 | News about digital retail commerce |  |
- Helping online merchants keep customers around
Startup Custora has launched a software product that helps online merchants figure out who their best customers are and identifies when they're about to leave the site. The company also provides an automated process for sending e-mails to repeat purchasers as well as customers who are in danger of leaving the site. TechCrunch (2/27)        | Drive sales by adding mobile to your retail communications and marketing campaigns using SMS. Common Short Code (CSC) based text messaging campaigns deliver great results. Download this whitepaper to see how SMS is helping retailers disseminate calls-to-action quickly and to a wider base of population, driving traffic and increasing revenue. |  | Develop an Information Agenda for your retail company. The IBM Information Agenda Guide for Retail outlines a practical, proven approach for turning a client's Information On Demand vision and strategy into reality. Download the complimentary guide and learn how information management solutions help companies establish and leverage trusted information to optimize business performance. |
 - Early Facebook investor says social is the future of business
 The rapid growth of social media has sparked a shift in business, and successful companies of the future will be the ones that figure out how to incorporate social components in a significant way, says Kevin Efrusy, whose Accel Partners was an early investor in Facebook. "[W]e think that companies that do it from the ground up have the chance to reinvent some industries. Look at how Amazon reinvented retail. There are still plenty of brick-and-mortar retailers that are doing great and doing great online, but there's only one Amazon." FastCompany.com (2/28) - How to properly nurture social marketing efforts at all stages
Most companies already have or will soon launch social media marketing efforts, but many will face potential train wrecks unless they plan properly and nurture their programs on an ongoing basis, writes StrongMail Systems director Spencer Kollas. Discovering where your customers are hanging out in the social sphere, monitoring the fast-changing landscape and continuing to keep a close eye on maturing efforts are all keys to heading off potential disasters before they happen, he writes. iMedia Connection (2/28) - Billboards to reflect facial recognition technology
More advertisers are experimenting with the latest in facial recognition technology to create billboards and interactive ads that interpret characteristics and movements of viewers and adjust their advertising content accordingly. "What we are trying to do is figure out what your brain is doing. If your eyes are the window into the soul, we're paying attention to what you are paying attention to," said Benjamin Palmer, CEO of Barbarian Group, an interactive-ad agency. The Wall Street Journal (2/28)  | Bar code systems have the ability to improve patient safety and process efficiencies in hospitals. When evaluating a patient wrist banding solution it is critical to consider business and performance issues, efficiency of use by staff, and comfort for the patient. Click here to download a complimentary eBook on patient safety and critical IT considerations. |
 | Hot Topics |  | | | Top five news stories selected by Shop.org SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
| Companies in the News | | | | - Google changes its algorithms to combat cheaters
Google revamped the mathematical formulas it uses in its search rankings late last week, as part of an ongoing effort to weed out sites that game the system and preserve the quality of its search results. "Overall Google has done a great job and there are very few cracks in the system," said Conductor Inc. CEO Seth Besmertnik. "But spammers are getting smarter and Google needs to keep getting smarter." The Wall Street Journal (2/26) | | | Most Popular Headlines from Last Week Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers. |
| Interactive Advertising | | | | - Publishers take advertising matters into their own hands
A growing number of online publishers including CBS Interactive and Forbes.com recently created their own ad exchanges to sell so-called "remnants," the lower-priced ads that run at the bottom of their pages. The move cuts out the middleman, gives the companies more control over consumer data and harks back to an earlier model. "If advertisers want to come in, we're selling them the network," said Nick Johnson, NBC Universal's senior vice president of digital media sales. The New York Times (free registration) (2/27) - CEOs comment on online ad business
Eric Schmidt, outgoing CEO for Google, said the online display market could grow into a $200 million ad business in the next 10 years, but thinks digital media campaigns need to be simplified. Speaking at the same industry event, Bob Carrigan, the CEO of IDG Communications, said the display business needs to be more aggressive in acquiring brand dollars. Adweek (2/27) | Legislative & Regulatory | | | | - Sen. Schumer pushes for increased security of public Wi-Fi
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged large online players, including Amazon and Twitter, to increase security to keep credit card data and other personal information safe while consumers use public Wi-Fi. "The quickest and easiest way to shut down this one-stop shop for identity theft is for major websites to switch to secure HTTPS Web addresses instead of the less-secure HTTP protocol," he said. Reuters (2/27) - States, retailers eye use tax
State treasuries are bleeding, and forty-five states require taxpayers to report a use-tax, the sales tax on their online purchases. Maureen Reihl, vice president of government relations for the National Retail Federation, said, "[Use tax] is kind of an honor system. Some states have actually looked to try to require retailers to keep track of those things.... It becomes a privacy issue and a collection nightmare." CNN (2/26) | Shop.org Spotlight | | | | - Network with us from coast to coast
Shop.org's free, retailer-only regional dinners are heading to Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas and Austin, Texas, in March. Take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a great meal at a local restaurant and network with other e-commerce executives in your area. Check out the full spring schedule for all dates and locations. Register or learn more. - Shop.org SmartStat: Feb. 28, 2011
 Almost half of retailers surveyed will make offering customer-specific product recommendations a priority over the next 18 months. Source: Retail Horizons 2011 - State of Retailing Online survey ends next week
Part one of Shop.org's State of Retailing Online survey, which focuses on social, mobile and marketing, launched earlier this month and we're looking for retailer participation. Companies that participate in this year's survey receive a copy of the final report for free. The deadline to participate is March 7. Learn more.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Real success is not on the stage, but off the stage as a human being, and how you get along with your fellow man."
--Sammy Davis Jr.,
American actor and singer  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
| | | Advertise | Sales Account Director:
Dena Malouf 202.737.5500 ext. 282 | | | | | | | | | | Recent Shop.org SmartBrief Issues: - Friday, February 25, 2011
- Thursday, February 24, 2011
- Wednesday, February 23, 2011
- Tuesday, February 22, 2011
- Monday, February 21, 2011
| | | Lead Editor: Megan Conniff
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
