With the advancement in technology and upsurge of social media, the way businesses are functioning has also changed.eCommerce and social media have eliminated all the geographical boundaries, enabling businesses to connect with people around the globe.Thanks to digital marketing, everything ranging from education to real estate is made available to customers online.

Industries like real estate have been greatly benefitted by digital marketing services.

The biggest advantage that the industry has got is in generating leads.Property related information like area, price, facilities, contact details are all available online for the customers to access through their digital medium like smartphones, laptops and desktops.Today’s generation has a busy work life and prefer to enjoy lazy weekends.

This means, they prefer to collect all the necessary information online before approaching the site in person.Having all the real estate listings online makes it easy for the potential customer to sort out the best picks based on their requirements.

The internet offers plenty of real estate portals that offer details of suitable properties like budget, accommodation, and nearby amenities.Similar to other industries, digital marketing enhances the art of ‘shopping’ in the real estate industry as well.

Digital marketing and other cutting-edge technologies have changed the way real estate properties are sold or purchased or even rented.Realtors are depending largely on defined digital strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Web Traffic, and Paid Advertising.

However, in the case of Suppliers/Distributors/Manufacturers, their ultimate-Thule is another company rather than an individual.

Look more like B2C yet gather huge sales: The popularity of retail eCommerce has changed the habit of companies placing their order on an e-Commerce.

Stay ahead of your competition: B2B clients prefer to repeat purchases with the same supplier that they already know who has already met their needs instead of starting a new process of searching for new offers, validation, and decision-making.

Build a website that retains them.Optimize your website for B2B customer experienceYou can find Altius Technologies at the National Hardware Show 2020 to implement the upsides of B2B eCommerce for you.

Your $1 spent on us= $4 ROI for you!

1 Give attention to your product pageA vibrant display of your product is an important part of optimizing your B2B e-commerce.It can be achieved with premium services from Altius Technologies like Product Catalogue Management, Product Data Management, Product Information Management, Enriching product data or by developing product Taxonomy & basing all information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Every business is transforming itself from physical stores to online stores.

How does it impact the business?

All these questions and more will be answered in this blog.

Technology helps to Enhance Customer ExperienceThanks to technological advancements, businesses are able to create innovative ways to enhance user experience while shopping online.Today online shopping is much easier and hassle-free.

Shopping is a matter of few clicks on mobile devices and the product is delivered at your doorstep in no time.Technology Provides Personalized DataThis is a relief for the B2B sector.

Technology enables gathering personalized data which allows B2B players to understand consumer behavior.This eventually helps the business deliver data-driven services which enhances customer retention and attracts new customers.Artificial IntelligenceTechnology advancement has given us the gift of Artificial Intelligence.

This year the Digital 1to1 celebrates its 9th edition of pure networking and collaboration between experts from the retail industry in Barcelona Spain.After multiple successful events, big brands, and industry experts look forward to this event to exchange thoughts, ideas, and innovative products and services with others present at the event.Digital 1to1 focuses on helping people build real human connections that can positively impact the business and the individual.Although technological innovations and social media play a key role in business promotions, the real growth of any business lies in networking with consumers and other related players of the industry.

If you have a similar thought process, then book your dates for the Digital 1to1 event which will be held from 4th to 6th March 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.

Explore the MostThese types of events are for networking and collaborating with experts and exploring innovative business ideas.Hence, try to communicate with the attendees the most.

Explore all possible opportunities, showcase your products, interact, discuss over varied topics, accept feedback and learn.

Prepare Yourself WellAn event like Digital 1to1 is a giant platform for networking and one means of collaborating with big brands is to have vast knowledge of your industry.Know your products well and be prepared to answer any type of related questions.

The more knowledge you hold about your business and offerings, more will be the chances of brands getting interested to interact with you.

SituationWhen starting a new connector development project, a lot of thought goes into –Understanding the PIM data model requirementsUnderstanding the input data formats requirements / output data formats requirementsAnticipating the future requirements and incorporating the required flexibilityUnderstanding the requirements of the external system and so onChallengeHowever, in most scenarios, the performance expectations for the connector are not considered till the final production / go live time.

