marketing in traffic by brian branca » online retail http://brianbranca.com Interactive Marketing & Ecommerce Strategy Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:11:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Retailer Nexus & The Advertising Tax http://brianbranca.com/2009/03/retailer-nexus-and-the-advertising-tax/ http://brianbranca.com/2009/03/retailer-nexus-and-the-advertising-tax/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:06:51 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=343 There is an issue that is developing almost daily & has passed a level where online retailers & the publishers within their affiliate marketing programs can no longer ignore or act as innocent bystanders.  In 2008, the state of New York passed a bill that changes an online retailer’s taxable nexus to include states in which affiliates drive online sales.

Before moving on, let’s define a few things in case this is unfamiliar or unclear.  Full details (specific to CA) found here.

  • Nexus is the level of connection with a state necessary under the U.S. Commerce Clause to permit the state to impose a tax or a sales tax collection duty on out-of-state businesses doing business in the state.
  • Sales tax is imposed on a state’s retailers based on gross receipts from the sales of tangible goods.
  • Use tax is imposed on a state’s consumers who purchase goods from out-of-state retailers.
  • If a sales tax is not collected, consumers are supposed to submit it as a user tax.  But, honestly, who do you know that does that?

If you were a merchant with retail trade presence in NY, this had zero effect on you.  Online retailers without a trade presence in NY were faced with the choice of now taxing customers or removing affiliates who reside in NY from their program.  The negative impact is obvious; any affiliate registered in NY lost a revenue stream if they were dropped from the merchant’s program.  That merchant also potentially lost a revenue-driving affiliate or put another hurdle into the customer’s purchase decision process (charging sales tax).

Similar to the legislature passed in New York, several states (CA, CT, MN, HI, IL, TN, & NC) are now considering enacting their own that will affect retailers’ taxable nexus. Digging a little deeper, under these bills, a retailer making taxable sales is presumed to be soliciting business through an independent contractor (affiliates) if that retailer enters into an agreement with a resident of a state under which the resident, for a commission or other consideration, refers potential customers. In many cases, this provision only applies if the cumulative gross receipts from sales by an affiliate exceed a certain amount (I’ve seen ranges of $2k to $10k).

The problem with this is that affiliates are not exactly independent contractors.  In my opinion, the fact that they are called affiliates, in this case, is misleading.  It does not mean the same in the online marketing world as it does elsewhere.  While there are many affiliates with fairly large businesses, a good amount of affiliates work from home & are the independent/entrepreneurial people we should be rewarding, not penalizing.

As a retailer, the short-term & easy solution would be to remove the affiliates if the legislature is passed, state-by-state.  However, there is a good possibility this will gain momentum throughout the rest of the states.  If it becomes nationwide & your initial action is to kick out affiliates, you will have a difficult time getting them back.  There is also speculation that the legal language could be written loose enough to include the likes of search engines & interactive ad agencies.

I am sure you are quickly realizing how this makes zero sense.  In fact, precedence was set for this 20 years ago.

There is growing support from the likes of Google, LinkShare, Commission Junction, & many affiliates in general to get in touch with their local representatives & media outlets to spread the word, educate lawmakers & help defeat these bills in each state.  It seems as if lawmakers do not truly understand the impact this would have & are ignoring what has taken place in New York (many retailers completely dropping affiliates in that state).  Those supporting this legislation are simply seeing a pool of money that is not being taxed.  They do not understand that this is going to put more people in the unemployment line (less taxable income) & decrease sales for an online retailer in that state.

Here is a status by state; I probably will not do the best job at keeping this updated, though I will be actively aware of the issues.  Much of the information I have gleaned here has come from the resources listed at the bottom of this post.  A lot of the important due diligence & legwork has been done by Melanie Seery, Brian Littleton, & Missy Ward…at least their sites have been the resource for the majority of my content.

