Email Survey Results

Recently we conducted a survey on the topic of email marketing and how to make Magento do more for our users.  We had over thousands of responses and the results showed that MailChimp was the most popular choice.  Users told us that MailChimp works well for Magento because it allows Magento Merchants to really measure the ROI of email campaigns.  Through a plug-in to Magento they track when people click from merchant email campaigns, visit the website, and hopefully purchase. All of this information is then gathered and displayed on a merchant’s MailChimp campaign report.  The Magento:Mailchimp email extension is available free of charge here.

How Does It Work?

Once the extension is installed, MailChimp will automatically add some tags to links the merchant includes in the campaigns sent. Those tags will be picked up by a plugin installed in the merchant’s Magento store.  The extension will track users who have followed the links in merchant email campaigns. When a user completes a purchase, the plugin will quietly send the basic details of the order – products ordered, product categories, and shipping, tax, and order totals – back to MailChimp via an API call. That data will then be available on the merchant Campaign Reports page and eventually during segmentation when creating new campaigns, too.  We here at Magento think this is a pretty effective way to improve the results of merchant email campaigns.

MailChimp are now giving Magento merchants $75 to try MailChimp and see if they can help you make more money.  You can find out more here.

Watch it in Action

Watch the video for information on how MailChimp integrates with Magento and some pretty cool features that MailChimp offers.

Magento Enterprise Partners Optaros have recently released a Magento Connect extension called Facebook Connect Social Shopping which allows you to integrate social shopping via Facebook with your Magento storefront.  Ever seen a cool item and wished you could ask your friends what they thought before you went ahead an decided to buy? Then this extension is definitely for you!  Check out this video for a quick run through.

There is another Facebook Connect Magento module which allows you to use registration data from Facebook for users coming to your site, notify them of order updates via Facebook notifications and much more.

Also, check out the Facebook Link module from aheadWorks, which enables some pretty cool functionality such as wall posts to customers’ walls when they complete an order and allows them to offer their friends personal recommendations on items they have purchased.

What do you think about integration social networks and Magento?  What features would you like to see next?

The Magento Enterprise Edition is a powerful eCommerce platform with features designed to increase sales.

Keep your customers coming back by offering store credits and gift cards. Offer physical gift cards sent in the mail and virtual gift cards sent to an inbox. Set price tiers for customers to choose, or let them enter an amount within a preset minimum and a maximum value. The Enterprise Edition gives you control to define the card lifetime and enable gift messages so customers can add a personal touch.

Recipient’s can check their card balance before checkout, and use the available funds for purchase. Use an unlimited number of gift cards, or redeem and receive store credit. The Enterprise Edition keeps a gift card history so that you can see how gift cards are being used.

Reward loyal customers and handle returns by issuing store credits so customers can use the balance for future orders.  During the refund process, simply select the full refund amount, or enter a partial amount to create an automatic store credit. Your customers can choose to use their store credit during checkout along with other available payment methods. The Enterprise Edition makes it easy.

The Magento Enterprise Edition, giving you the tools to grow your business.

I’m very excited to announce to everyone that the latest and greatest version of WordPress, version 2.8 “Baker,” is immediately available for download. 2.8 represents a nice fit and finish release for WordPress with improvements to themes, widgets, taxonomies, and overall speed. We also fixed over 790 bugs. This release is named in honor of noted trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker. Here’s a quick video overview of everything in the new release:

The first thing you’ll notice is that visually 2.8 feels a lot like 2.7, just with some minor tweaks here and there. However once you’ll dig in you’ll begin to appreciate the changes.

Major New Improvements

First and foremost, 2.8 is way faster to use. We’ve changed the way WordPress does style and scripting.

The core and plugin updaters in previous versions of WordPress have been such a success we decided to bring the same to themes. You can now browse the entire theme directory and install a theme with one click from the comfort of your WordPress dashboard.

If you make edits or tweaks to themes or plugins from your dashboard, you’ll appreciate the new CodePress editor which gives syntax highlighting to the previously-plain editor. Also there is now contextual documentation for the functions in the file you’re editing linked right below the editor.

