THE CONVERGENCE OF CONTENT + COMMERCE · the convergence of content + commerce bridging two sides of the coin to reach the connected consumer

THE CONVERGENCE OFCONTENT + COMMERCEBRIDGING TWO SIDES OF THE COIN TO REACH THE CONNECTED CONSUMER

© 2017 Kibo Software, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS1. CONTENT + COMMERCE: IT’S COMPLICATED 3

2. THE RISE AND ROLE OF CONTENT 6

3. THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL COMMERCE 9

4. HOW CONTENT + COMMERCE CONVERGE 15

5. LOOKING INTO THE CONTENT + COMMERCE CRYSTAL BALL 18

6. CLOSING THE CONTENT + COMMERCE GAP: CONVERGENCE IN PRACTICE 20

The Convergence of Content + Commerce

CHAPTER 1CONTENT + COMMERCE: IT’S COMPLICATED

The Convergence of Content + Commerce © 2017 Kibo Software, Inc.

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CHAPTER 1

CONTENT + COMMERCE: IT’S COMPLICATED

Your business has settled for far too long. You’ve had to compromise vision, strategy and customer experience because of fragmented, incomplete tools and strained resources. Content and commerce have always had a complicated relationship that is now transforming. The connection between content and commerce has always existed, but never before has there been such a need for integration. Traditionally, web content management (WCM) tools—also known as content management systems (CMS)—and commerce platforms have each served different masters within a business. Each environment demands different tools, uses different success metrics and views the customer’s journey through different lenses.

Content is how online consumers explore their world. Words, images, video, and the interaction of these essential digital building blocks make up the essence of online communication. Customers increasingly rely on various mobile technologies to develop relationships with brands as they compare their retail options. They now engage with products and companies from multiple devices and platforms, with nearly 40% of mobile phone users now expected to become regular mobile phone shoppers by 2017.1 The relationship between online content and digital commerce is powered by these Connected Consumers. There exists an evolving interaction between consumers and brands, and companies have the unending imperative to meet consumers on their own terms. Businesses can no longer afford to waste time and resources in their own tumult of siloed departments and roles as consumers unify channels through device usage.

The Connected Consumer is redefining how products and services are bought and sold and, in the long run, how we build brands and reltionships. And until very recently, content and commerce have existed in very separate worlds, using separate tools and measuring separate successes. But the rapid adoption of personal mobile technology and the subsequent rise of the Connected Consumer have changed the rules forever.

THE CONNECTED CONSUMER IS THE INFORMED CONSUMERPromoting your products—even with sales, discounts and seasonal promotions—is no longer enough; the traditional habit of marketing driving toward a sales engagement is rapidly becoming extinct. Whether it’s B2C or B2B transactions, sales is no longer in charge. According to Forrester Research, 69% of U.S. online consumers have researched products online in just the past three months, 47% credit personal relationships for helping them discover new brands and products, and more importantly:

of those respondents actually purchased or tried a new brand or product after hearing about it through their personal network.²

94%


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CHAPTER 1

CONTENT + COMMERCE: IT’S COMPLICATED

As products become increasingly commoditized, consumers will become increasingly fascinated by the story that brands tell. Narrative will become key, and customers will crave fluid access from story to store.

When a business can create a multi-dimensional experience, allowing consumers to learn about products—whether it’s user-generated content, editorial commentary, product tutorials or adding social enterprise into products’ value—and then immediately access the purchase path on their terms. “Commerce, done right, is content,” innovator and Thrillist Group co-founder Ben Lerer argues, “It’s not a flat sales page, it’s storytelling. It’s not about what you’re selling, it’s about why you’re selling it.”³

Like two sides of a coin, content and commerce have the potential to work together to drive Connected Consumers to the sale. Creating and sharing relevant, valuable information that attracts people to your products, creates trust, credibility and builds ethos for your brand will convert visitors and prospects into customers. However, a complicated relationship between content and commerce, including business silos, limited collaboration, separate teams and separate tools has created, according to Forrester Research, “inconsistent customer experiences, disconnected business processes and goals, and the inability to realize clear customer insights. Consumers bear the brunt of this divide, suffering as a result of message integrations on the front and/or back ends.”4

We want these two crazy kids to get together and live happily ever after.

