Leading service providers in the eCommerce industry descended on sunny San Diego recently at the annual customer engagement conference hosted by IBM called Amplify. Blue skies, excellent food and an outstanding list of guest speakers helped to produce a great vibe at the popular conference (previously known as Smarter Commerce). Speakers included best-selling author Dr. Jonah Berger, Facebook executive Blake Chandlee and Citi’s global head of emerging platforms, Andres Wolberg-Stok.Held May 11-13, 2015, Amplify focused on four main topics: eCommerce, customer... Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in IBM
Leading service providers in the eCommerce industry descended on sunny San Diego recently at the annual customer engagement conference hosted by IBM called Amplify. Blue skies, excellent food and an outstanding list of guest speakers helped to produce a great vibe at the popular conference (previously known as Smarter Commerce). Speakers included best-selling author Dr. Jonah Berger, Facebook executive Blake Chandlee and Citi’s global head of emerging platforms, Andres Wolberg-Stok.Held May 11-13, 2015, Amplify focused on four main topics: eCommerce, customer... 
Rarely a day goes by that we don’t see news of a company, often a major company, getting hacked and their sensitive company data compromised. It serves as a reminder to everyone that security measures deserve constant evaluation. And it makes business leaders ask, “What are we doing to ensure our company and client information isn’t compromised?”Despite that fact that Fortune 500 companies can afford top-notch IT staff who work on security issues – they still get hacked. However, it’s equally... 
How well do you think you know your customers? According to a recent study, probably not as well as you think. IBM’s study, developed by Econsultancy, a firm that specializes in helping clients with digital business, marketing and eCommerce, surveyed marketers, 90 percent of whom said that in order to be successful, they need to personalize customer experiences in their marketing campaigns. It appears that only 10 percent of these marketers are doing it right because 80 percent of consumers... 
A recent survey conducted by Load Impact, a company that produces a cloud-based, on-demand load testing tool, revealed that eCommerce sites “are some of the worst performing as a category even though availability and performance directly impact their bottom line.” For those in the eCommerce business, the statement is sure to cut to the quick, but at the same time, it should also be a statement that will inspire positive changes in the community. The survey’s findings, which don’t just... 
For all of you Jeopardy junkies out there – you know who you are: The title of this blog could be an answer for a Jeopardy clue something along the lines of: “The future of customer engagement depends on this super computer.” And although Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter probably could have answered correctly, the majority of Americans might not know what IBM’s question-answering computer has been up to since beating the two out on the game show’s ultimate tournament of... 
As 2013 comes to a close, the general public is being showered with best-of lists and 2014 forecasts. Whether it’s a month-by-month article of celebrity blunders or a nuts-and-bolts business blog full of advice for the year to come, the media engine won’t be putting a halt to this type of reporting until the ball drops in two weeks. IBM, however, didn’t just offer up its predictions for the next year, the editors there went a few steps further. In... 
Working off of consumer-wide shopping statistics and customer-engagement best practices is a sound method for launching an eCommerce marketing campaign. But as most businesses owners know, no two companies or industries are alike. What might work for a clothing retailer, might not find traction for a lawn care provider. Therefore, businesses will have to look within to discover how their own customers are attracted and retained. And as far as best practices are concerned, IBM reminded business owners in a... When IBM released V7.0 for the WebSphere Commerce platform, the goal was to provide a powerful customer interaction platform for cross-channel and online commerce. And although some time has passed, there are still some businesses that haven’t made the move to IBM's most recent version. Many of those businesses may be delaying their adoption of V7.0 due to a lack of understanding surrounding the platform changes that came with it. Many others might be holding off until the benefits of doing so can be better understood.
In the video shown above, the IBM team delivers on both accounts, offering a high-level summary of the enhancements available on V7.0, including the hardware, operating systems and browsers that are supported – and those that are not. The IBM video also highlights the features that are available, such as automated multi-channel marketing, mobile commerce and social networking.
For businesses that are committed to focusing on omni-channel retailing, V7.0 simplifies those efforts. For example, the mobile upgrades now available help eCommerce companies better engage with consumers who want to shop in-store while simultaneously researching prices and other options on their phones. The SMS capabilities found within the upgrade are also incredibly valuable, considering the growing prevalence for text-based marketing and promotional messages.
"E-commerce is no longer simply about selling things online," IBM states. "It's about delivering a seamless, integrated experience across all touch points. With the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies, e-commerce is now about transforming customer shopping experiences to leverage the power of your brand, providing a rich, personalized experience across multiple channels of your business."
Keeping those objectives at the core of IBM operations, six feature packs have been delivered since V7.0 launched. But before WebSphere Commerce users will be able to take advantage of the added functionality found within each of those feature packs, they will have to ensure that they are working on the V7.0 platform. To get assistance bringing your eCommerce site up to date, feel free to reach out to the team at NetSphere Strategies. We’d be happy to pick up where the above video left off.
On Sept. 18, 2013, in downtown Chicago, a wide variety of IBM business partners gathered at 71 S. Wacker Dr. to learn about the wide array of products found under the Smarter Commerce umbrella. The overarching theme of the business partner event, however, focused on how those solutions can put the customer in context. John Davidson, sales executive with the Global Smarter Commerce team, kicked off the two-day event by setting expectations for attendees. He explained that the Smarter Commerce... 
Take a screen grab of any random inbox and it’s sure to contain a smattering of promotional e-mails offering potential customers everything from good deals on hotels to discounts on clothing. Regardless of the product du jour, consumers are constantly being wooed to try and buy new goods and services. And that’s a good thing. It means that marketers are taking advantage of the tools and data that have been made available to them. But marketers often live in a...