#irce 2012

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Brooke Oliverson of the children’s publishing house Cobblestone/Carus Publishing says she’s focused on learning about innovations in mobile at this year’s conference. 

“What I’m hoping to get out of the mobile sessions is to better understand not just how to sell things online and not just how to make an app but how to really market it,” Oliverson said. 

She said her company wants to learn how to do something outside of the normal direct marketing and website promotion to get the word out on their Apps.

“We want to make parents aware that we do these great interactive things for kids.”

The big question she said is “how do we get people to know about our Apps before they become Top 25?”

Oliverson talks about what she’s learned at this year’s conference in this video.  

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Facebook 'Like' tips for small retailers

Kevin Richards, CEO of Ventura Web Design says the true value of a Facebook ‘Like’ campaign for small retailers is branding. He shares tips on how small businesses can get more ‘Likes’ on their Facebook page.  

Giveaway coupons via “Like-Gating”

Put a Like button on every page of your site

Put a Like button on your order confirmation page

Include a Like button in your email marketing

Don’t forget to ask friends and family to Like you. 

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Keeping the Culture Relevant

Melinda Ennis of Working Advantage says she learned during IRCE that a creative and vibrant culture influences the way the customer views the company. “It seems to really reflect what kind of message the customer takes away,” she said.

With a product focused on employee discount benefits, entertainment, and gift programs, she wants to see that feeling infused into Working Advantage’s site. 

“I think we want to step back and inject fun into our messaging because that’s what our product is and can be.”

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Rodrigo Prieto of LatinAmericanMalls.com traveled to Chicago from Argentina to make sure his products site is taking advantage of the latest trends and resources in the E-commerce world. 

His advice for new merchants entering the marketplace is for them to keep their eyes and ears open to new ideas. “Sometimes you can get ideas from small vendors or retailers that are cheap and don’t cost millions of dollars but can help the business significantly,” he said.  

In this video Prieto talks about two areas he thinks are the buzz of this year’s show.

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Lesson Learned

Andrew Ngo, of SleekHair.com, said he’s taking home a valuable idea that he thinks will help increase sales and customer retention. 

“I want to do a lot more segmented email marketing,” Ngo said. “We have different types of customers and I think we can group them into different lists to target and personalize their needs.”

He said he heard the tactic repeated several times throughout the conference and thinks it will be an extremely valuable tool for growth. 

"It's another way for us to compete," he said.

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Anti-acne product’s lesson is clear

“Probably one of the biggest takeaways for me is that you don’t just have to do something because everyone else is doing it.” said Robert Kennedy, of beyondclearskin.com, an anti-acne product brand.  “At the end of the day it's about getting that package delivered to the customer better.”

Kennedy said one challenge he sees for his business is competing with well-established larger companies in the marketplace. “We have to do all the same stuff but we don’t have the number of people with the complete subject matter expertise as the big guys.”

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From the trenches: Niche retailer focuses on what others can't sell

One goal for Internet retailer RunGreen.com, an authorized John Deere dealer, is to implement a strategy to get customers back from buying at big box stores. “One thing they can get from us that they can’t get from other retailers, is limited edition items,” D.J. Davis, eCommerce manager at RunGreen.com said. “We’re using that and also learning what forms of communication our clients use to search for products.”

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What I learned today.....

"Seeing how even for the big guys the e-commerce landscape has changed so dramatically over the past year -- and how the big guys are working just as hard as we are."

Clark Stevenson, President of Treadmill Doctor