Blueprint for Multichannel Sales Using Comparison Shopping Engines and Other Marketing Channels

Michael Lambert, CEO of MerchantAdvantage, and Jon Jessup, "Technical Envangelist" of Infopia, get up close and personal to help online merchants with their multi-channel marketing and sales' strategies.

MerchantAdvantage specializes in cost-effective, on-line tools to help online merchants send, optimize, and analyze their product catalog data and marketing campaigns when using any marketing channel, online shopping destination site, mobile commerce ("mcommerce") and comparison shopping engine.

Infopia is an e-commerce, business platform technology specialist with robust e-commerce and order management applications to work with eBay!, any marketing channel, and direct-to-consumer sales.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how any online merchant can increase sales and return on ad spend ("ROAS") in this free, 30-minute Webinar.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register. Yes, it is free!

Here are the details:

Topic: Blueprint for Multichannel Success

Building up the core of your online business—order and inventory management, marketing, and storefront capabilities—is crucial for success.

Another critical component is having a multichannel marketing plan that boosts sales. But all this requires sound planning.

A smart retailer knows how to use the eCommerce platform tools available to them and how to integrate various business applications before embarking on this journey. Get ahead of your competition by learning about winning multichannel strategies.

This free Webinar will cover:

• Marketing Channel Brief
• How To Use Marketing Channels Harmoniously
• Platform Concepts: Inventory Management, eCommerce Storefront, Order Management and CRM
• Open Platforms: Customization and Integration With Various Applications

Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM-2:30 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Pacific

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register. Yes, it is free!

I hope it helps...I know it will.

-- Chip Arndt

Reach More Online Customers This Summer And During The Holidays

eCommerce Merchants Trade Association (eCommerce Merchants) and MerchantAdvantage had a free webinar last week attended by many online merchants looking for tips to increase revenues this summer and going into the holiday online shopping season.

Presenters were Brandon Dupsky, Managing Director of eCommerce Merchants, and, yours truly, Chip Arndt, Co-Founder|EVP of MerchantAdvantage and author of eTaildTail.

The webinar was free and the archived copy, with audio and slides included, is also free to download.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to download the free webinar titled:

7 Steps To Reach More Customers Before and During The Holidays

Make sure to check out the last few slides which gives small to mid-sized online merchants some budgeting ideas on how they can afford to use comparison shopping engines, especially since 4 of them are free to use immediately.

Can you afford not to use at least these 4 marketing channels and help, at the very least, to boost your SEO rankings in the process?

Enjoy and I hope it helps.

-- Chip Arndt

Online Shopping is Recession Proof...Well Almost! Online Shopping Continues

These are difficult economic times for many, as we all know. When will relief trully come?  Who knows, but probably we won't know until after November 4, when we elect a new President and commit to a better long-term strategy for economic stability for us all.

In the interim period, many clients and other online merchants have asked me about my thoughts about online shopping and the affects the economy will have as to people's behaviour to shopping in general and online.

I wrote about this in a prior blog entry on May 5, titled:

Online Shopping, E-Commerce Sales Increase Because of "Perceived" US Recession

You can read entry by clicking on the title above.  I basically said that online shopping woudl benefit three months ago and now we have evidence that online shopping is doing pretty well even in a "perceived  and/or real recession."

My advice....start selling online and use comparison shopping engines to market your products better to potential customers wherever they are online and on their mobile devices.  Why? You can read an article I wrote about that by clicking here. that article was titled:

Why Online Merchants Should List Their Product Catalog on Comparison Shopping Engines

Now, in August, we have empirical evidence that online shopping may be recession proof, to some degree and that America still shops, they just find out more economic ways to shop!

Here is some new updated information from iCongo, a comprehensive eCommerce based solutions company, which I hope all online merchants find noteworthy.

High Gas Prices to Cut into Holiday Shopping Season and Drive More Shoppers Online

iCongo Survey Finds That Shoppers’ Holiday Spending Habits Will Change to Cope with the Rising Price of Gas; 36% of Online Adults More Likely to Shop Online

Portsmouth, NH and New York--(Businees Wire)-- iCongo, Inc., a leading developer of e-business systems and software, today released the results of a consumer survey1 conducted on their behalf by Harris Interactive® that shows the surge in gasoline prices will sharply cut consumers’ holiday spending and drive more shoppers online.

As a result of increasing gasoline prices, nearly three in four online adults, 73%, expect their holiday shopping habits to change in some way, for example, by spending less on gifts (42%) and doing more one-stop shopping (40%). Findings show more than one in three online adults (36%) are now more likely to shop online rather than in-person as a result of the increasing price of gasoline.

The iCongo survey also shows that nearly nine in ten online adults, 88%, currently shop online and, of those, the majority, 96%, are more likely to shop online than in-person at a store. Here’s why:

• 69% of online shoppers prefer the ability to shop at any time as a reason they are more likely to shop online;
• 60% said free shipping is a reason they are more likely to shop online; and,
• 59% of online shoppers said lower prices drive them to shop online over in a store.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to read full article from iCongo, it is a good one.

