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Category: B2BeCommerce

B2BeCommerce

  • The Power is Going From Companies To Consumers, Says Drift CEO

    The Power is Going From Companies To Consumers, Says Drift CEO

    “The most important thing for us and the reason we exist is that all the power is going to all of us, the buyers and consumers,” says Drift CEO David Cancel. “It’s going from companies to consumer buyers. We (as consumers) dictate everything now so every company in the world has to modify how they sell and service to make us happy. This is good news for us but it is a radical shift especially in B2B.”

    David Cancel, CEO of Drift, discusses their new partnership with Adobe and the launch of their joint product called Conversational ABM in an interview with Jeff Barrett:

    The Power is Going From Companies To Consumers

    We’ve been working a while now with Marketo and now that Adobe and Marketo have come together it’s going to the next level. We announced a joint product today called Conversational ABM which is the next step we are taking. We’ve been working mainly with the Marketo side which is B2B and now we are going to start to work with the B2C side with Adobe. We will be working with consumer companies and business companies. We will be doing both.

    The most important thing for us and the reason we exist is that all the power is going to all of us, the buyers and consumers. It’s going from companies to consumer buyers. We (as consumers) dictate everything now so every company in the world has to modify how they sell and service to make us happy. This is good news for us but it is a radical shift especially in B2B. We are not going to put up with it anymore. We have infinite choice. We have lots of options. We just want to deal with companies that are going to make us feel better and have amazing experiences.

    Removing Things That Prevent Real Conversations

    We do a lot of stuff with bots and AI. What’s exciting there to me is not just that part but removing the friction and removing the things that prevent real conversations and real relationships from happening. We’ve been spending so much time putting things into Excel spreadsheets and databases that we have lost sight that business is human to human. It’s you and me. Bots are not buying from each other. So until the bots buy from each other and the world is over it’s all about all of us.

    Right now we are moving and prioritizing. We are going back to basics. We are going back to how selling, marketing, and how business has operated for all of time. We’ve just been in a weird 10-20 year bubble where we’ve extracted that away. We’ve removed the humanity out of it. Now we are now going back to what it was before.

    You Just Have To Be a Normal Human

    It’s kind of funny because you just have to be a normal human. You’ve got to take away the business hat. You’ve got to take away the things we did before which is what adds so much complexity in the tool space. What is the most authentic relationship that we are going to have? How would I want to be treated? When you start to do that it becomes obvious and the tools are not that complicated. We overcomplicate it because we are used to selling to people in a way that makes it this kind of world.

    But guess what, an entirely new generation is coming online now who doesn’t think this is normal. There are entirely new generations coming online globally around the world who don’t think this is normal. So we have to wake up. They think that personally buying is normal. To think that on the business side of things you can only buy from 9-5 when there isn’t a holiday when there is someone available and when they want to talk to you. It made sense to a certain generation. It is now the thing that is going away.

    The Power is Going From Companies To Consumers, Says Drift CEO David Cancel
  • Without Data, There is No Great AI, Says Informatica Exec

    Without Data, There is No Great AI, Says Informatica Exec

    “Without data, there’s no great AI, says Amit Walia, President, Products & Marketing at Informatica. “Now that AI is really becoming pervasive and at scale, you really need to give it relevant good contextual data. We see that happening a lot in the world of enterprise. Finally, enterprise is arriving at the point where they want to use AI for B2B use cases, not just consumer use cases that we are used to. AI is a part of everything that we do in data.”

    Amit Walia, President, Products & Marketing at Informatica, discusses how data is the lifeblood of the enterprise in an interview on theCUBE at Informatica World 2019:

    Without Data There is No Great AI

    The language that AI needs or speaks is data. Without data, there’s no great AI. This is something that we’ve known all this while, but now that AI is really becoming pervasive and at scale, you really need to give it relevant good contextual data. We see that happening a lot in the world of enterprise. Finally, enterprise is arriving at the point where they want to use AI for B2B use cases, not just consumer use cases that we are used to. AI is a part of everything that we do in data.

    It has really helped to improve productivity and automate mundane tasks. There’s a massive skills gap and I think you look around the economy is fully saturated with jobs. There is still so much work to be done with more data and different data. AI is helping make some of those mundane activities become a lot easier and autonomous.

    Data is Becoming a Platform of Its Own

    Our data scientists have gone from heroes to superheroes. Think about it. What we are seeing in this world is that data is becoming a platform of its own. It is getting decoupled from the databases, from the applications, and from the infrastructure. To truly be able to leverage AI and build applications on top you cannot let it be siloed and be held hostage to its individual infrastructure components. We’ve seen that fundamental change happening where data as a platform is coming along.

    In that context, the catalog becomes a very pivotal start because you want to get a fuller view of everything. You’re not going to be able to move all of your data to one place. It’s impossible. But understanding that metadata is where enterprises are going and then from there you can have a customer experience journey with MDM. You can also have an analytics journey in the cloud with an AWS or an Azure. You can have complete governance and security and privacy journey while understanding anomalous activity.

    Metadata Is the New OS

    Data is everywhere. It’s like the blood flowing through your body. You’re not going to get all the data in one place to do any kind of analytics. You’re going to let it be there. We say that metadata is the new OS. Bring the metadata, which is data about the data in one place, and from there let AI run on it. What we think about AI is this; LinkedIn is a beautiful place where they leverage the machine learning algorithm to create a social graph about you and me. If I’m connected to John I know now that I can be connected with you. The same thing can happen to the data layer.

    When I’m doing analytics and I’m basically searching for some report, through that same machine learning algorithm at the catalog level now we can tell you that this is another table or another report or another user and so on. We can give you help back ratings within that environment for you to do what I call analytics on your fingertips at enterprise scale. That’s an extremely powerful use case of taking analytics, which is the most commonly done activity in an enterprise and make it accurate at enterprise scale.

    Without Data, There is No Great AI, Says Informatica’s Amit Walia
  • Salesforce CEO: Every B2B and B2C Company Is Becoming a B2B2C Company

    Salesforce CEO: Every B2B and B2C Company Is Becoming a B2B2C Company

    Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff says that every company is becoming a B2B2C company. “Every B2B company and B2C company is becoming a B2B2C company,” says Benioff. “What company does not have to directly connect with the consumer? You could be a traditional industrial company who’s selling to B2B resellers and you have to be ready in this connected digital revolution to be able to connect directly to your consumer as well.”

    Marc Benioff, co-CEO of Salesforce, discusses their recent high flying quarterly results and talks about how every company is becoming a B2B2C company in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC:

    We Just Had a Fantastic Fourth Quarter

    We just had a fantastic fourth quarter. We’re taking a look at those numbers right now and it was an amazing quarter. In fact, we beat our revenue estimates quite handily. As part of that, our co-CEO Keith Block closed the largest transaction in our history and the largest transaction ever in Barclays history. It was a deep nine digit transaction to help automate their 50 million customers. It really goes to show how the three major trends that are playing out in computing today, the cloud, broad digital transformation, and a focus on the customer, can really impact our company by creating a huge deal and also being able to support a huge transformation at Barclays.

    I feel great about our business. I’ve always felt great about it. We’re coming up on our 20 year anniversary this Friday. It’s been 20 years that have been unbelievable to us here. We are coming up on a year that we’re going to do $16 billion in revenue that far exceeds my expectation. I still have never been more excited about Salesforce than I am right now. When I look at the short term I see $20 billion right around the quarter and I see $30 billion right around the corner. In fact, we initiated a four-year guidance today of $26 to $28 billion.

    Every B2B and B2C Company Is Becoming a B2B2C Company

    You can look at a great deal that we did this quarter with Amgen, a tremendous biotechnology company. This is a company that’s really expanding with our health cloud. This is our vertical strategy to build products specifically for certain industries. In this case, our health cloud is going to help Amgen connect with their customers in a whole new way.  Every B2B company and B2C company is becoming a B2B2C company. What company does not have to directly connect with the consumer?