This can result in unexpected delays and schedule slippages if the connector is not able to meet the performance requirements.

Given that even a very small PIM implementation may deal with thousands of products it is guaranteed to have performance challenges if the performance requirements are not planned from the beginning and also tested during User Acceptance Testing (UAT).RecommendationsFollowing are some of the recommendations that any connector development team should consider:A good understanding of the volume of records to be processed (number of SKUs, etc.,) before starting the projectA good test plan to verify that the connector can meet the performance requirementsSeparate DEV and QA environments to simulate large volume of data and test the performance without affecting the other teams and overall scheduleIn addition following the tips below is also useful:If the output is required in XML format, using in built XML class libraries to generate and validate the XML can improve performanceReplacing for loops with LinQ queries can also improve performanceIf files are output to FTP server, assessing the performance of the FTP server and making sure it is not a bottleneck is also a necessityLast but not the least, it may also be necessary to deploy the connector from the same geography as where the PIM instance is setupFinal word…Planning for the performance of the connector from the beginning will make sure there are no surprises during the UAT / Go Live phase and guarantee that there are no cost overruns in the PIM implementation.

ShopTalk is one of the most exciting events of the year that gather retailers from various industries.The event attracts established retailers and brands, tech startups, large tech and internet companies, venture capital investors, real estate developers, equity analysts, media, and others.This is an event to learn and network to create a fruitful future of the retail industry.If you are planning to be a part of the ShopTalk 2020, then here is a list of things you must remember.Understand What the Event has to OfferShopTalk is known to have attracted more than 8500 individuals from across various industries, and more than 3000 retail professionals.

The event spans across 4 days which is filled with curated meetings, productive networking opportunities, and numerous social engagement opportunities.

Engage with Decision MakersShopTalk speakers are industry experts, innovators, and retail professionals.

With these kinds of experts being present at the event, you must be interacting with them as much as possible.There are mostly CEOs and founders of established brands, who have plenty of insights to share.

Hence, you must not miss out on any opportunity in interacting with some of the bright minds of the industry.Plan the VisitShopTalk 2020 will host around 600 companies’ exhibits and curate nearly 10,000 onsite meetings.

This is a lot to cover in just 4 days.Hence, plan to visit well.

The number of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises are increasing rapidly.Thanks to eCommerce, startups are able to establish themselves and reach out to their target audience at great ease.

eCommerce has helped to elevate business activities and build create active customer base.

Small businesses have realized the importance of eCommerce and how it offers numerous benefits.In this blog, we will look at the benefits of eCommerce on SMEs and startups.

Low Operational CostsFor small businesses, being able to sustain on limited finances is very important.

Running online stores require less operational costs as compared to physical stores.This is because owning a physical store means incurring building rental costs, location preferences, employees’ salary, and more.In addition, there are many more costs to be managed, like inventory, accounts, payments, delivery, and so on.On the other hand, online stores require less investment.One needs to invest in a good website development team.The cost incurred to develop a good e-store shall be compensated within few online sales.

Additional costs on insurance, infrastructure, inventory management, etc., are also saved.Increased RevenueOnline businesses do not have any geographical limitations unlike physical stores.Hence, online businesses can target audiences from across the world.

Without a doubt, it’s extremely important to rank better on GOOGLE than the rest with Digital Marketing.

Hence, SEO must always be attentive.Keyword research – when you target on the wrong keywords, you can damage your campaign which leads to less traffic.Identify your problemsAfter research work, it’s time to audit your site for problems that need to be fixed.

Main things to focus areSite errors that includeRedirecting any 404 pages to actual contentChanging 302 redirects to 301 redirectsUpdating duplicate content pages, Meta titles, and Meta descriptions.Website SpeedSpeed matters as customers cannot wait for the page to load.

Make sure you don’t lose your valuable customers because your site is slow.On-page OptimizationPage optimization plays a very important role to attract more customers to your site.

When your web page is relevant to the topic, you will gain more visitors than usual.

