| Beanbasket News |
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Beanbasket Introduces Direct Checkout Pages
Direct Checkout Pages (DCP's) allow consumers to complete a purchase on a single, dedicated, product specific page that is not typically a part of the online store. Examples would be the page that is presented by the link returned from a search result or e-mail or link campaign.
A DCP may be a completely separate domain or subdomain of the main store, but instead of linking to a landing page or an item detail page inside a web store, the consumer is presented a Direct Checkout Page for a limited selection. The layout of the DCP is independent of the layout of the web store. The product (with variances) and images may be pulled directly from the store database or may be completely different. The number of products presented on the DCP can be configured as well.
Beanbasket's Flex Checkout is incorporated onto the DCP so consumers never leave the DCP. Direct Checkout Pages were designed to work with PPC, Demand TV and Radio campaigns and other marketing programs where the goal is to present a limited product selection to faciliate a quick conversion. Since the product and entire checkout are on the same page conversions are streamlined.
As online retailers know, getting the customer to make the first purchase is the hardest part. Properly designed marketing with Direct Checkout Pages can increase conversions by simplifying the checkout process and create a new customer base that is more likely to make additional purchases from the broader product line.
New Beanbasket Features
There have been numerous enhancements that have been recently released. Please check the release notes in the Help section of the Beanbasket Administrator for details. Some of the highlights include:
- Account Groups – Certain functions of your web store can be controlled through group membership. This feature will be particularly helpful for B2B companies that have many different users. Accounts have the capability to be assigned to more than one group and can be assigned by an administrator or they can self-join, depending on the settings you choose.
- Enhanced Google Analytics – Session tracking will now continue even if the customer chooses to use Google Checkout for their payment processing.
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| E-Commerce News |
COLOR MARKETING GROUP PREDICTS HOT COLOR TRENDS FOR 2008
By Color Marketing Group
December 2007
Alexandria, VA, USA/Dec.2007 --What will the top color trends be in 2008? What’s driving those trends? According to Color Marketing Group, the leading international association of color design professionals, genuine concern for the environment remains the strongest influence on the colors we’ll see and buy next year.
"Our members specify color for everything from paint and furniture to cars and carpets," said Jaime Stephens, executive director of CMG. "They track trends several years ahead, and they’ve rarely been wrong in more than 43 years."
So what’s in store – and in stores – for 2008? According to CMG:
1. Looking "Green" -- People want things they wear and things they use now to look "green," no matter what color they are. In 2008, looking stylish means looking natural. Materials will look hand-made, un-dyed and unbleached. Products will look more like what they're actually made of, with lots of texture and all the natural imperfections proudly showing through. Off-whites, sandy and linen-y colors, rock and soil colors, brownish-greens – the colors of nature are seriously fashionable now.
2. There’s News in Blues in 2008 -- The "trust me" color will continue to show up on candidates' ties this election year. But in all areas of decor, blues that remind us of sky and water -- inspired by environmentalism -- remain prominent, even in the kitchen. New next year will be the emergence of a much blacker blue inspired by technology -- a deep, vibrant navy so dark you'll swear it's black.
3. Specialized Finishes, Warmer Metallics -- Advances in technology have made shimmery, specialized finishes really hot. But in 2008, metallics will go warmer. After so many years of brushed chrome and nickel, look for warmer shades -- coppery, bronze-y tones -- to prevail.
4. More Ethnic Accents -- Globalism continues to inspire our love for ethnic accent colors. They’re coming to us from India, China and Latin America. To Moroccan reds and glowing oranges, add rosy pinks, sunny golden yellows and lots of turquoise. Already here in fashion and home design, these ethnic accents will show up as "punch" colors in hotels, restaurants and retail environments, too – often paired with rich browns as neutrals.
Color Marketing Group forecasts color trends up to three years into the future for its members, many of whom must plan ahead for product, space and materials introductions.
For further information, go to:
http://www.colormarketing.org/
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| Beanbasket Employee Spotlight |
The employee spotlight for April highlights one of our new employees, Curtis Spencer. Curtis started working at Beanbasket in early January, 2008 as an E-Commerce Support Specialist. In this role, he is tasked with providing Beanbasket customers technical support for their stores. Whether they have a quick question on live support or they are seeking a new feature for their site, he will help them directly or get the right people involved to solve their problem or request. Before coming to Beanbasket, Curtis worked Helpdesk and Infrastructure support at a medium sized marketing company in Burr Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago for six years.
When asked about hobbies and personal interests, Curtis stated, "I am very happy with the move to Appleton and I really think I’m going to enjoy living here. Since I don’t watch any TV, I use most of my free time for my artistic passions which are music and art. I have been playing guitar for over two decades. I have played in bands, tutored a few students, recorded my own CD and even provided the film score for some student thesis films at Southern Illinois University. I am a huge music connoisseur in a multitude of genres, but mostly jazz and jam-band, improvisational type music. I do pen and ink drawings when I can find the time as some of my drawings take months to complete. When I do get out, I like to go see some live music or shoot a few games of pool. Other than that I like to read a lot and I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, mountain-biking or a nice quiet afternoon fishing." We will be introducing the rest of the staff throughout the next few months in the newsletter editions that follow.
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| Website of the Month |
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"Working closely with our web designer, it was challenging finding an E-commerce shopping cart software that would adapt to our specific needs in developing our web store. Since choosing Beanbasket, it was a pretty painless start up as the shopping cart software offered much of what we needed right from the start. The benefits of this really allowed us to truly custom design the look we needed. One of the most important features we use is Google Analytics and is a must for all E-commerce stores. Due to the nature of our business, we really had no idea of what to expect with our E-commerce venture. Since the start of our web store, it has exceeded our expectations two fold. Thanks to all that have been involved in making this a successful web store."
-Jason R. Gaspard
Gaspard, Inc.
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| SEO Tips of the Month |
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1.) Write an article or product review and add it to your site and submit it to Article Announce. The article is then archived in Yahoo! and you can expect to see the search engines spider your site more often the more you update
your own pages with new content.
2.) For effective search engine marketing, you need more than just top rankings.
Remember to include strong calls to action to compel a response from the reader. What do you want the reader to do once they finish reading your content? You need
to clearly build these options into each page and leave nothing to guess work.
Describe what action you would like them to take and never assume that they will just know what to do, because they won't act unless you spell it out.
Tips from:
Emily Leach
Search Engine Academy Southwest
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| Beanbasket Tip of the Month |
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Be Sure to Correctly Assign Content Areas to Groups
After setting up your different account groups, make sure you have updated your content areas for each group. In order to increase conversion rates, make sure content that is visible to each different account group, pertains to their interests. For example, if you created a group labeled University of Florida and a group labeled University of Wisconsin, you are definitely not going to want to send the same content to each group. By offering specific items to each group that they are especially interested in and they do not have to search your store for them, it increases the likelihood the customer will make a purchase rather than abandoning their cart.
Stop by Booth 1248
Chicago June 9-12
Internet Retailer 2008 Conference & Exhibition, is America’s largest e-retailing conference. The IRCE 2008 Show, which will be held at the new McCormick Place West in Chicago on June 9-12, is the premier event in e-retailing, which this year features 125 expert speakers representing all types of merchants (store chains, catalogers, web-only retailers and branded manufacturers) and addressing all vital issues affecting online retailers today.
In addition to its highly rated conference agenda, Internet Retailer 2008 Conference & Exhibition also features the largest display of e-retailing solutions in its 130,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall.
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