COMMERCE, DONE RIGHT, IS CONTENT...IT’S NOT A FLAT SALES PAGE, IT’S STORYTELLING. IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE SELLING, IT’S ABOUT WHY YOU’RE SELLING IT.

—Ben Lerer, Thrillist Group


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CHAPTER 2THE RISE AND ROLE OF CONTENT


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CHAPTER 2

THE RISE AND ROLE OF CONTENT The new wave of Connected Consumers is not just connecting to your products digitally—they also crave meaningful and relevant connections to your product and your brand. As Joe Pulizzi, author of Epic Content Marketing, states, “The one who has the most engaging content wins, because frequent and regular contact builds a relationship...Advertising is a luxury, but content is survival.”5 Done well, content positions your company as a provider of information and an expert in the field.

You not only build relationships with customers who can potentially evolve into brand advocates, you also fortify your own company with a wealth of content that builds SEO, competitive advantage and provides sales teams with consulting tools. A brand’s ability to manage how that content is used will largely determine and impact their success.

THE AGE OF THE CONNECTED CONSUMERAccess to information is access to power. And no one knows this better than the Connected Consumer. The DIY movement is no longer for those brave souls who want to tile their own bathrooms, DIY has rapidly taken on a broader meaning to include film, crafts, music and many other creative outlets too numerous to list. Instant access to authentic, entertaining, crowd-sourced information empowers individuals to self-serve their worlds on their terms, however they choose. And the sources for this information—blogs, YouTube, social media, and other online platforms—are providing businesses just like yours an enormous opportunity to connect with potential customers.

HOW HAVE TODAY’S BUYERS EVOLVED?

THE ROLE OF CONTENT IN MODERN SALESContent is a fluid and dynamic interplay with consumers and it is a free market. Connected Consumers rely so heavily ontheir self-serve behav-iors—including word-of-mouth, and peer recommendations, and social media—that the ROI on cold calling has decreased so drastically that this practice is essentially dead. According to a recent study by MarketForce, 81% of U.S. online consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by friends’ social media posts versus 78% who are influenced by the posts of the brands they follow on social media.9

57%

75%

98%of buying decisions are made before a sales rep is involved6

of CEOs say that they do not respond to cold calls8

of B2B purchases are influenced by social media7


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As trust in both sales and advertising declines, word-of-mouth marketing, user communities and social networks are rapidly rising as the best ways to build engagement, loyal customers and more revenue over time. Whether if you’re selling B2B or B2C, your prospects are online and getting younger each day due to the power of the 80 million strong Millennial Generation.

These digital natives are especially adept at using online channels to independently research information and discover brands, heavily relying on social media and online platforms. According to Forrester Research, 43% of users ages 24 to 32 use social networks as their go-to Internet discovery resource.¹º In fact, social networks are the preferred means of discovery for nearly one-third of all Americans, and regardless of age, that number is up from 18% in 2010.11

Clearly, the rules have changed and consumers are looking for new ways to learn about your products—but sales isn’t always invited to the party, and if they are, your customer wants to determine the terms. As the lines continue to blur, new generations of content forms are rising in both prevalence and power. Customer communities, user-generated content and word-aof-mouth marketing are just a few examples of this new breed of rich, dynamic information that reaches deep into the heart of customer stories to make the sale.

CHAPTER 2

THE RISE AND ROLE OF CONTENT

GAME-CHANGER: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Tell a different story with social enterprise: the power of integrating social responsibility in the fabric of our business models, creating new types of organizations that not only drive profit, but drive social meaning and societal benefit as well.


