Archive for 2009

Is Cyber Monday the New Black Friday? And Will My Brother Get a New Coat?

An interesting phen0menon occurred during the kickoff of the holiday shopping season (two phenomenons, actually, if you count the fact that I found a sweater that doesn’t make me look fat).  With most of the focus on the bricks-and-mortar retail sales, which appear to be up very modestly, online sales on both “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” were very strong.  So there is a big question hanging out there (besides the question if 40 is really the new 30 — man, I hope so) — Is Cyber Monday the new Black Friday?

In terms of raw numbers, of course Cyber Monday hasn’t yet replaced the mall.  But in terms of predictiveness, which is more predictive?  Year over Year, offline sales for Black Friday were up 1.6%, with YOY online sales on Black Friday being up approximately 11%.  Then big event, Cyber Monday, showed a 5% increase from 2008 and is the biggest day of sales since tracking of this hallowed day began five years ago. 

So what gives? Are we going to have a flat or booming holiday season?  While the numbers cited above are interesting, there is only one way to handle this type of question in the blog world…anecdotal information!  My brother was in town and, according to my wife, his winter coat was from the 1980s.  While retro is good, you actually have to buy new clothes that look old…it just doesn’t work holding onto your old stuff. 

We hit the malls and it was busy, but according to the Nordstrom and Macy’s sales staff, the Black Friday crowd was similar to a normal Saturday crowd.  There’s not a lot of inventory for winter wear, so we head to REI.  We find the coat, but Dang! it’s pricey.  Being good shoppers, we use the time to find a jacket type my brother likes and my wife barely approves (he’s now moved up to the late 1990s). 

We then go home and hit the online sites for deals.  We find the coat on a great site, BackCountry.com, get 25% off with free shipping (you should check out their blog).  So the offline retail stores acted as a very expensive closet that then benefited the online site.  So, according to my exhaustive research, I think the initial numbers are misleading, and we will have a surprisingly good holiday season.

What are you seeing out there?  Also, is it time for you to update your winter wear?

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

Making the Grade

Our entire lives we are graded… from that first math test in elementary school through to cramming for the SAT/ACT’s… not to mention our parents own grade scale (in my house, aka the guilt trip) in determining if our behavior is worthy and success is likely as we venture out into the world. Even in Kindergarten I remember getting the U=Unsatisfactory in conduct because I couldn’t stop talking to my friend Beth during story hour. I remember my first B… It was 5th grade and I was convinced that my teacher was an idiot and I boycotted going back. Thankfully my mom (yes guilt trips can work wonders) convinced me otherwise.

The fact is, we are graded for everything and those ranges still apply to business… at KikScore, we’ve created our own range based upon the multitude of information being analyzed within our scoring model. The algorithm that keeps us math geeks going.  Yet, in the end, it’s still a ‘grade’… how does a consumer know that a site hasn’t hired a ‘front’ that is a false impersonator? Remember Making the Grade from 1984? Don’t be fooled!

I’ve shared below some guidelines to help with the comparison on what each KikScore range means. Merchants will strive for what works for them… but will it make the grade that brings customers??

Positive = KikScore Range 1000-600 (A’s-B’s)
• A merchant that openly shares information about the owners/managers of the company. This equates to full transparency and a desire to have their customers know them.
• A strong financial history shows that the merchant has made sound decisions, which promotes they can be trusted.
• The KikScore seal includes a Customer Feedback section. Merchants who consistently receive positive customer feedback display strong commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Pride in their website in establishing policies that protect consumers and provide highest levels of security

Average = KikScore Range 600-300 (Covers all the C‘s)
• Merchant that shares minimal information about the owners/managers of the company.
• Managers/Owners who have mid-range financial history may indicate that the merchant has made risky decisions over time. This promotes a sense of caution from a potential shopper.
• Minimal concern for consumer protection by establishing minimal policies and limited security within their website

Poor = 300 and below (D on down… or ‘U’ – Ouch)
• None or very little information is shared on the owners/managers of the company
• If information is shared, there is negative financial history (or minimal overall) which may indicate the merchant has made bad decisions over time and a potential indication that they could be shady.
• Negative feedback posted from previous customers indicates that the merchant hasn’t worked to make changes to remedy such customer concerns.
• No policies or security within their website indicates no concern for consumer protection and they are only out to make a profit

