I just got back to the ATG offices after a busy trip in Chicago for the Internet Retailer Conference and Expo. If you weren’t able to make the annual event, then you certainly missed out! The show, which garnered more than 6,400 attendees, was jam-packed with informative sessions, and a flurry of announcements on everything from new partnerships to product upgrades (including our own announcement of enhancements to ATG Recommendations).

During the show I led a session with Robert Gilbreath, Director of e-Commerce Marketing & Analytics for Calendars.com, about the top five reasons companies decide to update or change their sites. We went over the process for evaluating commerce platform solutions and for kicking of a replatform project.  We also discussed the expectations companies and each member of the internal team managing a platform need to have once the project begins. In case you missed the session, “Managing a re-platforming: Strategy, people, technology,” you still have an opportunity to learn what issues retailers should cover with vendors before signing a contract for site work.

On this Wednesday, June 16, at 2 p.m. ET, Gilbreath and Robert Farrior from Razor 360 will join me during a webinar called, “e-Commerce Re-platform: Build a Winning Game Plan.” Gilbreath will discuss the recent Calendars.com re-platform project, and the planning that went into it to make it successful. Their new site went live in less than four months, with a significant uplift in online sales. This webinar will help you build a plan to address the common pitfalls and challenges, and ensure that your re-platform is smooth and successful. Join us and learn:

• The top five reasons companies decide to update or change their sites
• How Calendars.com increased online revenue with a successful re-platform
• Best practices for kicking off and running a re-platform project

To register for this free webinar, please go here.

If you are a consumer product manufacturer who wants to increase or maintain the value of your brand,  the first thing you should realize is that going direct is not just about online sales, but building and maintaining brand value as well.

In a recent webinar with Viking Range called “Getting Serious About Going Direct: How Manufacturers Can Develop an Optimal Web Strategy for Their Brand,” Sucharita Mulpuru, principal analyst at Forester Research, explains that there are a number of go-direct online strategies and that choosing the right strategy depends on your market and business needs. Mulpuru points out that more retailers are going online to preserve their revenue and margins while also reducing inventory, and consumer product manufacturers must compete to maintain sales levels. She provides a framework for choosing the right strategy and data to build a business case for investing in that strategy.

Tim Tyler of Viking Range, who joins Mulpuru in the webinar, says the benefits of going direct go far beyond online sales and that doing so helps maintain brand value and support the product life cycle. He shows the wide range of Web-based features that Viking Range uses to support purchases and build brand value across channels.

Malpuru points out that 62 percent of Web buyers are brand loyal. Check out the full webinar, to learn how to maintain – and increase – that loyalty.

With double-digit e-commerce growth and rising consumer expectations of Internet and cross-channel shopping, consumer product manufacturers need to create the right online brand presence.  Consumers are already “going direct” to manufacturers for consideration, purchase, and post-purchase support.  If you are a consumer product manufacturer, even if you don’t sell online, your Web presence is one of your most valuable opportunities to have a direct relationship with your consumers – to not only influence consumer purchase, but also support the full product life cycle – including usage, satisfaction, and brand loyalty.

In our January 12^th webinar, Getting Serious About Going Direct, How Manufacturers Can Develop an Optimal Ecommerce Strategy for their Brand with Viking Range and Forrester Research, learn how you can benefit by selling direct to drive and maintain sales growth, maintain brand value, and capture valuable information about consumers, their wants, and their expectations.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How Viking Range uses the Web to present a consistent brand, sell to, and service different audiences, and maintains a direct connection with its consumers
• How to build a business case for investment in your direct-to-consumer channel
• How to leverage your direct customer relationship to ensure satisfaction with knowledge, communities and service
• How to marry your B2C and B2B solution to improve operational efficiencies

Register

When we walk into a store, bank, or hotel, chances are we’re instantly greeted with a friendly, “Hello, can I help you with anything today?” As customers we usually welcome this proactive offer of support because it helps us get what we need more quickly. However, what many companies don’t always appreciate yet is that people want the same level of support across all channels – and especially online. In fact, nearly 85 percent of consumers say they want access to online live help.

Are you offering this support? Live help solutions provide quick and easy access to a sales or service associate via click to call and click to chat technologies. Online live help can boost sales, increase customer loyalty, and reduce abandonment rates.

Join ATG’s Ryan Hoppe this Thursday at 1 p.m. EST for a complimentary 1to1 Media Webinar entitled, “Engage the Right Customers at the Right Time,” and learn how including a live help option like click to call and click to chat can be the difference between satisfaction and site abandonment.

The Webinar will also address:

• How to use online service as a sales channel
• The three myths about live online service
• How to engage your best customers in the moment

Click here to register for this free video webinar.