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CHAPTER 3THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL COMMERCE


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CHAPTER 3

THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL COMMERCE

OMNICHANNEL IS NOW UNI-CHANNEL While businesses still struggle with silos, consumers regularly defy them. Customers intrinsically reject the notion of a business-directed channel and demand visibility and interactivity at all touchpoints during their commerce experience. They now expect to be identified when purchasing—regardless of device or environment—and demand real-time access to product inventory and data. Contemporary businesses must reflect the omnichannel experience so seamlessly that there are no distinguishable channels to consumers.

Forget about a mobile strategy—in order to engage the Connected Consumer, content marketers now need an “everything strategy” that encompasses multiple channels at once. In this new world of content-driven commerce, your go-to-market strategy has less to do with the channel—and everything to do with the customer.

According to an IDC study, by 2017, 87% of Internet-enabled device sales will be made up of smartphones and tablets.¹² Additionally, smartphones will continue to ship in high volumes, surpassing 1.4 billion units in 2015, accounting for 69% of all smart connected device shipments worldwide.13

PRODUCTCATEGORY

2013 UNIT SHIPMENTS

2013 MARKET SHARE

2017 UNIT SHIPMENTS

2017 MARKET SHARE

2013-2017 GROWTH

DESKTOP PC

PORTABLE PC

TABLET

SMART PHONE

TOTAL

134.4

180.9

227.3

1,013.2

1,556

8.6%

11.6%

14.6%

65.1%

100%

123.11

196.6

406.8

1,733.9

2,460.5

5%

8%

16.5%

70.5%

100%

-8.4%

8.7%

78.9%

71.1%

58.1%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker.

UNIT SHIPMENTS AND MARKET SHARE, 2013 AND 2017 (SHIPMENTS IN MILLIONS)SMART CONNECTED DEVICE MARKET BY PRODUCT CATEGORY,

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© 2017 Kibo Software, Inc.The Convergence of Content + Commerce

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Without a strategy in place to address the online consumption behaviors of your audience, you might as well be providing both content and commerce in a silo with little hope of making it engaging and shareable.

If commerce is content as Thrillist Group’s Lerer asserts, then retailers must consider what kind of content their customers want to consume as they develop product descriptions. As customers browse, search and shop your site, all those cross- and up-sell products are content too. But you must present content within a consumer-centric context, for the consumer, how does your product make him or her better at something they care about? The Connected Consumers’ never-ending quest for engaging, sharable information is a company’s opportunity to build the connection between content and commerce and nurture the brand relationship. The question is no longer, “What do I do for advertising?” but instead, “How do I better connect with my customer and provide a relevant experience throughout the entire engagement process?”

Unfortunately, while commerce moves at lightning speed, most commerce platforms do not. According to an IDG Communications survey of information technology (IT) professionals, about half the time buyers aren’t

CHAPTER 3


finding the information they need while researching products and purchasing decisions.15 Yet as eCommerce and marketing functions continue to converge, the benefits of a perfected omnichannel experience will provide: Consumers with a consistent brand experience across all platforms Businesses with a better understanding of customers needs and behaviors A quick ramp-up to test new markets, benefiting both consumers and businesses alike

However, businesses must be prepared to respond quickly in this new marketplace of consumer-driven needs. As distribution and purchasing channels continue to consolidate, the possibilities become limitless. But in order to develop long-term relationships with customers, enterprises must be able to create connections between both content and commerce, and remove silos within the business and between the business and the consumer.

THIS NOTION OF CONTENT BEING HERE AND COMMERCE BEING THERE DOESN’T REALLY EXIST ANY MORE. EVERYONE HAS BECOME A PUBLISHER. —Eric Hippeau, Lerer Ventures


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CHAPTER 3


CONTENT AS A CONSULTING OPPORTUNITY Businesses and brands are increasingly taking on the role of publisher as the increasing demand for content plays a role in both building relationships with customers and building to the sale. According to Lerer Ventures partner and former Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau, “This notion of content being here and commerce being there doesn’t really exist any more. Everyone has become a publisher.”16 As companies search for tools that bridge the distance between content and commerce, a single platform that remove obstacles and streamlines processes by directly empowering the business user will expand opportunities for both the Connected Consumer and the enterprise alike.