    Not just Amgen, everybody. You could be a traditional industrial company who’s selling to B2B resellers and you have to be ready in this connected digital revolution to be able to connect directly to your consumer as well. That’s a major trend that we’ve benefited from for so many years now and you’re going to see that continue to play out. That’s certainly something driving this relationship with Amgen as well.

    Brunello Cucinelli and Lamborghini Using Salesforce to Connect

    Brunello Cucinelli is one of the great fashion brands in the world and we’ve completely transformed Brunello Cucinelli. He actually touches the customer in many different forms. He has a direct B2C relationship. He’s online with them. We run his website. You go into his stores. That’s a direct consumer connection. But did you know he’s a B2B company also? That’s because he’s selling to resellers who are reselling his products in some of the big retail stores around the world. He’s a B2B and a B2C company. We have to bring it all together with him and give him a single view of his customer. That’s the transformation he has to go through and has gone through and that’s why he’s had such great growth and we’re so excited for him.

    Another great example is Lamborghini. Of course, Lamborghini is actually traditionally a B2B type company. They’re selling to their dealers and they’re making sure their dealers are successful. some of those dealers are not even owned by Lamborghini but now they need to be able to connect with their customer in real time, all the time. They’re also a B2C direct customer. That’s why the new Urus, their new SUV, is built entirely on Salesforce. It’s the connected Lamborghini. That’s a vision for all car companies in the future that they can directly connect with you, not just connect with their dealer. That’s the B2C and B2B transformation that we’re talking about.


  • Text Conversations Build Customer Relationships, Says Twilio CEO

    Text Conversations Build Customer Relationships, Says Twilio CEO

    “We are starting to see companies where not only can they text you but you can text them,” says Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson. “That’s the nature of a conversation. That’s how you build relationships over time. It’s two way. The leading companies are figuring out that actually if you create this dialogue it creates great customer relationships and ultimately creates loyalty with customers. They feel connected to you.”

    Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, discusses on CNBC how texting has evolved to two-way communications with customers which is helping drive loyalty and growth. 

    Every Company Should Build Great Digital Experiences To Compete

    Focusing on customers and focusing on growth is the only way you can (hit a billion-dollar run rate). That’s the only way you can do it. I remember talking to the company several years ago when we crossed the $100 million run rate. I pointed to the billion-dollar number and said this is a market and this is a company that can be one of the rare companies that can graduate from the $100 million status to the $1 billion status.

    I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished. But every step of the way all you can do is focus on customers and continue to be attached to a secular trend. That trend is every company out there needing to focus on building great digital experiences for their customers in order to compete in the modern economy. That’s what we do.

    Text Conversations Build B2B Relationships

    We just launched a new product a couple months ago called Conversations. It’s not uncommon today, but a few years ago it was novel when a company could text you. Maybe a table is ready for a restaurant or your flight is boarding. Any of those kinds of things. Several years ago that was amazing. And we luckily power a lot of those companies. 

    Nowadays, we are starting to see companies where not only can they text you but you can text them. That’s the nature of a conversation. That’s how you build relationships over time. It’s two way. The leading companies are figuring out that actually if your create this dialogue it creates great customer relationships and ultimately creates loyalty with customers when they feel connected to you. 

    Text Messages Are Just The Beginning

    Think about Tesla. Tesla’s a company where you can text the service manager. Your car is in service and they might try to call you your phone rings and when you don’t know the number you don’t answer it. Now they can text you and tell you what needs fixed and you can text your approval. The companies who really understand how to build a great customer experience are figuring out that text messaging, not just text messages and notifications, is just the beginning. Building relationships is a two way thing. 

    Every Company Needs To Use Digital To Connect With Customers

    We just focus on the long term. We focus on customers. We focus on helping customers achieve their goals. We focus on the biggest trends that are going on in the industry which is every company needing to use digital to connect with their customers. When times are good and when times are bad every company needs to focus on growing their business, making their customers happy, and making their customers become loyal repeat customers. That’s the business that we’re in.

    Text Conversations Build Customer Relationships, Says Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson
  • How To Keep Your Remote Employees Feeling Connected

    How To Keep Your Remote Employees Feeling Connected

    Video meetings, persistent team chat, and consistent in-person connections are all important for keeping a connected feeling with remote employees, says Lisa Walker, Vice President of Brand & Corporate Marketing at Fuze. “Remote employees will always talk about how they feel disconnected from HQ and disconnected from the company,” notes Walker. “That’s just one of the things you always hear from people who are remote.”

    Lisa Walker, Vice President of Brand & Corporate Marketing at Fuze, discusses how to keep your remote employees feeling connected in an interview with Logan Lyles of Sweet Fish Media on the B2B Growth Podcast:

    There is Just a More Personal Connection With Video

    What’s really interesting in managing a distributed team is the importance of video meetings. We know that if a leader turns on video then the rest of the employees on the call will turn on video as well. You have to lead by example there. The nice thing about video is that you are seeing everybody. There is just a more personal connection when you are able to see everyone.

    What I say to both managers and employees participating in video call is that it is all about creating the perfect frame. You don’t have to have a clean house, but you have to have a clean shot of yourself in the video. There is kind of a personal brand here. If you have a large team on a video conference from around the country or around the world, everyone has that opportunity to present a personal brand moment. You should be curating at least one good frame. There could be chaos around that frame but there is an opportunity for you to be consistent on that weekly team call.

    Video Meetings Help Remote Teams Feel Connected

    Every time that team call happens and that video flips on you know what you are getting from people. That’s what we are talking about in terms of work mode. You have to create environments where you can be productive. One of those important environments is video. I think it is really important as a manager to have those video meetings. In those video meetings when you get together, start with a few of those conversations that are more personal and then segway into company updates.

    Remote employees will always talk about how they feel disconnected from HQ and disconnected from the company. That’s just one of the things you always hear from people who are remote. Make sure that you are getting ahead of things your team may be hearing about the company. It’s important that you give a very transparent company update when starting a video call. Then get into the team stuff. Just do those first two things off the bat to make sure the team is feeling connected.

    Keep a Persistent Team Chat Going

    Second, for me is chat. Some people do it over Slack. We obviously here do it over Fuze. There are lots of different tools out there. Keeping a persistent team chat going in that asynchronous communication is just a great way to have the team feel bonded. They will talk about personal and professional in that chat stream and that’s fine. For specific projects where it needs to be more formal, you can create those project chat streams that are separate.

    Fuze Team Chat Platform

    Bring People Together In Person

    The third thing, which is the hardest, because it cost more money, is bringing people together in person as often as you can. For us, within the marketing team at Fuze, we do that twice a year at a minimum. We just did that this past week. It was wonderful. We had our sales kickoff and then we stayed together as a marketing team yesterday and had that time together. Make sure that you are finding those opportunities and making the case for budget if you need to.

    The other thing that a lot of managers don’t do and is a potential missed opportunity is that when you are out in other cities meeting with customers or at a conference if you have an employee within striking distance, meet them. Even if there is no office there, take them to coffee or lunch. Take those opportunities, don’t just fly in and out. If you have employees in that region, find a way to go have a personal connection with them and meet face to face.

    >> Listen to the complete B2B Growth podcast interview.

    What is Fuze?

    Fuze sees itself as part of the future of work movement. Digital technologies are generating significant opportunities for both people and companies alike. Employees are demanding consumer-like experiences to match technology in their personal lives, with greater flexibility on where and how they work. Work is personal and employees want the opportunity to choose their workstyles, schedules, and tools.

    Fuze – Part of the Future of Work Movement


  • Hulu Private Marketplace Gives Programmatic Advertisers Choice and Control

    Hulu Private Marketplace Gives Programmatic Advertisers Choice and Control

    “The invite-only auction, which is I would say our new shiny toy that’s getting wrapped in the PMP, provides us the opportunity for a variable floor price,” says Doug Fleming, Head of AdvancedTV at Hulu. “So now the advertiser pays what they deem appropriate for that specific audience. It gives them more choice and control. When we look at our offering that’s what it’s about. It’s the genesis behind us rolling out a programmatic offering. Advertisers want choice and control and we want to allow them to have that.”