It is a Buyer Beware world as Raj shared in a recent post Cyber Monday. With KikScore we strive to provide avenues for merchants to succeed in selling online… but it’s their decision in the end on what to focus on and pave the way for their customer’s experience. Oh, and that B I got back in 5th grade… well, I studied harder and finished the year with an A.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

Why Online Stores Should Blog

We get the question a lot these days about whether small businesses and in particular online stores should have blogs?  Often, the question is asked why should a store owner spend their precious time blogging.  Here are some reasons that an online store should blog:

1. SEO Value: It is no secret that Google and other search engines really like and prefer fresh website content.  A blog is a quick, easy way to continually provide new and fresh content related to your store and your website.  The more posts that you create and publish and then syndicate to various blog search engines like Technorati, MyVenturePad and SocialMedian the better.  Also when you incorporate relevant keywords into posts, that content is spidered by Google and other search engines, and that then helps your overall search results for those keywords.  That is because you are creating more relevant content and website pages related to those keywords for your store.

2.Humanizing Your Store: Shoppers and people in general like to shop and interact with businesses that they can relate to and like.  Use your blog to educate your customers, prospects, the community and the industry on who your business is, your business culture and ideals and the personality of your business.  There are many ways to do that including using videos on your blog to introduce employees as we described previously.  Giving shoppers and your customers a more in depth look at your brand and your business allows customers to create a bond with your business.  This can help drive word of mouth marketing of your store by these customers and shoppers.

3. Another Channel to Feature Products:  Online stores can use a blog to describe and introduce new products or product lines to your customers and the market.  You can also have blog posts that describe a special discount on a product.  Some stores even use their blog to outline special features of their products that may not be obvious.  You can even use a blog to create  your own Frequently Asked Questions for your products which can help reduce your customer service calls and call drivers.

4. Way to Engage Your Customers: Having a blog is a great way to interact with your customers.  Your customers and the greater community can visit your blog, read the posts and then comment on those posts.  When they do, it gives you and your store and opportunity to have a conversation with your customers.  This also has the benefit of giving your customers a forum to discuss your products.  That is a great alternative to your customers not having a forum and then posting negative feedback on a third party website that you do not control.

5.  Linking And Traffic Benefits: If you have a blog, it gives you a great opportunity to link to third party websites. BUT, it also allows other websites to link to your posts and your store.  If you can combine this, with an affirmative strategy on your own where you go out and post comments to other blogs, those bloggers will eventually return the favor and post comments on your store’s blog. For some more context, here is a good post from blogging experts on getting more blog comments. If you are active with other blogs,  those bloggers will often also add links to your site and in some cases they will feature your products and store on their blog.  All of this taken together can really help increase the visibility of your store and drive new traffic. It all begins with your blog!

Now let us note that, having a blog is just one step in your overall marketing, social media and branding strategy.  Combine your blog use with a strategy that uses Twitter and Facebook like we outlined previously here and here and you can really begin to extend the reach of your store to new communities, customers and industry experts that your business never would have reached before.

Let us know if you have any tips for using a blog for your online store.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

5 Must Read Tips for Safe Shopping on Cyber Monday and Beyond

I was sitting around the dinner table this Thanksgiving telling friends and family about KikScore and a recurring story kept being told by different people. Multiple friends and family relayed horror stories of bad online shopping experiences.  These were just a few of the issues that they experienced:

• incorrect credit card charges that were never fixed by the retailer;
• others complained about never receiving their products that they bought from an online store;
• still others talked about bad experiences with returning products that they purchased; and
• there were complaints about having no contact information for the online stores so these shoppers had no way of contacting the store when there was an issue with the product.

These complaints do not even include the biggest fears of online shopping which often are worries about identify theft or compromised credit cards.  The common theme in these complaints is that shoppers wished they had more information before the bought from an online retailer.  Armed with that additional information, the shopper thought they would have been able to make a better choice of where to buy from at that time. This is especially the case when you are buying from small businesses that often offer better pricing than the larger retail chains that have online stores but often lack any significant information about the small business.

So with today being Cyber Monday (and I learned it is also the start of hunting season in my wife’s home state of PA so especially for folks in PA your safe tip for today is stay off the streets and on your computer to avoid being caught in the crossfire), here are some online shopping tips I gave friends and family. These tips will allow you, just prior to an online purchase, to quickly help gather key pieces of information so you can make a more informed shopping decision on Cyber Monday and in the future.

