BirdDog Software

The Benefits of OmniCommerce in B2B Markets

Convenience and service are just two aspects of Ecommerce that consumers have come to expect. Business to Business professionals can agree as well, consumer behavior drives how business work — and how they interact with their own manufacturers and distributors. 

With advances in technology and the shaping of a new marketing landscape, many businesses are embracing change and adopting strategies that meet customers where they are. Those who aren’t, are relying on traditional processes that aren’t producing return like they used to.

It’s important to ask yourself, “Where does my business lie on this spectrum?”

Change requires adaptability. And while it can be difficult at times, it also provides an opportunity to overcome exciting, new challenges — one being OmniCommerce. OmniCommerce can be defined as a retail strategy that delivers a seamless customer experience through all available shopping channels. 

Keep reading to learn how this practice is helping Business to Business companies adapt to changing markets and reach more customers.

 

1. Everything is taking place online.

Business to Business buyers begin their journey online. They research products across a variety of devices — desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Because this part of the buyer’s journey is taking place in multiple places at once, it’s important for your business to be a step ahead. Intuitive search practices, responsive sites, online customer service and inventory tracking supports and engages Business to Business buyers where they are, increasing your chances of a sale.

 

3. Timely delivery is key.

As a business, having a machine down or your best-selling item out of stock can immediately lose you a sale. If a Business to Business buyer is looking for an item and it’s unavailable, because of an extensive digital marketplace to choose from, they’ll click off and refer to the next competitor. Inventory visibility and transparency in when orders arrive are key in providing the ultimate customer experience. Anymore, delivery dates are a key factor in purchasing decision. Realizing this, as a Business to Business company, it’s your role to enhance fulfillment capabilities with buyers.

 

4. Stop calling OmniCommerce a buzzword. 

OmniCommerce isn’t an option anymore if you’re wanting your business to be successful — buyers are demanding it. And with 94 percent of B2B buyers researching product information prior to a sale, it’s more important than ever to be consistent across all channels in regards to content, services, account history, deliveries, returns and exchanges.

 

5. A tailored experience makes the sale.

Different buyers have different needs. Re-ordering a product and purchasing for the first time fall under two very distinct processes. A common pain point for Business to Business buyers is frustration with the unnecessary complexity of traditional procurement. In other words, customers are seeking solutions that affect the way they engage with customer service — or even the brand itself.

 

6. You can always improve lead-to-revenue capabilities.

In today’s world, the majority of B2B businesses rely on inefficient lead generation capabilities. Processes aren’t integrated and customers simply aren’t engaged in the channel(s) they prefer. It’s important to refer to lead management with a more holistic approach. Behavioral marketing, contextual personalization, integrated process and service are the key factors in driving a sale. As general as these may be, they can always be improved.

 

7. It’s possible to do it all within one platform.

We’re realized and studied the issues B2B businesses face reaching customers. Our OmniCommerce program gives you the ability to provide better customer service through an Ecommerce portal — saving you time, money and minimizing mistakes. With OmniCommerce,  you’re also able to serve your customers and Business to Business in ways they want you to with extensive digital integrations.

Our goal here at BirdDog is for our OmniCommerce to assist you in everything that you do — much like a best friend. And though we can’t approve your potential dating life or take a ride with you in your new set of wheels, we can help your manufacturing, wholesale or distribution business run smooth as silk. 

 

OmniCommerce combines the best resources, offering excellent customer service, broad product selection and transparent delivery options — in all channels. To learn how our OomniCommerce can help your B2B business specifically, give our team a call at (877) 794-5950 or click the button in the top banner to request a free demo!

Some websites are not integrated, Sad!

I like BirdDog Software.  They are the super geniuses of all time.  If I was choosing an Ecommerce platform it would be BirdDog Ecommerce.

 I mean like they will repeal and replace your old website! See….. 

https://www.birddogsw.com/BirdDogEcommerce

BirdDog Software will build a big beautiful wall around your credit card data – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me….. 

https://www.birddogsw.com/CreditCardDeluxe

BirdDog Software has been dealing with fixing bugs all my life. All my life. And They have always gotten them to fix…..

https://www.birddogsw.com/Whats_New_9_8

When I am helping, you run your business, I will work to ensure that all of our customers are treated equally and protected equally.

Every action I take, I will ask myself, 'Does this make life better for young businesses, who have as much of a right to live out their dreams as any other business?'  Customer Service is Key.

https://www.birddogsw.com/Customer_Service

 Together with BirdDog Software, your company’s ultimate best friend, We can

‘Make Ecommerce Great Again’

 

This message has been approved by BirdDog Software Corp.

We’ve discussed in a previous blog how crucial Omnicommerce is in the success of your business. Whether you own a manufacturing, distribution, B2B or retail business, it’s more important than ever to reach your customers where they are.