GAME-CHANGER: CHALLENGER SELLING

As content becomes increasingly important (and prevalent) in digital commerce environments, consider how your sales teams can use content to act as advisors and consult prospects. The ability to teach customers something unique and offer valuable perspectives about how to compete in their market sets apart a business and a brand. Think about how these perspectives apply not to your products, but how the customers can compete more effectively. Think first about what you’re going to give to your target, then circle back to how you can associate your product with that benefit.


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CHAPTER 3


reviewing online

customer reviews first

when they consider

a brand.19

of consumers believe

that customer

testimonials are the

with

84% of online shoppers use

social media sites.21

69% 89%

70%

of consumers say a

source is trustworthy

when the expert has

used the product and

service before.17

A one-star increase in Yelp

rating leads to a 5-9%

increase in revenue. 22 4 out of 5 consumers reverse purchase

decisions based on negative online reviews.18

Positive word-of-mouth outweighs

negative by a 6 to 1 margin.20

Online consumer reviews are the second most trusted form of advertising with 70% of global consumers surveyed online indicating they trust this platform. 25

92% of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. 24

92%

70%

THE POWER OF WORD-OF-MOUTH

$$ $$

+$5-9%

70%of all User Generated content is contributed

by consumers between 25-54 yrs old, with the

most contributions coming from ages 35-45 23

word-of-mouth

THE IMPACT OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON COMMERCE

THE USER-GENERATED CONTENT SWEET SPOT

customer service


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CHAPTER 3

THE TRANSFORMATION OF DIGITAL COMMERCECUSTOMER JOURNEY: WIDGET CO.

receive any confirmation..

1 RESEARCHSTAGES

ACTIVITIES/

INTERACTIONS

2 PURCHASE 3 USAGE 4 SUPPORT 5 ADVOCACY

SHARES EXPERIENCES

Tells those who ask about

the widget they choose

Submits an online review

Follows the brand via

social channels

ASSEMBLES WIDGET

Uses instruction manual

Goes online for

additional help

with assembly

USES WIDGET

PRICE SHOPPING

Looks for best

prices online

Calls local stores to see

if they will price match

DECIDES WHERE TO BUY WIDGET

MAKES PURCHASE

• store

• desktop

• mobile

• phone

RECEIVES WIDGET

Broken widget needs

to be exchanged

POTENTIAL CUSTOMERWANTS TO BUY A WIDGET

SOLICITSRECOMMEN DATIONS

Get suggestions from

friends and family on

widgets to consider

NARROWS SELECTION

Reads and watches

online reviews

Test drives

widget in stores

Visits mfr websites and

uses compari son tools

DECIDES WHICH WIDGET TO BUY

REGISTERS PRODUCT

• desktop

• mobile

• mail

WIDGETS STOPS WORKING

• desktop

• mobile

• phone

1

2

A

B

C

4

5

E

F

3D6

7

8

7

9

G

C H

C

GI

A

EMOTIONS

+2

+1

0

-1

-2

PAIN POINTS &

OPPORTUNITIES

PAIN POINTS

1 Wading though reviews on third-party websites,

it’s hard to tell if they apply to the exact product

the customers is considering, and if they are

more about the service of the third party than

the site itself.

2 Customers tend to have very specific questions.

Right now, they have to fill out a form, call a

hotline, or go to a store.

3 When comparing prices for widgets, it’s hard to

line up hidden costs like shipping and handling,

removal of the old widget, taxes, etc.

4 Cart experience is not optimized for mobile—

customers often switch to desktop site to

complete purchase.

5 Replacement/exchange process is not clear and

frustrated customers are more likely to ask for

a refund.

6 Customers have a low opinion of the manual

(which they voice in forums online). It is

accurate, but the pictures without text are hard

to follow.

