Q&A: Ian Hendry of WeCanDo.BIZ on social media and lead generation
WeCanDo.BIZ is an online network which helps SMEs find sales leads and business referrals, and it also offers a sales lead service for Twitter.
I've been talking to CEO Ian Hendry about the company, the potential of Twitter for finding leads, and the effects of social media on Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
Six enlightening mobile commerce presentations
To tie in with the launch of Econsultancy's Mobile E-commerce Best Practice Guide this week, I've been finding some interesting presentations on the subject from the excellent Slideshare.
Presentations include a recent Taptu report on the future state of the mobile web, a look at some mobile commerce sites from US brands, and a fascinating look at the mobile commerce market in Japan, which offers some useful lessons for retailers in Europe and North America.
Virgin Trains releases a poor iPhone app
Virgin Trains released an iPhone app recently, which is a bit of a disappointment and, judging by the low ratings it has received so far, the users seem to think so too.
The app gives information on Virgin Trains services, and that's about it. The opportunity was there to create a useful app for customers, as thetrainline and Cross Country trains have done, but Virgin has missed this chance.
Voucher Cloud: iPhone app review
Voucher Cloud is an app developed by Invitation Digital that allows users to get discount vouchers straight to their mobile, as well as locating nearby businesses with special offers.
It's an excellent idea, and one which removes the need to print out vouchers to use discount codes offline. So does the app measure up?
Is email marketing becoming less relevant?
39% of UK consumers claim that the marketing emails they receive are less relevant than they were 12 months ago, which suggests that brands need to improve to keep customers engaged.
According to an e-Dialog E-mail Attitudes Report, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults, there is a 34% increase in the number of people who are finding emails irrelevant to them, compared to the 2009 report.
Q&A: Shane Lake and Tony Charles of Hungryhouse
Hungryhouse is a website that aggregates takeaways in the UK, allowing customers to order from multiple restaurants from the one site.
The company was promised funding after a Dragon's Den appearance in 2007, though ended up raising money from a different source.
I've been talking to co-founders Shane Lake and Tony Charles about how the business has grown since then, and their plans for the future...
Is this the most hated checkout process on the web?
I wrote about the GoDaddy checkout process about a year ago, and it was one of the longest and most annoying checkouts I have seen on any e-commerce site.
There were up to ten separate steps in the process, depending on the options you select along the way, and so much cross-selling that finding a path through to the end was a real challenge. It was the very opposite of checkout best practice.
Since I last looked, GoDaddy has made a few changes to the process, so I've been seeing if it is an improvement on the previous version...
Ten reasons why you need a mobile commerce site
Econsultancy has just published a Mobile E-commerce Best Practice Guide, which outlines some of the best practices currently in use on mobile commerce sites and apps, and provides recommendations for making the mobile user experience as smooth as possible.
To tie in with the new guide, here are ten reasons why retailers need a mobile commerce site...
Retailers risk losing customers between channels
A new report suggests that multichannel retailers need to integrate their offline and online inventory more closely to avoid losing sales as customers switch between channels.
According to the Multichannel Retail Report from GSI Commerce, if customers can't find an item instore and decide to look for it online, 69% would compare prices across other websites, meaning that risk losing potential sales to rivals.
Q&A: Andy Hood of Amara on selling luxury products online
Established in 2005 by husband and wife team Andy and Sam Hood, Amara is an online retailer which sells luxury gifts and home furnishing brands.
I've been talking to Andy Hood about the business, and his approach to selling luxury goods online...
20+ mind-blowing social media statistics revisited
Gleecommerce: 10 ways to improve job satisfaction
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Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