Previously, we touched on some of the major aspects of Omnicommerce – the digital presence and transactional side of the integration. Lying on the other end of the spectrum is customer experience. You may have been hearing that OmniCommerce improves it. But, how? Keep reading to learn how Omnicommerce affects brand loyalty and your sales cycle.

 The objective of Omnicommerce is extending beyond a brand’s single realm. In other words, it allows the customers to guide their own data and experiences. Omnicommerce provides a more comprehensive, integrated shopping because it’s continually modifying it’s context in ways that are more pleasing (or convenient) to the customer.

 For instance, let’s say you found a pair of shoes you really liked and saved them to your online wish list. Once you leave the website and drive to the mall, the customer journey begins to fork. If your business doesn’t use Omnicommerce, your customer will divert because their information isn’t easily accessible. Now, you may find the shoes in store and purchase. Or, you may not. That’s the real guessing game. But, with Omnicommerce, you’re greatly increasing your chances of that sale. Not too shabby, huh?

The coordination of offline and online experience is the tipping point. As a business owner, you have the chance to get your customers more involved with your brand. When you build that relationship on trust and an identity they resonate with, you’ll be building business with them for the long run.

Another benefit of Omnicommerce is that it unifies and solidifies your marketing efforts. All your work will be coordinated around the same goals and tracked to every last detail. Also, with instant updates on inventory and sales, you’ll be able to view firsthand the impact of the integration.

With sales taking place both in the real world and the digital one, it’s more important than ever to line out multiple touch points. A sale isn’t finished when a customer purchases a product. It’s the experience they had with your brand that stays with them when they return home.

 

The ultimate goal of Omnicommerce is to foster brand loyalty within all stages of the customer journey, across all platforms. This increases convenience and personalization, providing an overall better experience for your customers. With this concentration shift, you may need a hand getting started. And for that, you have BirdDog Software. Don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’re here to help you become more successful by helping you reach every customer. Everyone. Everywhere. Every time.  (877) 794-5950

If you’re a business owner, most likely you’ve run across some Ecommerce verbiage here and there. Today, we’ll be touching on cXML, what it is, and how it benefits your company. Shall we get started? 

What is cXML?

Commerce Extensible Markup Language (cXML) is a protocol created by Ariba in 1999 for the use of communicating business documents between applications, Ecommerce hubs, and suppliers. In a nut shell, it’s a subset of XML that’s specific to commerce. 

How does it work?

A programmer uses cXML to define fields, assigning them to various lists called “schemas.” Schemas are able to communicate to programmers how to reference these fields when creating data. For example, let’s refer to integration. Information fields may differ from one software to another. So, schemas act as a sort of decoder — ensuring that nothing gets lost in translation with your data. Pretty neat, right?

Why’s is cXML?

Though cXML is used for commerce, it’s a protocol based in XML. Meaning, information is still arranged in plain text — and able to view on a standard web browser. For your business, this translates to lower overhead and flexibility in withstanding additional information as it flows in. 

As a business owner, how does cXML affect me?

An easier benefit to digest, cXML allows your business to prepare for the future of Ecommerce. It’s the most widely adopted business-to-business (B2B) protocol today and streamlines how you do business electronically. This, in turn, saves you time, resources and precious productivity.

If you’ve been considering streamlining your Ecommerce using cXML, be sure to check more information on cXML here. For more details on our all-inclusive Omnichannel Commerce, give our team at BirdDog Software a call at (877) 794-5950.

As you may very well know, the holidays are quickly approaching. It’s a time of family, delicious food — and a time to look back and reflect on the many things we appreciate. Here at BirdDog software, we’ve had the pleasure of working with so many great partners and customers this year. It’s incredible how a seamless platform like our OmniCommerce can create such impact for businesses and really bring us all together as a marketplace. With the season upon us, we thought we’d take a moment to share some of the projects we’re most proud of.

 

Vox Printing

Vox Printing is a preferred vendor of McDonald’s Corporation, servicing franchises across the country with promotional items for their campaigns. Since using BridDog's Ecommerce, order entry and cXML, McDonald’s has awarded Vox the highest website score of all its vendors. This list includes reputable companies such as Staples and Graingers. Additionally, Vox’s eCommerce site was awarded a perfect score in user interface.

 

Sportsmith

Since implementing BirdDog’s OmniCommerce platform, Sportsmith has experienced a 50% increase in orders. In addition, web sales have skyrocketed to a phenomenal 135%. BirdDog’s Ecommerce, which includes expansive customer self-service features, has also experienced a decrease in inbound phone calls — meaning increased productivity for its team.

 

Danchuk

Leveraging BirdDog’s OmniCommerce platform has enabled Danchuk to grow by seamlessly integrating its website into its ERP system — saving much needed time from manually entering in orders and customers. Additionally, Danchuk utilized BirdDog’s customer service and order entry, making it easy to perform transactions such as credit card authorization. Lastly, BirdDog was able to help with website management in the enterprise application which covered ongoing tasks such as item management, page updates, and category changes.

