We've got a new case study featuring Office Depot, which runs one of the world's largest e-commerce sites at officedepot.com.
Here's an excerpt:
In 2007, Office Depot deployed CNET Channel's Intelligent Cross-Sell
solution to automate and optimize merchandising on its e-commerce site,
www.officedepot.com. Doing so
caused a doubling of online cross-sell revenue for the multi-channel global
retailer.
With numbers like that, who needs marketing hype? ;)
Read the full case study here.
We are pleased to announce the general availability of the Intelligent Cross-Sell Reports Module. An optional add-on to Intelligent Cross-Sell, the Reports Module allows you to measure and analyze product-recommendations by views, clicks, carts, orders, and order dollars.
Moreover, the Reports Module is integrated directly with Intelligent Cross-Sell's targeting interface. This allows you to right-click from a reporting result directly to the targeting rules that drove the result, and vice versa--allowing you to test and tune seamlessly.
We'd like to congratulate Intelligent Cross-Sell customer PC Universe for being named to Internet Retailer's Hot 100 list of best retail Web sites!
The article on the subject specifically calls-out PC Universe's use of ICS:
Another new feature--Intelligent Cross-Sell, a product recommendation tool developed by CNET Channel but customized for PCUniverse.com--gives shoppers instant recommendations on the cables, cartridges or other accessories they need when they select a new computer or printer. "When a lot of retailers are offering similar computer equipment at the same price, we decided that building better features and functions would keep our customers focused and set us apart," says director of e-commerce Patrick Colletta.
One little clarification: ICS is customized for every customer. A key reason to use ICS is the fact that the customization (targeting cross-sells with your own business rules) can be done by a business person via a point-and-click interface. Thus, you can "customize" cross-selling behavior whenever and however you want, without needing to burden the IT group.
Among the findings of a recent study sponsored by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories: 11% of contact centers actively manage cross-selling opportunities.
That stat is a good departure for how Intelligent Cross-Sell (ICS) applies to the contact center. Although most companies see ICS first as a tool for improving e-commerce, it can be used in the contact center as well.
For some companies, the contact center uses the company e-commerce site as the platform for selling and ordering by contact-center reps, acting on behalf of customers. In such cases, ICS's cross-sells are already there, offerable by the reps in conjunction with the customer's primary products of interest.
For companies with dedicated contact-center applications, ICS cross-sells can be integrated directly into those applications. Moreover, the selection and explanation of cross-sells in the contact center can differ from those on the public e-commerce site.
For example, the contact center could have an extended set of cross-sells, segmented by a factor like price sensitivity. Contact-center reps could then use their proximity to the customer on the phone to decide which segment of cross-sells to pursue.
The point: Not only can you do different cross-selling in the call center versus the e-commerce site, Intelligent Cross-Sell minimizes the cost of managing it with a unified graphical interface.
Among the findings of a recent study sponsored by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories: 11% of contact centers actively manage cross-selling opportunities.
That stat is a good departure for how Intelligent Cross-Sell (ICS) applies to the contact center. Although most companies see ICS first as a tool for improving e-commerce, it can be used in the contact center as well.
For some companies, the contact center uses the company e-commerce site as the platform for selling and ordering by contact-center reps, acting on behalf of customers. In such cases, ICS's cross-sells are already there, offerable by the reps in conjunction with the customer's primary products of interest.
For companies with dedicated contact-center applications, ICS cross-sells can be integrated directly into those applications. Moreover, the selection and explanation of cross-sells in the contact center can differ from those on the public e-commerce site.
For example, the contact center could have an extended set of cross-sells, segmented by a factor like price sensitivity. Contact-center reps could then use their proximity to the customer on the phone to decide which segment of cross-sells to pursue.
The point: Not only can you do different cross-selling in the call center versus the e-commerce site, Intelligent Cross-Sell minimizes the cost of managing it with a unified graphical interface.
[We're hiring again. If you know someone who would be a great fit for the following job, please have him or her follow the link at the bottom and apply!]
Want to help some of the Web's largest e-commerce sites apply leading-edge merchandising technology? CNET Channel is looking for an Account Services Manager in our Intelligent Cross-Sell group.
The position involves several elements:
- Client Services: You will be the primary point of contact and accountability to a set of customers. You will make sure their questions get answered quickly and correctly, if not by you then by the right person.
- Project Management: You will coordinate customer-specific projects, setting expectations about what can be done when, and monitoring progress to ensure we deliver on commitments.
- Product Expertise: You will become an expert at using and applying Intelligent Cross-Sell. You will be a virtuoso with the user interface, creatively solving customer problems in a manner that also teaches customers to do the same things for themselves.
- Merchandising Expertise: You will learn and explain best practices in interactive merchandising, especially online cross-selling.
