forrester in the article Personalization as the buzzword but done right... usually serves the retailer well. But when it isn't... not so much.
We would all love the ability to know our consumer so completely that we could change our stores for each of you... but... the fact is a lot of us never will have that complete understanding. Also... consumers are funny... they ACTUALLY change their minds sometimes :-)
So I like what iStorez has done here. They OUTSOURCED the problem to the consumer! They are letting the consumer do the personalization themselves based on OPEN DATA POINTS... what you're shopping for. They are not some online survey... not some creepy quasi-data-driven guess. iStorez is trying to provide the platform for consumers to personalize on... and let them decide how they want to shop for your goods. They may be onto something here.
My thought... Millenials will flock to this... IF they can get a more "social" component to it. It is like the ultimate mashup of Facebook-shared shopping list, comparison shopping engine, search, and a good old-fashioned eCommerce site. To me, this is as O.P.E.N. as it gets for a consumer/retailer relationship right now. A key for iStorez will be to make it so easy for retailers to participate... that it is "like" any other "product feed" they may have to manage, that the selection of product is there to drive this. IF the product is there, THEY will come.
Finally... someone given control of the "personalization" to the "person." Could be interesting to watch.
Cheers!
.bb
An article on eCommerce Times about a new startup named iStorez has me in this quandary. So what we have here, basically is the ability for the shopper to assemble their OWN store, real-time based on a set of either search criteria... or some other relevent group.
The challenge is... there are a LOT of us consumers out there... building each of us a custom "store front" isn't really scalable. Therefore, the retailer has to "guess" based on the data they have. This has them walking the fine line between what they think "feels" personalized vs. what we think is "down right creepy." This is a tough one you try to "guess" as a retailer. Paraphrasing Carrie Johnson from Forrester in the article Personalization as the buzzword but done right... usually serves the retailer well. But when it isn't... not so much.
We would all love the ability to know our consumer so completely that we could change our stores for each of you... but... the fact is a lot of us never will have that complete understanding. Also... consumers are funny... they ACTUALLY change their minds sometimes :-)
So I like what iStorez has done here. They OUTSOURCED the problem to the consumer! They are letting the consumer do the personalization themselves based on OPEN DATA POINTS... what you're shopping for. They are not some online survey... not some creepy quasi-data-driven guess. iStorez is trying to provide the platform for consumers to personalize on... and let them decide how they want to shop for your goods. They may be onto something here.
My thought... Millenials will flock to this... IF they can get a more "social" component to it. It is like the ultimate mashup of Facebook-shared shopping list, comparison shopping engine, search, and a good old-fashioned eCommerce site. To me, this is as O.P.E.N. as it gets for a consumer/retailer relationship right now. A key for iStorez will be to make it so easy for retailers to participate... that it is "like" any other "product feed" they may have to manage, that the selection of product is there to drive this. IF the product is there, THEY will come.
Finally... someone given control of the "personalization" to the "person." Could be interesting to watch.
Cheers!
.bb
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
These shoes were made for walkin'
So there were a LOT of topics in the last half of 2007 that I didn't take time to write about... but as you know one of my interests is in the online footwear battles... having been in that area from pretty much the start of it.
I couldn't help but notice the end of pretty much the last of the experiments of the "separate online shoe" entity... when Brown Shoe announced they were closing their shoes.com offices in LA and moving all operations to their St. Louis headquarters... and rolling the brand up into their direct to consumer efforts. For those of you who don't know who Brown Shoe is... they are the parent company of footwear brand such as Naturalizer, ViaSpiga, Buster Brown and the Famous Footwear retail chain.
It made nothing but sense to do this... even though some very good people in LA now found themselves "seeking new opportunities." The cost structure of that operation not sharing fundamental core services like merchandising... really made it hard for that operation to make a profit. We'll never know publicly whether or not it did because BWS doesn't report the P&L for the unit individually. But... in light of the currrent struggle on both the retail and wholesale sides of footwear... cutting the overhead was a good move.
I wish them luck as a competitor in the online shoe races... but with Zappos so far ahead now... and talking about breaking the billion barrier in 2008... you have to wonder whether or not it might be time to let shoes.com fade into the background along with sites like Webvan and BOO. I think it makes a very interesting case proving once and for all that owning what seems to be "the best" domain name... does NOT guarantee success.
I couldn't help but notice the end of pretty much the last of the experiments of the "separate online shoe" entity... when Brown Shoe announced they were closing their shoes.com offices in LA and moving all operations to their St. Louis headquarters... and rolling the brand up into their direct to consumer efforts. For those of you who don't know who Brown Shoe is... they are the parent company of footwear brand such as Naturalizer, ViaSpiga, Buster Brown and the Famous Footwear retail chain.
It made nothing but sense to do this... even though some very good people in LA now found themselves "seeking new opportunities." The cost structure of that operation not sharing fundamental core services like merchandising... really made it hard for that operation to make a profit. We'll never know publicly whether or not it did because BWS doesn't report the P&L for the unit individually. But... in light of the currrent struggle on both the retail and wholesale sides of footwear... cutting the overhead was a good move.
I wish them luck as a competitor in the online shoe races... but with Zappos so far ahead now... and talking about breaking the billion barrier in 2008... you have to wonder whether or not it might be time to let shoes.com fade into the background along with sites like Webvan and BOO. I think it makes a very interesting case proving once and for all that owning what seems to be "the best" domain name... does NOT guarantee success.
