e-Commerce: Complete. Configured. Connected.
Posts tagged e-commerce
Plimus Enables Frictionless e-Commerce with Buy Anyware™ API
Jun 30th
This week has been an exciting one for Plimus, as we announced the availability of our Buy Anyware™ e-Commerce application programming interface (API). We believe that our new API will be an industry-changer and for the first time will enable e-Commerce to be conducted from anywhere at any time unleashing the power of the web.
The Plimus Buy Anyware™ API allows for complete control of the customer experience, whether nested within a browser, plug-in or installed software title. The BuyAnyware API is not simply a streamlined checkout process that eliminates the requirement of a virtual storefront; it also empowers sellers to revolutionize the buying experience by offering new customer-driven processes and business models previously not possible. Online transactions can now happen when and where it makes sense for the buyer, which we are confident will lead to higher conversion rates and increased revenue by turning shopping browsers into buyers.
Buy Anyware™ is a true manifestation of the next generation of frictionless online purchasing and gaming. It provides end-users the ability to buy anything, anywhere, at any time; truly e-Commerce 3.0. Developed from the knowledge we gained over the past 10 years, in developing this e-Commerce 3.0 vision, we have had the pleasure of working with several innovative companies, including Yummy Interactive and Gigya. These companies and others we will announce in the future are doing some really cool things with the API that we think will help them reap the new monetization channels it enables.
You can read the entire release by clicking here and we have further information and application videos are available here. And, please, let me know if you want to learn more about Buy Anyware™ or our thoughts on e-Commerce 3.0, I’m happy to chat.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Highlights from E3 2010
Jun 23rd
I spent the past week at E3 as Plimus was exhibiting in the Game Connect hall. It was both a fun and busy time for the entire Plimus team. We met with dozens of current and potential customers and also got to cruise around the show floor. So much cool stuff in games and consoles, etc. that I could share with you. But, I’ve outlined my top 10 list below:
1.) Plimus and Yummy Interactive launched the In-Game Activation interface, which is helping limit the hassle of online, in-gaming transactions. Of course, I put us first, but for casual gamers this is big. Revenues are what drive innovation.
2.) Sony Corp. introduced a $49.99 motion-activated video-game controller, Playstation Move, in hopes of winning casual game players from Nintendo Co.’s Wii console.
3.) It was an all-out war on 3-D video game capabilities at the show. Sony demonstrated Playstation 3 games with 3-D capabilities and Nintendo introduced its 3DS handheld device that displays games in three dimensions without wearing 3-D glasses.
4.) Sporty Spice stopped outside the Plimus meeting room for an interview she had with the media. She’s surprisingly shorter than you’d think.
5.) We began to see the rise of Microsoft Kinect – new demos, new games and old favorites (Sonic the Hedgehog). There was a lot of chatter with people saying it’s going to overhaul the entire gaming industry. We shall see.
6.) Casual gaming was a key focal point at the show. I even noticed gamers checking on their Farmville crops and keeping their mind alert with a quick game of Bejeweled from their iPhones on the show floors.
7.) Oh, the things you see on the show floor. I can’t put it into words, so check out this photo spread from CNET.
8.) Did you know that Mickey Mouse has a long lost “half brother” named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? Who knew?!? The soon-to-be-released Epic Mickey game from Disney Interactive Studios features this character along with Mickey and his magic paint brush.
9.) Richard Branson and Virgin Gaming are back after a decade. Branson turned up, in his traditionally exuberant manner, in an armored truck, $1 million in hand for the biggest prizes and most rewards his new website will offer. Every time I went by, there was not much action compared to the other booths – so we’ll need to see how this plays out.
10.) Underlying all the excitement and hype, were visible concerns about the future Supreme Court hearing on the legality of a California law regulating computer and video games.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/2302573414/
Plimus and Yummy Interactive
Jun 21st
I have exciting news to share with you. Last week, Plimus and Yummy Interactive together announced the development of an e-Commerce platform for casual game publishers. In-Game Activation interface enables not only a one-click purchase, but maintains the game experience throughout the transaction. So what does this mean for casual gamers?
Previously, all casual gaming and other online purchasing services were forced to deploy e-Commerce platforms that required users to leave the game environment in order to complete a transaction. To enhance their gaming experience, such as buying additional credits or purchasing the game after an initial free trial, users had to launch another Web browser page and were bombarded with a “friction-full” experience.