    Doug Fleming, Head of AdvancedTV at Hulu, discussed Hulu’s embrace of programmatic advertising via their new private marketplace in an interview with BeetTV:

    March Towards Automation

    Since the inception of programmatic advertising, the goal always was that it was on equal footing with direct sold. We didn’t separate it. This wasn’t a remnant solution. As we’ve grown to 25 million subscribers we now have enough inventory and enough access that we have decided to create a team under me to go out and affect those agency trading desks and those folks that have decided to bring programmatic buying in-house.

    When we look at the landscape you can see this march towards automation and we’re not going to get in the way of that. We’re going to embrace that and we’re going to do it  in a very private curtailed way. There is no concept of a remnant provider reselling our inventory. Everyone has to be blessed and driven through the Hulu process.

    Hulu Works with Telaria But Owns the Delivery Logic

    On the demand side, it’s a mix of everyone. There is client direct, there are agency trading desks, and then the DSPs are good partners too. In each of those scenarios, we need and identify the brands before they come in so that they are attributed to the appropriate seller on our side. There’s no semblance of a DSP just hanging on and reselling in an always-on situation. We actually curate that environment and make sure that all of our t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted so that we know who the advertiser is coming in and we can manage that.

    What’s unique about our work with Telaria is really that the Hulu ad server owns the delivery logic. So in this case what separated Telaria was that they enabled us to do things the way we wanted to do them. They kind of powered us. We have very smart people in place who oversee these positions and they came in and worked with us to develop the appropriate technology for us to go to market the way we wanted to go to market.

    Hulu Private Marketplace Gives Advertisers Choice and Control

    What it’s given us is the ability to take all advertising in. We can category block appropriately, so people maintain their category exclusivity within pods. We have the ability to take multiple advertisers and a single deal ID and manage all that blocking. It also allows us to open up to the programmatic marketplace a full suite of products. We’ve always run a private marketplace. However, in the past, we had automated guaranteed and unreserved fixed. Those are fixed price deal types. Unreserved gave you the ability to make a data-driven decision and if you chose to take that impression you paid the fixed price that we agreed on.

    The invite-only auction, which is I would say our new shiny toy that’s getting wrapped in the PMP, provides us the opportunity for a variable floor price. So now the advertiser pays what they deem appropriate for that specific audience. It gives them more choice and control. When we look at our offering that’s what it’s about. It’s the genesis behind us rolling out a programmatic offering. Advertisers want choice and control and we want to allow them to have that.


  • Salesforce CEO: Incredible Wave, Global Phenomenon of Digital Transformation

    Salesforce CEO: Incredible Wave, Global Phenomenon of Digital Transformation

    Cloud adoption is just in the very early days says Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block. He says that over the last few years we’ve been in a perfect storm of cloud and mobile and data science and artificial intelligence coming together that have given companies the opportunity to reinvent themselves and reinvent their business models. Block says that this has been an incredible wave and a global phenomenon of digital transformation.

    Keith Block, Salesforce co-CEO, discussed the global phenomenon of digital transformation in an interview on CNBC:

    Cloud Adoption is Still in the Very Early Days

    I believe we’re in early days. Salesforce will be celebrating its 20th anniversary very quickly and we’ve had a meteoric rise. We’ve been the fastest enterprise software company and in the top five software companies in terms of growth to $10 billion. We just gave our guidance to $13 billion and we’ll do $16 billion for next year. But cloud adoption is just in the very early days.

    Incredible Wave, Global Phenomenon of Digital Transformation

    What we’re really seeing right now is this incredible wave, this global phenomenon of digital transformation. Over the last few years, when you think about this conversion, this perfect storm of cloud and mobile and data science and artificial intelligence, these amazing technologies that have come together, it’s given companies the opportunity to reinvent themselves and reinvent their business models. I think classically of a company that is a B2B company that now wants to become a B2C company and that’s where Salesforce really plays beautifully in terms of getting closer to that customer.

    MuleSoft Completes the Wave of Digital Transformation for our Customers

    Specifically on MuleSoft. A great example is really having the holy grail of the 360-degree view of the customer, where you have information about the customer, where you can personalize the experience for the customer, where the customer feels like they are personally engaged with the companies that they do business with. MuleSoft is an amazing integration technology and we’re very lucky to have it. It really completes the wave of digital transformation for our customers in the sense that it’s allowing you to unlock data from any source.

    Cloud Brings the Ability to be Agile, Nimble and Flexible

    Think about decades of legacy data that have been built up and built up and built up and CEOs want to know how do we access that legacy data in a very agile and in a very quick fashion so we can serve it up to our systems of engagement? That’s why the marriage of Salesforce and MuleSoft has really become very compelling for CEOs all over the world. At the end of the day what the cloud brings you and what we bring at Salesforce is the ability to be agile, to be nimble, to be flexible, and actually bring something we refer to as a beginner’s mind. Completely taking a step back and saying, how do we reinvent, how do we innovate, how do we go quickly?

    You can move, because of the technology that’s available today, far more quickly than you could in the age of the legacy system. It starts with that, bringing a point of view, speaking the language of the industry, understanding that talking to a bank is different than a telecommunications company. These technologies apply in different ways. Those are very fundamental than what you see with some of the legacy technology companies that are still using the same motion.

    CEOs Must Commit to Digital Transformation

    The second is it’s all about trust and making sure that you have a trust-based relationship with your customers. The third thing that I would tell you and I think is very very important is that we live in a world today where because of that convergence, that perfect storm of technology, we now have this global phenomenon called digital transformation. The most important aspect of that is the commitment from the CEO. The CEO has become and must be become the Chief Transformation Officer.

  • SAP: Imagine if We Can Work Together and Make Inclusion a Fact

    SAP: Imagine if We Can Work Together and Make Inclusion a Fact

    SAP Chief Strategy Officer Deepak Krishnamurthy said at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, “Imagine if we can work together and make inclusion a fact.” Additionally, Alexa Gorman, who is SVP, Head of SAP.iO Foundries Europe announced the creation of a dedicated accelerator program for women and diverse-led enterprises in Berlin, Germany.

    SAP Chief Strategy Officer Deepak Krishnamurthy discussed enterprise inclusion strategies at the Web Summit:

    Inclusive Entrepreneurship Across Everything We Do

    Over the last 20 months, SAP.IO has worked with nearly a hundred companies across the spectrum of both the fund and the foundry. That’s a big number given that we have been around only for 20 months. But what I’m really proud of is the fact that over 40 percent of these companies were either founded or have a CEO who’s a diverse entrepreneur or women entrepreneur. That is something that you probably don’t see in the industry much where the average number of startups that are either women or diverse entrepreneur founded is probably around 20-25 percent.

    Why is this important for us? It’s important because we want to be able to have an inclusive entrepreneurship across everything that we do. The statistics are there, so you know that less than 10 percent of venture capital funding goes to women, less than 2 percent goes to black and Latino founders, and less than 0.2 percent goes to black and Latino women founders. The statistics are pretty horrible and we need to make a difference and the difference needs to be made at three levels. It’s got to be at the financing level, it’s got to be about creating the right community, and it’s got to also be in terms of how you set up your team.

    Women and Diverse Entrepreneurs Driving Impact

    What SAP.IO decided to do was the first foundry cohort that we ran in San Francisco we said it’s going to be a women cohort. We had seven amazing startups founded by women, that is the first thing that we did in the US. This was so successful that we said why run just a cohort? Why don’t we just go and run a whole location focused on women and diverse entrepreneurs? So in the summer of 2018, we had ten great startups with women-led founders that came in and worked on B2B SAAS products and solutions jointly with us. That’s what New York is all about. New York is going to be about women and diverse entrepreneurs driving impact with our customers.

    This is making a huge difference. You cannot go and say that I’m just going to run a women-only program or a minority program for startups. You have to rethink how you do this fundamentally as a company. One of the things that we did was that our entire management of SAP.IO that’s running the foundry, over 80 percent, five out of the six accelerators are run by women. That means that you take the cognitive bias out of the equation.