Meatball Sundaes, Holiday Shopping and New Year's Resolutions
Happy New Year to all 6 of you that have read this stale blog!!! I've finally decided with a little inspiration from one of my favorite personal blogs... that I needed to push myself back to the keyboard in 2008. I've found myself thinking that I'm "too busy to blog" but in hindsight... like anything else... there's time if you make it a priority. So... my resolution this year is to... make it a priority! I hope your new year is off to a good start... now let's get going!
Meatball Sundae:
Okay... for the casual reader this one may be a bit much but... I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Seth Godin's latest book, Meatball Sundae. I'm lucky enough that my employer has a wonderful library of books... and so I've reserved through there. Essentially though... the premise is that you can't "mashup" old marketing tactics with new marketing tactics... and expect to get better results.
I'm intrigued as to how he makes the case... but a blog post I read today about how one of my favorite examples of forcing a new marketing experiment (Bud.tv) really highlighted how a great company like A-B really doesn't get "it" when it comes to the new marketing ecosystem of Social Networking, WOM Marketing... and other "staples" of the new marketing era. Godin has authored some of the best recent marketing books out there... so I'm kind of geeked up here to see what this one will be like. By the time I'm done with this one... it should be time for Kelly Mooney's O.P.E.N. brand book to come out.... so my book reading for the first quarter is pretty much set!
Holiday Shopping:
Well it seems that quite a few of you LIKE to shop online. More than last year apparently. Hmmm... imagine that. :-) The growth in importance of online retailing can be illustrated in a thousand ways but, I think the fact that holiday online retail grew 20% year over year vs. the offline channel performance of about 5%... pretty much says it all. It is no lie that it has become tough sledding out there for even the best of traditional retailers, multi-channel retailers... and even some online only places. The effect of the overall performance of the US Economy and its' direct impact on the US Consumer's discretionary spending is well documented at this point. But... through it all... the retailers that have done the hard work to bring multi-channel marketing/retailing and customer-centricity to their DNA... are the ones that will weather this storm.
2008 shapes up to be the real test for multi-channel retailing in my view. Has it matured enough to be a differentiating factor for retailers? You only find out when the going gets tough... and I think that's pretty much happening now. I don't usually bet... but I bet you can figure out where I stand on this one. :-)
New Year's Resolutions:
So... how many did you make this year? 1? 5? more? I have decided to make one. Here it is. "Get er' dun!" (imagine best "Larry the Cable Guy" voice). Too many things like this blog were left "half done" in 2007. It is time to get up and get it done. ALL of it. We'll see how it goes but... at least we've got a start here right?
I'd love to hear from you any time. You can comment, or MEEBOME anytime you see me online (in the right hand side of the blog!).
cheers!
Meatball Sundae:
Okay... for the casual reader this one may be a bit much but... I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Seth Godin's latest book, Meatball Sundae. I'm lucky enough that my employer has a wonderful library of books... and so I've reserved through there. Essentially though... the premise is that you can't "mashup" old marketing tactics with new marketing tactics... and expect to get better results.
I'm intrigued as to how he makes the case... but a blog post I read today about how one of my favorite examples of forcing a new marketing experiment (Bud.tv) really highlighted how a great company like A-B really doesn't get "it" when it comes to the new marketing ecosystem of Social Networking, WOM Marketing... and other "staples" of the new marketing era. Godin has authored some of the best recent marketing books out there... so I'm kind of geeked up here to see what this one will be like. By the time I'm done with this one... it should be time for Kelly Mooney's O.P.E.N. brand book to come out.... so my book reading for the first quarter is pretty much set!
Holiday Shopping:
Well it seems that quite a few of you LIKE to shop online. More than last year apparently. Hmmm... imagine that. :-) The growth in importance of online retailing can be illustrated in a thousand ways but, I think the fact that holiday online retail grew 20% year over year vs. the offline channel performance of about 5%... pretty much says it all. It is no lie that it has become tough sledding out there for even the best of traditional retailers, multi-channel retailers... and even some online only places. The effect of the overall performance of the US Economy and its' direct impact on the US Consumer's discretionary spending is well documented at this point. But... through it all... the retailers that have done the hard work to bring multi-channel marketing/retailing and customer-centricity to their DNA... are the ones that will weather this storm.
2008 shapes up to be the real test for multi-channel retailing in my view. Has it matured enough to be a differentiating factor for retailers? You only find out when the going gets tough... and I think that's pretty much happening now. I don't usually bet... but I bet you can figure out where I stand on this one. :-)
New Year's Resolutions:
So... how many did you make this year? 1? 5? more? I have decided to make one. Here it is. "Get er' dun!" (imagine best "Larry the Cable Guy" voice). Too many things like this blog were left "half done" in 2007. It is time to get up and get it done. ALL of it. We'll see how it goes but... at least we've got a start here right?
I'd love to hear from you any time. You can comment, or MEEBOME anytime you see me online (in the right hand side of the blog!).
cheers!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
phewwww... what's that smell?
That would be the smell of a STALE BLOG I believe.
Good GRAVY! Can't believe that I've slipped so much on blogging... was it REALLY May 19th since my last post? UGH.
Thanks to all of you who have commented since then... and to the 4 or 5 of you that have stopped by pining for a new post :-) I've got plenty of topics that I want to cover as the last minute holiday plans are prepped. I'll be posting again soon.
