eCommerce and

I don’t know about the rest of you but I have no idea where this week went?  This next week is special to us here at Gordian Project, as we will be celebrating the PlumberSurplus.com four year anniversary!  Time flies, whether it is just this past week or four years since PlumberSurplus.com went live.

• Google wants us to sign a petition to free the airwaves; if you are interested in signing click here.   The Houston Chronicle reports on the subject and seems to honestly try to present both sides of the argument between those who oppose what Google is trying to do and those who are for it. 
• I liked this article because I think the author did a good job of comparing two very different consumer internet companies, Blue Nile and WebMD.  What surprised me was in the very first sentence where the author referenced web 3.0.  I think I know the new buzz word for this year, as web 2.0 is soooooo 2007.  It totally reminds me of that commercial from IBM… bingo! 
• SmartBargains 1, Overstock 0 
• Is there anything that Amazon won’t do?  In my opinion, not really.  On Wednesday Amazon unveiled A9.com, their version of a Google Product Search?
• This weeks Google Olympics logos:
  

This week’s variety is fun because it is full of images, and as studies have shown as the text increases visit time decreases.

• Google is updating its logo daily in honor of the Olympics.  These are the logos that have graced us so far:
  

• Paying attention to social networks can pay off for the retailer and the social butterflies.
• What if we could create linkbait before it happens?  Visa, in a sense, did it with their latest commercial.
• What are you trying to offer that your competition isn’t?  Seth Godin helps us take a look at the intangibles.
• SearchEngineLand.com reported on a new tool called Wordle this week.  What it does is create a customizable tag cloud of the most prominent words in a text or url.  So I took the liberty of seeing what our eCommerce and Entrepreneurship tag cloud would look like:

Providing excellent service in today’s highly competitive marketplace is somewhat difficult for call centers. Even more difficult is the task of servicing multilingual customers.  Dealing with Hispanic customers encompasses customer relationship opportunities that are not necessarily typical to other demographics. There are a few differences that make it more difficult to “seal the deal” on a purchase, but that can create a pathway to repeat purchases.  I know these things from experience, not only am I myself a Hispanic, Bilingual woman, but I come from a family that encapsulates the Mexican culture.

From my experiences I have learned three key things about Hispanic consumers who decide to purchase from an unknown company and these are the things the look for prior to completing a purchase.  The three key elements I am referring to are: simplicity, relationship and security.

Simplicity

Having a website that is easy to browse and understand is essential when dealing with Hispanic consumers. They want to feel like they understand and have control of the website, not fearing that they may get tricked, or that there is a chance they make a costly mistake. Another feature that may be the most important is the ability to locate a contact phone number; which brings us to the next feature they look for, a relationship.

Relationship 

Having a relationship with our customers can be very time consuming and costly, especially when time is money. With Internet sales sky rocketing, the seller-consumer relationship has dropped considerably. There is no need to talk to someone if you can do it alone, online. Hispanic consumers however, think differently. Though they might be using a different mean (store vs. online) by which they are purchasing an item, a relationship is still essential. Spanish speakers want to be able to ask many questions, talk about the products, and even want to be walked through the ordering process. But the relationship does not stop there. After the sale has been made, Hispanic consumers expect a phone call or an email with updates on their order.  Just as simplicity builds upon the relationship aspect of this purchasing decision, relationship builds on the next point, security.

Security

The relationship that is started with a Hispanic customer brings about a sense of security for the customer. They know two things:

1. They purchased an item from an actual “person”.
2. That person took the time to know who they were and what they purchased by simply picking up the phone.
   

These two simple facts reduce any fear that they might have had from purchasing from a new vendor. Thus allowing the customer to relax and patiently wait for their order.

These three features, while often difficult to provide, can and will give a company a competitive advantage. When fully satisfied with the above, a Hispanic customer is more likely to become a return customer. Loyalty has to be one of their greatest attributes. When a Spanish speaking customer finds a company that provides them with a relationship, that company becomes a “friend”; a friend whom you trust and continue to do business with. 