  • Connecticut: SB 806.  The  Joint Finance Committee vote was held on 3.26 & the bill was  approved.  The joint bill is now filed with the Legislative Commissioners’ Office. After fiscal analysis it will go to the Houses for vote & then on to the Governor.
  • California: AB178.  The bill was officially referred to the Committee on Revenue & Tax. The committee has set a hearing date for April 13.
  • Minnesota: SF 282 was supposed to be reviewed by MN’s Senate on 3.24, but was delayed. No further notification has been given on when it will be reviewed.
  • Hawaii: HB 1405.  The process will probably take another couple of weeks. I believe that the next steps are the 2nd & 3rd reading followed by the House vote, then on to the Governor.
  • Tennessee: SB 1741 & HB 1947.  Has been assigned to the House & Senate’s sub-committees.
  • North Carolina: HB 558 & SB S487.  Both Houses sent the bills to their Finance Committees earlier this month.
  • Illinois: Have heard this may be underway, but do not have any details yet.

I encourage you to not only read what’s been written, but also dive into the bills, by state.  It is not enough that we merely contact local representatives & send an email or letter.  If you want to persuade lawmakers, you are going to have to educate them.

What You Can Do

  • Educate yourself & others.
  • Spread the word.
  • Keep on top of the issues.
  • Speak directly with those in the online retail & affiliate marketing industries who are close to this.
  • Contact your local representatives.
  • Use your network to find out what media contacts you have.  If you have none, make them.
  • As an affiliate; find out what retailers are in these states as there will be a material impact on your business.
  • As an online retailer; don’t make any rash decisions & think long-term.  Ensure your online marketing team, agency, etc. & all key decision makers are tuned in & are looking at this strategically.  Openly communicate & collaborate with your affiliates.

Resources

Follow Along

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]]> http://brianbranca.com/2009/03/retailer-nexus-and-the-advertising-tax/feed/ 5 5 Things I’m Sure Your Clients are Thinking or Doing http://brianbranca.com/2009/02/5-things-im-sure-your-clients-are-thinking-or-doing/ http://brianbranca.com/2009/02/5-things-im-sure-your-clients-are-thinking-or-doing/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:37:11 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=319 While my main focus here is online retailers, I would venture to guess there are similarities for all online advertisers.  As always, there are exceptions to the rule, but these are not the only hot topics.  Please feel free to add your own (whether completely serious, in jest, or somewhere in between).

  1. Shifting marketing dollars to performance-based channels – email, paid search, affiliates, & search engine optimization (SEO).  The latter wouldn’t require much of an incremental investment if people simply adhered to the principles of good copywriting & building structurally sound web sites.  SEO is not that simple, but those 2 sure cover a lot.
  2. Realizing the rise in average cost-per-click on search engines was up higher than it should have been.
  3. Considering investing in things that will improve conversion, user experience, & customer service.
  4. Determining how to best reach customers on a more micro level (customized & more personal interactions)
  5. Asking you to do more with less.

If none of this is going on, I would say you are either extremely lucky or in big trouble.  The former because you (& your client) are then, somehow, isolated from the current economic factors.  The latter because your client is considering bringing things in-house or are talking to other, cheaper, agencies.  Or it could be because you simply suck…I know a few agencies that fit that bill.

As a Friday bonus, I’ve included a translation of the above for the cynics…

  1. The byproduct of performing your necessary due diligence.
  2. Digging a bit deeper to understand the cause of rising costs.
  3. What you should’ve been doing all along…how dare you treat your existing customers like commodities.
  4. Building & maintaining loyalty in an increasingly competitive space.
  5. What most like to call Doing Your Job.

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]]> http://brianbranca.com/2009/02/5-things-im-sure-your-clients-are-thinking-or-doing/feed/ 0 Help Us, Help You – Internally Selling Upward http://brianbranca.com/2008/09/help-us-help-you-internally-selling-upward/ http://brianbranca.com/2008/09/help-us-help-you-internally-selling-upward/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:13:36 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=148 I should preface this by saying that unless you are productive & take initiative, no one is going to listen to anything you have to say. You may be right or have a great idea, but it will fall on deaf ears if people think you don’t know what you’re talking about.

This starts with your boss & possibly his/her boss. When you don’t have direct channels to the top-level decision makers, it’s important to have your voice represented by someone who does.  If you’re afraid your boss is going to take credit for your work, it would be smart to talk to the person to whom your boss reports.  This is also good if your boss is an idiot or inept. 