1. Contact Information: Make sure that the online store has contact information and preferably a phone number and/or email address so if there is an issue/question that arises post transaction you can contact the store.  Generally this information is under the “Contact Us” tab of a store’s websiste.  Remember phone numbers are generally better than email addresses and email addresses are better than no contact information at all.

2. Return Policy: Look for information regarding the store’s return policy.  This is important for you so you can understand what, if any, policy the store has about handling returns.  Be careful of stores that do not list a return policy or at least acknowledge that returns are accepted.

3. Management/Owner Information:  Look for information about who is the owner of the store.  An online store should provide information about who owns the online store, including their names and ideally some background information on that manager/owner.  I call it their story.  Here is a good example of a store at 17thandRiggs.com that provides information about the owners of the online store. This information gives shoppers comfort that there is a real person behind this store and it is not a fraud site. Some sites even have online videos that introduce the management to shoppers.  This is a good prior post on the use of videos to build credibility for your online store.

4. Trust and Validation Marks/Seals: When you go to a site, there should be some type of third party validation and trust mark that a store can provide a shopper.  These trust and validation marks run the gamut, but check them out and click on them before you buy. They provide different types of information about the store such as whether customer information is stored securely, whether the store’s website is scanned for vulnerabilities, where the store is located, and whether there are privacy and customer service policies.  The stores that have trust and validations marks that provide the greatest amount of information often are considered credible and reliable stores.  A few seals even provide much of the information that is covered in this post through just one seal that resides on an online store’s website. Look for those seals.

5. Customer Feedback: The online store that you are about to buy from should have some customer feedback.  Stores today thrive on this feedback.  Now, buyer beware there are ways to game customer feedback.  Its not hard to have friends or even the store’s owners themselves submit fake feedback.  So be wary of all positive feedback for a site.  With that caveat, online stores should have some feedback mechanism that you should be able to review to see what other purchasers experienced when buying from that store.

6. Bonus Tip – Your Own Internet Search: Use tools such as Domain Tools to quickly research the history of a website.  This is helpful because if the store says its been around for 20 years and you see that the store’s website was just registered last year then that should be a red flag. Also Domain Tools will tell you if that site you are just about to buy from is actually based in Nigeria when they claim they are in the beautiful, Buckeye State of Ohio. Again, this is a quick way to do your own diligence.

Next  do a quick Google search of the store’s entire website name (i.e. www.ClevelandSportsChampionshipTshirts.com) and the management’s name and see what comes up in Google. You can find out a lot about a store from an online search including their Twitter postings, Facebook etc.  Why is this important?  Because it will give you comfort that this is a legitimate store and that there are multiple avenues for you to communicate with the store, if something goes wrong. Also you may come across blog postings about the store which will give you even more feedback about the store.

Lastly, if you have concerns on whether the site is legitimate you can always check out a great tool at Compete.com that will allow you to review the traffic history for an online store.  If there is little to no traffic to the site and the store claims that thousands of people buy every day from the store, then that should be a red flag for you as well.

Start using these tips and hopefully you will have a safe and happy holiday shopping experience online.  Feel free to share if you have any additional safe shopping tips.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

Small Biz Thankful List

In honor of the day, we are doing our KikScore Small Business Thankful List.  These companies, tools and sites have been helpful for us or other start-up businesses we work with.  Clearly this isn’t an exhaustive list (and feel free to add your own in the comments).  So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we here at KikScore are thankful for:

1.  MyBusinessAssistant.com — helping out small businesses manage their, well, their business — via their virtual assistant service

2.  Shustir.com — creating a unique online marketplace and community for new and small businesses.

3.  Design2Print — did a great job on our marketing gear.

4.  Freeconference.com — Free and Conference, need I say more.

5.  WordPress — allowing small business to create an inexpensive way to spread the word.

6.  Twitter/Facebook — I’ll start talking about it soon enough, but social media has been wonderful for KikScore and Small Business in general.

7.  YouTube — allowing Small Biz to create and distribute their own commercials without buying a slew of server space.

8.  Google — providing research resources that 20 years ago would have cost thousands of dollars.

9.  iPhone — providing Small Biz a reasonable excuse for dropping calls (and it’s a pretty handy tool).

10.  oDesk — providing some relief to our development team, with providing a marketplace for Tech contractors.