Cheers!
ORG
Good GRAVY! Can't believe that I've slipped so much on blogging... was it REALLY May 19th since my last post? UGH.
Thanks to all of you who have commented since then... and to the 4 or 5 of you that have stopped by pining for a new post :-) I've got plenty of topics that I want to cover as the last minute holiday plans are prepped. I'll be posting again soon.
Cheers!
ORG
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Online research... creates offline sales
More proof that if you as a retailer AREN'T making a seamless offline/online experience the core of your growth strategy (including budgeting, staffing, product strategy, etc.) you should be by now.
This article in BrandWeek sums up the latest Forrester Research on the subject. Tamara Mendelsohn, a Senior Analyst with Forrester said that 51% of consumers are researching all of their purchases online prior to buying offline. That's a HUGE amount... and according to reports... this is an average across all verticals.
What does that mean? A couple of things: First, sharpening search strategy is even more important than ever. Next, you MUST have a web-to-store, store-to-web integrated strategy at LEAST on the drawing boards... if not implemented. Systems and processes need to be able to support this trend (which by the way the report cites as continuing to increase) and you are leaving more than enough money on the table at this point to justify the cost. Finally... the last traces of doubt about an ecommerce site and strategy should be gone from your organization. This is as important as operating your stores... it is VITAL to your overall success as a retailer in the US, and even more so abroad.
This article in BrandWeek sums up the latest Forrester Research on the subject. Tamara Mendelsohn, a Senior Analyst with Forrester said that 51% of consumers are researching all of their purchases online prior to buying offline. That's a HUGE amount... and according to reports... this is an average across all verticals.
What does that mean? A couple of things: First, sharpening search strategy is even more important than ever. Next, you MUST have a web-to-store, store-to-web integrated strategy at LEAST on the drawing boards... if not implemented. Systems and processes need to be able to support this trend (which by the way the report cites as continuing to increase) and you are leaving more than enough money on the table at this point to justify the cost. Finally... the last traces of doubt about an ecommerce site and strategy should be gone from your organization. This is as important as operating your stores... it is VITAL to your overall success as a retailer in the US, and even more so abroad.
Why Cutter & Buck doesn't need 'help'
Okay... I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I'm a bit of a "golf shirt snob." And anyone in the golf business well tell you that Cutter & Buck is one of the best all around shirts you can buy. Their color selections... fabrics... very well done. However, their online marketing efforts sometimes leave room for improvement.
Case in point. I'm on their email list. I get one roughly once a week. It is usually well designed... good links... etc. Here's a quick picture of it.
But... in the address "from" field... the address it comes "from" is help@cutterandbuck.com. Now... I don't know about you, but... when I get an email from "help" at any address... I immediately think of one of two things:
Case in point. I'm on their email list. I get one roughly once a week. It is usually well designed... good links... etc. Here's a quick picture of it.
But... in the address "from" field... the address it comes "from" is help@cutterandbuck.com. Now... I don't know about you, but... when I get an email from "help" at any address... I immediately think of one of two things:
- whooray! I got my question answered by support. I'm so happy. OR
- who's spamming me from a help address? I didn't ask for any help.
In this day and age... inboxes are scanned by consumers QUICKLY. They define spam as "everything they didn't ask for, looks like SPAM -> Delete Key."
Which brings me to the point here. I'm normally not a betting man. However, with emails coming from an address like help@cutterandbuck.com I'm willing to bet they have open rate problems. It is VERY straight forward to get this changed. Working with your Email Service Provider and your network support team, this should be a simple DNS record change. Should be ready to go in 24 hours tops.I hope they get their act together and get this changed. I want to see them succeed online so I can still wear their great shirts!
Wanna talk about it... MEEBOME or leave me a comment.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
is m-commerce finally ready?
M-commerce; is it something you're thinking about? If not... it might be time to look more seriously into it. An article on internetretailer.com along with some other articles about how some big entities are getting into the mobile banking/payment game started me thinking about this subject again.
There are a lot of things starting to finally converge that make this something to pay attention to. Some of those include:
I have to admit though that my own use of my Treo 650 as a mobile device has been... well... underwhelming at times. I chalk this up to the capabilities of the services that I've tried to use rather than the capabilities of the device.
In general though, if you don't have a mobile store within the next 8-12 months... and you're looking for a leg up on your competition, it might be time to check out a service like mPoria to see if you can design an experience that is very relevant to your customer. The convenience of the mobile store, combined with the improvements in the user experience and the adaptation of the mobile device as an everyday necessity might just be pushing mobile commerce to a tipping point explosion.
Would love to hear your thoughts... feel free to meebome on the right or comment.
There are a lot of things starting to finally converge that make this something to pay attention to. Some of those include:
- better displays on the newer mobile devices
- faster data services provided by the mobile providers
- the capability to via hosted services, build a mobile version of your online retail store with a small investment in time and effort.
- the generation that has been text messaging like crazy for 3 years or more... is either about to graduate from college or is out... and is now starting to have money to spend.
- the ability to behaviorally target the user with context relative information real-time (ads, prices, etc. based on your physical location)
I have to admit though that my own use of my Treo 650 as a mobile device has been... well... underwhelming at times. I chalk this up to the capabilities of the services that I've tried to use rather than the capabilities of the device.