Opportunity for Growth

According to ambicultural.com there are 37 million Hispanics in the United States alone.   An estimated 15 million use the internet, and this number is expected to increase by 20% year over year.  Based on these attributes and our desire to create these relationships, we ourselves have been able to track remarkable results in this demographic.  We have experienced a 4.7% increase in repeat purchases with this customer base. We understand that a customer will not be purchasing a faucet monthly or even yearly, but the fact is that with our Hispanic customers, loyalty stands and we see that revealed in our numbers.  As this market continues to grow so does the opportunity for all internet retailers. 

Happy Friday readers.  Today is a special day for me, when I leave here today I am heading to the hospital to hold my new God Daughter and my best friend will be a mom.  It is surreal to me, but it was bound to happen sometime, so I thought I would share my excitement.  As you may have noticed I spent some time at Shop.org this week in Huntington Beach for their Merchandising Workshop, I hope my notations helped as I feel like I got a lot out of attending.  So let’s see what else went on this week….

• Tracking the influence of online shopping and research, and the effect it has on in store purchases is becoming a hotter topic.  Multi channel merchants have been trying to analyze this and it seems that ShopLocal has come up with a way to do so.  According to the CEO, Vikram Sharma “The results are clear and the index strongly supports analyst forecasts of the rapidly growing use of the internet for shopping in-store.”
• Pure play internet retailers beware:  “In one city (New York), a judge determines that an Internet retailer’s use of thumbnail product images, even those published by a manufacturer to sell its own products, is permissible “fair use” when used by the Internet retailer to sell that manufacturer’s own products, and hence dismisses a claim for copyright infringement by the manufacturer. In another city (Phoenix), that same fact pattern and the same statute results in a trial for copyright infringement!”  Read the full article here. 
• eBay is slumping while other internet retailers are succeeding, um can I say duh here?  A few months ago they totally change feedback and best match search, essentially killing longtime loyal sellers.  Now they have struck a deal with Buy.com, which seems to be infuriating individual sellers.  Now eBay’s general manager of North America says “Frankly, we are challenging some of the core assumptions that we have made about our business…Instead of focusing on being an auction business, we are looking at what it takes to create the best marketplace out there.”  Really eBay?  I seem to recall you ostracizing a whole lot of your core merchants when you tried to kill them with fees in 2006, and a few months ago with the changes to how seller’s products are returned in search results.  Honestly I am not surprised that eBay is floundering, we are still trying to make it a viable marketplace, but with their outdated UI, poor reporting, and constant changes how are sellers supposed to invest their time, effort and other resources and still make a profit? 
• If you are looking to hire a paid search marketer or agency make sure you familiarize yourself with this list of questions to ask before you sign anything. 
• Watch out Hollywood, there is a whole new breed of celebrities, and guess what, they are nerds just like us.  Techcult just released the Top 100 Web Celebrities.  I was a bit jealous at first thinking to myself, I can’t believe I didn’t get any of the fantastic people that I work with on this list, but then I saw who was number one, and I am not joking it’s Tila Tequila!  When people like Seth Godin are at number five and Jeff Bezos at number 21, and Tila and Perez Hilton get numbers 1 and 2 respectively, it scares me to think of what this world is coming to.

This year is flying by.  Happy Independence Day America!  I was talking with one of my fellow eCommerce pals this week and he reminded me that this would be his first 4th of July celebration since he moved here from Canada.  I thought that was interesting.  Kevin I hope you have a very Happy 4th!  Ok let’s get down to business.