    Imagine if We Can Work Together and Make Inclusion a Fact

    So you’re starting to invest in women and minority entrepreneurs in a much more proactive way. The industry average is more like 25 percent. Having 80 percent of the accelerators led by them makes an enormous difference, not just in terms of recruiting and attracting the right level of women entrepreneurs but also in terms of how you work with them, how you support them. and how you help them scale. If you look at the entire team more than 60 percent of a team is diverse. Again, this makes a huge difference in terms of how you take diversity not just as an afterthought, but keep it front and center.

    We all know that diverse teams have better outcomes in terms of startup exits. Typically startups with diverse teams have a 10-15 percent higher exits and higher returns and the idea of having a diverse team that’s managing both investment and acceleration enables a culture of diversity that goes from the top down. That’s the idea of enabling inclusiveness and diversity from the get-go.

    We all know that diversity is a fact. We also probably know that inclusion is a choice, but imagine if we can work together and make inclusion a fact, where It’s no longer a choice. Every company comes together and makes inclusion in terms of how we work with startups a priority and make this a real thing rather than doing something as a one-off basis.

    Alexa Gorman – SVP, Head of SAP.iO Foundries Europe at SAP, announced accelerator program in Berlin at the Web Summit:

    Launching the First Accelerator Program in Berlin

    We started the foundry journey in Europe just over a year and a half ago with the foundry in Berlin that we opened. I’m really proud to say by the end of this year we will have accelerated just over 30 startups in areas such as machine learning, AI, but also industry 4.0 and the manufacturing space. What we offer the startups that come to us is to really be able to accelerate through integrating into SAP’s product portfolio, but then also access to the 400,000 plus customers that we bring. We started in Berlin last year where we’ve run three programs and are currently in our third program there. We just opened Paris in October and are accelerating six French startups. In general, we like to call the startups that we accelerate the rising stars.

    I’m thrilled to be here today, of the 30 startups that we have accelerated I think we have about eight that are actually at Web Summit and are seeing phenomenal interest both from investors and from B2B companies that are interested in using their solutions. I’m also thrilled to be here today because we have an announcement. In line with what Deepak was mentioning, we’re actually launching the first accelerator program in Berlin, kicking off in March and running until June for the underrepresented minority. We will have a cohort there that will get the access and the mentorship that Deepak mentioned in the B2B SAAS spaces. It’s something that hasn’t been done or one of the first of its kind anyway in Europe and we’re basically opening applications today here at Web Summit. If there are startups here who are in that space we’d love to hear from you. Please go to SAP.IO and you’ll see all the details and the opportunity to apply.

    Deepak Krishnamurthy: We Would Love to Hear Your Dreams

    This is something that’s very important for us and we are confident that it’s going to make a big impact on the European ecosystem. If you are a startup we would love to hear your dreams, we’d love to understand how we can work with you and help you. If you’re a women or a diverse founder applications are open for Berlin, so please let us know how you can work with us. If you’re in the B2B space we can do things together that are going to be magical.

  • How to Use Email Segmentation to Drive Conversions

    How to Use Email Segmentation to Drive Conversions

    Email is still a very powerful marketing tool. Contrary to proclamations that it’s a dying or dead channel, email is still more relevant and effective than Twitter or Facebook. Most of the bad propaganda about email is due to how marketers misuse it. These days, eblasts sent out simultaneously to hundreds or thousands of random people doesn’t convert very well and might even be viewed as spam. To get the most out of your email marketing campaign, you have to learn segmentation.

    Image source: LyfeMarketing

    What is Email Segmentation

    Email segmentation is an organizing system wherein email subscribers are placed in different categories and messages customized to speak to each group directly.

    The main purpose of email segmentation is personalization. You divide your email list into groups based on the available customer data, like their professional backgrounds, purchase preferences, buying habits, and their familiarity with your brand. These groups can be as large or as small as you want, depending on the category you chose.

    Why Businesses Need Email Segmentation

    Segmentation can be the tipping point that determines the success or failure of a company’s email marketing strategy. Here’s a list of reasons why your business needs to divide its email list:

    1. One Size Doesn’t Fit All

    The odds are high that you’ll have numerous shopper personas on your email list, as well as buyers who are at different stages of the sales cycle. Delivering the same message to everyone on your list just won’t cut it. A survey by Hubspot shows that consumers simply won’t respond to messages that aren’t relevant to them.

    2. Enhances Your Brand’s Reputation

    Your brand’s reputation will also receive a boost if you utilize email segmentation. Marketers who segment their subscribers received fewer complaints and have lower unsubscribe rates. And since segmentation means that people on your list receive messages right for them, they will trust your brand more.

    3. Improved Open Rates

    Your email might be full of important information but it will remain useless unless the recipients open their emails. With segmentation, you can tailor the subject lines to resonate with the specific group you’re targeting, thus enticing them to open your email.

    4. More Conversions

    Email segmentation can boost the odds that the right content is sent to the right customer at the right time. One company who nailed this was Isotoner. The company saw their email marketing profits rise by as much as 7,000% when they segmented their emails based on the products their customers checked during their visit.

    5. Reduces Unsubscribe Rates

    People unsubscribe for two main reasons – there’s a deluge of emails or the messages they’re receiving aren’t relevant to them. You’re dealt a blow everytime a prospective client unsubscribes. Not only are you blocked from having a direct in to their inbox, they’re also leaving a key marketing channel. Email segmentation will ensure that you won’t be guilty of these practices since your messages are customized.

    Image source: Business2Community

    How to Increase Conversion Through Email Segmentation

    Group People into the Right Segments

    Placing your subscribers in the right segment can give your email marketing campaign several advantages, like ensuring that each group receives the message most relevant to them and enabling you to respond to subscriber behaviors appropriately.

    There are several ways you can group people:

    • By Geography: Create a category based on specific cities or states, time zones, or regions.
    • By Purchase History: This is particularly helpful in segregating new shoppers from loyal customers.
    • By Abandoned Carts: There are many reasons why customers don’t complete their transactions. However, an email reminding them of their abandoned cart can guide them back to your site to finish their purchase.

    Image result for how to segment your email campaign

    Image source: Email Monday

    Be Clear on What Your Email Marketing Service Provider Can Do

    There are so many email marketing providers right now, and most of them offer tools and services that can make email segmentation a walk in the park. For instance, companies like Aweber, iContact, and MailChimp have integrated tools that can assist you in growing your email list and communicating with prospective clients and loyal consumers easily.

    Some providers also offer software that help determine your demographic and test and measure your email marketing campaign’s effectivity. They can also provide you with the critical data needed to assess your progress. However, you have to understand clearly how they manage email segmentation as well as their regulations. These will help you adjust your strategies and settings so it complies with their rules and ensures your marketing campaign goes smoothly.

    Use Segmentation to Customize Messages and Improve Customer Experience

    Email segmentation is a key component to improving customer experience. Personalizing a user’s experience entails tailoring your marketing strategy based on the wants and requirements of various segments.

    The idea here is to supply visitors with the right content that will capture their attention and entice them to take action. For instance, emails to new customers could include a banner offering them a 10 percent discount on their first purchase. Meanwhile, you offer loyal customers a discount based on their purchases reaching a specific amount.

    Conclusion

    Most businesses that switch to segmenting their email campaigns will see a significant jump in their conversions. Chances are, if you sell a wide variety of products and you have a relatively large subscriber list, you’ll need to segment. Take a close look at your current list of subscribers and use the information above to help determine what groups of customers are most important to your business and segment them accordingly.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Adobe CEO: “Adobe Has Really Been on a Tear”

    Adobe CEO: “Adobe Has Really Been on a Tear”

    Digital marketing pioneer Adobe has really been on a tear says Adobe President and CEO, Shantanu Narayen. In May Adobe acquired commerce cloud platform Magento for $1.68 billion and in September of this year, they acquired Marketo, a leading B2B marketing automation company, for $4.75 billion.

    Previous to these acquisitions Adobe has primarily been a B2C focused company, but now Adobe is excited by the opportunity to help enterprises around the world engage digitally with their customers.