In general though, if you don't have a mobile store within the next 8-12 months... and you're looking for a leg up on your competition, it might be time to check out a service like mPoria to see if you can design an experience that is very relevant to your customer. The convenience of the mobile store, combined with the improvements in the user experience and the adaptation of the mobile device as an everyday necessity might just be pushing mobile commerce to a tipping point explosion.
Would love to hear your thoughts... feel free to meebome on the right or comment.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
In-Stock Re-Defined, and the "Experience Chain"
Saw a very interesting article today that spurred some thinking (again... for the three or four of you that read this thing that should come as no surprise ;-)
The article is from those really smart folks over at Knowledge@Wharton (you might have heard of Wharton???). It talks about that consumer's definition of what it "in stock" has really changed dramatically, thanks to the advent of strong multi-channel seamlessly integrated retailers. In a nutshell... "in stock" no longer means "on the store shelves" but rather "somewhere in your enterprise." It is the experience that I was driving the powers that be towards at FamousFootwear when I was there, and it is the experience that consumers are starting to expect and get delivered to them by leaders such as Circuit City, Best Buy to name but a few.
The article goes on to point out that the weakest link in the success of this experience might be the employee they talk to at the store. If your person on the front lines doesn't know how to use the tools at their disposal to meet the customer's demands... your can STILL fail the customer's expectations. It is a great article and I commend it to you. However, it also got me thinking about a new concept; "The Experience Chain"
As I've said before, this superior customer experience, no matter what service you provide or goods you sell... is EXPECTED to be in the DNA of your organization at this point. Without it, your customer has too many choices and too much power for your organization to continue to succeed. Today's customer has Demandments according to one of the people I admire a lot Kelly Mooney at Resource Interactive. The customer's Customer Satisfaction as measured by ForeSee and the American Customer Satisfaction Index has a DIRECT correlation to the performance of an organization.
Your organization will meet these expectations only if your "Experience Chain" is humming along with the same efficiency as your "supply chain" or your "operational chain." If it isn't, your going to miss your "mark" with your organization's goals. In short, you could really look at all of your business functions, as part of your "Experience Chain." I'm going to better define this... what it includes, etc. but for now, here's my first crack at a definition:
Got any thoughts? Love to hear them. MEEBOME or comment.
The article is from those really smart folks over at Knowledge@Wharton (you might have heard of Wharton???). It talks about that consumer's definition of what it "in stock" has really changed dramatically, thanks to the advent of strong multi-channel seamlessly integrated retailers. In a nutshell... "in stock" no longer means "on the store shelves" but rather "somewhere in your enterprise." It is the experience that I was driving the powers that be towards at FamousFootwear when I was there, and it is the experience that consumers are starting to expect and get delivered to them by leaders such as Circuit City, Best Buy to name but a few.
The article goes on to point out that the weakest link in the success of this experience might be the employee they talk to at the store. If your person on the front lines doesn't know how to use the tools at their disposal to meet the customer's demands... your can STILL fail the customer's expectations. It is a great article and I commend it to you. However, it also got me thinking about a new concept; "The Experience Chain"
As I've said before, this superior customer experience, no matter what service you provide or goods you sell... is EXPECTED to be in the DNA of your organization at this point. Without it, your customer has too many choices and too much power for your organization to continue to succeed. Today's customer has Demandments according to one of the people I admire a lot Kelly Mooney at Resource Interactive. The customer's Customer Satisfaction as measured by ForeSee and the American Customer Satisfaction Index has a DIRECT correlation to the performance of an organization.
Your organization will meet these expectations only if your "Experience Chain" is humming along with the same efficiency as your "supply chain" or your "operational chain." If it isn't, your going to miss your "mark" with your organization's goals. In short, you could really look at all of your business functions, as part of your "Experience Chain." I'm going to better define this... what it includes, etc. but for now, here's my first crack at a definition:
"The Experience Chain: The sum of all your organization's strategies and activities, that provide your customer(s) with a superior customer experience."Remember, the phrase "The Experience Chain." I'll be writing more about it soon.
Got any thoughts? Love to hear them. MEEBOME or comment.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Why I just paid $79 for an Oil Change...
It is always easy to talk about your superior customer experience when you buy a new pair of shoes... or that piece of high fashion... upper end electronics... even your morning coffee/latte. But... I bet not many folks talk about their superior OIL CHANGE experience... Time to break some new ground ;-)
I paid $79 for an oil change today. I normally pay $44 for an oil change. I could pay $19.95 a lot of places, but... I don't. I pay the extra money. Every time. Why? Because I trust the Valvoline Instant Oil Change place will do it right, and keep my car running great! I trust that they will do it efficiently, on time, and won't pressure me into anything I don't want. I also trust that they know what's best for my car.
How'd they earn this trust? They have a simple formula. Their shop is clean, always. They do what they say they will do. They are very easy to use, with excellent systems for POS, a great CRM/Loyalty club, etc. And, they have a great product.
So today, I went to get the oil changed on the element. I use 5W-30 Durablend (a blended synthetic oil). It costs a little more but I want my element to last a long time. When I pulled in, I'd been wanting a place to get the tires rotated on it... but had put it off because... well... I didn't want to go to another place to do it. Well... at the Valvoline Instant Oil Change they do that... and the helpful service tech pointed it out when I came in. Boom... I spent $25 more for a rotation. They got it done in no time.... top to bottom I was out in 30 minutes.