7 Official online support is lacking—customers

spend time looking for it on the mfr site, then

just Google it.

8 Online form has a lot of fields to fill out—

many people abandon and don’t complete

registration.

9 Customers who mail in their registration don’t

receive any confirmation.

OPPORTUNITIES

A Add reviews to manufacturer site with verified

purchase icons corresponding to customers’

registered products.

B Leverage mobile capabilities to enhance and

store product research done in-store.

C Implement a chat option that allows customers

to ask questions and get answers in real time.

D Promote free shipping and widget removal

service visibility across site and wherever

pricing is listed. Include zip code search box for

tax information and estimating on all product

pages and comparison pages.

E Optimize cart for mobile and other touch

environments.

F Create cross-channel, “simple exchange”

process that makes it easy for customers to

get a replacement widget instead of asking for

a refund.

G Create a digital companion to the instruction

manual with animated drawings, video

demonstrations and a moderated area where

specific user questions are answered.

H Create a one-step registration process

leveraging mobile and/or unique registration

codes and simplify the form—offer incentives

to customers who provide additional, optional

personal information.

I Facilitate online sharing of widget users with

user submitted photos.

3D


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CHAPTER 4HOW CONTENT + COMMERCE CONVERGE


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the old era of mass marketing, businesses could get away with close-enough approximations and market to a “persona.” But today, you must market to a person—and this fundamental shift has changedthe role of marketing forever. Businesses no longer manage the customer lifecycle but now participate in a complex customer ecosystem, exchanging content and commerce by invitation. Customer lifecycles and campaigns are no longer fully architected by businesses but have instead evolved into rich, two-way dialogs, integrated with pricing and customer behavior data.

Uniting content with commerce has long challenged businesses and the technology tools on which they rely. Commerce platforms typically manage product and inventory and pricing information, but their editorial functionality and ease of use cannot compare to CMS tools. However, CMSs are equally hobbled, for as they easily build rich content experiences, they lack shopping cart and catalog functionality.

This disparity between tools mirrors the intrinsic differences between the larger goals of content-driven media sites versus commerce- driven product sites. The current dissonance stems from the reality that commerce sites must quickly drive customers to the sale, while content-based sites want visitors to be engaged for as long as possible in non-transactional interactive experiences. As content and commerce converge, some argue that it may be easier for product brands to evolve into publishers of authentic and engaging content than for media companies to add commerce successfully without sacrificing readers or brand integrity.

CONTENT, COMMERCE AND THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLEConnected Consumers are not only driving a retail revolution, they are dramatically transforming the customer lifecycle. Previously, businesses drove customers and prospects to a specific sales experience. Because sales used to own, manage and broker the dissemination of content to the target audience, marketers had much shorter lifecycles with which to contend. A dialog existed, but it was led and conducted by sales. In

CHAPTER 4

HOW CONTENT + COMMERCE CONVERGE

GAME-CHANGER: RICH MEDIA AS THE NEW CONSUMER STORYBOOK

With competition for online attention becoming increasingly cutthroat, rich media plays a vital role in digital storytelling. Video, ebooks and infographics are just a few of the ways businesses can capture the Connected Consumers’ imagination.


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The more engaged the consumer is, whether that consumer is trying on product or clicking on more articles, the more likely he or she is to purchase a product then and there.”27 Though skeptical, educated consumers see content originating from companies as just increasingly sophisticated marketing rather than authentic dialog, enterprises should still strive to be credible sources within their own industries. However, appropriate messaging and coordinating timing with your consumer targets is key. As MarketingProfs shows in their recent survey, most consumers (74%) generally trust educational material from a business as long as it appears objective and “doesn’t explicitly try to sell a product/service,” as adding your product pitch at the end shows to cut credibility below half (45%).28 And, as Eric Hippeau astutely remarks, “social platforms turn everyone into some kind of publisher, the definition of ‘content’ itself is changing, in turn altering what it means to be in the media business.”29

As we mentioned earlier, it’s a toss of the coin for IT professionals when they research products to purchase—half the time they aren’t finding the information they need. And often, the information that potential customers are looking for is not=v the “speeds and feeds” of your product, but rather for the context, solutions and opportunity you provide. As a result, product reviews, user-generated content and vibrant, shared communities that answer the question, “How has someone used this product to do X?” make an emotional connection with consumers and create a significant impact; so prepare tools and content accordingly for this is where the true convergence of content, commerce and the Connected Consumer happens.