    Shantanu Narayen, Adobe President, and CEO discussed how they are helping businesses to transform in a recent interview (watch below):

    Adobe Has Really Been on a Tear

    Adobe has really been on a tear and we have two big growth initiatives. We are empowering people to create, which has been the heritage and history of the company, and we are enabling businesses to transform.

    The key imperative, whether you are a government, educational institution, or an enterprise is to engage digitally with your customers across every screen and mobile device. Adobe pioneered digital marketing as a category. What we now have is the ability for enterprises to create content, to measure the efficacy of that content, and to acquire customers.

    Digital Experience Opportunity is North of $60 Billion

    With Magento and Marketo we extended in two very significant ways. With Magento, we now make every experience to be shoppable and complete the last mile of actually doing the commerce part of it. With Marketo, we extend from B2C companies, which is where the focus primarily was, to B2B companies. It’s an exciting time for Adobe.

    We think the available opportunity for Adobe just in the digital experience category is well north of $60 billion. When you think about it, whether you are a financial institution that is offering financial services directly digitally, whether you’re a travel or automotive, whether you’re hospitality, the imperative for everybody, including in the media business, is to engage with their customers directly.

    Adobe Enabling Enterprises to Engage with Their Customers

    Adobe always pioneered the aspects of creating that content and now we bring content and data together. It’s a market we pioneered and we are the clear leaders. While there are others looking at that same opportunity we think that we will continue to innovate at a pace that will keep us distant from the competition.

    I think what Amazon has done very effectively is demonstrate the benefits of digital engagement with their particular customers. What we do is we enable that on behalf of every other enterprise who wants to create that engagement with their customers. We give them the tools and the platform. We have a tremendous ecosystem of partners that enables them to do that.

    Whether you are a sports franchise, an airline, or a bank you want to create that digital presence. We don’t view ourselves as competitive with Amazon, we view ourselves as enabling all these other enterprises to create that engagement with their customers.

    Security and Data Privacy are Core Competencies of Adobe

    Security and data privacy are definitely core competencies that Adobe has invested in very heavily. On the data privacy part, we do it in two ways. We have millions of customers that engage with us on the creative cloud and the document cloud and keeping that data and being transparent about how we use that data is something that is front and center for us.

    On the other side, we enable all of these enterprises that are our customers to understand what are the new regulations. Whether that be GDPR in Europe or something else, we help companies understand how they can engage in a transparent way while keeping the data secure.

    It’s one of those areas that we have invested very heavily from a research and development point of view and we have to constantly stay ahead of what’s happening with regulatory environments around the world. We were compliant with GDPR right in time for the May 25th rollout here in Europe.

    We have to be circumspect as to what the rules and regulations are, but I think good sense will prevail in all of these particular cases because when you have boundaries that are down and when you have unfettered access to markets that’s what I think will continue to drive innovation and technology in the global economy.

    Customers and Citizens Have the Imperative to Deal Digitally

    At the macro level, the first thing we all have to remember is that digital is the gale wind in this trend where you cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Customers and citizens, billions all around the world, have the imperative to deal digitally with any business that they are dealing with.

    I think it is incumbent on companies like Adobe to help them to do that. Help the citizens to get the engaging experiences that they want and to help the enterprises to deliver that.

  • 5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Product Description Page for Better Conversions

    5 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Product Description Page for Better Conversions

    A visitor that arrives at your product description page is only a few clicks away from making a purchase. But whether they leave your site or buy your product depends in large part on the page design.

    Despite its importance, a lot of store owners don’t pay enough attention to their product page. Most are happy to just put up a photo and a brief description. This is a travesty since the product page can make or break a sale. If the customer doesn’t find the page appealing and informative, they won’t move on to the checkout.

    There are, however,  a number of fast and easy strategies you can implement right now to improve your product page and boost your sales. Let’s take a look:

    1. Analyze Your Customer’s Behavior

    One of the best ways to improve your conversions is to have a well-designed product description page. You’ll need to have the right balance of images and information, especially since shoppers tend to just scan the page. According to a Nielson report, 79 percent of consumers don’t read word by word. They just scan a page and pick out specific words and phrases.

    A heatmap is a great tool to use when designing a product page. It lets you track where your customers typically look, what they click on when they arrive at your page, and how far down they scroll when reading your content. Knowing where they’re looking gives you the chance to remove any distracting images or irrelevant data.

    [Image source: MockingFish]

    2. Establish Trust

    You want to build trust with your customers from the get-go. Product reviews and security seals are just two ways to go about this. But you can also establish trust by providing clear information on shipping costs, duration, and details like how many items can be ordered, etc. Knowing this key information will give your customers peace of mind and keep them moving toward your checkout page.

    [Image source: Harry’s]

    Summarize these details to save space, but make sure you place them in a strategic part of your page. For instance, customers who visit Harry’s product page will see this information next to a photo of the item on sale. Also, consider adding links in the description that offer more detailed information about the product. 

    3. Enable Chat on Select Pages

    Your prospective customers may get frustrated and exit your store when they have questions about an item and there’s nobody to advise them. And many consumers simply don’t have the time or patience to call customer service or email your company. You can use live chat to solve this problem and improve conversion rates.

    [Image source: ZenDesk]

    This feature also makes life easier for shoppers since they immediately get the answers they need. It also tells them that your company is efficient, always available to listen and willing to resolve their concerns, thus increasing brand trust. 

    4. Use Customer Photos as Social Proof

    People trust recommendations given by friends, family, and their fellow customers. It’s why many brands include customer reviews and feedback. But you can step up your game and enhance product page conversions by using customer-generated photos. Seeing your items showcased by customers helps put them in context. The social proof it provides can also influence a prospective buyer’s decision while giving your customers a realistic look of your product.

    Amazon.com uses this strategy quite well. The website allows customers to upload images of items they purchased via the site and links them to the review on the product page.

    5. Improve Product Titles

    Your product’s name is the first thing that will catch a shopper’s attention on the product page. So it makes it even more important to create a good product title that will entice them to look at what else you have in store. The title is where you can be creative while giving your customer key details about the item and its features.

    Make sure you use a tone that your demographic can relate to. For instance, fun and whimsical titles are good for a young audience while a formal voice is better for connecting with a B2B market. You can use different fonts, colors, or icons for your titles. You can also pick out interesting features of your product and highlight it in the title. For instance, UncommonGoods sells a set of socks with environmental motifs which they named “Protect The Planets Socks,” appealing to the environmentally conscious customer. 

    A well-thought of and designed product page can result in a positive shopping experience that will boost sales. Try to incorporate these five strategies and watch your conversions shoot up.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Microsoft, Mastercard Teamup Enables Small Businesses to Trade Globally

    Microsoft, Mastercard Teamup Enables Small Businesses to Trade Globally

    Mastercard and Microsoft recently announced their latest collaboration—the Mastercard Track. The program is described as a distinct trade platform that can be used worldwide. It will reportedly simplify and automate payments between companies.

    Payments are supposed to be a fundamental and essential aspect of any business transaction. However, a lot of companies struggle with late payments. These delays are caused by inefficiency most of the time and result in profit loss and the erosion of trust between the buyer and supplier.

    Mastercard and Microsoft believe Track has the potential to solve this dilemma. The Track platform can automate and streamline procurement-to-payment procedures. Instead of having payments and invoices in separate systems, all data will be placed in one location. This will give companies improved visibility into their cash flow and help them to comply and conduct payments in a more efficient manner.

    Mastercard said that Track builds on and augments the company’s range of innovation and B2B assets, including its card and account-to-account payment solutions, data analytics, payment gateway, and fraud management services. Meanwhile, Microsoft will provide its very own Azure cloud system to run the Track platform, thereby giving it the protection of the company’s strict security and compliance standards.

    Mastercard Track will also be supported by a partnership comprised of nine procure-to-pay solutions companies and B2B networks – Basware, BirchStreet, Coupa, Ivalua, Jaggaer, Liaison Technologies, the Infor GT Nexus Commerce Network, Tradeshift, and the Tungsten Network.

