Forget Black Friday - Here Comes Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday, n. The Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday, when online retailers experience a surge in purchases.
Do you get heartburn from the stuffing your mom made and don't feel like hoofing it to the mall the day after Thanksgiving with the rest of the shopping schleps? Looks like this is your lucky year. Now, instead of Black Friday, the day traditional retailers monitor store traffic and sales for the holiday sales season, it's all about Cyber Monday.
Yes, that's right folks, now that online holiday shopping has been creeping steadily into store sales, it's time to give the Monday after Thanksgiving a name-and somebody out there thought Cyber Monday sounded good.
Cyber Monday, it turns out, is a legitimate trend. Experts cite two reasons for the Cyber Monday phenomenon: People are shopping online at work, where they have faster Internet connections, or they're unable to finish their shopping during the Thanksgiving holiday and need a spill-over day.
According to the Shop.org/BizRate Research 2005 eHoliday Mood Study, 43 percent of online retailers plan to offer special promotions and discounts on Cyber Monday. 77 percent of online retailers said that their sales increased substantially last year on this Monday, a trend that is driving serious online discounts and promotions on Cyber Monday this year. Deals will range from free shipping to gifts with purchase to percentages off.
So now you can sleep off your turkey and play video games the day after Thanksgiving, and just do your Christmas shopping online. At work!
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The 5 Pain Points of E-Commerce by Jessica Tsai
Some think e-commerce has peaked, according to recent news reports from sources such as MSNBC.com ("Online Shopping Growth to Slow in Next Decade") and The New York Times ("Online Sales Lose Steam"). But e-commerce still holds great potential for growth, if retailers are willing to face areas of their business that could use improvement.
The Web 2.0 era has delivered very sophisticated functionalities, but growth will not come by depending on technology alone. When businesses begin to really focus on what they offer and how they want their customers to interact with them, solutions become readily apparent. To that end, dealing with the "five pain points of commerce" is essential to maintaining a successful online presence:
1. Not Available 24/7. Contrary to the inherent purpose of shopping online in the first place, online retail still isn't reliably user-friendly. The number one reason people shop online is for the convenience, followed by selection, then by price. Web sites should be available and working 24/7.
2. Mismanaged Marketing Resources. Online marketing is inefficient in terms of what its resources are focused on. An extravagant amount of marketing spend is devoted to paid search (41 percent, according to Forrester Research Senior Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru). In many cases, the costs outweigh the revenue, particularly for nonbranded terms. Marketers need to focus on customer retention and building customer loyalty rather than customer acquisition.
3. Failure to Listen to Customers. Marketers need to listen to their customers instead of simply "watching" them. Mulpuru noted that most marketers (73 percent) react to the actions of their competitors. Instead, marketing staffers should work to understand the behaviors of the customers - especially to determine why customers act the way they do.
4. Poor Organization. The organization of many Web sites is poor, making it difficult for consumers to navigate and find relevant products. While the tools to help increase relevance exist, they are rarely implemented.
5. Lack of Channel Coordination. Retailers have yet to coordinate and maintain their multiple channels. Conversions achieved through cross-channel sales can be up to three times greater than through offline channels alone.
A successful business needs to learn how to walk before it can run. The potential of e-commerce growth is far greater when these five pain points are acknowleged and successfully remedied.
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A Word From Bob - Pitfalls of ERP Implementations
Over the last several newsletters, I have shared some handy information that may be new to you! Here is ERP Implementation Pitfall 6:
When there is no documentation of the implementation procedure.
Most ERP implementations will constitute different degrees of business re-engineering. It is imperative for companies to document their current processes "as is" and reflect the re-engineering effort in a documented "to be" process. This approach will maximize the input from company resources and bring the need to revamp legacy practices to the forefront.
Check us out next month for more on this critical topic!
Get The Most Out of Your Customers' Feedback by Paul Korzeniowski
The familiar adage that the consumer is always right has taken on a new meaning in the Internet age. Rather than talk with a store manager, consumers are now making their feelings about different products known on message boards and blogs.
A growing number of companies are trying to engage in a dialogue with their online constituents. Where to channel this information is still evolving. Corporations have different groups -- marketing, communications, customer support -- monitoring the boards. Many are setting up their own message boards and blogs to gather customer feedback. In addition to putting the software in place, companies hire full-time or part-time monitors, individuals who examine the comments and report back to management what customers are saying.
Message boards and blogs enable online users to start conversations about a wide variety of products and services -- from new product news to reviews of local restaurants. These forums become central meeting places for groups of consumers interested in specific products and companies.
The consumer feedback can be helpful. There have been instances where online users offered companies significant insights into the design of their current products as well as helped them understand what features would appeal to customers in the future.
By monitoring the information, a company can also enhance its messaging. Corporations need to try and shape the dialogue; they need to make sure that both sides, not just one, of an issue are presented.
In addition to recognizing these new channels for user feedback, companies are trying to take the online comments and formally integrate them into their business processes. The first challenge is collecting and categorizing the data, which arrives in a variety of formats. Increasingly, new analytical tools rely on search engine-like technology to find consumer-posted thoughts and then translate them into a format that the company's business applications can work with.
At the moment, these tools are relatively new and a bit underdeveloped. Eventually, this information will be automatically funneled into CRM systems and treated like inquiries about a warranty or a product's price. Although in the early stages, companies are now searching for ways to take their consumer-driven information and use it to drive improvements throughout their organizations.
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SmartPay Promotion from Microsoft Financing
Announcing SmartPay! For the first 12 months, customers pick from 5 payment options starting as low as $50, followed by regular monthly payments aligned with the term of the loan agreement.
Use Microsoft Financing for any IT solution including Microsoft software and we will finance not only the software portion, but also the hardware and services as part of the total IT solution.
Purchase After
11/15/2007
Purchase By
6/27/2008
Redeem By
6/27/2008
The SmartPay Promotion from Microsoft Financing allows you to choose one of five monthly payment amounts ($50, $100, $200, $500 or $1,500) for the initial 12-month promotional period and the remainder is paid in regular monthly payments aligned with the term of the loan agreement. You don't have to burden your budget and tie up your credit; instead you can conserve your capital and remain competitive in the business world.
To learn more about financing options and how to take advantage of financing and the SmartPay Promotion, contact the eIS Team 877-585-5160.
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