Znode Buzz

Znode’s Ecommerce Software the World’s First on Microsoft Azure Cloud Services

Znode’s leading ecommerce solutions will allow users greater scalability, flexibility and efficiency for designing and maintaining a cloud-based ecommerce presence. Click link below to read the press release:

http://tinyurl.com/4n6udks

Online Ticket Broker Utilizes Advanced Ecommerce Technology in Website Relaunch

Focus on award-winning design, an enhanced user experience, and the latest ecommerce software technologies helps company increase website conversions and online ticket sales. Click link below to read the press release:

http://tinyurl.com/4tym6ly

Meet Znode at Booth #2 at the eTail West show from February 23 - 24! http://tinyurl.com/4m4vp95

Znode’s Multifront® Software Nominated as Finalist for Outstanding Product of the Year

Znode, a leading ecommerce solutions provider, recently had its Multifront ecommerce software nominated as a finalist for “Outstanding Product of the Year”. The finalist honor was bestowed upon it at the 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Awards held on February 3rd, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. The recognition comes immediately after a year in which the company grew 113% and significantly increased the visibility of its brand and products.

Read the rest of the article here.

Znode launches new Marketplace™ software - online franchising is born!

As you may already know, Znode’s flagship ecommerce software, Multifront makes it simple for online retailers to rapidly launch multi-store ecommerce solutions in order to best address and serve unique market segments.

Marketplace™ is a platform that builds on the functionality of Znode’s Multifront to enable any organization to become an Online Franchisor.  By extending multi-store capabilities to a company’s key business partners, the result is a compelling go-to-market strategy in which key business partners become Online Franchisees that launch and market their own Multifront stores that include the franchisor’s products.  Online Franchisees can easily launch online, mobile and social commerce storefronts.  Marketplace is used by retailers, manufacturers, distributors and payment processors to rapidly expand their business by leveraging the unique market positions and knowledge of a network of Online Franchisees. 

 

Read more in our first press release about Marketplace here: 

Znode Launches Revolutionary Online Franchising for Manufacturers

Znode gets two nominations for the 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Awards

Znode is honored to be nominated in two categories for the 2010 Annual TechColumbus Innovation Awards.  We were nominated for Outstanding Product and our CEO, Vish Vishwanathan,  was nominated for Executive of the Year.

The annual Innovation Awards are presented by TechColumbus to recognize outstanding achievements in technology leadership and innovation. The 12 award recipients will be announced during the Innovation Awards ceremony on February 3, 2011 at Batelle Hall,  Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio.

We sincerely thank all our customers, partners and employees who have helped fuel Znode’s success over the years!

Znode® Highlights Top 10 Strategies for Ecommerce Managers to Boost Profits in 2011

Leading ecommerce software company, Znode, highlights the top 10 strategies to utilize in 2011, to increase sales and profit margins for online retailers. Are there aspects of your online shopping cart that could be improved? Do you leverage multiple stores to improve search rankings? The strategies highlighted by Znode offer valuable tips for online retailers to utilize in 2011.

“As managers look to their goals and budgets for next year, it’s important to consider changing trends with online storefronts,” Vish Vishwanathan, CEO of Znode, said.  “Through research and customer feedback, Znode put together this list of the top 10 ways ecommerce managers can boost profits in 2011.”