- Product Marketing: As you do your job, you will be continually exploring customer needs. Your ability to perceive and prioritize needs across different customers will have a direct effect on what we build next.
If that all feels overwhelming, stop reading now. But if you're saying, "Let me at it!", here is the full posting, where you can see additional details and apply.
Earlier this summer, we added a new feature to Intelligent Cross-Sell that allows targeting of cross-sells by "People Who Did This Also Did That" data (also called collaborative-filtering data). For example, you can order a group of cross-sells by how often each cross-sell was bought in conjunction with the parent product.
Although this feature itself is useful by itself, the bigger value is Intelligent Cross-Sell's ability to integrate it with targeting you control. That is, "People Who Bought This Also Bought That" systems typically are fully automated, so you cannot control the results. But with Intelligent Cross-Sell, you can use "People Who Bought This Also Bought That" data as just another attribute in your rules. In other words, we're providing a steering wheel on systems that are typically just engines.
So, instead of relying on "People Who Did This Also Did That" entirely, you can do something like:
Eliminate all non-compatible cross-sells, then order by "People Who Bought This Bought That," and where possible prioritize cross-sells by a preferred partner.
This control is crucial when, for example, your preferred partners change. If you are only relying on "People Who Did This Also Did That," the system only knows about the past, and thus your current cross-sells will favor your old partners at the expense of the new.
In addition, integrating "People Who Did This Also Did That" data with rules can provide coverage where the "People Who Did This Also Did That" data is too sparse to use. This is typically the case for new products, which have not been available long enough to accumulate enough behavioral data. With Intelligent Cross-Sell, business rules based on standard product attributes can cover such holes in behavioral data, thereby keeping your cross-sells intelligent across your whole catalog.
Realizing that some sites already have collaborative-filtering systems, we provide the ability to import "People Who Did This Also Did That" data into Intelligent Cross-Sell, just as you import other types of data. And if you don't already have such data, we are offering a service to generate it for you.
For those attending Shop.org's
2007 Merchandising Workshop, be sure to attend the "Top Merchandising Improvements via Analytics" session on July 20th at 10:45am. Patrick Colletta will be discussing PC Universe's merchandising efforts, including the use of Intelligent Cross-Sell.
The title pretty much says it all. We're in booth 1025 at "the world's largest e-retailing show."
In a recent study, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that sales advice makes a big difference to in-store sales of accesories:
Consumers assisted by a sales associate were 40 percent more likely to exceed their original spending expectation and were nearly twice as likely to spend more than they expected when compared to online consumers.
Intelligent Cross-Sell allows e-commerce sites to claim a piece of this upside by smartly selecting and explaining cross-sells.
The quote above is from TWICE magazine's article about the CEA's CE Accessories Market: Insights and Opportunities. The article provides many other numbers about the size of accessory purchases, consumer motivations, and so on.
The full report is available to CEA members or can be purchased by non-members for $500.
PC Universe's work with Intelligent Cross-Sell is featured in this article from eChannelLine. Excerpt:
In the past, PC Universe had an accessory tab on its Web Site that streamed every compatible accessory for something like a Lenovo computer. With Intelligent Cross-Sell, it boiled the list down to three or four of the top recommended accessories that becomes part of the primary product's page. The accessory tab is still there for those who want see a full list of accessories available.
"Intelligent Cross-Sell's job is not to replace what is there but the ability to do more and we wanted it to feel like someone has done something thoughtful," said Krause.
Read the full article here.
For those that did not attend the live version, you can access a playback of our Intelligent Cross-Sell Webinar with Patrick Colletta, Director of E-Commerce at PC Universe.
It's about 30 minutes long and includes a review of PC Universe before/after ICS, as well as a run-through of ICS's Merchandiser's Dashboard. Along the way, Patrick comments on the problem ICS solves for PC Universe, the 22% lift in accessory revenue per order in the areas where ICS is active, and what's involved to integrate and use ICS from the customer's perspective.
Here's the link. We do ask that you register. Thanks.
[We put this press release out today...]
Merchandising Study Shows 22% Increase in Accessory Revenue From "Intelligent" Cross-Selling
New E-Commerce Technology from CNET Channel Dynamically Selects and Explains Accessories for Products
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2007--In a recent test of a new e-commerce technology for "intelligent" cross-selling of accessories, PC Universe (OTC:PCUV.PK) achieved a 22% increase in accessory revenue per order. This result was due to Intelligent Cross-Sell(TM), a new service from CNET Channel, a property of CNET Networks (NASDAQ:CNET).