CONVERGENCE TOOL TRENDSAccording to Forrester Research, companies can look forward to the convergence between content and commerce as new platforms arise to meet the needs of the Connected Consumers as well as competitive market opportunities. This overlap is “most pronounced around the features that control customer engagement, such as page templates, navigation tools, site search, personalization, content targeting, and recommendations.”26 According to StyleCaster spokesperson Meghan Cross, “advertising and affiliate revenue models don’t conflict because increasing engagement actually helps drive purchases, and this makes the purchasing process more organic.

CHAPTER 4

HOW CONTENT + COMMERCE CONVERGE

THE GIVE AND TAKE OF CONTENT + COMMERCE

CONTENT

BUSINESS CUSTOMER

COMMERCE

eBooks

How-to Guides

Videos

Social media

Images

White Papers

Checklists

Infographics

Likes

Comments

Pins

Reviews

Word-of-Mouth

Tweets/Retweets

Memes

Money Products

Services

Promotions

Discounts

Loyalty programs


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CHAPTER 5LOOKING INTO THE CONTENT + COMMERCE CRYSTAL BALL


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Today’s Connected Consumers buy from and build loyalties with businesses that nurture emotional connection and anticipate their personal preferences. Their customer journey is ideally a rewarding one as they explore, interact, purchase and develop mutually beneficial brand advocacy over time. But where will content and commerce go from here? How will the technology and business strategies develop to catch up to the needs and desires of Connected Consumers to communicate a fully integrated vision that forwards brand value and meaning across all customer touchpoints? Here are a few predictions of the future of content and commerce to whet your appetite and turn the wheels of your business strategies:

COMMERCE AND CONTENT WILL BECOME SEAMLESS.

TECHNOLOGY WILL EVOLVE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF BOTH CONTENT CREATORS AND COMMERCE DRIVERS, AND THESE TOOLS WILL BECOME MORE POWERFUL AND EASIER TO USE.

CONTENT WILL DO MORE TO BUILD BRANDS THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE TYPE OF MARKETING.

TRADITIONAL CONTENT AND SOCIAL CONTENT WILL COMBINE FORCES: “CONTENT MARKETING” WILL BECOME SIMPLY “MARKETING” AND “SOCIAL MEDIA” WILL BECOME SIMPLY “MEDIA.”

WE WILL SEE A SHIFT IN POWER AS USER-GENERATED CONTENT, PERSONAL BRANDS AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES COMAND GREATER RESPECT AND TAKE OVER DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS.

TRUST AMONG CORPORATE CONTENT CREATORS WILL INCREASE AS CONTENT—ESPECIALLY USER-GENERATED CONTENT—BUILDS GREATER MONETIZATION OPPORTUNITIES.

CONSUMERS, PARTICULARLY THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION, WILL REDEFINE NARRATIVE IN COMMERCE AS IT APPLIES TO SOCIAL GOOD. BRANDS THAT DO NOT STAND FOR SOMETHING WILL NOT STAND THE TEST OF TIME.

