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"The rise of artificial intelligence, for sales teams both internally and externally, is the biggest trend in the industry," observed Rodrigo Vaca, vice president of marketing for CRM at Zoho. "If you think of CRM as the centerpiece for your company, and you marry that with the escalating amount of ...

Checking out is the heart and soul of the e-commerce experience. When it goes well, you've got happy customers who are likely to return. When it doesn't, your business can suffer. "Checkout is not only key to driving revenue -- it's key to user satisfaction, order size and retention," said Zephrin L...

Podcasting is one of the hottest media trends. Almost everyone, it seems, has a podcast these days. Should e-commerce business owners jump on this bandwagon? Can podcasting really boost the bottom line? If you do decide to make a podcast, do your best to make it exceptional. That means having good a...

"We're seeing a digital transformation take place, where companies are moving their contact centers to the cloud," noted Dan Burkland, president of Five9. "There are two key criteria for a contact center -- there's the CRM and the contact center infrastructure, and those two really go hand-in-hand. ...

Blogging might seem a difficult task to many e-commerce retailers, but the effort you put into it likely will pay off. With some forethought and commitment, blogging can become part of your overall strategy for e-commerce success. If you're still on the fence, here are three reasons to consider gett...

"The customer journey is the journey that e-commerce customers go on when they come to a site, and hopefully it ends with buying a product," said Chemi Katz, CEO of Namogoo. "Hijacking interferes with the customer's journey. It can be a pop-up that the company didn't put there, or something that wil...

Visuals are a crucial aspect of e-commerce. The quality of your product photos can make or break a sale. With these seven tips, you can learn how to take compelling product photos that engage your audience and drive conversions. From lighting to staging to editing, this list covers what you need to ...

Let's face it: Your website is central to your e-commerce business. Upgrading your website is one of the most important things you can do to bring in new customers and sell more products. Sometimes, though, it's difficult to know exactly how to improve your site. To help you out with that dilemma, h...

Content marketing, which bridges the divide between marketing and storytelling, is vital to attracting and keeping e-commerce customers. "Content marketing is the practice of sharing information your target audience will find helpful and valuable with the intention of creating a profitable customer ...

Shipping has become a key part of success in the online shopping revolution. Amazon has raised consumer expectations dramatically when it comes to shipping, and etailers have been scrambling to keep up. Because changes occur on a near-daily basis in the shipping world, here are some tips for getting...

Once just a hangout for teenagers, Snapchat has matured into an engaging and effective social media platform. If you're trying to reach a younger demographic, it's somewhere you probably want to be. "Snapchat is the best channel to reach young people, as they count for more than two-thirds of its au...

Shopping online can feel a bit impersonal. It's all about looking at screens and filling virtual carts, and not so much about having a rich experience. Many consumers long for just that kind of experience -- one that's similar to walking into a store, looking at products, talking with an associate, ...

As a maker in an e-commerce world, you have to get the word out about what you're creating. Whether you're crafting candles or jewelry, marketing, in short, leads to sales. It's one thing to set up a booth at a craft fair and meet your customers face to face, but it's another thing entirely to marke...

If you're just starting to sell your crafts or other handmade items online, one of the first decisions you'll need to make is how to accept customer payments. There are a variety of choices for payment processing, and many crafters end up using several.

You're making soap or jewelry or handcrafted leather bags, and you want to sell them online. Where do you go? What spaces work best? How do you decide where to sell your wares? It's important to choose the right selling spaces for your products and business strategy. That can include selling on both...

If you like to make soaps, candles, pendants, pouches or any other crafts, you might be thinking of becoming part of the wave of craftspeople who sell their wares online. Digital marketplaces are effecting radical changes in the way craftspeople connect with their buyers, opening up a wealth of oppo...

Success is a good thing. Sometimes, however, surges in orders and sales cause headaches for e-commerce companies. The key is to expect the unexpected. Planning ahead can help ensure that sales spikes are handled as smoothly as possible. "It's never too early to start planning for growth," said Marg ...

Though startups start small, if all goes well, they eventually will experience growth. It's vital, therefore, for entrepreneurs to plan and prepare for this growth. Yet what does it mean to prepare for growth? We talked to some experts, who offered tips for making your way down the yellow brick road...

Once you've started your e-commerce business, one of the first steps toward success is to get the word out about your products. With all the different social media and other platforms available, however, effective marketing is more complex than ever. It's important, therefore, to have a balanced and...

Selling products online requires answering one basic question: where? Beyond traditional business websites, entrepreneurs have a cornucopia of choices, including Etsy, Amazon, eBay and Facebook. Making use of these alternatives can be a vital part of a business' sales strategy. Choosing where to sel...