Like clockwork they went through their routine... "Bay 3 Filter Verified!!!" "Bay 3 ready for oil!!!" came from the techs as they went about their work. When all was done, a quick review, speedy payment process done right there in the service bay, and a friendly reminder to fill out a quick telephone or web survey on their performance... and I was on my way.
I'm sure that someone could say that this is their job... and I'm just noticing someone or a team doing their job. But... I've changed the oil in my car before... and I've been to quite a few of these places... what keeps me coming back and paying more for this service is... the consistent level of service and the ease of use. In short... they get it right.
So... next time you get your oil changed... you might want to check out the level of service you get. Can you count on it every time? I know I can...
Feel free to comment or MEEBOME in the right column. If you need me, look for me in about 3500 miles... at a Valvoline Instant Oil Change.
I paid $79 for an oil change today. I normally pay $44 for an oil change. I could pay $19.95 a lot of places, but... I don't. I pay the extra money. Every time. Why? Because I trust the Valvoline Instant Oil Change place will do it right, and keep my car running great! I trust that they will do it efficiently, on time, and won't pressure me into anything I don't want. I also trust that they know what's best for my car.
How'd they earn this trust? They have a simple formula. Their shop is clean, always. They do what they say they will do. They are very easy to use, with excellent systems for POS, a great CRM/Loyalty club, etc. And, they have a great product.
So today, I went to get the oil changed on the element. I use 5W-30 Durablend (a blended synthetic oil). It costs a little more but I want my element to last a long time. When I pulled in, I'd been wanting a place to get the tires rotated on it... but had put it off because... well... I didn't want to go to another place to do it. Well... at the Valvoline Instant Oil Change they do that... and the helpful service tech pointed it out when I came in. Boom... I spent $25 more for a rotation. They got it done in no time.... top to bottom I was out in 30 minutes.
Like clockwork they went through their routine... "Bay 3 Filter Verified!!!" "Bay 3 ready for oil!!!" came from the techs as they went about their work. When all was done, a quick review, speedy payment process done right there in the service bay, and a friendly reminder to fill out a quick telephone or web survey on their performance... and I was on my way.
I'm sure that someone could say that this is their job... and I'm just noticing someone or a team doing their job. But... I've changed the oil in my car before... and I've been to quite a few of these places... what keeps me coming back and paying more for this service is... the consistent level of service and the ease of use. In short... they get it right.
So... next time you get your oil changed... you might want to check out the level of service you get. Can you count on it every time? I know I can...
Feel free to comment or MEEBOME in the right column. If you need me, look for me in about 3500 miles... at a Valvoline Instant Oil Change.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
ATG & Kelly Mooney - they get IT
While my very near future employer might not appreciate this... I have to say that when I was evaluating platforms for the integration of the customer experience in retail and B2B, one company kept coming back to the fore; ATG. They truly are at the "thought leadership" position in terms of how the digital technology of today can change the success of your organization. Their platform gets to the DNA of many specific areas in a retail or B2B operation, and it plays extremely well with others ;-)
It is time for their annual conference, and this time they've got an impressive lineup of speakers, from Chris Anderson to one of my favorites; Kelly Mooney. If you're lucky enough to have some time and a few extra $$$'s, you might want to check this event out.
It is time for their annual conference, and this time they've got an impressive lineup of speakers, from Chris Anderson to one of my favorites; Kelly Mooney. If you're lucky enough to have some time and a few extra $$$'s, you might want to check this event out.
Why doesn't my Agency Get the digital space?
Little different than online retail but I think related none the less.
My last stint was at a "traditional agency." They did an excellent job at DM, B2B and essential print marketing. But... their idea of a truly integrated digital, video, and DM campaign failed miserably. The concept was presented to one group and supposedly approved. The development of the digital component was never "headed" so much as it was batted about like a shuttlecock in a world championship Badminton match. The people who were supposed to "lead" the project... hadn't built a website in their lives... let alone an integrated campaign. The digital portion of the project was a PORTAL, which never had a single requirements document written for it. From the description, you would figure that this agency was a 20-person shop, with smaller clients. It wasn't. It is in fact a "network agency" with one of the biggest agency groups out there. The client was... um... really big.
The results... the root concept presented by the creative team, was axed by the client... only after 6 figures had been spent on a "digital experience" to match that "vision." The campaign and site however rolled out with that root concept in tact because... well... it was too late to change it. The results were... um... underwhelming. The level of integration was... well... not integrated. I left the agency shortly after the project rolled out, but this agency and network group have since participated in another high profile... hiccup... in the digital space.
So... why the dysfunction? Well... I read this MediaPost article today... and I think that the warnings to "traditional agencies" part of it pretty much summed up the experience. The article talks about the silos that exist in agencies... and the barriers these become to the truly integrated campaign. It also says that it is imperative that the "traditional agencies" figure this out now... or risk not surviving, because today's consumer... younger for sure but even boomers at this point... EXPECT INTEGRATION. They expected in the message, in their customer experience... they believe one brand, one vision. Most agencies are not setup to handle this.