You can add links – Google pays more attention when you engage the site with relevant pages.Optimise your imagesUser experience is great when you add images on your website.

As a small and medium-sized enterprise tries to expand and diversify, it encounters a series of challenges.

These challenges do not affect large companies but have a major impact on the growth of SMEs.In this blog, we will look at such challenges and the ways to overcome them.LeadershipMost often when a business starts to grow, up to a certain extent having family-like bonding with the employees works for the business as employees are then willing to help the business sustain and grow.However, when the business starts to expand and diversify, there is a need for strong leadership, the right skill sets, and talented coworkers.

This is when finding high performers becomes a challenge.In order to overcome the challenge, business leaders must be strong-willed and should encourage their employees to perform better from time to time.

Strategy PlanningSME owners may find strategy planning challenging at times.

Since strategy is the base for any business to function smoothly, it is essential to have the plan in place and seek help whenever required.Now, thanks to technology, there are tools that can document single page business plans for the company.

Executing the strategy becomes difficult since there are some situation-based or sudden issues that the business must overcome.Hence, the ideal solution is to break the yearly plan in quarterly plans and ensure that the goals are met accordingly.Systems and ProcessesHaving defined systems and processes is as important for small and medium-sized businesses, as it is for established large organizations.This is what makes the business more productive.

Life is never going to be the same.

World is going to be divided into the pre Covid-19 and Post Covid-19 era.E-Commerce plays a major role in this time than ever, connecting people and communities and helping them stay in touch with loved ones, customers, work, entertainment, news and many more.Businesses are navigating themselves to reach for the consumers through the digital medium.

People discovered that they can do a lot of things using the   internet which otherwise was ignored.Even after we eliminate Covid-19, this new found ability to manoeuvre the way we go about our daily lives is going to stay with us.Let’s look at how eCommerce plays a major role in various domains.

RetailersOnline services are the only option for retailers in these COVID-19 times.

eCommerce has never seen a surge like this before with retailers struggling to meet the consumer demands.Lack of availability of goods at local brick and mortar stores has many consumers using the internet to make their purchases, with retailers using this opportunity to get into the eCommerce zone.Banking38% of consumers see Contactless as a basic need or future, Digitals wallets and contactless payment are in demand.

Global ecommerce transactions were up 23% in March with countries encouraging the use of contactless payment to prevent the spread of virus from exchanging cash notes.Digital payments are growing even though consumer spending takes a hit due to Covid-19.Surge in  Mobile AppsWith people confined in homes and spending more time with Apps, there is a surge in mobile app downloads.

In addition, online competition is ever-increasing.In order to deal with all of this and perform well in a competitive environment, businesses are taking help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation.eCommerce is working hard to live up to customer expectations and adapting to the latest technologies.eCommerce businesses are using AI to drive more revenue and improve productivity.

Thanks to Alexa, and Google Home devices, AI is an intelligent member of our homes these days.In this blog, we will look at how automation has impacted the Indian eCommerce market.Improved Customer Service – As mentioned earlier, customers demand for more with every online shopping experience.

eCommerce giants are now experimenting with machine learning (ML) capabilities like product catalogs, product size recommendations, customer payment security, and more.

This has led to 85% of positive increase in customer service eventually leading to increased sales.Improved User Experience – Generally while shopping online, we come across a section “frequently bought products”.

This section enables the customers to find their desired products in no time.

Similarly, some eCommerce sites like Trivago helps users to compare the costs of various hotel rooms along with the facilities offered and make their booking accordingly.Faster Product Search – While you search products on a website for shopping, AI plays a major role as it allows you to search for your products with the help of images.

The reasons are product damage, wrong pricing, wrong order to name a few.From an e-commerce company owner or a product owner perspective, the reasons for damage and the price may not be relevant, but you can take steps in ensuring that your customers don’t order the wrong products.Wrong orders happen because the visitors do not see adequate information about the product that they search.

Since some customers may have a time pressure to purchase, they end up making some assumptions about the product and buys it in-spite of this lack of product information.However, the customers figure out the lack of fitment, when the product reaches the warehouse.