Numbers make decisions very easy.  The more data you have to support your thinking, the better your odds at convincing your company to approve it become.  If you’re looking to increase site traffic, are your campaigns consistently driving more people to your site?  Do these visitors spend more time on the site than the average visitor?  Are they converting at a higher rate?  Have they signed up to receive emails from  you or are they looking at things like the store locator?

Building on that, you are going to want to show your campaign’s visitors are converting on the site.  You will want to see if they are spending more per order than your site’s current average.  The more people you bring in to your customer retention pool, the better your chances for driving sustained, incremental revenue.  More sales proves that you have the ability to make more money for the company, making stockholders very happy.  See what you just did…the man appreciates that.

As long as you are making the decision for you company very easy, you stand a great chance of being heard.  Try to anticipate the questions they will ask after reviewing your analysis.  Whenever possible, you want to provide information directly to the source.  The side benefit of this is that you have gained great experience in presenting to the powers that be & establishing new connections.  Most successful people will tell you this is your foundation for success.

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]]> http://brianbranca.com/2008/09/help-us-help-you-internally-selling-upward/feed/ 0 Help Us, Help You – Getting Yourself Connected http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you-getting-yourself-connected/ http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you-getting-yourself-connected/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:26:33 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=138 How often do you or the people surrounding you talk about improving internal communication?

This is all about opening up the lines of communication with the people responsible for managing & executing what makes your business go.  Consider them the gatekeepers of your success.  Marketing initiatives often take a back seat in the ecommerce world; projects aimed at improving site conversion, order attachment, cart abandonment, & navigation are more important than implementing tracking codes or producing banners for your campaigns. 

These things take time & resources & competitive pressures make timing & speed to market a crucial variable.  This is likely to cause a backlog of projects as most technology companies are constantly looking for good IT people.  A backlog plus limited manpower equals slim pickings for you, Marty Marketer.

So, how do you justify that request for a larger marketing budget?  You connect yourself with the right people, across the company, regardless of regional location.  We all can be more sophisticated with our marketing & relationship development/management, but too often get consumed within our own workload & don’t bother to actually meet & talk to people. 

Get familiar with the people I have listed below, especially if they’re in the same building or campus.  If they’re elsewhere schedule time when you travel to meet them.  Don’t travel?  Think of something that will get you out there.  Or beg; it doesn’t cost much for your company to provide airfare, hotel, & food/gas expenses compared the negative cost of failing or stale campaigns.

Merchandisers: Quite possibly the most important people as it relates to you driving incremental sales. 

  • They know what sells & why & so do their vendors. 
  • Seasonality, product launches, in-stock vs. out-of-stock are but a few things you need to be plugged into.

IT: These guys & gals cover a wide variety of things you need. 

  • The product & web development folks will keep you up-to-date with upcoming site changes, enhancements, & functionality.  It’s important for you to be aware of new landing pages & URL changes to eliminate or minimize campaign downtime. 
  • You know how your project got denied for implementation anytime within the next 4 months?  Besides escalating through your department, if you’re actually nice to these people, they might help push your projects through in half the time required or less. 
  • And don’t forget your help desk people.  That one to two day turnaround to get your laptop, Treo, printer, or phone fixed can turn into mere hours.  Don’t forget to repay them for favors; food & alcohol go a long way.

Creative: Anything you are going to publish graphically online should look good. 

  • If you want your media campaign to drive as much revenue as possible; you need to make sure what’s produced for you is legit. 
  • It’s so easy, but too many online retailers fail miserably in this department.  It’s not because the personnel are bad; they just don’t have the right direction.  Help them & be clear about what you need.

Public Relations: Being on top of company announcements will allow you to create new campaigns or be prepared to react to news, whether it’s positive or negative. 

  • Crisis & issues management is vastly underutilized in the online space. 
  • Too many brands are not aware of what’s being said; by the time they figure it out, it’s too late.  You are key in eliminating or minimizing crap like this.

Customer Service: If you’re smart, you are monitoring the online chatter specific to your brand. 

  • Whether positive or negative, feed it to customer service; they can facilitate things for customers & improve their experience or at least somewhat appease an irate customer.  We all know the damage one bad opinion with motivation to tell all can do.

Front Desk: From routing calls to them being one of the few people you see this often, they can make your life easier & more pleasant.