CHAPTER 5

LOOKING INTO THE CONTENT + COMMERCE CRYSTAL BALL


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CHAPTER 6CLOSING THE CONTENT + COMMERCE GAP: CONVERGENCE IN PRACTICE


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Engaging customers consistently in both content and commerce requires a powerful and intuitive Web technology solution that enables your business teams to deliver a unified content experience to multiple channels simultaneously and in real time. Recent research from Forrester Research shows that 53% of B2B companies are planning to invest in WCMs within the next 18 months, and that 64% plan to invest in a commerce technology platform.30

By humanizing a brand with compelling content, companies can build a framework of trust and dialog within the customer journey that is meaningful and directs the purchasing decision. Commerce becomes more fluid and efficient as businesses maximize their inventory investments, streamline back-end processes and plan for the future as devices evolve. Ensuring that your business delivers seamless integration across content, commerce and delivery channels—whether desktop, mobile, or kiosk—is paramount in this new age of the Connected Consumer. And choosing a commerce platform that unites both content and commerce together creates a consistent experience for both consumers as well as business users, fulfilling the promise of connection and brand credibility.

CHAPTER 6

CLOSING THE CONTENT + COMMERCE GAP: CONVERGENCE IN PRACTICE

MEET KIBO: WHERE CONTENT AND COMMERCE COMBINE

The Kibo multi-tenant SAAS commerce platform makes it easy to manage content, products and brands across multiple sites. Purpose-built for enterprise environments, Kibo blends content, commerce and custom site building tools to enable rapid collaboration between front-end development and back-end management. Businesses can use Kibo to “create once and deploy many,” consolidating products into a single catalog and publish to multiple brands, multiple products, or multiple offers on multiple sites. And with its intuitive interface, merchandizing and marketing teams can use Kibo to quickly launch or modify sites. With Kibo, businesses can simplify the creation and management of content while delivering a rich digital brand experience within multiple sites, multiple catalogs—all while reducing time, cost and risk.


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16. Heussner, K. Content and commerce collide: is it harder for publishers or e-tailers? (4 December 2013). Retrieved at http://gigaom.com/2012/12/04/ content-and-commerce-collide-is-it-harder-for-publishers-or-e-tailers/

17. Cone Communications. Game Changer: Cone Survey Finds 4-out-of-5 Consumers Reverse Purchase Decisions Based on Negative Online Reviews.(30 August 2011). Retrieved at http://www.conecomm.com/stuff/contentmgr/ files/0/286c351989671ae74994fec139863bb2/files/2011_cone_communications_ online_influence_trend_tracker_release_and_fact_sheet.pdf

18. Ibid.

19. Gunelius, Susan. Newstex. Data Proves Word-of-Mouth Marketing Works— Infographic. (12 February 2014). Retrieved at http://newstex.com/2014/02/12/ data-proves-word-of-mouth-marketing-works-infographic/

20. Keller Fay Research. 3 Billion Word of Mouth Impressions About Brands Each Week in UK, According to Keller Fay Research. (8 November 2011). Retrieved at http://www.kellerfay.com/3-billion-word-of-mouth-impressions-about-brands- each-week-in-uk-according-to-keller-fay-research/

21. Tierney, J. Customers Want Online Shopping Options. (3 June 2013). Retrieved at http://loyalty360.org/resources/article/customers-want-online-shopping- options

22. Luca, Michael. Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com. (16 September 2011). Retrieved at http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20 Files/12-016.pdf

23. BazaarVoice. The Conversation Index, Volume 1. (2011). Retrieved at http://media2.bazaarvoice.com/documents/Conversation_Index_ Bazaarvoice_20111010b.pdf

24. Nielsen. Nielsen: Global Consumers’ Trust in “Earned” Advertising Grows in Importance. (10 April 2012). Retrieved at http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press- room/2012/nielsen-global-consumers-trust-in-earned-advertising-grows.html

25. Ibid

26. Powers, S., Sheldon, P. Forrester Research, Inc. Commerce and Content: The Perfect Couple Or A Tumultuous Affair? Choosing Between eCommerce and Web Content Management Solutions. (19 November 2013). Retrieved at http:// www.forrester.com (subscription required)

27. Griffith, E. This whole “content and commerce trend isn’t dead yet, according to StyleCaster. (31 October 2013). Retrieved at http://pando.com/2013/10/31/this- whole-content-and-commerce-trend-isnt-dead-yet-according-to-stylecaster/