11.  Minnesota Vikings — because Small Businesses love a winner (okay, i’m throwing that in there to see if anyone is actually reading this).

12.  MicroSoft BizSpark — providing KikScore and a lot of startups, a lot of free software (we really like groove…check it out)

Here’s hoping you’re having a great holiday…we’re most thankful for our readers and customers.

Team KikScore

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

Tips for Using Video to Help Your Small Business

It really surprises me that small businesses do not more often use videos and online clips to help them with promoting their business.  Before YouTube, online videos were relatively few and far between.  But with YouTube’s popularity and the explosion of video clip sites, online videos are everywhere. Not only are they everywhere, today these video clips are even easier to upload and circulate.  If you have not seen the wedding video from this summer that went seriously viral, this is one example of how easy it is to get a video uploaded and circulated (this video has had over 32 Million views. Yes, I said million).

So what how can your business start using videos.

1. Introduction Video – Start by have an introductory video on your website.  The introductory video can help you introduce your company to shoppers. An introductory video can also personalize the experience that a website visitor has as they can virtually “meet” the management of your small business.  An introductory video allows potential customers to see who they are about to do business with and can give you a boost of credibility.

2. Product Video – Sometimes it is difficult for website visitors to get a grasp of a product and its key features from a list on a website.  Try a short product video that describes your company’s product.  Use a video where a company representative or owner can narrate a description of a product and also personalize the product experience.  Sometimes a product can be a lot more appealing if the customer hears a passionate voice that is describing the product in detail while that company spokesperson highlights the key product benefits.  Check out KikScore’s product video at the bottom of this previous post.

3. Customer Testimonials – You can also use online videos for short customer testimonials about a product or an experience with your company.  You can then post these testimonial videos in the “Testimonial” section of your company’s website.  When do you get to shoot these customer videos? Use a customer meeting or your next industry conference to shoot a quick video of the customer.  Also it never hurts to ask a customer too.  If you will not be seeing a customer that you know is happy with your product, just ask them if they can record a short video with their video phone and have them send it to you.  The quality may vary, but online video can now be cleaned up very quickly.

4. Educational Videos – These types of videos are underrated but can really be helpful for potential customers.  Take the time to shoot short videos that can contain educational tips for your customers.  You can even use this as an opportunity to have employees or product managers film these tips so they can get some “face time” with your customer community.  Using employees is also a good way to convey your brand to the world by allowing the community to put an employee name to the face of your company.

5. Thought Leadership Videos – There has been a real rise in posting of videos that have been taken from conference speeches or panel sessions.  Next time you are speaking at a conference or an event, make sure the video of your speech gets uploaded to YouTube (provided there are no copyright issues) and then gets posted on your website.  As potential and actual customers start to see you as a thought leader in the industry, your business and management will get even more credibility.

So start using videos today to spread the word about your business.  Tell us in the comments how your company plans to use video in the future.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

When to Shut Up About Your Small Business

This post may seem a bit counter-intuitive, since we’ve been evangelizing about the need to promote your business on social media.  We’ve talked about how this blog, and our tweets, and facebook have led to good things for KikScore.  But there are times when you should stop sharing.

Keeping Your Competitive Advantage:  No matter what business you have, there are certain things that you do, or mistakes that you have learned from, that your competitors would love to know.  When we thought up the KikScore service, we took the time, prior to launching, to file a couple of patents.  But patents don’t completely protect your business.  To file a patent, you must disclose exactly what your competitive advantage is — prior to knowing if you’ll get the patent granted. That’s why Coke has never filed a patent on its secret formula…because they’d have to disclose the exact formula.  Same thing goes for your business.  If you do something better than your competitors, it’s a valuable trade secret.  And it’s not just your competitors you have to worry about…you also have to worry about people interested in investing in your business.  This article describes a recent example of a potential investor that, after learning about a business, deciding to forego the investment and just start a similar business.

Going From Enthusiasm to Annoyance:  We’re all excited about our businesses.  And we love to talk about to our family, friends, followers on Twitter, the guy at the bus-stop, and the deranged homeless man asking for money.  Generally, our enthusiasm is viewed in  a positive light.  But what is the fine line between our enthusiasm and becoming a spammer?  The other night, I was having dinner with friends and letting them know how easy it is to automate updates on my facebook page.  My good friend than said “If you go overboard, I’ll do what I’ve done with my other friends and just turn off your updates.”  I realized that I’ve got to make sure not to abuse my friends and over-promote our business, as it will hurt my brand and I will start losing friends.