In-Game Activation interface is helping limit the hassle of online, in-gaming transactions. Using the Plimus e-Commerce application and its own GameShield™ licensing protection solution, Yummy Interactive has developed an e-Commerce interface that keeps the player immersed within the game environment during the transaction, which not only enriches the user experience but also increases conversion rates and revenue.
You can read the entire release here.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/244365591/
The History of Casual Gaming
Jun 16th
I recently read a post from Gamasutra blogger David Wesley on “The Rise in Casual Gaming.” David was commissioned to author a chapter in the manuscript “Innovation and Marketing in the Video Game Industry,” and did a wonderful job sharing his insights. I downloaded the chapter via the website and found the read very interesting.
The casual gaming market is a big one for Plimus, and we’re working daily with game developers, publishers, and their affiliates. We find this industry to be extremely fascinating and are thrilled to be part of it and work with leading companies as we do.
Gaming has come a long way since the Solitaire and Minesweeper games we played on our old PCs. Since then, the Internet has prompted casual gaming to take off. The quick nature of casual gaming was extremely attractive to developers because its short form made it incredibly low-cost to make, which allowed developers to take greater creative risks. Casual gaming also allowed smaller development shops to enter the market.
Casual gaming also opened up new audiences, appealing to non-traditional players, such as stay-at-home mothers and business people on Wall Street. They were quick, simple to follow and typically light entertainment, not high intensity like first-person shooter games. Casual gaming found its sweet spot as time-fillers – games played on the bus to work or in between meetings.
According to the Casual Gaming Association, women make up 75 percent of the casual gaming audience and more than 72 percent of casual gamers are over the age of 35.
Now, 15 years after PC gaming caught on, casual gaming is big business. This week’s E3 show in LA, while historically very platform and device centered, has a large amount of buzz around PC and social gaming. Casual gaming is maturing. Today’s gamers include men, women, children and even senior citizens. These gamers simply enjoy playing, whether it be a puzzle game, sports game or an arcade game. Game on!
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45688285@N00/82128314/
Dear Customer, Do You Want To Get Married? (Part 2 of 2)
Jun 11th
(Click here for part 1 of this article.)
Who is the Subscription Model Suitable For?
Despite the challenge in assimilating the subscription model, I am a sworn supporter of it and, in my opinion, the answer to the question of whether it is worth your while as a business to operate the model for your customers is simple: Can you do it? If the answer is yes, then you have answered yourself and the model is definitely appropriate. And when I ask if you can do it, I mean:
- Is the main value of the service expressed in the long term or is it awarded with the purchase? Undeniably for Microsoft Word, the use is provided in the long term and can be sold as a subscription. However, in fact, it is exposed entirely immediately following the sale. Therefore, services that wish to have regular subscribers need to distribute the value over time whether by software renewals, customer services, or content. A service without improvements and innovations is perceived as providing value for regular customers.
- Does the product have practical value for its owners? There are innumerable spontaneous, sentimental, and foolish purchases on the Internet. However, at the end of the day, common sense prevails and only services which award a practical value and answer a clear need will enjoy prolonged customer life. Dependence is the name of the game.
- Will the activation of the model endanger another growing business model of the company or will it cause the users to turn away? You can courageously opt to cleanse the user base by making a conscious decision to lose users used to a free service in the hope that the new users who will replace them recognize the service as bearing a price tag from the start and will not abandon it when they see the purchase screen.
If the answer to the first two questions is yes, and you have considered the third, all that remains is to get going and decide which subscription plans will you offer. Here, too, experimentation and continual optimization are part of the process. However, here are some original subscription plan ideas for overcoming consumer resistance:
- A monthly subscription for which the initial period is offered at a symbolic price or even for free (with the credit card details already taken at this point). Make sure not to offer a free period that is too long, as this enables the users to lose their “purchase momentum.” Let them have a taste, get excited, and upgrade immediately. Each month that passes decreases the chance of turning free users into paying subscribers by 50%.
- A gift period offered only after several months’ use. For instance, if you have found that on average the subscription on the site is for two months, promise a fourth month free. This is will attract the users to take the third month in order to receive the gift.
- A subscription for a reduced price. The longer the subscription continues, the more the price is reduced and is less “burdensome” for the subscribers, despite the decrease in use or benefit.
By way of conclusion, don’t forget to offer several subscription periods while giving an obvious advantage in pricing and visual prominence for the long periods and recommend to users the preferred options as far as you are concerned. A heading such as “the most popular plan” will attract the risk haters, and “the best value plan” will attract the more frugal of the bunch.
