It’s December. That means you’re either stuck killing time in a shopping line or waking up early to shovel snow off your car. Neither is a particularly good time. But hey, that also means it’s prediction time! Can I interest you in aimless (kidding!) soothsayer-esq insight into what’s happening next in the tech, eCommerce, and general business world in 2013? OK. Well take a seat, fasten your seat belts, and try to smile when the Mall Santa listens to your kid’s most desperate desires (while simultaneously hoping an iPad Mini isn’t on the list). Without further adieu, Seven eCommerce and Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2013

#7 Captain Ahab, Moby Dick and the Benefit Of Context Marketing!

That whole “Content (Marketing) is King” thing will always be true. Looking forward, though, we’ll see a shift in what attracts Search Engine Algorithms (and thus eyeballs) to land on your website (more on this later). Once there, readers want to be compelled; piquing interest starts with imploring well thought out and (more importantly) timely posts. In other words, your content has to have context to be relevant.

Corey Eridon, of Hubspot, defined Context Marketing as delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time.

One way of accomplishing this is through current events. Try to relate and blend your content with what’s happening in the real world. The ability to engage with readers hinges on the ability to relate and resonate your message in their life. For example, Paul Anthony, of Web Distortion, wrote about current events and the seismic impact of viral marketing, by examining the “Horsehead Man” and his whimsical jog in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.

Another growing method of context marketing is storytelling. Use text or video to tell your company story, a customer’s journey, or an overarching theme.  Check out Red Bull‘s “Art of Flight” marketing campaign, which was lauded and named the best use of social video by a company on the web.

(more…)

The following is a recap of Bridgeline Digital’s latest webinar, “How Your Website Can Drive Patient Activation,” including exclusive (yes, ONLY HERE) answers to select questions that did not get answered during the live presentation due to time restraints. To watch the archived version of the webinar CLICK HERE!

In this space we talk about innovation (Responsive Design), SEO strategies, eCommerce News, Content Marketing, CMS capabilities. The works. All of it. At our webinar, “How Your Website Can Drive Patient Activation,” we had a chance to step back and see these terms, ideas, and products in practicum. We talked with Robin Doerr, the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications of Children’s Hospital CO, and Joseph Hice, the vice President of Public Relations and Marketing of Moffitt Cancer Center, both of whom offered their expertise as leading healthcare marketers on how to leverage website design to vastly improve Patient Activation.

CLICK IMAGE to Watch Bridgeline Digital's latest webinar, "How Your Website Can Drive Patient Activation"

Holly Korda, who is a Ph.D. and deputy director for strategy and growth at the Altarum Institute, already explained Patient Activation’s meaning better than I ever could. In short, Patient Activation refers to a patient’s and ability willingness to be involved their own health outcomes. With reform changing the focus of reimbursement models to retention, professionals are facing an increasingly competitive milieu. And Patient Activation becomes that much more important.

In a study by the official journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), participants were “taught to identify questions that would help them consider their role, process and reasons behind a decision; and empowerment strategies to better manage their care.” Results found that intervention helped immensely. The following conclusions were made about the educated focus group:

“ … over twice as likely to be retained in treatment and over 3 times more likely than comparison participants to have scheduled at least 1 visit during the 6-month follow-up period. Similarly, intervention participants demonstrated 29% more attendance to scheduled visits than comparison patients.”

A website, more than any other medium or outlet, is a one-stop experience offering patients the opportunity to learn about their ailments, referral services, compile resources with information on preventative care, and much more. Joe and Robin gave presentations about their experiences in leveraging web presence to strengthen patient activation, and then fielded questions from the audience.

Due to time restraints, however, we weren’t able to answer all the submitted questions. Joseph Hice and Robin Doerr were kind enough to take the time to answer the rest here at the B-Line blog. (more…)

In the film “Back to the Future,” Doc Brown slips and hits his head on a sink while trying to hang a clock in his bathroom. For whatever reason, this triggers him to envision his greatest discovery, the Flux Capacitor — the secret sauce to the (totally unrealistic) invention of his time travel machine. I bring this up because behind every product or service, there is a “Flux Capacitor” moment. A story behind how it was conceived. Yes, even The Snuggie had an “Ah-ha” revelation.

The intriguing detail about the iAPPS platform (my ’81 DeLorean in this analogy) is not how I came up with the product (it’s software – the minutia isn’t that interesting), but why I conceptualized the product.

In a sense, Bridgeline Digital started out as chefs working in a restaurant – implementing other companies’ CMS products and building out web solutions. I immediately noticed none of the systems were particularly good, and, worse, the recipes certainly didn’t talk to each other. There was a disconnect present between employees who were creating the message (marketers) and the ones who oversaw its publishing (IT).

I wanted to create a solution, which served our real audience (marketers and business owners), and covered EACH of their needs. We spent 18 months putting ourselves in a marketer’s shoes – thinking how they thought, working like they worked. While other CMS products limited their scope — focusing only on the IT component of the industry, instead of integrating a seamless platform that would satiate real business needs — we determined the four primary objectives a business’ website has to accomplish in order to be successful.

• Attract traffic
• Create content
• Convert sales on an easy-to-use system
• Measure progress and track trends through statistics

Through the iAPPS platform – Content Manager, Marketier, Analyzer, Commerce — we were able to introduce a hybrid product never seen before in the market. For example, we don’t just offer marketing software and rudimentary web statistics — our product gives actionable suggestions, ROI calculators to measure campaign performance, and persuasive and targeted content based off visitor behavior.

Analyst had problems grasping what (exactly) iAPPS was. Were we a product or service? Both. Was our payment structure SaaS or a Perpetual License? Both.