If you were ever frustrated with widgets before, this release should be your savior. We’ve completely redesigned the widgets interface (which we didn’t have time to in 2.7) to allow you to do things like edit widgets on the fly, have multiple copies of the same widget, drag and drop widgets between sidebars, and save inactive widgets so you don’t lose all their settings. Developers now have access to a much cleaner and robust API for creating widgets as well.

Finally you should explore the new Screen Options on every page. It’s the tab in the top right. Now, for example, if you have a wide monitor you could set up your dashboard to have four columns of widgets instead of the two it has by default. On other pages you can change how many items show per page.

And Even More

You can read the full list of over 180 new features, changes, upgrades, and improvements on the Codex. The list is exhausting!

The Future

We’re already thinking hard about the next versions, 2.9 and 3.0. Keep an eye out for improved media handling, better dependency checking, versioning of templates and themes, and of course the fabled merging of WordPress and MU announced at WordCamp San Francisco two weeks ago.

From high-definition streaming to tiny gadgets, 2008 saw technology continue its steady transformation toward the small, cheap and on-demand. Our resident gadget guru takes a look at the six developments that shaped 2008.

1. Netflix Rocks Internet Movie Streaming
A year ago, we would have guessed that Apple would become the dominant player in the nascent business of streaming Internet-delivered TV shows and movies to TV with its Apple TV. We would have been wrong. Over the past year, Netflix’s “Watch It Now” feature evolved from a little-used part of its Web site to a killer app that is causing some people to cancel their cable. The secret to the success of Netflix’s streaming movie service: widespread integration into TV-connected devices that are either inexpensive (such as the $100 Roku Netflix Player) or already in people’s homes (such as the Xbox 360). Even better: The company is rapidly ramping up its high-definition and first-run offerings, including first-run TV shows just a day after they first air. Unlike Apple, which charges a few bucks for every TV show or movie, Netflix’s streaming is completely free to Netflix subscribers. And unlike Hulu (another sleeper success this year), Netflix streaming is advertisement-free.

2. Pocket Gadgets, on the Cheap
Netbooks and pocket camcorders were, undoubtedly, the two biggest consumer electronics breakthroughs of the past year. But these distinct new categories were really results of the same winning formula for 2008: No-frills, portable, cheap electronics. Netbook manufacturers found they could bring prices down well below $400 by exorcising features such as optical drives, large screens and even the latest operating systems. Pocket camcorder makers, such as Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of the best-selling Flip, came to the same conclusion, taking out frills for a bare-bones HD camcorder with its tiny, $230 Flip HD Mino. Consumers were willing to sacrifice top-notch performance to have cheap, portable gadgets. With the recent economic downturn, we would bet the demand for these budget-priced gadgets will only skyrocket.

3. Mobile Applications
Hardware- and feature-wise, cellphones have hit a plateau. The battle of millimeters in a rush to be the thinnest phone is largely a thing of the past, and just about any hardware-based feature we want is now standard. That’s why, these days, a smart phone is only as good as its applications. This is the new battleground for mobile technological supremacy, with stores such as the iPhone’s App Store and the Android Market leading the charge, and new entries from Palm and (coming in March) Blackberry close behind. Just because a feature wasn’t thought of in a boardroom doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. All it takes is a good idea and a standard development kit.

4. 3D Cinema
This past year’s Journey to the Center of the Earth may not have been a big hit, but it was significant for a few reasons. First: It was the first “live action” (we use that term loosely for any Brendan Fraser movie) digital 3D movie. And second, even though 3D screens accounted for a small percentage of its showings, they accounted for the majority of Journey’s revenue. In other words—where it was showing in 3D, people went to see it. Over the next year, 3D will continue its transition from novelty to Hollywood standard. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names, such as Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez and James Cameron are either working on or have already made digital 3D films. The granddaddy of them all, James Cameron’s Avatar (his first feature since the monster blockbuster Titanic) is slated for a3D release in late 2009. Just about every industry expert we’ve spoken to cites this release as the true tipping point for 3D saturation. Cameron has signaled that, at least initially, he wants to release the film only in 3D. So if theater owners want to cash in on what will likely be a huge hit, they’re going to need to install more 3D screens.