Eldad Ben Tora,
VP of Product Management
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlon-bunday-mmx/4484203465/
Dear Customer, Do You Want To Get Married? (Part 1 of 2)
Jun 9th
So you have launched a start up – congratulations! It’s a sure bet that you are going to make millions. There is just one small question left: how, exactly are you going to make all those millions? In recent years, we have been informed about business models which expand the ways that business owners on the Net can finance their activities – whether from sales of virtual products (Stardoll Habbo Hotel), remuneration from Google for clicks by their users; by financed searches (Incredimail, Conduit), affiliate commission fees on transactions and leads and more.
However, one model in particular refuses to disappear and is even enjoying an impressive period of renaissance, especially for business users: charges for services by a renewable subscription. This model is precisely suited for businesses that sell “software as a service” (SaaS) at a cost running from tens up to hundreds of dollars per month.
The number of companies in this segment has increased here at Plimus by tens of percent annually and, according to Gartner, the trend is expected to continue.
It is no secret that a business that bases its revenues on subscribers enjoys great advantages: built-in returning customers, the ability to forecast ongoing revenues; a database of users who can be restored to the service as paying customers and can even be encouraged to market it to others.
It is no surprise that this is the dream of many businesses. However, unfortunately for them, this is not the preferred model for the majority of users. As users, most of us have a natural distaste for a permanent arrangement of a continuing payment. It is plain as day that the charges will exceed the time we can make actual use of the service, and that we will find it difficult or forget to cancel the automatic renewal. (By the way, such concerns are justified as a significant percentage of all the automatic renewals for online services are derived from the customers’ forgetfulness or indifference. The business owners take the calculated risk of requests for credits and transaction denials in order to enjoy these repeat purchases. I have experienced very few transactions as a customer that sent me a reminder regarding a subscription that is coming up for renewal.)
It is a tough challenge for businesses to succeed with this model both for the initial purchase, changing the free user into a paying customer, and also in “prolonging the customer life span.” Of interest, as regards the prolonging of the customer life I remember well an amusing conflict during the years that I worked for the dating websites “Cupid” and “American Singles” – an industry that survives totally on subscriptions.
On dating websites, the objective of the service is to identify for the subscribers love and companionship then send them far away from the site for long-term relationships. That is to say, the better the work done by the site, the quicker the customers will leave the site. It’s absurd isn’t it?
Eldad Ben Tora,
VP of Product Management
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benstephenson/276931142/
E-Commerce 3.0: A New Era of Online Retail
Jun 2nd
To reach 50 million users it took radio 38 years, TV 13 years, the Internet 4 years, and the iPod just 3 years. But Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months and iPhone applications hit 1 billion in just 9 months. Web 2.0 has blurred the boundaries between content and commerce. It has changed the way people engage with, produce, purchase, and consume content. As corporate brands give way to peer recommendations and lifestyle-oriented social media, consumers increasingly seek frictionless commerce – frictionless in that the transaction becomes part of the content experience.
This is e-Commerce 3.0 in action: simple to use frictionless interactions that leverage the power of a social network or from within an application, game, or content site – anywhere, anyplace, anytime. Yes, there could still be an online store front in this world (the first wave of online commerce didn’t kill bricks and mortar stores as many predicted) and e-Commerce 3.0 won’t necessarily kill the online retail storefront. However, it will change it dramatically and possibly render it obsolete or unnecessary in some markets.
Ultimately, the inevitable progression of e-Commerce is toward this distributed, e-Commerce 3.0 model. Social communities are beginning to dominate brand names and customers are already demanding comfortable and simple-to-use processes that match their true usage patterns. The vendors first to offer them will enjoy the benefits. Clearly, companies must rethink the way they engage with consumers in this new environment. And although the opportunities inherent in round-the-clock, round-the-world e-Commerce may seem tempting, the complexities of global payment processing, the marketing and sale of goods across diverse cultures, and support of a global customer base challenge even the most web-savvy companies. The emergence of commerce that is freed from the restrictions of domain and browser exclusivity will ultimately drive greater revenue volumes for all businesses and create new challenges for online merchants: the need to upgrade to e-Commerce 3.0, or risk being left behind. Friction full or Frictionless? I think the consumer is telling us the direction we need to take.
Charles Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_olson/872011539/
Death of the Online Storefront?
May 26th
E-commerce as we’ve known it is over.