• Gordian Project, our parent company, got its name from the idiom “cut the Gordian knot”.  To “cut the Gordian knot” means to get to the heart of the problem and solve it efficiently.  Similar to us is another entrepreneurial company called the Rubicon Project; their name comes from the etymology of the idiom to “cross the Rubicon”, which means to make an unchangeable decision.  The founder wrote a post this week about The Fear of Success.  I enjoyed it because in some ways it reminded me about the founders of our company; not just because they have had a lot of successes at a young age, or because of other reasons mentioned in the post, instead our fearless leaders seem to balance a lot of the equation that it takes to be successful, between one another. 
• I hope you aren’t viewing anything on YouTube that you wouldn’t want your Mom to know about, or Viacom for that matter.  Andy Beal reports on the news that a New York Court Orders Google to Hand Over Your YouTube Personal Data. 
• UK based SEOer, Richard Baxter, wrote a post this week on paginated links and the ability to use Google to find duplicate content.  He used one of our websites, OutdoorPros.com as the example for explaining his thoughts.  The post has actually sparked a discussion around here, so watch for a follow up post on the subject. 
• Last week I mentioned that marketers were embarking on strategies that may earn us a term equivalent to that of ambulance chasing attorneys.  Apparently I am not alone; Seth Godin wrote a post this week in which he remarks “Marketing culture has become a culture of lawyers.”  Check out the post though, as there is still time to save our reputation. 
• Marketers know how powerful word of mouth (WOM) can be to a campaign, company, product, etc. and with the social networking revolution of the LinkedIns, Twitters, blogs and more, viral marketing is growing by leaps and bounds.  Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide analyzes a recent study about WOM and if it is more effective and done more often online or offline. 

I’m back!  Thanks Ryan so much for keeping our readers updated in the world of eCommerce, and reminding me and everyone else that I lost the Lakers bet.  I hope you all missed me as much as I missed you.

Let’s talk some eCommerce (said in the voice of Joel McHale from the Soup on E!): 

• J.C. Penney is blaming their ad agency for an ad that surfaced on YouTube featuring the sellers logo and slogan. The problem is that the ad called “Speed Dressing” promotes teen sex.  The retailer is still investigating the issue. Pennies may have a better chance of combating this problem in the future if the powers that be take a lesson from this week’s Whiteboard Friday on SEOmoz.  In this episode Will Critchlow demonstrates how those in powerful positions can manage their brand reputations on the down low. 
• Yesterday we talked a little bit about the DSW suit against Zappos.com.  Apparently the tactic is catching on as Hearts on Fire sues Blue Nile for a similar issue.  Seriously marketers, is this what we are resorting to for linkbait?  If we don’t nip this trend now people will start referring to us as ambulance chasing attorneys! 
• What is your MySpace or Facebook “FriendRank”?  Companies like SocialMedia Networks and 33Across are revamping advertising via social networks.  In the words of the founder of SocialMedia Networks “We're trying to make ads suck less in social networks”. 
• Want to save 90% on Microsoft Office 2007?  Well, a religious goods internet retailer in Korea has come up with the Microsoft Church Package and according to the ad it is a 90% savings. 
• Does it make anyone else sad that the human population seems to love seeing the mighty fall?  Well it brings me down, but I guess I am in the minority since blogs are already discussing the demise of companies like Apple and Google. 
• In case you aren’t getting your fix of eCommerce and Entrepreneurship here, I thought I would share the Entrepreneur blogs that have been chosen as the 15 worth reading.  Plus we wanted to give kudos to our friends over at Get Elastic for making the list.

Yesterday was a heartbreaking loss for the Lakers and now blogger Matt has a new sense of confidence about our bet.  I am trying to be as gracious as he was when I thought I had it in the bag, not that I don’t have faith, but I gave him a really hard time when the Lakers took the West from the Spurs in 5 games.  Ok, now that I have that out of the way, lets get down to the business of eCommerce.  Internet Retailer 2008 is next week in Chicago, and it is probably one of the biggest industry events for those in our space.  In the spirit of getting the rest of you as hyped up about the show as we are, I thought I would do a focus on attending and participating at industry conferences.  Hopefully the insights provided by these other industry experts will help those of you who will be in Chicago next week prioritize your stay.

• For general tips on participating in a conference check out About.com’s checklist of items here. 
• If you plan on blogging about the sessions in real time cybersoc.com offers 10 tips for live blogging a conference or event. 
• Search Engine Land focuses this article on search marketing conferences, but I think the ideas and thoughts can be transitioned into other industry events as well. 
• This blog provides reasons just to attend conferences. 
• I am not one to publicize the feminist movement but since this post may help women attending conferences I thought I would link to it anyway. 
• This blogger shares tips on how to save money while attending conferences.
  
• With the emergence of social media I think we can all relate to a post on “How to Speak at a Conference Without Getting Skewered on Twitter”.

P.S. Speaking of prioritizing your trip to the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition 2008 in Chicago, make sure to catch the session How to get the most out of comparison shopping sites, featuring our very own, Ryan.