The agency I was with, had creative groups lined up around verticals... and clients. DM group didn't consort with the TV, etc. They "worked together" on projects but... did not have an integrated approach... and for the most part while well intentioned... the creative group had little or no large scale experience with digital experiences. Meanwhile, the Account Service layer had been very used to controlling all aspects of the project; planning, production, execution. Very much like running a DM project. They had NO experience with running a project the level of variables involved in a digital project, but had all the authority and responsibility for it. Then you had the technical group, which was very talented, but also did not have the analysis layer to produce and effective large scale digital experience. And finally... getting this large, disjointed team on the same page... on ANYTHING... was nearly impossible.
So... what's the lesson... the solution here? The lesson could be best learned by looking the mistakes of their clients... especially when it comes to how THEY'VE mishandled integrated experiences. For example; no longer does retail operations work in a vacuum with regards to what the marketing team is doing for a campaign, or the digital team is doing on their "biggest store" the website. These teams are together... working as one on singularly focused campaigns and improving the customer experience. I think the reason you're seeing the upper tier digital agencies start to become the 'agency of record' in more situations... is that the RG/A's of the world GET the integration needed organizationally to achieve integrated marketing. It has been my experience that the "network approach" or even the siloed-mid-agency approach has some challenges focusing like this.
My advice to agencies that aren't yet integrated... is you can't do an effective integrated campaign until you yourself are integrated. If you don't change now... the clients are going to pass you by.
Love to hear your comments... either via meebome or below.
My last stint was at a "traditional agency." They did an excellent job at DM, B2B and essential print marketing. But... their idea of a truly integrated digital, video, and DM campaign failed miserably. The concept was presented to one group and supposedly approved. The development of the digital component was never "headed" so much as it was batted about like a shuttlecock in a world championship Badminton match. The people who were supposed to "lead" the project... hadn't built a website in their lives... let alone an integrated campaign. The digital portion of the project was a PORTAL, which never had a single requirements document written for it. From the description, you would figure that this agency was a 20-person shop, with smaller clients. It wasn't. It is in fact a "network agency" with one of the biggest agency groups out there. The client was... um... really big.
The results... the root concept presented by the creative team, was axed by the client... only after 6 figures had been spent on a "digital experience" to match that "vision." The campaign and site however rolled out with that root concept in tact because... well... it was too late to change it. The results were... um... underwhelming. The level of integration was... well... not integrated. I left the agency shortly after the project rolled out, but this agency and network group have since participated in another high profile... hiccup... in the digital space.
So... why the dysfunction? Well... I read this MediaPost article today... and I think that the warnings to "traditional agencies" part of it pretty much summed up the experience. The article talks about the silos that exist in agencies... and the barriers these become to the truly integrated campaign. It also says that it is imperative that the "traditional agencies" figure this out now... or risk not surviving, because today's consumer... younger for sure but even boomers at this point... EXPECT INTEGRATION. They expected in the message, in their customer experience... they believe one brand, one vision. Most agencies are not setup to handle this.
The agency I was with, had creative groups lined up around verticals... and clients. DM group didn't consort with the TV, etc. They "worked together" on projects but... did not have an integrated approach... and for the most part while well intentioned... the creative group had little or no large scale experience with digital experiences. Meanwhile, the Account Service layer had been very used to controlling all aspects of the project; planning, production, execution. Very much like running a DM project. They had NO experience with running a project the level of variables involved in a digital project, but had all the authority and responsibility for it. Then you had the technical group, which was very talented, but also did not have the analysis layer to produce and effective large scale digital experience. And finally... getting this large, disjointed team on the same page... on ANYTHING... was nearly impossible.
So... what's the lesson... the solution here? The lesson could be best learned by looking the mistakes of their clients... especially when it comes to how THEY'VE mishandled integrated experiences. For example; no longer does retail operations work in a vacuum with regards to what the marketing team is doing for a campaign, or the digital team is doing on their "biggest store" the website. These teams are together... working as one on singularly focused campaigns and improving the customer experience. I think the reason you're seeing the upper tier digital agencies start to become the 'agency of record' in more situations... is that the RG/A's of the world GET the integration needed organizationally to achieve integrated marketing. It has been my experience that the "network approach" or even the siloed-mid-agency approach has some challenges focusing like this.
My advice to agencies that aren't yet integrated... is you can't do an effective integrated campaign until you yourself are integrated. If you don't change now... the clients are going to pass you by.
Love to hear your comments... either via meebome or below.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Are you experienced?
Retailers and really anyone that needs to sell you SOMETHING are more focused on the customer experience than ever today. They're starting to realize that in a market where something can become a commodity so fast it can make your head spin, your survival might rely on it. There are all kinds of thought leaders in this area. I tend to keep track of Kelly Mooney and the gang over at Resource Interactive as folks that have some great insights, but there are countless examples out there. So... when my daily NRF SmartBrief came to my inbox yesterday with an article from the NYT about the Samsung Experience store in Manhattan and I thought it was a great time to chime in for a minute about what it means to have an "excellent customer experience."
Now, I'm sure that someone could write a long case study on this stuff, in fact I'm sure many have. But, really it boils down to this; If your customer's demands are met, then you've provided a good customer experience. If they begin to choose you over your competitors on a regular basis, you're providing a great customer experience. If they choose you so often that your competitor either starts to copy you, or loses market share, you are providing a superior customer experience. What happens... the "customer" begins to "trust" you. So... I think of a superior customer experience as one of "trust" of you, your service, your product(s) and your ability to meet their "need."