Consumer lifestyles are morphing and the always-on, always-connected era is here for many. For example, who doesn’t leave home without their smart phone anymore? And, with it we can do more than just text or call someone. If we want, we can make secure purchases with always on Internet connectivity or buy a video and watch that final episode of Lost while riding the bus to work. Despite these lifestyle changes, one thing still remains the same – the transaction environment, the store front, is tied to a web browser.
However, there are forces today at play that are going to rapidly change the e-commerce landscape. The rise of the social web has created communities that are changing the online buying process, shifting focus away from brand-owned properties toward peer-to-peer recommendations on social networks. I predict in the near future we will no longer search for products and services – they will find us via the social web.
This is e-Commerce 3.0 in action – the vision to give the consumer ultimate flexibility and simplicity by leveraging the always-on, always-connected persistence of Web 3.0 connectivity. In this new world, consumers want content, not a sales pitch. The ultimate customer experience is the ability to buy anything, anywhere in the world, from any application, on any device, at any time. Simply, the “transaction,” or the selling point, must be part of the consumer’s content experience: They must be able to buy on the fly as part of a new “frictionless commerce” paradigm.
E-Commerce is changing – what does this mean for the traditional internet store front enabled by a single browser and limited payment methods? Stay tuned. There is more to be discussed on this topic.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/4079485053/
Team Up To Grow Your Business
May 19th
You’ve got to hand it to the computer hardware manufacturers: they know a thing or two about wringing every last penny out of each sale. Go configure a laptop at Dell or HP, and you’ll find more options than you can shake a stick at. Most importantly, you’ll notice that lots of those options are not, in fact, manufactured, or even conceived of, by the equipment manufacturer.
For many online software sellers, the primary limitation on sales is the finite size of the product catalog: once a customer has bought everything you make, you run into a wall.
But think bigger: how about if you could expand that product catalog without dropping another penny on R&D? That’s what a lot of vendors are starting to move to, and it’s working very nicely, indeed. Here’s how to get in the game.
First, find a complementary vendor right here in the Plimus Community, or through your own contacts. Agree a fair commission rate for you to resell their product – 30% or so seems to be a figure most organizations can live with. Now, every time a customer buys from you, offer them the opportunity to also buy your partner’s product.
Most companies who shy away from this are quite reasonably concerned about the impact on their own sales process: what if the customer sees too many come-ons as offensive, as abandons their purchase?
You can offset this by
- Offering the upsell in your Thank You page, so that you ensure you close the deal before upselling; and
- Placing the ad for your partner’s product in a follow-up email. The attach rate will likely be lower, but it’s a great way to get into the game without taking a new risk in the checkout process.
It is very easy to execute these sorts of campaigns inside the Plimus E-Business Platform, and you have no reason not to do so – that it, unless you don’t want to maximize your profits and grow your business.
Simon Jones
VP of Strategic Solutions
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/2786948178/
Extend Your Game’s Life Cycle
May 12th
We all know the life cycle of a casual game in the marketplace: slow sales, followed by a huge (but short-lived) spike when you are ‘discovered’ by the gamer faithful, followed by a long tail of limited sales.
Once a consumer picks your game, the chances are they’re going to go looking for one ‘like it’ more quickly than you can push out a sequel – the laws of time/space make it impossible to keep up with the voracious appetites of the gaming consumer! So, unless you can start building games at a superhuman pace, you need to either find another way of filling your product portfolio or risk losing your relationship with your customer.
That’s ultimately why large distributors like Bigfish are able to keep building a market – the consumer returns to their site and finds more offerings. Sadly for the game developer, that can mean a deep dilution of your brand, and a complete loss of a direct business relationship.
But there’s a way to avoid this: cross-marketing. Team up with another developer or two to cross-market one another’s products from your own site, ensuring there’s more to consume each time the customer returns – and that they’ll be primed and ready for your next release.
Working together, you can reduce the time it takes to grow a new title’s popularity: simply cross-market it each time a current title is purchased. You can also maintain the volume on recent (but dipping) games, by returning the favor as new blockbusters take their place at the top of the charts.
Set up a standard business relationship, where you agree a commission for each sale of one another’s titles, and then let Plimus take on the effort of distributing revenues. This is found money for the most part – or at least money that would otherwise go to a distributor and can now be used to keep the quality of new games up.
Jason Kiwaluk
Sales Director, North America
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovemypit/2267178231/
