etailinsights eCommerce Data and Sales Blog

This voicemail box is full.

If you email me, I’ll probably delete it – unless it’s a really good email.

If you call the etailinsights office, you’ll never get to me. Ever. I promise.

If you happen to have my cell phone number, you can call that, but I won’t answer. Then you’ll get a message that says, “This voicemail box is full.” Why? Because I get between 10 and 20 calls to my personal cell phone per day from numbers that I don’t have saved, likely because it’s a salesperson trying to sell something to me. They go straight to voicemail (do not disturb settings).

My son Julian turns two next month. He has very strong opinions already and does not like being told what to do (he gets this from his Dad). As you might imagine, this makes for some interesting battles about bath time, nap time, bedtime, etc. You see, the trick is that he has to think he came up with the idea to go to bed himself, not that he’s being told to go to bed. Yes, hard.

One trick I’ve learned is that I give him a very long sentence (i.e. a longer email) such as “Hey Julian, we can shoot the basketballs into the hoop for one more minute, but then we need to go upstairs and have a bath, ok?” He rarely ever replies to this long statement.

But, what I’ve found interesting is that I reply to my previous statement with a shorter one (i.e. a shorter email), “Julian, one more minute.” Then, what happens is amazing. He replies to me with:

“One more minute shooting the basketballs, then I have a bath Daddy.”

Power User Spotlight: John Cecilian, Clutch

John's Hack: Research Your Prospect's Partners

"Technology Spy." Such a cool cheat that allows you to quickly know when a firm changes ESP, eCommerce platforms, or anything else in between. This is essential for our business, as we care deeply about integration partners. If a firm goes from "in-house" capabilities to demandware over night, we want to know. Technology Spy will push that information to you in real-time, keeping you update with the prospects and firms you care about engaging with the most.

Happy New Year.

With a new year comes excitement about what’s ahead. Gyms are filled with those resolving to shed some pounds and get healthy. Tax returns begin flowing back into the US economy. And some look to “cleanse” themselves of the past year and push the “reset” button.

June is Here.

“Blah that’s disgusting,” exclaimed my wife from her hospital bed. Our Daughter, June, was minutes away from entering the world. My job was to keep a cold glass of ginger ale ready in case my wife wanted some.

I failed. I had one job, and I got it wrong.

Power User Spotlight: Nick Hale, Lyons Consulting Group - LYONSCG

Nick's Hack: Leverage etailinsights for Account Based Marketing

Use etailinsights for "Account Based Marketing" – calling or emailing a contact/account with a targeted message. If you are an email service provider, you could run a report in etailinsights of every company using your top competitor (i.e. MailChimp could target everyone using Constant Contact). You can then use that report to build out your top accounts, create a sequence of messaging, and build out a successful cadence of calls/emails.

Fish On.

Saltwater fish (non-herbivores) only eat twice per day on average. Shore fishermen would have a much easier task if fish ate at the same time every single day. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, as fish tend to wait until they are hungry. The best times to fish are during the hungry times, which vary due to many variables including wind, tide, temperature, availability of meals, and more.

Therefore, shoreline fishermen tend to cast lines out and wait for the right time. You see, they don’t know the opportune time, so they will simply wait it out.

I'm Done!

In elementary school, most of us competed to finish tests the fastest.

Why? Simply because we were competitive about everything. And since we didn’t know the grades immediately, the only way to determine who “won” was by completion speed. Tests in the 3rd grade were fairly easy, so my classmates and I tried to fly through them. And just to taunt the other students, the first student finished would whisper “I’m done!”

Power User Spotlight: Jamie Briggs, Canada Post

Jamie's Hack: Market for Their Needs, Not Your Solution

Go big or go home regarding your acquisition efforts. As an out-of-country firm, we find that our brand recognition is non-existent compared to what it is in Canada. So whether your acquisition strategy is direct, mass, or event-based, we need to make an impact with the dollars we spend.

DO OVER

I grew up in a small neighborhood. A place where everyone knew each other, and kids roamed the streets with impunity. We all played together – capture the flag, baseball, throw the ball over the house, walk on the train tracks, etc.

One of my favorite things to yell during a game was “Do Over.” When you are a kid, this concept is pervasive throughout everything. And everyone seems to honor this request, no matter the situation.

If your video game doesn’t go well… Do Over