Well, Internet Retailer 2008 is coming up in Chicago and Ryan Douglas, our Marketing Team Leader, will be speaking. Interestingly enough, I recently spoke at SMXWest 2008. Why would someone who isn’t even in Search Marketing go to SMXWest 2008? McAfee asked PlumberSurplus.com to speak at SMXWest 2008 regarding our successful implementation of their security badge in our comparison shopping feeds. Our marketing team leader was unavailable to speak. I am the Customer Service manager and had been involved in the selection and implementation of HackerSafe on PlumberSurplus.com and was, consequently, somewhat familiar with our CSE program. Plus, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity for somebody to be able to go and get all the latest goodies in the world of search.

So, what’s my take on speaking? Well, I’ll start with my recent speech. First of all, my speech was scheduled during a lunch time session in the vendor hall. I fully expected to speak in one of the general session rooms of the conference. However, I was perched on a small stage with an area sectioned off for about 30 people to join in if they happened to be wandering by during their conference lunch break. In my experience, lunch time presentations tend to flounder. In fact, I was at Internet Retailer 2007 in San Jose and I remember that there was a lunch time presentation on one of the conference days. The conference was great, but I have no idea who the lunch time presenters were. I was far more interested in networking and eating lunch. Surprisingly, the audience that stopped to listen to my speech at SMX was attentive. Even more surprisingly, people stopped to listen even though there were no more chairs. So with a captive audience, I began my speech and was unpleasantly surprised by early audio difficulties. Thankfully, I was wired up with a supplemental microphone so that McAfee could record the speech. This turned out to be a great idea, since I’m not convinced that the context of my speech was necessarily best for a search marketing conference. Even though I was able to tout the elevated sales we garnered from the use of the HackerSafe logo in our CSE feeds, the speech really centered on the ease of implementation and intrinsic marketing value for an internet retailer. My speech would have, perhaps, been better suited for a conference of other online merchants. The greater value for McAfee will come from distributing my speech through other forums as a testimony of a successful customer implementation of their HackerSafe product.

Going to an industry conference is always an interesting experience. Speaking is even more fun. This particular conference was interesting because of the people. First off, the world of search marketers seems to be a relatively relaxed place. The folks attending the conference weren’t unprofessional (mostly), just relaxed. I met lots of people that seemed to know search marketing and lots who seemed to know very little, but not many in between. It may not surprise you that wearing a little badge that displays “Speaker”, works as a great ice breaker and usually gets people to approach you. This made it easier for this non-search marketer to blend in, make friends, and, frankly, lends immediate credibility. Ryan should have a great time and will likely be able to leverage his “Speaker” status to more easily network with individuals that he may not have otherwise approached.

Some other thoughts on my trip to SMXWest: I find it particularly interesting that search marketing doesn’t have a standardized training platform. Though there are organizations that train in search marketing, there isn’t a formalized university curriculum. Even more, there isn’t a standard text to which one can reference search marketing wisdom. The book would have to change every three months. It seems to me that most get their education in the field through mentorship and constant industry involvement. It may not astonish you to find out that Yahoo! and Microsoft seemed grossly underrepresented at the conference. Every speech that I attended gave the impression that Google was the only game in town. Nearly every speaker used language that all but excluded everyone but Google from the search marketing realm. I realize that Google has a strong hold on search, but that seems like a great opportunity for a solution to create incentives for search marketers. I don’t know what that means, but then, I’m not a search marketer, so it’s easy for me to be critical.

Take a look at this week’s recap in eCommerce.

• The Microsoft and Yahoo deal has floundered, but Microsoft has a plan B.  Plan B includes making the case that search advertising is overrated and that display advertising is the wave of the future.
• Earn more than $3000 a month in Paypal Payments?  Find out how you can save money here. 
• eCommerce gurus are gracious enough to give tips to the rest of us about how to deal with information overflow. 
• On May 15th 2008 say goodbye to “Hello”. 
• While the Lakers may be smashing the Utah Jazz in the NBA playoffs, Carlos Boozer has other reasons to celebrate.  Overstock.com just signed the NBA All-Star to a four year public relations campaign.