RESPONSE Magazine - March 2015

A Fresh Approach with Our Six Degrees ATOMIC DIRECT

atomicdirect.com

503.296.6131

Portland, Oregon

1 Building Brand with DRTV

2 Omni-channel Sales

3 Direct Sales

4 Heart and Mind Connection

5 Cost Effective TV

6 Longer Messages

“Customer service is the way that companies are able to make up for and earn the trust of their customers, who are very used to buying things online,” says Kennedy.

However, not all e-commerce companies have a perfect handle on the customer service piece of the puzzle. “There are companies where the customer service department is off in the corner and they’re left alone and they’re just really only expected to issue refunds and kind of keep a customer happy from a monetary perspective,” says Hoffer.

For those who may be lacking in the customer service department but don’t have the internal manpower to handle, Hoffer recommends companies like Zendesk, which provides a cloud-based customer service platform that includes ticketing, self-service options, and customer support features.

Customer service aside, packaging is
another way that e-retailers can stand out
to consumers. Kennedy says, “I’ve heard
of companies spending more money on
packaging than the cost of the product
that they’re shipping. Receiving that
package and opening it up kind of re-
places the in-store experience, so some
companies have been willing to spend a
lot of money on packaging.”
Moreover, another cross-promotional
marketing hook Kennedy has seen is sur-
prise gifts in packages. “Let’s say you order
a set of eyeglasses from Warby Parker, and
they stick in a razor from Harry’s — the
two companies share founders, so that’s
the type of thing that doesn’t necessarily
cost them. It’s something that’s a little
bit cooler for the customer to open up a
package and have a surprise gift or some-
thing extra that they didn’t necessarily
order,” says Kennedy.

In fact, this is a tactic that Mumu is
actively pursuing right now. “We’re look-
ing into partnering with like-minded sites
that aren’t necessarily direct competi-
tors,” Hoffer says. “We’re thinking about
doing stuff around music festivals like
Stagecoach and Coachella, perhaps
offering a ‘Mumu Survival Kit’ and
branching out with other brands that
aren’t selling clothes, but are sell-
ing other products like sunscreen or
fanny packs. If they scratch our back,
we’ll scratch theirs, and then we
open up that complimentary piggy-
backing and mentioning across each
other’s social channels.”
Payment processing is another
key factor that online vendors need
to be mindful of. “Make sure you’re
using a payment processor that not
only has secure payment process-
ing, but also advertises it,” Kennedy
says. “Your customers are more apt
to make the purchase if there are
Norton Antivirus and trusted mer-
chant logos displayed. It just makes
you more comfortable to punch in
your credit card when you see icons that
signify that the merchants you’re mak-
ing purchased from are trustworthy,” says
Kennedy.

When it comes to e-commerce payment solutions, PayPal is still king, but others are certainly nipping at its heels.

“PayPal is obviously the current monster when it comes to integration and offering that payment method of one login where you never need to enter your address information again,” Hoffer says. “At every single channel, it seems like Amazon has

E-RETAIL SPOTLIGHT

Show Me Your Mumu’s retail site has a clear brand personality — something that is crucial for niche E-retailers. The company has used traditional digital marketing and plenty of social media to build its following.