Top 10 Strategies for Ecommerce Managers to Increase Profits in 2011

1. Drive more customers by expanding your online footprint. Is your sole customer acquisition strategy to drive traffic to your primary website?  Consider launching a micro-store for a popular product, which will boost search traffic and conversions.  Search rank is the online equivalent of location, location, location.  A micro-store is a strategic medium to earn highly concentrated content that will boost your search rank in a profitable product category.
2. Increase customer capture points and convenience with mobile.  Mobile shopping is a popular and rapidly growing marketplace. According to a report by ABI Research, mobile commerce is predicted to reach $119 billion by 2015. Smartphones make the mobile adoption simple and cost-effective, relative to its marketplace potential.  Mobile apps and browsers can now be seamlessly launched from your existing ecommerce product catalog, and should be integrated with marketplaces and social networks.
3. Create an online franchise for your products. Enable your key business partners to become online franchisees, with the ability to launch their own stores that include your products. Utilize ecommerce technology that supports online franchising to allow partners to determine how to best serve the markets they know best.  This strategy allows you to rapidly expand your business by delegating marketing to hundreds or even thousands of online franchisees.
4. Increase repeat business from existing buyers. Typically, repeat business is the dominant source of profitability for ecommerce retailers due to the avoidance of customer acquisition costs.  Improving this metric enables retailers to increase profits and spend more to acquire new customers. By using a multi-store ecommerce strategy to create niche stores for your most profitable demographics, you can serve customers that are loyal to certain products or brands with a micro store that is highly targeted to your preferences.
5. Increase average order value from all buyers. Any increase in average order value yields revenue without incremental customer acquisition cost.  Bundling items in sets, kits or to be sold in quantities, is an excellent way of raising the average order value.  Smaller items are often used as a loss leader, but offering a bundled savings can increase the average order value.
6. Increase conversion rate for site traffic. Sites that minimize the path to find desired products have the best conversion rates.  Make the process simpler for the user and you will gain credibility with the prospect, and make the decision to commit easier. Use a multi-store ecommerce strategy to create niche stores that are entirely dedicated to products for a particular market segment.  The SEO potential is significant here, and the site experience is much more targeted to the visitor’s needs. 
7. Reduce shopping cart abandonment. Have a streamlined checkout process with as few steps as possible. If you do require customers to register for your site in order to make a purchase, consider if this is necessary.  If it’s a one-time buyer, they may look elsewhere for their purchase in order to avoid registration. Provide “trust logos”- indicators of site security – on your site such as VeriSign, MacAfee site scan and the SSL lock symbol that displays in the address bar indicating that the site uses secure socket layer and therefore ensures transactions are appropriately encrypted. All of these help to provide a sense of security for your customers and result in decreased cart abandonment. Ensure easy access of your company’s customer service by prominently displaying links and phone numbers on your site to allow customers to contact you with potential problems.
8. Differentiate from competition by providing a rich user experience.  With several online retailers in the marketplace, you need to set yourself apart from the competition.  Provide detailed information about your product including descriptions, specifications, multiple pictures, etc. to help customers “visualize” your product more effectively. Including unbiased customer reviews and third party endorsements goes a long way towards differentiating your product from the competition. Finally, consider a real-time inventory status system for your site, to ensure efficient processing and delivery of your product.  
9. Leverage social media effectively. In today’s online marketplace, ecommerce managers need to identify where their target audience gathers in social media channels, and engage them there.  Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, foursquare, etc. to identify who can send you customers and improve your brand image. Your organization’s presence online can impact buyers’ decisions for where to make their online purchase.  Engage with your social media fans/followers and create two-way conversations, improving customer satisfaction with your brand.  A good ecommerce platform should enable you to leverage your existing product catalog and attributes in order to easily launch social media stores.
10. Increase operational efficiency through effective integrations.  A truly flexible ecommerce platform makes it easy to integrate your storefront with back-office systems, suppliers and 3rd party services such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CMS (Content Management Systems) and Legacy Applications. This effectively eliminates manual processes improving operational efficiency. For instance, your storefront could retrieve inventory and pricing information for each product directly from your ERP system. You can integrate with suppliers and drop-shippers enabling them to pull order information on demand.

 

Click to download a PDF version of this article

Mobile Commerce 2010 – Time to Get in the Game?

Being in the business of ecommerce, it’s not surprising to find ourselves riding the next big tech wave – mobile commerce. Seeing that most people have their cell phones attached at  the hip, literally for many, it’s natural for marketers to grab this opportunity to reach prospective customers. The chances are far greater for retailers to reach consumers on their mobile devices than anywhere else these days, regardless of the media.  

Just last week, Mobile Commerce Daily reported: 

• Best Buy unveils mobile consumer electronics marketplace
• The Oxford Club, Spa and Salon increases customer loyalty via mobile marketing initiative and 
• Lane Bryant pushes apparel sales via mobile coupon promotions, among others.

Mobile commerce is happening and it’s happening now. Smartphone sales are booming with an increase of 49% in the first quarter of 2010, alone (May 19, 2010 Gartner press release). The Number of US smartphones will increase from 60M in 2010 to 100M in 2011 (The Nielsen Company). Three-quarters of online retailers have either implemented a mobile strategy or plan to perform mobile commerce, according to a new study from Forrester Research - “The State Of Retailing Online: Marketing, Social Commerce and Mobile Report (Retailer Daily – Sept 23, 2010).

The mobile channel gives retailers an avenue to consumers who are ripe for buying.  With a smartphone, relevant products and timing – the moment of impulse – the potential growth opportunity for online merchants is real.

Examining recent trends and data, it’s difficult to conclude that a strategy of waiting on the sidelines is a safe bet for retailers. Online merchants who want to stay ahead of the competition should be looking to test the market now or risk falling behind.

Taken together, the increase in smartphone use, improved technology and a want-it-now culture, it’s not hard to see that this confluence of forces has created a considerable growth opportunity for online merchants.

Stay tuned ... next we’ll discuss how to adopt the right mobile strategy for your business.

Fechheimer Selects Znode to Power Its Ecommerce Storefronts

Znode’s Multifront is seen as the clear choice to manage large apparel database, multiple stores and ERP system integration.

The Fechheimer Brothers Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, manufactures uniforms for the public safety industry and maintains the largest in-stock offering of public safety uniforms in the U.S. They have chosen Znode to power their ecommerce storefronts.

With Znode’s Multifront, Fechheimer now has a single solution that can handle their entire catalog, is centrally managed and is easily customized.  Multifront also makes it easy for them to quickly move forward with their multi-store strategy by allowing them to manage all of their online stores through a single product database.

Find out why Fechheimer says Znode is fueling their long term growth.

Click here to download the entire case study. 

Convergence - Pushing the Limits of Ecommerce

Convergence is a team of individuals passionate about creating engaging, effective training materials. Using 3D graphics created by top designers, they are focused on revolutionizing the way training is created and delivered.  

Convergence used Znode's Multifront platform to push the limits of their ecommerce solution and develop a highly effective revenue source for their business.

Click here to read their blog post