28. Nanji, Ayaz. Do People Trust Content From Marketers? (2014). Retrieved at http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25326/do-people-trust-content- from-marketers?adref=nlt061014 (registration required)

29. Heussner, K. Content and commerce collide: is it harder for publishers or e-tailers? (4 December 2013) Retrieved at http://gigaom.com/2012/12/04/ content-and-commerce-collide-is-it-harder-for-publishers-or-e-tailers/

30. Demery, P. B2B sites increasingly marry content and commerce. (18 February 2014). Retrieved at http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/02/18/b2b-sites- increasingly-marry-content-and-commerce

REFERENCES1. Reitsma, R. Forrester Research, Inc. The Data Digest: US Consumers’ Mobile Shopping Behaviors. (26 April 2013).

Retrieved at: http://blogs.forrester.com/ reineke_reitsma/13-04-26-the_data_digest_us_consumers_mobile_shopping_ behaviors Bizrate Insights Mobile Tracker, Jan. 2016

2. Munchbach, C. Forrester Research, Inc. The Customer Life Cycle: A Blueprint for Customer-Obsessed Enterprises. (14 April 2014). Retrieved at http://www. forrester.com (subscription required)

3. Huffpost Live. (11 March 2014). Lerer At SXSW: On The Future of Content And Commerce. Retrieved at: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/archive/ segment/531f3f3678c90a1a5a000eea “2015 Accenture Personalization Survey,” Accenture, Mar. 9, 2015

4. Powers, S., Sheldon, P. Forrester Research, Inc. Commerce and Content: The Perfect Couple Or A Tumultuous Affair? Choosing Between eCommerce and Web Content Management Solutions. (19 November 2013). Retrieved at http:// www.forrester.com (subscription required)Miriam Burt, research vice president, at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 2015

5. Pulizzi, J. Content Marketing: Publishing is the New Marketing. (2010) Retrieved at: http://www.slideshare.net/juntajoe/content-marketing-for-the-wine-industry

6. Corporate Executive Board Study via The End of Solution Sales. (2013). Retrieved at http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd/sales-service/the-end-of- solution-sales/index.page “2015-2016 Chief Marketing Officer Spend Survey,” Gartner, Nov. 19, 2015

7. IBM Buyers Preference Study. (2011). IBM’s Social Selling: The Computer Giant Finds B2B Leads in Social Media as quoted on ChiefMarketer.com. Retrieved at http://www.chiefmarketer.com/b2b/ibms-social-selling-the-computer-giant- finds-b2b-leads-in-social-media-25012012#_ “US Commerce Platform Technology and Services Forecast, 2014 To 2019,” Forrester, Feb. 5, 2015

8. Fidelman, M. The Rise of Social Salespeople. (2012). Retrieved at http://www. forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/11/05/the-rise-of-social-salespeople/

9. Market Force. Market Force Study Shows Companies Wield Comparable Social Media Influence to Friends. (1 May 2012). Retrieved at http://www.marketforce. com/press-releases/ item/research-social-media-influence/

10. Forrester Research, Inc. via Entrepreneur.com, Kabin, Benjamin. Social Media May Soon Drive More Traffic to Your Website Than Search Engines. (25 June 2013). Retrieved at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227178#ixzz2XYyszA6m

11. Ibid

12. IDC. Tablet Shipments Forecast to Top Total PC Shipments in the Fourth Quarter of 2013 and Annually by 2015, According to IDC. (11 September 2013). Retrieved at http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24314413

13. Ibid

14. Ibid

15. Handley, A. and C.C. Chapman. Technology Vendors May Be Losing Close to 50% of Their Potential Sales Due to Inadequate Information. IDG via Content Rules. (2012). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


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THE CONVERGENCE OF CONTENT + COMMERCE · the convergence of content + commerce bridging two sides of the coin to reach the connected consumer