-- Chip Arndt

eCommerce Merchants Launches Educational Training For Online Merchants with Inc. 500|Inc. 5000

Two weeks ago MerchantAdvantage and eCommerce Merchants had a free webinar together titled, 7 Steps to Reach More Customers Before and During the Holidays, which was attended by over 250 online merchants looking for ways to increase sale via ecommerce and mobile commerce (mcommerce). 

You can download that free webinar here.

eTaildTail and MerchantAdvantage are proud of our partnership with eCommerce Merchants and we strive to keep online merchants informed about new things that eCommerce Merchants is doing everyday to help them with their business.  And believe me they are doing a lot.

If you don't know about eCommerce Merchants, check them out here

Just today eCommerce Merchants announced that they are leading a major initiative with Inc. 500 to leverage their knowledge base at theri conference in Washington DC this September. 

If you are in Washington DC is September, I highly recommend going to the conference to learn from the "best-of-the-best" about what works when selling online.  And since itn is right before the holidays what better time to learn from very successful online retailers.

There will be several break out sessions and opportunities to network. eCommerce Merchants always does a great job in their networking lounge areas, which are also very comfortable.

Here is the announcement from eCommerce Merchants and Inc. 500

-- Chip Arndt

eCommerce Merchants Selected to Launch Educational Ecommerce Program for Inc. 500|Inc. 5000

New York, NY - Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 the definitive list of America's fastest-growing privately held companies has selected eCommerce Merchants, a leading trade association for ecommerce education, to provide an ecommerce educational program for Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 business owners.

eCommerce Merchants will provide online and in-person education to all Inc. 5000 companies beginning with the 27th Annual Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington D.C. on September 18-20, 2008 where a dedicated eCommerce Pavillion will be included at the conference for the first time ever.

"Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 Conference is delighted to be working with eCommerce Merchants on this exciting and important new initiative," noted Kelly Winkler VP, Events and Business Resources, Mansueto Ventures, Publisher of Inc. "This partnership will allow us to deliver valuable information to Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 business owners at our events and throughout the year."

"We couldn't ask for a better partner than Inc. 500|Inc. 5000," commented Cresta Pillsbury, Executive Vice President of Business Development at ecommerce Merchants. "They have an impressive tradition of fostering entrepreneurial excellence, which compliments our 'best-practices' approach to eCommerce perfectly."

The Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 Conference in Washington is open for the first time to all business owners. Reservations can be made by visiting www.Inc500Conference.com or by calling 877-211-0489. eCommerce Merchant members who are not Inc. 500|5000 members are eligible for a special member discount by calling 877-211-0489 and asking for an "eCommerce Pavilion Attendee" registration.

Companies interested in exhibiting in the eCommerce Pavillion or working with eCommerce Merchants should contact Cresta Pillsbury at cresta.pillsbury AT ecmta.org or (415) 342-7075.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register, attend, and or/exhibit and read full article.

Cresta is a personal friend so please let her know Chip Arndt and eTaildTail sent you.

Get Elastic and FitForCommerce Free Webinar Helps Online Merchants Choose Best Online Technologies to Grow Sales

eTaildTail friends over at Get Elastic and FitForCommerce are teaming up and hosting a free webinar to help online merchants choose the best online technologies that can build their online business cost-effectively and efficiently. 

Each week Get Elastic has excellent advice and webinars for all online merchants to grow their business in a myriad of areas, such as: SEO and SEM advice, online shopping ideas, general site search and navigation methods, adword buys, technologies, and much more.

This month's webinar is free and should be a good one; it is titled:

The Art & Science of Choosing Ecommerce Technology
Date: August 14
Time: 9:00 am PST and 12:00 noon EST
Panelists: Bernardine Wu, CEO, FitForCommerce and Jason Billingsley, VP Innovation, Elastic Path Software

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to sign up, it is free.

Here is the overview:

Making the right choice is both harder and more important than you think. Attend this webinar to get step-by-step help from FitForCommerce, described in plain English! You'll learn:

• How to figure out what your ecommerce strategy and needs really are
• How to research ecommerce best practices and ecommerce technologies
• How to define and document your requirements
• How to assess the responses from the ecommerce solution providers; compare apples to apples
• How to select from your 'short list' of options

Sign up now and you will receive all 30 of FitForCommerce's "ecommerce Best Practices." You can learn about best practices for eCommerce Platforms, Web Analytics and Search Engine Marketing, to name just a few.

After you attend, you will also receive all 30 of FitForCommerce's "ecommerce Key Questions" to assist you in assessing ecommerce solution providers.

FitForCommerce™ experts help ecommerce businesses analyze business and technical requirements, leverage best practices, gain visibility to market offerings and select 'best fit' technology solutions. FitForCommerce's unique ecommerce Diligence™ process and toolkit ensures rigorous evaluation and knowledge-based decision-making.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to sign up, it is free.

I hope you can join them.  I am.

-- Chip Arndt