Part of this was because, six years ago, the concept of iAPPS was reflective of forward thinking. These days, you see companies like Adobe acquiring analytics software and eCommerce systems to fuse business needs like iAPPS does. (Though, the iAPPS platform still holds the advantage of leveraging a single interface for users while shifting through its capabilities, rather then requiring producers to adapt to different programs when examining analytics vs. using a content management system like other companies’ software)

Even now, years later, we continue to push forward. Our partnership with UPS Logistics and the integration of their Warehouse Management System (WMS) with iAPPS (referred to as eCommerce Fulfilled), bolsters our eCommerce abilities beyond virtual stores and ensures clients are covered from click to ship. iAPPS ds, our monthly subscription offering for syndicate organizations, has helped us transition into the franchise and large dealer networks market.

The lesson? I want to recite a platitude like, “There are no boundaries!” or “Nothing is impossible!” But let’s just say there is nothing like a home-cooked meal.

Brett Zucker is an Executive Vice President and the CTO of Bridgeline Digital. Follow him on Twitter @BrettZucker.

There is a slow, plodding paradigm shift that is still developing in the eCommerce sphere. Somewhere along the way — probably when Paranoia wasn’t looking and Logic started to adhere to Sheer Convenience — the consumer world gradually accepted the benefit of Targeted Content, despite ceding privacy in order to do so.

Results from an Accenture Interactive survey of 2,000 customers in the U.S. and U.K. found the following:

86% of respondents are worried about websites tracking their actions.

85% of respondents understand the tracking is a necessary trade-off to target consumers.

64% said they valued the targeted (relevant offers) over the privacy they gave up.

To review — people are weary of privacy control, but get why, from a shopping perspective, it behooves them to relent to tracking their Internet activity. With trends pointing the way of eCommerce and convenience, it’s certainly fair to ask the following questions: What, exactly, is targeted content? Why should you use it? How do you use it?

Targeted content automatically adjusts the product line featured on your e-store page to match a visitor’s behavior and viewing patterns. For example, if you’re a sports apparel store and sell jerseys, and I visit your website in search of a Tom Brady Jersey — the next time I make my way over to your site, the content will show other football and Patriots gear.

Using empirical data to highlight pertinent coupons or persuasive content helps customers find what they are looking for, and is vital to improving conversion rates and revenue. The delineation of the motives behind Targeted Content is best-delivered by Glen Hartman, who’s Accenture Interactive‘s global manager director of digital consulting. “Relevance is a key part of the new consumer experience. It’s a new requirement.”

In the end, it helps the courtship process,“Hey, nice to meet you! We thought you may like …” And that not only insinuates that you know your customer, but that you are are here to meet their needs, and make this process as efficient as possible by accelerating the sales process.

Robust use of Targeted Content depends on CMS capabilities. Our integrated iAPPS Platform combines Content Manager, Marketier, Analyzer, eCommerce into one seamless interface to maximize the ROI of your web properties. We base our Persuasive Content off Audience Segmenting, which places users into groups based off browsing activities. Our statistical software, Analyzer, also allows you to track the various segments, and provides actionable content suggestions which indicates what is working, and what needs to be tweaked.

Read Hartman’s quote again. Hone in on that last word, Requirement. eCommerce is thriving. According to comScore, shoppers have spent $27 billion online during the holiday season thus far, which is up 13% from 2011 spending.

Adding Targeted Content capabilities to your website’s layout will only augment your revenue pipeline.

(H/T: Ad Exchange, Biz Report)

The Super-Information Highway!! That was the nickname for the Internet in the ’90s. Seems silly now, doesn’t it? Almost like looking at the haircuts in an old high school year book or listening to a 98 Degrees album — at the time this made sense, we tell ourselves confidently, but everything feels so dated. The funny thing is, even with that dial-up connection, we were mesmerized by the speed at which we could access information while surfing the web. Today, we take that ease for granted — we expect it — and are quick to abandon whatever we’re looking in a split second, if it’s taking too long. Per this Infographic by Smart Bear, 57% of web users abandon a site after three seconds. There is little to no room for error.

CLICK HERE To Download Our Latest FORRESTER REPORT Offering

The Golden Rule for a company’s website places functionality and ease-of-use above everything else. These are the pillars of your eCommerce success. According to participants in a survey in our latest Forrester Report offering, entitled “Websites That Don’t Support Customers Waste Millions,” if your website doesn’t offer superior functionality, your web presence could be irrevocably damaged and the results could cause your business significant financial loss.

• About 75% use a more expensive channel (typically a company’s customer phone service) to complete the sale or product research.
• 17% took their business elsewhere to competitors.
• 11% gave up on the shopping experience entirely.

Yikes. Even business that is retained through other channels (like your company’s phone service) leads to cost of sales increasing, and revenue squandered. Through the use of provided case studies and raw data, learn more about this growing problem in eCommerce, how it can impact your business, and different ways to avoid common pitfalls by downloading the August, 2012 Forrester Report.

And if you’re looking for a best-in-class, end-to-end web platform, including capabilities in Content Management, eCommerce, Marketing, and Analytics that provide actionable suggestions to optimize your virtual presence  check out our award-winning iAPPS Platform.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA), the world’s largest psychiatric organization, was founded in 1844 and represents more than 36,000 psychiatric physicians from the United States and around the world. Member physicians collaborate to educate the psychiatric profession about methods that ensure humane care and effective treatment for persons with mental disorders, including intellectual development and substance abuse.

In a few words, APA is the voice and conscience of all modern psychiatry.

Because of its huge association membership, and because its collaborative nature supports a group of professionals that literally spans the globe, the APA needed to partner with a company with extensive association experience – one that could provide an easy-to-use solution that would integrate well with the organization’s already-established TMA Association Management Software, Personify.

After careful consideration, research and deliberation, the APA decided that Bridgeline was that group, and the iAPPS Product Suite was the right solution. (more…)