In the NYT article, they talk about the Samsung Experience store and how you can't buy anything in it (gasp!). You just get to try out cool Samsung stuff. They also talk about the new ATT Experience stores that are coming, which will highlight the new capabilities of "the new ATT" with wireless, voice, web, and TV coming together on one platform. Both of these brands realize that the more interaction people have with your products... the opportunity to investigate on your own... the more they learn about you... and develop a trustworthy relationship with your brand. Once you have that... you have a brand affinity that will follow them.
When I was at Famous Footwear, we learned this lesson to some degree with some store redesign concepts based around ease of shopping and also simple things like the ability to easily sit down and try shoes on. Instead of the "pile it high and it'll fly" approach that was ESPECIALLY prevalent in Shoe Retailing (remember walking into the store and seeing boxes of shoes stacked to the ceiling???) we made more room for benches, better lighting, etc. We differentiated ourselves on this as well as better product. We TALKED about it with the beginnings of the "more shoes more ways" marketing campaign. And guess what? It worked! More sales, happier-more loyal customers... and a record year in 2006 for Famous Footwear.
In short, the "experience" is the WHOLE THING. It is a concerted effort on behalf of your WHOLE TEAM to meet the customer's needs... and building trust in them so that they pick YOU rather than YOUR COMPETITOR.
So... with that discussion in mind... I pose the question (borrowing from the late great Jimi Hendrix); Are you experienced?
Would love to hear your thoughts... either meebome at the right or comment.
Now, I'm sure that someone could write a long case study on this stuff, in fact I'm sure many have. But, really it boils down to this; If your customer's demands are met, then you've provided a good customer experience. If they begin to choose you over your competitors on a regular basis, you're providing a great customer experience. If they choose you so often that your competitor either starts to copy you, or loses market share, you are providing a superior customer experience. What happens... the "customer" begins to "trust" you. So... I think of a superior customer experience as one of "trust" of you, your service, your product(s) and your ability to meet their "need."
In the NYT article, they talk about the Samsung Experience store and how you can't buy anything in it (gasp!). You just get to try out cool Samsung stuff. They also talk about the new ATT Experience stores that are coming, which will highlight the new capabilities of "the new ATT" with wireless, voice, web, and TV coming together on one platform. Both of these brands realize that the more interaction people have with your products... the opportunity to investigate on your own... the more they learn about you... and develop a trustworthy relationship with your brand. Once you have that... you have a brand affinity that will follow them.
When I was at Famous Footwear, we learned this lesson to some degree with some store redesign concepts based around ease of shopping and also simple things like the ability to easily sit down and try shoes on. Instead of the "pile it high and it'll fly" approach that was ESPECIALLY prevalent in Shoe Retailing (remember walking into the store and seeing boxes of shoes stacked to the ceiling???) we made more room for benches, better lighting, etc. We differentiated ourselves on this as well as better product. We TALKED about it with the beginnings of the "more shoes more ways" marketing campaign. And guess what? It worked! More sales, happier-more loyal customers... and a record year in 2006 for Famous Footwear.
In short, the "experience" is the WHOLE THING. It is a concerted effort on behalf of your WHOLE TEAM to meet the customer's needs... and building trust in them so that they pick YOU rather than YOUR COMPETITOR.
So... with that discussion in mind... I pose the question (borrowing from the late great Jimi Hendrix); Are you experienced?
Would love to hear your thoughts... either meebome at the right or comment.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Learning that product rules... still.
The news today that GAP will close its Fourth & Towne stores probably shouldn't come as a surprise to most in the retail world. GAP is really struggling with what it wants to be when it grows up. This is well documented with the shake-up at the top, having designers and CEO's leave, etc.
What is interesting about GAP however is that while they have struggled in their stores, their online sales continue to grow (or at least had... they've got numbers coming out any day now that could change that trend). They have a very well documented modern eCommerce infrastructure... and they've rolled out new brands like Piperlime to take advantage of that. Fourth & Towne on the other hand... was a ''brick first, online second" play by GAP. At the time it debuted back in August of 05... the thought was that their target market wanted goods multi-channel. Heck... I remember when it came out... I was saying "smart move" because of their approach for the market. So... what happened?
GAP's products... almost across the board (with the exception of Banana Republic) have been getting HAMMERED as ordinary... or just not exciting... by customers and analysts alike. Piperlime on the other hand is really selling other peoples' products... again a new step for GAP in a lot of ways. Only the Banana product seems to be catching the fancy of their target.
The lesson here is... the best infrastructure can't make up for inferior product. You have to have Trend-right product... in the retail industry... to succeed as a multi-channel retailer... a pure-play... or a brick only variety. It applies to almost all market segments... verticals, etc. Keep that in mind when you're working on that next big ecommerce effort. Don't expect your platform... your usability studies... or your Web 2.0 widgets to make up for bad product. They CAN contribute to the experience... but they can't make up for your BRAND Experience.
Love to hear from you. Comment on this.. or any post... or MEEBOME using the blank to the right when you see I'm online. Cheers!
What is interesting about GAP however is that while they have struggled in their stores, their online sales continue to grow (or at least had... they've got numbers coming out any day now that could change that trend). They have a very well documented modern eCommerce infrastructure... and they've rolled out new brands like Piperlime to take advantage of that. Fourth & Towne on the other hand... was a ''brick first, online second" play by GAP. At the time it debuted back in August of 05... the thought was that their target market wanted goods multi-channel. Heck... I remember when it came out... I was saying "smart move" because of their approach for the market. So... what happened?