    Michael Froman, Mastercard’s vice chairman and head of strategic growth, said that Mastercard Track is a tool that will “help reduce frictions in the global trading system and promote increased exports—especially by small and medium-sized businesses.”

    At the moment, companies have to navigate the various mechanisms that are currently in place for payments. Aside from that challenge, brands also have to deal with the lack of transparency and copious paper trail.

    Mastercard and Microsoft say that all account-based, bank transfer, or card-based payment systems will be connected on Track. The platform will also integrate invoice information and purchase order and will streamline the back-office.

    The platform is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, especially ones involved in global exports. However, Track will also offer banks, B2B, insurance, and technology companies a business opportunity by providing value-added services. For instance, banks can give supply chain and trade loans on Track while technology brands can offer better data analytics.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • CEO’s of Adobe, Microsoft, SAP Announce the Launch of the Open Data Initiative

    CEO’s of Adobe, Microsoft, SAP Announce the Launch of the Open Data Initiative

    CEO’s of Adobe, Microsoft, SAP announced the launch of the Open Data Initiative, a new data repository in the cloud dedicated to facilitating collaboration across the global research community. This is an initiative squarely aimed at Facebook and Google, in effect challenging them to provide all customer related data back to the customer. Here is Microsoft’s portal to the Open Data Initiative.

    Below are key highlights from a discussion the three tech CEO’s had on CNBC…

    Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft:

    The insight that all three of us had based on the work we’re doing with many customers, such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Walmart, today as customers they’re all excited about this open data initiative. It’s their real insight that led us to do this, how do we work to put them in control of their own customer data, because that’s the real currency.

    Any brand out there cares deeply about the continuous improvement of their own customer data understanding. The three of us coming together is going to be central to them feeling in control of their own customer data.

    Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP:

    There isn’t a CEO in the world that does not want to have a single view of their customer and they have to connect their demand chain to their supply chain and do so in real time. If you think about the consumer whose social, mobile, they’re geospatial, they’re always on the fly, they’re going to shop different companies in all channels, direct to consumer and retail, and you have to make sure that connection point with that consumer is really intimate.

    These companies need to be intelligent enterprises because more and more AI and predictive analytics is going to rule how you engage with that customer. Ultimately, what you have to do is fulfill, so now you’re going to see the demand and the supply chain completely integrated and that data will be shared evenly among our companies so the customer is the major benefactor of the Open Data Initiative we announced today.

    Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe:

    All three of us shared this vision of how do we enable enterprises to put customers at the front of the digital journey. Getting behavioral data, getting transactional data, and getting customer engagement to be the front and center is the most important thing that enterprises can do so that digital is actually a tailwind rather than a headwind.

    What Marketo does is add to our offerings in the Experience Cloud of being able to create this unified profile for all customers. The thing that every customer will tell you today is that they want an engaging experience with whoever they’re doing business with, whether it’s financial services, automotive, or retail. Adobe focused a lot more on B2C customers, but the same requirements that were true for B2C customers are now true for B2B customers and that’s what Marketo provides.

    Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft:

    The name itself should tell everything, it’s an open data initiative. It’s about really unlocking the data that is our customers’ data about their own customers. I think what is foundational here is trust. In other words, ultimately customers will decide.

    Also, compliance with their own customers trust in them is also going to be very key, because if you think about it one of the top considerations for anything around customer data is privacy and regulation around privacy. So the most important thing here would be for each vendor to think through how they participate here and ensure that there is more trust in the entirety of the value chain, starting with the end consumer to the brand and to us as software vendors or tech companies.

    I think the real challenge is going to be for some who may want to join but their business model is probably not going to allow them to join. I think overall though what we have all anchored on is if we can create an architecture and an incentive system that turns the tide to put customers in control of their own customer data I think the overall economy will be better off.

  • How SnackNation’s Predictive Analytic Engine Fuels Their Success

    How SnackNation’s Predictive Analytic Engine Fuels Their Success

    Recently, SnackNation secured $12 million in Series B funding and is on a roll with their digitally integrated healthy snack delivery business. SnackNation may be focusing on snack delivery now but it’s really building a consumer insights and consumer products delivery platform that can plug in anything.

    Will SnackNation become the next big online thing in online retail? After all, Amazon started with books and look at them now.

    SnackNation CEO and Co-founder Sean Kelly recently talked about how SnackNation is using consumer data as a cornerstone of its business model:

    We are the authority when it comes to discovering emerging and innovative snack food brands. More specifically, we are a tech-enabled snack delivery service that delivers curations to thousands of companies and homes across the country. We go out and find the best emerging and innovative brands that are also better for you and clean and delicious and bring them direct to people.

    In today’s world, it’s so important to be able to innovate and iterate, especially if you are a big CPG company. What we do is go direct to the consumer and have a direct relationship with them at their most engaged moments. We collect consumer insights and data that we feed back to the brands so they can better understand their customer and therefore improve their products.

    We also use all of that data to determine what emerging brands are going to win tomorrow. We have a predictive analytics engine that gives us a leg up. We sell that data back to brands and there are also ways to work with industry leaders and big CPGs to deliver some of that information to them.

    Although we started out focusing on enterprise sales, we don’t look at B2B and B2C as being different. It’s all about where the consumer is. For us, why did we start at the office, it’s because it’s where the younger generation spends the most time.

    Being able to collect these insights and having a forward-looking view in terms of what’s going to work and what’s not is very important.

    We are actually setting this up as a platform where we can deliver any consumer products through this. Even though our focus is on snacks we are already starting to plug health and beauty items through our consumer insights funnel.

  • 4 Inbound Marketing Tactics to Use for Your B2B Company

    4 Inbound Marketing Tactics to Use for Your B2B Company

    According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, eight out of 10 Americans now shop online. This means that the traditional ways of marketing—cold calls, trade shows, TV, radio—are not as effective as they used to be. In fact, more companies are now turning to inbound marketing to generate leads and close deals.

    To stay ahead of your competition, it’s now essential to have a good inbound marketing strategy in place. Here are four B2B marketing tactics you should be using right now:

    1. Create and Curate

    Useful and well-written content is a powerful weapon in B2B marketing. Posting long-format articles and discussing issues more deeply attracts more visits to your website and leads to higher conversions. A study by Moz showed a distinct correlation between social shares and content length. 

     

    According to the data, readers love this type of content and are more likely to share it.

    You should also post articles to your blog more frequently. A Hubspot report showed that businesses that blogged 10 or more times a month enjoyed three times more traffic than those that blog only once a month.

    And, you can continue to reap the benefits of your old blog posts for years to come. Assuming that they’re good, consider repurposing older posts to generate more organic traffic by sending the content to your email list or posting them on social media.

    However, creating good content takes time and effort, and sometimes a company might not have enough manpower to handle this. No need to worry, though, as curating content will work just fine. It’s a strategy that some marketers have used very effectively. Content curation involves sourcing content that is already on the web and organizing it in a meaningful way for your audience. Curating helps add new content to your site, builds value, converts readers, and helps generate traffic.

    2. Collaborate With People Who Matter

    Connecting and collaborating with experts and influencers creates more opportunities for your brand to be shared with a bigger market. 

    Look for authorities or influencers in your niche and reach out to them. Discuss how working together will benefit all parties involved. Invite an influencer to host a podcast, write a guest blog or take over your social media page for a day. This will add more quality content to your site and boost awareness of your brand.

    3. Get Video Ready

    Scientific research shows that most people process the information they see 60,000 times faster than what they read. So it’s a good idea to incorporate videos and eye-catching graphics in your marketing strategy.

    In 2017, video became the most popular type of content on social media, and the demand for it will only continue to rise among consumers. Because of this, more companies are using the medium to showcase their product, disseminate information, teach consumers, and reach prospective clients. 

    Image result for video most popular type of content on social media 2017

    Don’t forget other visuals like infographics and slides. Infographics have become popular over the last few years because they are an effective way of communicating a lot of data within a short time. These visuals are also easy to share and can be used to recycle your content and make them fresh and engaging.