Feel free to share other instances when you shouldn’t over-share about your business.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

To Be Or Not To Be: A Business With A Personality on Twitter?

Should your business have a personality on Twitter and other social media channels?  Businesses are asking that question.  Heck, we at KikScore are asking that question.  By way of example, I was tweeting on our KikScore Twitter account this weekend, and I got caught up in the excitement of the Ohio State victory over our arch rival University of Michigan and I retweeted:

“makes me happy thinking of all the 6 year-olds in Ohio that are undefeated in LIFE against Michigan =D (via @Sweet_UpAndDown) great thought!”

After I tweeted this from our KikScore account I had a thought that passed through my head that said, “Should I have just done that? Is that really appropriate for Twitter and our company brand?”  Now there are lots of sites out there that have Twitter Rules including a good one from Chris Brogan.  Not many give guidance on whether your Twitter business account should convey a personality and talk about non-company related topics like football etc.

Our Guidance – Personality Wanted

Here is where we at KikScore come down on this questions.  You can always just tweet about your company, your industry, your products etc.  That generally is the traditional approach to business on Twitter.

We say, be different.  Have a personality on Twitter.  Actually have a remarkable personality on Twitter and that can even help your brand and sales.  Yes, you should try to follow as many Twitter rules as possible – don’t be annoying by being spammy, don’t tweet about the bagel you are eating after your conversation with Joe from Marketing etc but be unique.  Being remarkable and unique with your tweets will help you stand out from all of the other businesses on Twitter.

The best example that I think small businesses should try to use is Zappos.   Employees at Zappos help bring the personality of the company to life on Twitter and that is just one way Zappos has such a unique brand and they are recognized for that by many.

So here are some tips to bring out the personality of your business on Twitter:

1. Tweet about items that employees are passionate about – charities, sports, events, accomplishments etc.

2. Tweet about positive customer experiences or if employees are doing something special like having a volunteer day.

3.  Even if someone is criticizing your company on Twitter, you can always respond and tell them that you are sorry that they feel that way.  That allows even the angry tweeps out there to know that you are listening.

4. Share funny stories or funny occurrences that happen in your business.  If you come across a funny pet tricks video, share it.  Now do not be that person that solely tweets out forwarded messages.  That could be annoying.

5.  Be sensitive and remember generally do not tweet on controversial subjects from your business Twitter accounts.  These subjects can include politics, religion, gender etc.  Your rule should be do not tweet about something that you would not want your mom/dad to see that you wrote and was then was posted on the cover of a major national newspaper.

We think having a personality on Twitter and other social media sites can be fun, rewarding and also help you interact with your community of followers at a deeper level.  That interaction can then turn into a more committed and loyal community for your business which is a good thing!

So when you are hanging out on Twitter this holiday season trying to get sales using the tips we covered previously, show the world that you are a little different.  Let us know how you are remarkably unique on Twitter.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

First Black Friday Report

Here’s the first KikScore report on the holiday shopping season. Based on our research, there should be an uptick in activity. What am I basing this on? The fact that DC airport is packed today and my flight was oversold. Also, I’m sitting on a plane right now and have asked a couple of folks if they are going to spend more money this year. They didn’t really respond to me, but I sensed that they plan on buying more. Except the weird guy in 10A. The only thing he looks like he’s in the market for is a shovel for all the bodies he likely has stashed in his basement.
Ok. Not very throrough research, but it will get better. Also, feel free to send in your non-scientific polling/economic data.

Tweet This Post

Archive for 2009

Stay Classy, Online World …We're Ron Burgundy? KikScore's New Holiday Shopping Watch!

We here at KikScore are pleased to announce our new seasonal feature — Panda Watch!  No, actually, it’s going to be Shopping Watch!  We’re going to poll our customers, readers as well as gather our own anecdotal information (at the mall, online stats) to measure how this holiday season is going for everyone.  We’re assembling our crack Channel 4 News Team to gather data.  But just in case Papa Burgundy (that would be Raj) can’t gather all the relevant info, please send us your view of how this holiday shopping season is going.  Also send us your favorite AnchorMan scene.  Here’s a best of clip:best of anchorman.

Stay Classy!

Brian Fantana

Tweet This Post