GAP's products... almost across the board (with the exception of Banana Republic) have been getting HAMMERED as ordinary... or just not exciting... by customers and analysts alike. Piperlime on the other hand is really selling other peoples' products... again a new step for GAP in a lot of ways. Only the Banana product seems to be catching the fancy of their target.
The lesson here is... the best infrastructure can't make up for inferior product. You have to have Trend-right product... in the retail industry... to succeed as a multi-channel retailer... a pure-play... or a brick only variety. It applies to almost all market segments... verticals, etc. Keep that in mind when you're working on that next big ecommerce effort. Don't expect your platform... your usability studies... or your Web 2.0 widgets to make up for bad product. They CAN contribute to the experience... but they can't make up for your BRAND Experience.
Love to hear from you. Comment on this.. or any post... or MEEBOME using the blank to the right when you see I'm online. Cheers!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sprucing up...
Well, I finally took the time to spruce up the template a bit today. Hope everyone finds this one a little easier to read. More to come soon. cheers!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
From the "not so targeted email marketing" department...
Okay.. I admit it; I'm a Mark Cuban JUNKIE. His blog (blogmaverick.com) absolutely cracks me up! Here's a guy who's net worth is a bazillion... yet he's not afraid to point out stupidity in the world... in a very public way. Whether it is the NBA... or Donald Trump in this case... he's got enough money and enough clout that I think sometimes you need to listen to him.
Case in point: Today's blog. Mark got an email today from Donald Trump. It seems that if Mark responds to this email, and for only $76... he can learn the tricks that have made the Donald famous.
Uhhh... I'm guessing they didn't scrub that email list too well. Granted they probably wasted about $.002 to send Mr. Cuban the email but a simple check on Forbes.com would probably have yielded suppressing Mr. Cuban's email address as someone who is "outside the target" for this email.
Lesson learned: You might want to make sure you know something about your customers before you send them email. If they get email from you and they don't trust you knowing them... once.... you'll be in the spam box. I wonder if Mark Cuban has reset his spam filters yet for Trump University.
Or... maybe someone's spamming from an address similar to Mr. Trump's University perhaps? I'm sure there's one of those super-smart-tent-dwelling Apprentices that might be able to solve the problem. Meanwhile... the "Trump" brand name takes another hit either way.
Case in point: Today's blog. Mark got an email today from Donald Trump. It seems that if Mark responds to this email, and for only $76... he can learn the tricks that have made the Donald famous.
Uhhh... I'm guessing they didn't scrub that email list too well. Granted they probably wasted about $.002 to send Mr. Cuban the email but a simple check on Forbes.com would probably have yielded suppressing Mr. Cuban's email address as someone who is "outside the target" for this email.
Lesson learned: You might want to make sure you know something about your customers before you send them email. If they get email from you and they don't trust you knowing them... once.... you'll be in the spam box. I wonder if Mark Cuban has reset his spam filters yet for Trump University.
Or... maybe someone's spamming from an address similar to Mr. Trump's University perhaps? I'm sure there's one of those super-smart-tent-dwelling Apprentices that might be able to solve the problem. Meanwhile... the "Trump" brand name takes another hit either way.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Nordstrom Gets It. (DUH!)
Ever shopped at a Nordstrom? It is amazing. The customer experience is second to none. Their online experience has been good too, but they've been through the typical trials and tribulations of growing a direct e-business (first a stand alone company, then integrated, then... a hybrid) and they've also been like other major retailers and invested in "ecommerce systems" and processes as stand alone entities.
Well... now that they've got this significant direct business that continues to grow, they have taken the bold step to re-tool their core capabilities to become a truly multi-channel retailer. One inventory of products, accessible from anyone in their chain (store,phone, online). No "I can't get to that" or... "that's not in my system" any more. The story in the February Internet Retailer talks a bit about what they're doing but essentially, they've standardized on the Oracle Retailing Suite, are going to do away with redundant systems and inventories... and are going to integrate into their very DNA the notion that the Nordstrom brand is ONE BRAND; with seamless access to that brand from where ever their customer needs it.
They get it. They know that you can charge MORE for a positive customer experience. The way they used to do that is have MORE EMPLOYEES on the sales floor. Today's way of achieving that positive customer experience is simple: a superiorly integrated shopping experience.
Kudos to Jamie Nordstrom and the gang out in Seattle for having the guts to do it right.
Well... now that they've got this significant direct business that continues to grow, they have taken the bold step to re-tool their core capabilities to become a truly multi-channel retailer. One inventory of products, accessible from anyone in their chain (store,phone, online). No "I can't get to that" or... "that's not in my system" any more. The story in the February Internet Retailer talks a bit about what they're doing but essentially, they've standardized on the Oracle Retailing Suite, are going to do away with redundant systems and inventories... and are going to integrate into their very DNA the notion that the Nordstrom brand is ONE BRAND; with seamless access to that brand from where ever their customer needs it.
They get it. They know that you can charge MORE for a positive customer experience. The way they used to do that is have MORE EMPLOYEES on the sales floor. Today's way of achieving that positive customer experience is simple: a superiorly integrated shopping experience.
Kudos to Jamie Nordstrom and the gang out in Seattle for having the guts to do it right.
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