The customers return the products to the store.

The store owner incurs the cost of shipment, inventory and a loss of faith with these customers.How can you ensure adequate product information?You have to locate the product information from multiple sources and provide the information in a structured manner.

You should also give adequate technical specifications about the product for the customers to compare and to confirm the fitness of the product to the industrial use case requirement.

You should cross map the products in multiple application areas which are the place where the bulk of oversight happensHow would you benefit?Saving significant cost in handling returnsImproved customer loyalty and satisfactionBetter inventory managementRetaining existing customersLowering support costs 

With the millennials taking over the distribution industry worldwide, their purchasing behaviour has been extremely different in comparison to their former generation.Research is the first step of every process they do.

With so much online content about everything, research has now become extremely easy to do too..

In the end they also expect an Amazon like online shopping experience for a B2B or a B2C product.Since having an online presence has now become a mandate, you need to ask yourself how soon you can get onto the online wagon.Usually, distributors do their research, hire an external source to get their company online.

After months, he wonders, was the investment worth it.

The traffic decreases bounce rate decreases, and lead flow decreases.How do you fix this?Bring your product at the top of the Google page!When a buyer decides to buy a product, what does he do first?Ans.

Google it.The right focus keywordWhen a buyer researches a product, and he uses the right keyword, based on his knowledge, the options displayed will be related to the search term.You need to make sure you understand your consumer jargon, to use the right key focus key word to relate to the query and continue the conversation.Impact of contentQuality of content determines the ranking of the page on Google.

eCommerce businesses are growing; however, to sustain for a long time a business must adopt some effective supply chain strategies.

An efficient supply chain means faster product delivery, faster return policies, better movement of goods from warehouse to the end customer.Strategy can be defined as fulfilling organization’s long-term goals in alignment with the business objectives and how you plan to achieve them.Supply chain strategies can be defined by answering some questions like:How to reduce labor costs in warehouse while fulfilling orders?How can you offer the fastest delivery in lease time and cost?How to improve inventory control to eliminate back orders?How to increase warehouse capacity for storage?Here are some top supply chain strategies that any eCommerce business can follow in order to grow.Make the Inbound Supply Chain More EfficientGetting the inbound materials and products on time is a major concern for many businesses.

Be responsive to customer expectations and focus on fulfilling orders faster and at lesser cost.

Also, take into account additional costs like additional facilities, staffing, and management.Increase the Capacity of WarehouseMoving to a new warehouse every time is not a solution for increasing the storage capacity.

By addressing these issues, moving to a new warehouse can be delayed.Proper Paperwork and Processing TimeBarcode technology helps you track the activities like “What”, “Who”, and “When” happening in the warehouses.

Implementing barcode technology helps to keep proper records and maintain a good processing time.Manage Labor Force EffectivelyManaging labor costs can save you a lot of money.

There is the story of a young martial arts student who was under the tutelage of a famous master.

One day, the master was watching a practice session in the courtyard.

He realized that the presence of the other students was interfering with the young man’s attempts to perfect his technique.The master could sense the young man’s frustration.

“Before you can master technique, you must understand harmony.

Come with me, I will explain”, replied the master.The teacher and student left the building and walked some distance into the woods until they came upon a stream.

The master stood silently on the bank for several moments.

It is just astounding how a simple microorganism, invisible to the naked eye, has changed our lives in a matter of days and weeks, reminding us that after all we are just another living being on this planet earth who have forgotten to coexist with other living creatures.It is time to Re-SetWe are appreciating old values and simpler things in life by forcing everyone to slow down.

Parents cherish being able to spend quality time with their little ones and elderly ones at home.

Pets are enjoying getting stroked.

Spouses are actually talking to each other.

This virus has certainly made our world’s small making people reconnect in a more intimate, thoughtful manner As humans retreat, nature returnsDolphins have returned to Italy’s coast, thanks to a near shutdown of cruise- and cargo-ship traffic around Italy’s canal city of Venice.

Swans are seen around canals in Italy which were widely populated with gondolas and tourists for the first time in decades.