Ecommercepartners.net

While the economy is in the toilet, it would seem that home based businesses are doing just fine, thank you.

According to a recent piece on WebWire, the U.S. Department of Labor says that over 20 million people had work-at-home businesses in 2004, and estimated that by 2025 half of all working Americans will be working -at least in part – from home.

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ME!

Hello everyone, I wanted to take a few minutes this morning to introduce myself. My name is Michael Nolan and I am the newest member of the eCommerce Partners family.

Just a little about me:

I am a 35 year old (dreadfully close to 36) writer currently living in Birmingham, Alabama. If you have ever been to a family reunion, I’m the oddball uncle that nobody wants to introduce but all the kids seem to flock to because I might say or do just about anything that strikes me at the time.
The world of ecommerce and marketing has captivated me from the very beginning of the Internet – back when it took two weeks to get a response from a BBS message (and that was fast) – and I have never looked back.

My writing style is a bit unorthodox so I do hope that you don’t expect the status quo here, because you will be sorely disappointed. I plan to bring you information in such a way as to be both educational and entertaining because if you are anything like me, it is far easier to learn when you aren’t bored to death.

My absolute favorite example of marketing brilliance in recent years has got to be something we have all seen at least once, but most don’t even realize that it is marketing at all. Does the name Chris Crocker ring a bell? How about the now infamous (and oft parodied) “Leave Britney Alone” video?

Pure marketing genius.

Over the coming days, weeks and months it is my intent to smack your senses around a bit and give your ideas about ecommerce and marketing a good, swift kick in the pants. I want you to think about and see Internet marketing in a new and different light, and to start seeing the marketing value in the things that other people often overlook.

Observation is what sets marketers in a class all their own because they see dollar signs in the unorthodox. And that folks, is where the money is.

Many of you have played our “Mother of all Mother’s Days” game, but we only have one winner (guess I’ve been watching “America’s Next Top Model” too much)….

Congratulations Lorraine Vadas! You are the winner, and the iPod Touch is on its way to you!

If you think you know your eCommerce Partners’ people by now, wait till you meet our moms!
play our matching game, and you might end up being the proud owner of an iPod Touch.
click here to play, and make sure you come back this Friday and see who’s the winner!!!

An interesting research tracing preferences of fashion clothing, denim in specific, was recently published. Synovate surveyed around 7,700 people in the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Serbia, Russia and South Africa.

Some interesting culture differences originating in social norms:
French were the ones to show style differentiations (highly in favor of jeans in the office, while finding it inappropriate to wear in parties
Russians were found highest in money spending on jeans while Americans were the lowest spenders.
Brazilians are the ones to own the most pairs of jeans.
Canadian and American women faced the greatest difficulties with purchasing the right fit.

Why is this interesting? If your clients are American and Canadian women, help them build their personal online shopping experience by giving them an online tool to help them find their right fit:

• Ask them to select their shape (you may also ask for their measurement to get detailed information) and recommend the right fit and color (check MyShape.com)
• Give them style tips and feature complimentary items
• Have an “Ask Our Stylist” email address to which they could mail their fit and style questions
• Add customers’ reviews and ratings features to the products, enabling them to share their comments about the different shapes

If you have French clients, feature different complimentary items which are more suitable for casual and office environments, and if you have many Brazilian clients – it’s a good enough reason to go to next year’s carnival

Julian Gomez knows the cigar business. From selling door-to-door to Miami gas stations to managing premium cigar warehouses, he’s done it all. In 2003, Julian began selling cigars on ebay and instantly recognized the power of the Internet to take his enterprise global.

Julian saved enough money from ebay earnings to buy a simple shopping cart. Selling cigars from his apartment, Julian focused on two fundamental principles:

• Know your customers.
• Know your cigars.

Since then, CigarPlace.biz has grown into a world class online destination for cigar connoisseurs from Wisconson to Tokyo.

In 2007, Julian realized that the future of CigarPlace.biz depended on technology that enabled his business to build relationships with customers. With so many competitors entering the market, price was no longer enough; it was time to step up and lead.

CigarPlace.biz contacted Ecommerce Partners with an idea of making a site that empowered customers to discover new cigars and provided deeper insights into the products. Julian wanted to give the kind of personal service he perfected on the streets of Miami to the online world. His ambitions required a partner who had the patience to understand his vision and the skills to execute.

Over the next six months, Ecommerce Partners worked hand-in-hand with Julian to meld his vision and knowledge with the latest web technologies. ECP provided its core ecommerce 3 engine with extensive modifications to allow easy navigation via precise, industry-specific details. The result is the new CigarPlace.biz, the most comprehensive portal for cigar sales.

Ecommerce Partners is proud to support CigarPlace.biz and Julian as they move this online industry to the next level with ongoing marketing, hosting and development support.

We have a great site, with unique features not seen in this industry and a go-forward plan to keep CigarPlace.biz as the number one location for premium cigars.

Recently, you could see the use of the color in the new American Express Plum Card; Plum TV; plum-colored labels for water; and even a character in a new series of books, called Stephanie Plum, with titles including “Plum Lovin’” and “Plum Lucky”.

Trend watchers suggest several reasons so many marketers seem to be going plum. One recurring thought is that the success of technology brands like Apple and BlackBerry is giving fruit a good name, hence the proliferation of plums as well as brands like Pinkberry and Red Mango, which are both frozen yogurts. Another reason is the color being associated with royalty and sophistication.

Of course, not everyone agrees that plum is paramount. The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation sent out e-mail messages on Thursday to shoppers that proclaimed, “What’s hot now: Think pink.”

Source – NY Times, 04/18