    4. Improve Your Site’s Speed and Load Time

    A fast website is crucial for any business. People prefer sites that have a quick loading time. Studies have shown that consumers are only willing to wait three seconds for a page to load. Any slower and they are highly likely to abandon the site and search elsewhere. Plus, Google also takes into account the site’s speed in their rankings. So if you want to keep your visitors and rank high in search engines, make sure your website is optimized for speed.

    Consumers today know what they want and how to get it. If you want to capture their attention, you have to step up your inbound marketing game. Adding visuals and writing longer posts are simple tactics but they can go a long way in generating leads and traffic.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Brex Raises $57 Million to Launch New Credit Card for Startups

    Brex Raises $57 Million to Launch New Credit Card for Startups

    American fintech company Brex has just launched a new corporate credit card designed specifically to assist startups.

    The news of this unique credit card also comes on the heels of Brex’s recently concluded Series B funding round. The company was able to raise $57 million courtesy of investors like PayPal co-founders Max Levchin and Peter Thiel, Facebook’s Yuri Milner, VC Ribbit Capital, and the Y Combinator Continuity.

    Brex is the brainchild of young engineers cum entrepreneurs Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franchesci. The two are known for founding Pagar.me, a Brazilian payments processor, when they were still in their teens.

    Brex wants to rebuild B2B financial products, and one key step to doing that is to start with a corporate credit card service. The company provides tech startups and various companies with instant approval of credit cards. What’s more, these have higher than expected credit limits and users don’t require any kind of personal guarantees.

    The San Francisco-based company basically underwrites businesses and foregoes credit history in lieu of factors like its investors and the equity the company holds, its cash balance and spending habits. Brex offers the first five cards of the startup free of charge. Any additional cards after that will cost $5 monthly.

    Brex credit cards offer several distinct features, like the capacity to capture receipts using your smart device and matching them to the card holder’s credit statement. The card can also be integrated with accounting software like Expensify, NetSuite, and QuickBooks.

    Dubugras and Franchesci reportedly spent the previous year talking with customers about developing a product that could successfully navigate the regulatory and financial challenges that usually prevent early-stage startups from getting credit card approval.

    According to Brex CEO Dubugras, “startups that have raised millions and are poised for hyper-growth can’t get slowed down hassling with banks requiring personal guarantees and offering meager credit limits.”

    Unfortunately, traditional credit models look at how much a company can pay back annually based on revenue. This practice automatically disqualifies startups. But Brex has gotten around that problem by focusing on the cash that the investors have given the startup.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Microsoft Pay Streamlines Online Payment in Outlook

    Microsoft Pay Streamlines Online Payment in Outlook

    Microsoft is integrating its digital wallet service into Outlook, as announced during Build 2018 on Monday. Called Microsoft Pay, users can soon make payments on invoices and bills through emails without leaving Outlook and switching to another app or service. All it takes is a click on an Adaptive Card that details the invoice and payment action.

    According to Microsoft, fintech companies Stripe and Braintree will be some of the payment processors under the upcoming integration. Meanwhile, Zuora, FreshBooks, Intuit, Invoice2Go, Sage, Wave, and Xero will be tapped for billing and invoicing services for the new Outlook feature.

    The tech giant also revealed that the streamlined payment system will roll out in phases. For the first weeks, only a few Outlook.com users will have the capability in their email. Microsoft assured that more users will have access to the payment feature over the subsequent months.

    Microsoft emphasizes that Payments in Outlook is a solution developed for its users and not a service where it earns revenues. Instead, its partners earn commissions for every completed transaction. It is an opportunity for developers to monetize on several Microsoft platforms.

    For Microsoft, it isn’t about money but the convenience it offers to platform users. This integration is a way to make customers remain inside the ecosystem and use Microsoft services more often.  

    Microsoft may be a tad too late compared to its competitors, Android Pay and Apple Pay. However, the company’s broader shift to handy Adaptive Cards and integration-friendly developer mechanics has allowed the company to catch up. After all, Microsoft is known to have extensive capabilities in different aspects of computing.

    For businesses, this latest development lets them get paid faster by making the entire process simpler with a few clicks. Stripe agrees with this. “By removing the friction and time needed to complete a payment, Stripe and Microsoft can help businesses around the world reduce missed or late payments, ultimately increasing their revenue,” the company expressed in a statement.

  • GDPR Takes Effect in May, Is Your Business Ready?

    GDPR Takes Effect in May, Is Your Business Ready?

    A major change is on the business horizon. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be in effect on May 25, 2018, bringing with it major changes to data protection laws. The question now is whether your company is ready for it.

    How it Affects US-Based Businesses

    Europe’s GDPR is designed to consolidate and bolster data protection for people within the European Union (EU). It’s easy to assume that the new regulation will only affect EU-based businesses and multinational companies and not American companies that do not have any direct operations in the EU. However, that’s not the case. US companies with a web presence and which markets their services and products on the internet would have to comply with the rules of the GDPR.

    This is due to the geographic reach of GDPR. Article 3 of the new data protection law states that any company that collects behavioral data or personal information from any individual in an EU member country is mandated to follow the requirements of the GDPR. However, this doesn’t apply to EU citizens who are outside of the region when data was collected.

    The kind of marketing US businesses conduct will also be under a microscope. Generic marketing is safe. For instance, it’s not a violation when a German user comes across a US company’s English-language website. But when said company specifically collects data by marketing in that country’s native language and there are references to EU users, then GDPR rules apply.

    US companies would also have to adjust their interactions and online marketing forms in order to secure explicit consent from the consumer. According to the GDPR, user consent has to be “freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.”

    How Companies Can Get Ready for GDPR

    Despite the GDPR being ratified by the European Parliament in 2016, many companies are still unprepared for this new law. A Forrester report revealed that a mere 15 percent of B2B marketers are GDPR compliant while 18 percent are still at a loss on what to do.

    Luckily, there are things you can do to get your company ready to comply with the GDPR.

    • Get Familiar With Your Data Sources: You’ll be able to comply more easily with the new data protection rules if you know what kind of information you have and where to access it.
    • Make a Plan for Managing Old Data: Come up with a way to handle data that’s no longer relevant or required. Archiving is not a good idea because it will remain vulnerable to data breach. It should be purged via a secure method instead. Processes should also be put in place to prevent accumulation of out-of-date information.
    • Categorize Information: Not all data are created equal. Categorizing information based on its relevance and value will minimize the threat of security breaches.
    • Hire a Data Protection Officer: A company with more than 250 personnel should hire a data protection officer. He or she will be the key resource person for all activities and concerns revolving around data protection.
    • Train Your people: Have your personnel undergo training so that they understand what the new regulations are, the procedures and policies and how it will affect them and the company.

    Watch the video below to gain more insight.

  • Salesforce Acquires CloudCraze, a B2B eCommerce Software Startup

    Salesforce Acquires CloudCraze, a B2B eCommerce Software Startup

    Salesforce has added another tool to their CRM applications with its upcoming acquisition of CloudCraze, a Chicago-based eCommerce platform.

    The news was announced on Monday by CloudCraze. While the terms of the deal with Salesforce was not disclosed, it was revealed that the two companies had already signed an agreement.

    CloudCraze president Ray Grady pointed out in the company’s announcement that the B2B industry is slated to grow to $1.2 trillion and that it’s crucial for businesses to grab this opportunity. He also added that “the addition of CloudCraze to the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Salesforce and its customers can now take advantage of this shift to digital commerce, enabling business buyers to browse and purchase online as easily as consumers shop today.”

    The deal between the two companies is not surprising considering how intertwined CloudCraze and Salesforce are.  Salesforce built its B2B software on CloudCraze’s platform and its investment division also supported CloudCraze’s $20 million round in 2017. Insight Venture Partners also backed the Chicago startup during its latest funding run.

    Last year’s investor round gave CloudCraze the needed capital to scale its business and expand its team. The company’s software helps businesses produce online revenue and remain connected to their customers effortlessly. Companies that use the platform can instantly see all the relevant customer data and quickly share it across various channels. Companies like Coca-Cola, GE, Kellogg’s, and L’Oreal are all using CloudCraze.