Intelligent Cross-Sell works like a good salesperson thinks, allowing businesses to target cross-sells by popularity, brand affinity, key selling features, partner incentives, and many other factors. The system then automatically selects and explains the best accessories on a product-by-product basis, dynamically altering selections as inventory and other business conditions change.
"Intelligent Cross-Sell enables us to do suggestive selling in a way that's helpful to customers and is measurably better for our business," said Patrick Colletta, Director of E-Commerce at PC Universe. "Based on these initial results, we believe we can do even better in other categories where we will be applying Intelligent Cross-Sell."
The test was conducted on PC Universe transaction data from July 26, 2006, to January 3, 2007. This period was split into "before" and "after" segments to measure Intelligent Cross-Sell's effect. In the categories where Intelligent Cross-Sell was active, PC Universe had a 22% increase in accessory revenue per order and a 10% increase in attach rate (the percentage of orders with at least one accessory).
Equally important as these increases, PC Universe did not need to manage the Intelligent Cross-Sell system on a day-to-day basis. Instead, Intelligent Cross-Sell worked via "guided automation," whereby PC Universe could define the cross-selling logic via business rules but the day-to-day execution was handled automatically by Intelligent Cross-Sell.
"PC Universe is an innovator that was quick to embrace the ideas behind Intelligent Cross-Sell," said Steve Krause, Vice President of Analytic Products, CNET Channel. "The numbers from this study explain why."
CNET Channel will be hosting a Webcast on March 13, 2007 at 10:00am PST / 1:00pm EST. During this session, Steve Krause of CNET Channel will demonstrate Intelligent Cross-Sell with guest Patrick Colletta of PC Universe, who will comment on how his company has used the technology. Registration for this event is required at: http://www.cnetchannel.com/webcast/pcu.
A case study is available at http://ics.cnetchannel.com/site/en/page/case_study_pcu.html. For more information about Intelligent Cross-Sell, which is currently available in the United States and Canada, visit http://ics.cnetchannel.com or call 1-877-276-5560 x2790.
About CNET Channel
CNET Channel (www.cnetchannel.com), a property of CNET Networks, is the world's leading independent source of product information, supporting both online catalogs and traditional sales processes with detailed content on over 3.2 million technology products worldwide. Over 2,100 high technology manufacturers and channel businesses in 35 national markets depend on CNET Channel to deliver world-class content solutions that maximize their sales effectiveness and minimize the cost and complexity of providing accurate and useful product information. Customers include Best Buy, CDW, CompUSA, Dell, HP, Insight, OfficeMax, Sony, Tech Data, Yahoo!, Zones and many more.
About CNET Networks, Inc.
CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNET)(www.cnetnetworks.com) is an interactive media company that builds brands for people and the things they are passionate about, such as gaming, music, entertainment, technology, business, food, and parenting. The Company's leading brands include CNET, GameSpot, TV.com, MP3.com, Webshots, CHOW, ZDNet and TechRepublic. Founded in 1992, CNET Networks has a strong presence in the US, Asia and Europe.
About PC Universe, Inc.
A Boca Raton, Florida-based reseller and service provider, PC Universe, Inc., sells more than 250,000 technology products from over 700 brands. It also provides professional technical services, such as networking design and installation; ongoing network and hardware maintenance; network security analysis; managed services and network monitoring; business continuity planning; disaster planning and recovery; and voice over Internet protocol services. The company serves the information technology needs of businesses of various sizes; federal, sate, and local government entities; and public and private educational institutions. Its Web site is ranked by Internet Retailer magazine as one of the top 500 retail sites on the Internet. For more information, visit www.pcuniverse.com or call 1-800-PCUNIVERSE (728-6483).
CNET Channel is hiring a Software Engineer dedicated to Intelligent Cross-Sell's backend database infrastructure: loading, transforming, and analyzing large-scale data.
The official job posting is on the CNET Networks job site.
If you like what we're doing, join our team!
One of ICS's unique features is its ability to not only select cross-sells but also explain them as short "pitches." For example, ICS can generate text like this: "Take advantage of this Sony's Bluetooth feature with this Targus Bluetooth Media Notebook Mouse. It combines the precision of optical tracking with Bluetooth wireless technology to eliminate the cord clutter."
A common question we get is, "How does it do that?"
Just like ICS uses the attributes of the primary product (in this case, a Sony notebook) and the accessory (a Targus mouse) to select and rank cross-sells, ICS uses attributes to generate pitches. Mining products' attributes, ICS's natural-langauge generator looks for opportunities to explain when a primary product and an accessory share a key feature like Bluetooth. It also knows that if the mouse has Bluetooth, the benefit to the consumer is eliminating cord clutter.
The point is to help the consumer understand why a particular accessory makes sense. Compared to simply listing the accessory name, a good pitch enhances the user experience, not to mention sales.
