http://marketplanb.com/blog Strategies and tactics for online marketing and ecommerce Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:19:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The demands of a heavy work schedule and reality of a brief summer here in Minnesota has left little time for new posts on the MarketPlanB blog. Meanwhile, I have been saving ideas for new articles and will resume in earnest by Mid-August. I apologize for the brief interruption but want ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/06/10/regular-posts-to-resume-on-august-15th/ I missed the Google Optimizer webinar: What should I test? but found it on YouTube today. I strongly recommend this to MarketPlanB clients and contacts. It's an hour long, so you'll need to do this with lunch in your office or sometime soon before spring fever distracts and you forget. ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/04/08/new-google-website-optimizer-webinar/ The multi-site business model is based on marketing to tight vertical segments. They typically include the product category name in the domain and then take advantage of critical mass to build dozens and sometimes hundreds of niche sites. This concept is apparently alive and well and is still quite promising ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/04/01/opportunity-knocks-multi-site-e-retailers-continue-rapid-growth/ With recent news of French president Zarkozy pecking away at his Blackberry during a visit with the pope, I can't resist the urge to rant on the subject of social behavior and technology. Back a number of years ago (OK more than a few). I recall an annoying problem with people ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/03/27/is-your-blackberry-making-you-into-a-social-outcast/ Ecommerce marketers typically take a closer look at the promotion strategies of competitors during the 4th quarter holiday season because aggressive competitors may steal a substantial portion of business with the right offers. This is also true during economic downturns as marketers struggle to achieve revenue targets and are willing ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/03/22/promotion-strategy-in-an-economic-downturn/ ExpoTV is a site that aggregates user-generated product review videos. Its' a great concept that moves beyond the traditional text-based product reviews. Judging by by the funding they have recently received, investors believe it is very promising. I recently encountered ExpoTV videos posted on YouTube that caused me to pause and ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/03/12/does-expo-tv-have-credibility/ [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuD5v_WjXJM[/youtube] Because of the proliferation of video sharing on the web, you may have considered or deployed video for branding and public relations on your online retail site. Most of the discussion relating to eCommerce up to this point has been pointed towards viral marketing campaigns. But the real payback may ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/03/03/video-product-demonstrations-are-increasing-conversion/ Do you have a disproportionate reliance on paid search? Paid search is the fast and easy way to quickly ramp up your business but you can quickly reach a ceiling where your ROI is maxed out and efficiency gains are difficult to accomplish. In contrast a natural search program is a ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/02/19/natural-vs-paid-search-where-should-your-marketing-dollars-go/ This article is dedicated to all the entrepreneurs who direct the day-to-day projects required to build developing e-commerce businesses. I know you may have a task list that goes from here to eternity and nowhere near the amount of resources available to realize your vision. But those who prioritize with strategic ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2008/01/25/kindergarten-web-marketing/ The question of how often to mail the email list has been a hotly debated topic in every eCommerce business I have been associated with. Conventional wisdom is that you should deliver as often as you can. I tend to agree. My experience has been that the ceiling is more ... http://marketplanb.com/blog/2007/12/28/email-frequency%e2%80%a6-when-is-enough-enough/