    This is far from the first startup that Salesforce bought. About two years ago, the company purchased Demandware. It also absorbed Chicago startups Gravitytank AKTA, InStranet, and Model Metrics. The company also acquired SteelBrick in 2015 for $300 million.

    CloudCraze will be Salesforce’s second acquisition for the year, after taking a break from buying startups in 2017. The company acquired Attic Labs in January. It’s still unknown if Salesforce will be going on a buying spree again this year, although the company has been very open about its new revenue goals. Acquiring fast-growing startups is one sure way to hit their mark.

    [Featured image via Salesforce APAC YouTube]

  • Should You Outsource Digital Marketing for Your Business?

    Should You Outsource Digital Marketing for Your Business?

    For most companies, digital marketing is essential to growing and retaining their customer base. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses are in the dark when it comes to implementing and managing this type of marketing strategy. As a matter of fact, an informal poll conducted by Smart Insights revealed that half of the businesses that use digital marketing don’t have a working marketing plan to go on.

    But before you hash out the details on when and where to launch your digital campaigns, you’ll first need to figure out who will get the job done for you. There are two approaches to tackling this problem: go in-house or outsource.

    The Case for In-House Digital Marketing

    A lot of companies take advantage of the abundant resources, current online technology and available information on strategies and techniques to manage an in-house digital marketing group. After all, there are several advantages to going this route, most important of which is saving money. Hiring a third-party marketing agency can be relatively expensive considering you’ll need to cover their costs as well as their “markups”. Another advantage would be having a dedicated team who knows the company’s specific goals and are working on a documented digital marketing plan. 

    However, one major problem that an in-house team often encounters is the steep learning curve employees without the relevant skill set face. More often than not, this would cause a slower ramp-up time for marketing campaigns. It’s also a sad fact that more than half of in-house digital marketers are ineffective because they learned about the system on-the-job, and did not undergo any official training.

    Choosing to Outsource Digital Marketing

    Outsourcing your digital marketing needs can be very beneficial, particularly if this task is not your forte. Tapping the services of a digital marketing group can give you several advantages, like having a team of experts readily available. This means that you won’t have to worry about a marketer going on a vacation or taking a sick leave. Your marketing needs will always come first, regardless of whether there’s a holiday or not.

    One big advantage of using a digital marketing agency is the insight it can give your business. Employers are often so consumed by the day-to-day running of the company that they don’t have time to understand the business more deeply, like studying what brings prospective clients to the site or how to optimize the company’s online presence. An unbiased set of eyes will give you a new outlook on how to handle your marketing needs. These marketing experts are also likely to be more up-to-date on the latest techniques and strategies being utilized in digital marketing circles.

    Perhaps the most important benefit outsourcing your digital needs give is that you get to focus on what’s crucial to your company. Businesses who opt to outsource do so in order to keep the marketing process separate from the company’s core operations. By being distinct, the marketers have more freedom to develop and execute winning marketing strategies and keep up with changing business needs.

    Graphic via Quartsoft.com

    Should You Outsource Your Digital Marketing Needs?

    Before you make a decision on whether to outsource your digital marketing needs, take the time to determine what you really need in terms of marketing. You should also consider the following when you begin your search for an outside marketing agency:

    • Your Company’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Knowing what your KPIs are will help narrow down what you need help with and what the marketing agency can do for you. KPIs will influence the strategy the agency will suggest, as conversions, traffic, cost and revenue per lead are key KPIs for businesses. Which means this is the first question any reputable digital marketing company would ask. Consider it a red flag if the agency doesn’t inquire about it. Conversely, you should also ask digital marketing specialists what they think about your KPIs and how to optimize it. A good company would help you pinpoint weaknesses in your current marketing strategy and introduce new ideas and strategies to help you get the best results for your business.
    • The Digital Agency’s Track Record: Don’t take recommendations at face value. Do your due diligence and check the marketing company’s track record. Ask what types of clients they have handled before and their success record. Most agencies would have case studies and a portfolio on hand. But bear in mind that some clients do ask for non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). However, agencies that can’t provide a single client to show or refer should not be taken seriously.

    While there are other factors to consider, the bottom line is that outsourcing your digital marketing needs would depend on what you actually need. If you want to hit targets consistently and predictably then maybe an in-house team is the way to go. But if you want to focus all your energy on the core aspects of your business, then a digital marketing agency can save you time and offer more flexiblity.

  • Buying an eCommerce Website Vs. Starting One

    Buying an eCommerce Website Vs. Starting One

    Over the last few years, the eCommerce model has been giving brick-and-mortar retailers a run for their money. A recent forecast estimates the eCommerce market will surpass $2 trillion in revenue for 2017 and increase its worth to $6.7 trillion by 2020. The eCommerce market has gained such a massive following that companies from different industries can no longer ignore it. In fact, the total number of online shoppers in the US is projected to rise to 224 million in 2019. By 2020, around 168.7 million mobile users will have made at least one purchase from an online store.

    Number of digital shoppers in the United States from 2014 to 2019 (in millions)

    The great thing about the eCommerce platform is that it gives start-up entrepreneurs immediate entry into the global marketplace. At present, only 28% of small businesses in the U.S. are selling their products online. For a budding entrepreneur, there is still a wide window to get started and establish an online brand. Once you decide to give it a go, the only question left is, should you buy an existing eCommerce website or start from scratch? The following insights could help you come to a resolution.

    Buying an Existing eCommerce Business

    The Pros

    An established eCommerce site has already proven itself profitable. Buying one in your target niche lets you take over an operation that has already generated cash flow. Of course, you would have to assess their operation metrics and financial history first. But the good thing is that it has already overcome the challenges usually encountered by start-ups. You do not have to invest time and money into keyword research, advertising, site development, finding suppliers, SEO services, and others. With a proven business model, your customer base, supplier relationships, software codes, and traffic will already be organized.

    Acquiring an existing eCommerce site allows you to take advantage of opportunities the seller may have overlooked. This gives you a strategic edge in growing the business and increasing your profits. If you already own an eCommerce business, buying another site also increases your cross selling and cross promotion capabilities. You get to expand your reach by gaining access to additional traffic and customers.

    The Cons

    Buying an existing eCommerce business also has its downside. Let’s start with the operative word “buy,” which means you will likely need significant upfront capital. Convenience comes with a price, especially if you are eyeing a well-performing site. Next, finding the right online business to purchase that is reasonably successful may take some time. If you do find one, expect to inherit some errors made by the previous owner, such as lack of customer service, poor quality content and backlinks, soured relationships with suppliers, to name a few.

     

    Starting Your Own Online Business

    The Pros

    Image result for ecommerce website management

    One of the many things that attract entrepreneurs to starting their own eCommerce site is the low startup costs required. With the help of the internet, you can purchase a domain and obtain hosting for less than $100 per year. Outsourcing website development, web design, content creation, and basic SEO services can be achieved for under $300. A setup for a small business—with catalog and light traffic—through a popular eCommerce platform will only cost you around $2,000.

    Another advantage when it comes to setting up your own eCommerce site is you gain full control over your products and services. For instance, you can decide to avoid managing inventory or shipping through drop shipping. You choose which direction to take the business and handle SEO, monetization, and customer service using your own strategies. And if your site becomes a success, you can sell it for a lump sum.  

    The Cons

    A newly set up eCommerce business will start off with no traffic or customers. Marketing your brand and bringing traffic to your site can take a lot of work and money. You may need to invest in social media management and search engine marketing just to get the word out. You could spend several months building your eCommerce sites only to find that none of them end up being profitable. Another disadvantage is that it is a highly competitive market. It can be exhausting just to think of ways to stand out from the rest.

    New and experienced entrepreneurs should realize that neither option is better than the other, as both can provide significant returns on investment. In the end, your choice may depend on the time and attention you are willing to invest, how much money you are willing to risk, and the level of experience you have. The eCommerce market has the potential to become a huge boon for a business, given that every detail of the business is monitored closely.