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Top 5 Web Site Usability Mistakes March 20, 2010 
Although many usability principles might seem like common sense, they are often overlooked in Web site redesign. Among companies large and small, the same usability issues arise over and over again. Take a close look at the five most common mistakes, and make sure your site does not end up committing them.
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Survey Totes Up Value of Excellent Online Customer Service March 19, 2010 
Excellent online customer service may be worth $17.3 billion in 2010, according to a new Ovum survey commissioned by StellaService. That's the round figure for the 10.7 percent premium the report suggests customers are willing to pay for good customer service. The survey was conducted across multiple categories -- financial services, healthcare, utilities and retail.
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A Start-Up's Guide to E-Commerce Security, Speed and Scalability March 19, 2010 
All new e-commerce businesses should address one vital question first and foremost: Will you collect and store payment card information on your Web site or offload credit card processing to a PCI-compliant merchant like PayPal? The answer to this question is paramount and should be well thought out when you are planning and developing your e-commerce Web application.
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Google Hatches Plot to Break Into TV March 18, 2010 
Google, Intel and Sony have teamed up to develop a platform called "Google TV" that will bring about a new way to surf the Internet via televisions, according to The New York Times. Logitech, which makes remote controls and computer devices, will reportedly develop peripherals for the platform.
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Talking to Your Tribe March 17, 2010 
I recently read Tribes by Seth Godin and I think it might hold some clues to the future of CRM. Godin is a business blogger and author of more than a dozen books with titles like Permission Marketing and Purple Cow. He's not about the status quo, he's all over change and leadership like a junkyard dog.
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Facebook Traffic: A Whole Lot of Hustle but Not Much Flow March 17, 2010 
Facebook, thanks to its 400 million status-updating, link-sharing, asparagus-farming, party picture-posting denizens, has risen to the top of the Internet heap once again, surpassing -- at least according to one ranking -- search giant Google in total U.S. visitors for the third time this year.
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Twitter Flies the Coop March 16, 2010 
Twitter has announced it will be rolling out @anywhere, a new platform that will allow certain partner Web sites -- including Amazon, Bing, Citysearch, Digg and eBay -- to link to Twitter. The new service will let Twitter users send and receive messages while they are on a partner site. It will also allow users to follow a string of related tweets without leaving the site.
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Google Poised to Make Good on Its China Threat March 15, 2010 
It now appears almost certain that Google and the Chinese government will not reach an accord over Internet censorship policies and that Google will begin pulling out of the country in the near future. Among the increasing number of signs pointing in that direction are warnings the Chinese government gave to Google's Web partners that they must comply with Chinese law, even if Google does not.
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Why Keeping the Bar Low May Be Good for Google March 15, 2010 
The Google model survived the dot-com mess but its success seems based largely on the belief that advertising can fund everything. If the users are unhappy, well it doesn't really matter. In fact, Google's customers (the folks paying them money) and the folks they actually serve are quiet different, causing me to question the viability of many of their non-search efforts.
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Online Bill Payments, Part 1: Fertile Soil for IT Vendors March 15, 2010 
Millions of consumers have switched their bill-paying practices from tedious sessions with a stack of statements and checkbooks to streamlined, paperless payments through a variety of online channels. However, the movement to electronic payments still has a long way to go, and a huge majority of consumers have not yet been weaned away from their checkbook chores and welcomed to the world of paperless payments.
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Building E-Commerce on Rough Economic Terrain March 13, 2010 
Although the shadow of the recent recession is still lingering over us, many business owners are moving toward starting an e-commerce business, which can seem like a scary leap to take. However, a reason to take that leap is that the number of consumers shopping online is growing. Recent figures show that online stores' sales were up 12.4 percent in January, compared with a year ago.
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Google's New Mobile App Lets Shoppers Peer Into Retailers' Stockrooms March 12, 2010 
Google has introduced a mobile version of its Product Search tool that lets users check on a product's availability in local participating stores. Product Search for mobile with local inventory lets a user see if, say, a Nikon Coolpix camera is in stock at a nearby Best Buy or Sears -- two of the retailers participating in the program -- and then provides basic directions to get there.
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Can a Clown-Nosed Wand Move the Needle for PS3? March 12, 2010 
Sony put PlayStation 3 fans in a tizzy by whipping out its latest controller, which it calls the "Move." It looks a whole lot like a black version of Nintendo's WiiMote controller, only it's got this big, clown-nose ball on the end of it. That ball actually serves a purpose. The Move's motion is partially registered by a camera PS3 users will set on top of the television.
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Customer Data Is a Terrible Thing to Waste March 12, 2010 
Few marketers would argue against the importance of relevant, timely, personalized marketing communications. In fact, research has consistently proven the value of personalizing marketing messages by segmentation, targeting, or one-to-one messaging. Personalized email campaigns generate two to three times higher click-through rates than mass email campaigns and twice the conversion rates.
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FTC May Put Kibosh on Google's AdMob Deal March 11, 2010 
Google's proposed $750 million acquisition of the mobile ad network AdMob may be subjected to a protracted period of regulatory scrutiny. The FTC reportedly is seeking sworn declarations from at least two of Google's competitors. Google announced its intent to buy AdMob in November 2009, in a stock deal that would make it the company's third-largest acquisition.
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E-Tailers Should Act Fast to Comply With Colorado's New Tax Law March 11, 2010 
Legislation signed into law on February 24 will have a profound effect on e-commerce and catalog companies that sell to customers in Colorado. Companies that do not collect Colorado sales tax must notify their Colorado customers that they are obligated to file a use tax return to pay the sales and use tax themselves. It also requires them to send out an annual information statement.
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