Well, it looks like I've drawn the short straw again. It has fallen to me and Dr Bingley to produce comment pieces for your consideration when there is, at the time of writing, officially no news to comment on. Like many of you, I suspect, I spent last week staring at a blank Word document, trying to remember how to do my job, whilst suffering the comedown from another Christmas and New Year's Eve extravaganza.
I could have waxed lyrical about web security vendor Websense's latest acquisition, of PortAuthority Technologies, which will enhance its outbound security and data leak prevention capabilities – evidence of yet more consolidation in this sector. Or I may have been inclined to comment on the news that Microsoft has reportedly been doling out Vista-ready laptops to certain A-list bloggers – can't think why I wasn't on the list – which raises questions about blogging ethics and the power that these new opinion-formers of the Web 2.0 age now hold. Well, I could have written about this but, having bagged my fair share of laptops over the festive party period, I'd feel a bit of a fraud passing judgement on others – not that this usually stops me of course.
But then, just when all hope seemed lost, up stepped e-commerce software vendor ATG with a well-timed invitation to discuss industry trends in 2007.
Everyone – except perhaps my parents – knows that the internet has come of age as a retail and marketing channel. Today, it is how online merchants enhance the user experience and optimise their back office operations to maximise sales that separates the wheat from the chaff.
Industry association the Interactive Media in Retail Group has run out of superlatives to describe the inexorable growth in online shopping. Its original forecast for internet-based sales was a 40 percent increase to £7bn in the 10 weeks running up to Christmas day. But those that still see their high street and online channels as separate entities will lose out.
As ATG's Ian Davis was keen to tell me, integration is the key, and there are already a range of technologies merchants can employ to make this a reality, such as click-to-call technology. This enables the merchant to provide a means for customers to call a member of their sales team free of charge when they reach a pre-defined stage in the shopping process, boosting the likelihood of a successful sale. Google is already testing this new feature for businesses listed on its search results pages, and where Google goes, the world usually ends up following.
ATG also stressed the importance of the contact centre team in the online sales process. Although many firms are investing heavily in improving the online shopping experience, not all, perhaps, realise that by giving the call centre operator access to a powerful, intuitive screen, capable of calling up customer purchasing histories, and details of promotions and discounts, they can generate more sales potential. Just a bit of food for thought to swallow with your tenth Alka-Seltzer.