If you or someone you know is not listed here, but you feel they’re just as important, I would welcome the feedback.  As you can see, I am not opposed to communicating.

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]]> http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you-getting-yourself-connected/feed/ 0 Help Us, Help You http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you/ http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:06:54 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=135 Like any relationship, the client/agency relationship has its ups & downs.  Each side’s view of the partnership is mainly attributable to how they collaboratively face & overcome the challenges presented.  Professionally, there isn’t much more satisfying than helping a client not only reach their goals, but exceed them.  A big part of which is scoping properly & setting the proper expectations, but I’m not delving into that right now (I smell another, future series of posts).  Conversely, there is nothing more frustrating than a breakdown in communication or execution that leaves the client short of their goals. 

The client is pissed & the agency is left to pick up the pieces internally while externally determining what is necessary to reassure the client that everything will be just dandy.  Usually, an amicable resolution can be reached.  Objectives & goals may need to be reset, strategy & tactics are adjusted &, consequently, the client gets what they need.

Waste of money…on both sides.  The agency eats the time they spend finding a resolution & will most likely credit the client for time spent on what did not work.  The client misses opportunities to build/promote their brand, drive more sales, respond to negative press in a timely manner, etc.

Over the next few weeks, I will delve into the bulleted topics below.  I feel there is a lot a client can do to set themselves & their agency up for success.  Yeah, I know this works both ways; read on.  This series will be mainly geared towards ecommerce (one of my specialties), but the astute reader will be able to draw parallels across the entire digital space. 

  • Getting Yourself Connected – At least one person on your marketing team should have a reliable contact on the following teams: Merchandise, IT (web development, help desk, product development), Creative, PR, Customer Service, front desk (if for only the fact that you see this person more than most people you love)
  • Aggregating & Analyzing Data – Become one with it; everyone above you has a background in concrete numbers & has planned & made decisions according to what the numbers tell them.  Think they’re wrong?  Prove it…with numbers.
  • Internally Selling Upward – Both yourself & new ideas
  • Effectively Leveraging Available Resources – We are all strapped for time; understanding how to get what you need when there is seemingly no help will set you apart from everyone else.
  • Evaluating & Changing Process – There is nothing wrong with occasionally kicking the tires. 

The underlying theme is communication that enables client & agency to make informed decisions in the most efficient & effective manner possible.  It’s a lot of work, but this industry is not for the faint of heart.

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]]> http://brianbranca.com/2008/08/help-us-help-you/feed/ 1 Gas Prices Boosting Ecommerce? http://brianbranca.com/2008/07/gas-prices-boosting-ecommerce/ http://brianbranca.com/2008/07/gas-prices-boosting-ecommerce/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:14:07 +0000 brian http://brianbranca.com/?p=132 Gas is expensive, Brett Favre didn’t want to retire, & working on Fridays in the summer is lame.  None of this should be new to anyone with electricity.

What I find new & interesting is this latest eMarketer article which talks about high gas prices possibly boosting ecommerce sales.  It makes sense, on the surface; people don’t want to drive so they buy what they want online.  Although, if you ask most retail clients in the industry right now, sales are down.  Cut budget, get a better return on investment, and drive more sales.  Can we get more for less?  Please turn that magical dial on our paid search campaigns…I can continue to get a 10:1 return on my marketing spend if I dump a million more dollars into Google, right?

Sorry, mini-rant.

If gas prices are boosting ecommerce, is this something that is sustainable?  Sure, in the short run, higher gas prices may keep people from driving to the store.  But, how do those products get delivered?  Trucks & airplanes are the most common mode of transportation for FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.  Last time I checked, those vehicles use gas. 

 So my question is, will this increased cost in gas negatively affect shipping companies & will they, in turn, pass this cost onto online retailers?  If they do, does that cost get passed along to the customer?  Granted, the customer will probably have no idea…but it’s something worth thinking about.  Everyone LOVES free shipping; ask anyone which of their promos consistently works the best & they will tell you it’s FREE SHIPPING.  Will online retailers be more reluctant to offer free shipping if they are losing too much money on it?

Ps. eMarketer…can we get on board with the 21st century & remove the hyphen from ecommerce?  No one calls email e-mail anymore unless they’re from a third-world country or come from the direct response or retail catalog industry.

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