5. Location-Based Services
Take open mobile-application development, add widespread proliferation of phone-based GPS, and you get the emergence of location-based programs. Programs based on the global positioning of a user spread like crazy this year, particularly for the iPhone, which has dozens of applications that allow users to find businesses that are near their present location. Urbanspoon’s iPhone app, for example, connects users with nearby restaurants by using a randomized, roulette-style interface. Of course, the most interesting use of location-based programs is its marriage with social applications. Programs such as Loopt allow you to find friends who are nearby. Down the line, look for the emphasis to shift from finding existing friends who are nearby, to making new friends. Stranded at the airport? Soon you won’t think twice about finding a like-minded individual who is also at O’Hare.

6. Microblogging
Twitter may be the most famous tool for microblogging (the abbreviated, one-or-two sentence cousin to regular blogging), but it’s no longer the most important. That distinction now belongs to something that is rarely even thought of as a microblog: Facebook. Specifically, Facebook “status” updates. Millions of users update their “status” dozens of times a day, letting the world know how they are feeling, what they are doing and what they are looking to do be doing. And, thanks to Facebook’s recent redesign, these updates are broadcast, front on center, to each and every one of a user’s friends. Of course, microblogging has been around longer than the past year. What really sent it over the tipping point in the past 12 months was the meteoric rise of mobile applications. Now, users can update their Twitter or Facebook status in seconds, from anywhere and with ease. Instead of being the domain of desktop-bound bloggers, microblogs are now effectively quick broadcasts from the lunch line (“out of sushi again”), the stadium floor (“at AMAZING show!”), or the streets (“anybody around Avenue A wanna grab a drink?”).

Today Varien announced a theme for Magento tailored specifically for the iPhone. See just how easy customers will find shopping directly from their iPhone:

How exactly does this work? With the release of Magento 1.1 due out very soon, comes a new feature where Magento will auto-detect the iPhone user-agent and apply the iPhone specific theme for that visitor. This allows you to have a standard Magento theme for your normal browser visitors as well as the new iPhone optimized website theme for your mobile visitors.

Use of mobile devices for web browsing is exploding. E-tailers are quickly discovering the increased conversions that a mobile-targeted online experience can yield. Take a look at these recently posted findings by Nielsen Mobile (part of The Nielsen Company) as reported by Internet Retailer:

“Nielsen Mobile reports 9.16 million U.S. mobile phone users, 3.6% of the total 254.5 million, have used their phones to pay for goods and services, through avenues including wireless carrier portals, m-commerce sites and text messages. What’s more, 49% of the 94 million mobile phone users with data service—the ability to access the Internet from a mobile device—expect to participate in mobile commerce in the future … Already millions of mobile users are logging on to their favorite retailers over the phone and purchasing items. With the success of m-commerce sites like Amazon.com, which more than 2 million people have visited, and eBay, which more than 3 million have visited, this shows a critical mass that represents a real opportunity for retailers.”

As e-commerce sales continue to rise, contact Precision Creations to learn how you can grow your market share by making your e-commerce store available to the growing mobile web crowd.

We all know that search engines are increasingly focused on content – not just any content, but good content, relavent content. Depending on the specifics of what you’re trying to sell, in many cases it can be much more beneficial to launch and operate several highly focused e-commerce sites – each narrowly focused on a specific category of products. This approach allows search engines such as Google to really hone in and closely associate your site with the products offered for better listings when people search for terms related to those categories, instead of only loosely identifying your site with several relatively unrelated categories.

See the following video interview from Internet Retailer 2008, where Roy Rubin, CEO of Varien explains the benefits of multi-store retailing, and how Magento fits into the picture:

While setting up and operating just one e-commerce store seems daunting enough, fear not! The Magento e-commerce application greatly eases the burden of operating multiple stores – all from one single setup.

If you are interested in expanding your business and effectively leveraging multiple e-commerce storefronts to increase sales, contact Precision Creations. We’re skilled and experienced in walking you through the whole process – from correctly analyzing your current markets, to planning and executing a highly-effective advertising campaign, and setting up and operating an effective, customized Magento e-commerce platform.