ecommerce | Internet Marketing Blog

Online customer service: how to get it right

With the increasingly homogenous offer of online retailers, it is generally agreed that high levels of customer service are more vital than ever.

With this in mind, I'm constantly astounded by the shockingly poor levels of service British consumers are exposed to.

by Chris Moffatt 15 February 2011 09:42am 5 comments

Nine lessons I've learned managing e-commerce teams

When I was a boy, I thought like a boy. It's true. When I first managed people in e-commerce, I didn't really know what good management was.

I had some good and bad experiences with my own managers but had never stopped to think what my team thought of my leadership style. Ironically it took the worst Director I've ever worked for to show me how to improve my management skills.

This blog offers nine techniques that, from personal experience, I know to be effective in managing and motivating a team. Management is about people, pure and simple. Forget the numbers; if you can't lead, motivate, support and inspire, those targets are history. Please take a read and then share your thoughts.

by James Gurd 31 January 2011 10:01am 14 comments

Q&A: Martin Newman on internationalisation of e-commerce

Martin Newman is the author of Econsultancy's Internationalisation of E-commerce Best Practice Guide published this week.

Here, he introduces the report, with tips and recommendations for those retailers wishing to sell online in other countries.

by Linus Gregoriadis 15 October 2010 10:30am 8 comments

Adapting SEO for the BRIC markets

It is expected that by 2015, the total number of internet users in BRIC countries, plus Indonesia (making them the BRICI markets) will total 1.2bn, more than double the current online population of these regions.

This, combined with other technological advancements and financial growth, means that now could be the time to start considering extending e-commerce practice in these markets.

In terms of SEO, this means beginning to think of strategies for search engines other than Google. In most of the BRIC markets there are many search engines other than Google which hold the leading market share, or there are at least strong competitors for the search giant.

by Greig Holbrook 29 September 2010 10:26am 7 comments

How can brands use Facebook Credits?

The full introduction of Facebook Credits, and their availability (in the US at least) as gift vouchers in offline retailers, opens up a whole new world for brands on Facebook.

The early adopters are, as expected, social gamers: Facebook and Zynga settled their differences earlier this year to agree that players of Zynga games (such as Farmville) can use Facebook Credits to buy virtual goods.

The implications are enormous. Suddenly, Facebook offers a new revenue stream for brands, and has itself a sustainable revenue model that doesn’t rely on the fickle advertising market.

by Steve Richards 09 September 2010 09:14am 0 comments

Eight tips for understanding Baidu SEO

Baidu is far and away the most popular search engine in China, but how does it differ from Google?

Here are eight simple tips to get you started with Baidu SEO...

by Christian Arno 02 September 2010 13:09pm 8 comments

How do you get the biggest bang for your content buck?

Producing relevant content is important for site optimisation, both for pure SEO benefit and to improve the user experience and drive conversion.

This post looks at how you can make the most of four types of web content (information pages, images, videos and blogs) and move away from a flat view where content is isolated in one place.

Much of this is common sense but I know many web teams who don’t fully appreciate the value of their content.

by James Gurd 02 June 2010 09:54am 3 comments

comScore: Flash buying sites are making people spend more money online

Group buying sites are growing like weeds in the digital commerce space. Every day it seems there's a new one offering discounts to expensive restaurants or a new approach to the flash sale. That's because the category is bringing in revenue hand over fist.

Just yesterday, I wrote about how these sites are using gaming tactics to separate shoppers from their money. And today comScore released some numbers that help explain the growing popularity of these sites. In addition to the great revenue they bring in, they're actually getting people to spend considerably more money online.

by Meghan Keane 27 May 2010 22:53pm 0 comments

TCDisrupt: The future of commerce lies in gaming

At TechCrunch Disrupt on Wednesday, The Future of the Market Is Social panel was stocked with executives from new media commerce companies that have seen impressive growth in the past few years. Rather than trading on low prices, companies like Gilt Groupe, Etsy and OMGPOP work to develop other sales advantages. And they all emphasized the role of community in their sales efforts. But going forward, they agreed that retailers will be relying on another trick to sell goods: game theory.

by Meghan Keane 26 May 2010 19:09pm 4 comments

E-commerce strategy: that's not your business!

What do you sell? I mean really, what is it that you actually sell? Why do people visit your website, or even buy your product? What do you offer that compels them to do this?

In a world of substitutes and alternates, we have to learn to better understand what drives our customers. Understand this and you understand how to make your site more effective.

by Matthew Curry 28 April 2010 11:00am 6 comments