 

At the heart of what we do, it’s about helping businesses like yourself achieve success through ECommerce, point-of-sale, CRM and more. To learn how BirdDog can streamline and integrate your processes, give us a call at (877) 794-5950. We aim to be your company’s ultimate best friend.

Let’s team up and make 2017 the best year yet!

Mobile commerce makes up 30% of all U.S. ECommerce transactions (Internet Retailer, 2015). As consumers make the shift to mobile, business owners are challenged with reaching their audiences across multiple applications.

Companies have come to realize it’s all about leveraging impulse — where and when it happens. Anymore, with information stored on a mobile device, a customer can make a purchase with a quick tap of a button. So, as a business, how can you ensure no one’s slipping through the sales net? Omnicommerce.

A seamless customer experience not only benefits its users but the business as well. To them, you’re able to customize their shopping experience. And for you, you’re able to spend more time improving on brand and products and less on systems and processes. Omnicommerce also has the ability to streamline your sales, integrating with your POS system and online marketplaces. 

When it comes to cash flow and mobile payments, Omnicommerce is the ultimate bookkeeper. With real-time tracking and impeccable accuracy, you can view sales, inventory, and shipments as they happen — all on one platform. 

As technology continues to evolve, so do marketing practices. Before, a customer would come to you if they were considering a product. Today, with all the review sites and competing businesses out there, it’s important to reach out to your customers where they are. 

Amazon reported that they had over 2 million third-party sellers on their marketplace (TechCrunch, 2015). If your business isn’t leveraging online marketplaces, there’s a good chance your competition is. BirdDog Software is continually finding ways to help businesses stay ahead. In doing so, our platform will soon be integrating with Amazon, eBay, and Wal-Mart, maximizing your reach to new audiences. 

Sales, marketing, and management all under one platform. Now, that’s revolution we can get behind. To learn more about Omnicommerce, give our BirdDog Software team a call at (877) 794-5950.

Whether you’re a new business owner or a seasoned corporate distributor, Ecommerce can have its rewards — and its obstacles. While manufacturing, retail and tech companies may differ in industry, each encounters a problem that can easily be solved with Omnicommerce.

Omnicommerce integrates both physical and digital channels, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect with potential customers. Our team here at BirdDog Software believes this is just one of many strategies you should be considering in achieving profitable Ecommerce. Keep reading to learn the other seven! 

       Consolidated Platforms

Solves: Business to Business ECommerce (B2B)

Access your portal, distribution, and financial data with a click of a button. BirdDog Software’s Omnicommerce is a great way to keep an eye on your business as you travel. With features specifically built for B2B, it supports all your operations needs in one place.

     Unlimited Connectivity

Solves: Business to Consumer Ecommerce (B2C)

As your business grows, you’ll need to dig deeper when acquiring new customers. Our Omnicommerce gives you the opportunity to reach more customers in more places. When your audience is shopping for anything (regardless of the device), they’ll be presented with a targeted, optimized Ecommerce experience.

As a business owner or manager, you’ll be able to record daily sales over multiple channels, capture transactions and run sales reports seamlessly. 

      Sales Integration

Solves: Point of Sale (POS)

Gone are the days of inventory receipts and customer invoices. With BirdDog Software’s Omnicommerce system, you’ll enjoy a solution that keeps everything in one place. Supportive touch screens, keyboards, and scanners allow you to capture real-time inventory and customer information.

    Inventory Tracking

Solves: Order Entry

Running out of a product is never a fun experience. Our Omnicommerce makes it easy to track your inventory, so you can quickly see what’s selling and what you’ll need to reorder. BirdDog Software tracks the journey from customer demand, which includes sales orders and the items most viewed on your Ecommerce website, to the purchasing, receiving, warehousing, and delivery stages of your product.

For manufacturers and distributors, you’ll be able to track orders from vendors, organizing them in a way that makes the process a breeze. Additionally, you’ll have the ability to provide sales reps with valuable information in regards to consumers and ordering.

   Leverage the Marketplace

Solves: Multiple Platforms

BirdDog’s Omnicommerce is continually evolving to meet your needs. On the horizon, the platform will integrate with third party apps including Amazon, eBay, and Wal-mart to help you reach millions of new customers. You’ll have the power to sell, process, and complete orders from a single inventory.

   Optimize Bookkeeping

Solves: cXML

Our system makes bookkeeping for your business a breeze. Previously, when a customer made a purchase, you had to key in the request and save it into the sales order system. Identifying too high a margin for error, we’ve found a way to automate the process. Decreasing human error while saving you money, it’s a great way to organize your shoebox full of receipts and transactions.

     Utilize Additional Resources

Solves: Headaches

Need a hand? Our systems may be automated, but our service is not. Our talented staff is available Monday through Friday to lend a hand.

 

Our team at BirdDog Software has created a revolutionary system with business owners in mind — keeping sales, inventory, and internal data all in one spot. We believe you should have access to everything, everywhere. Our Omnicommerce allows you access data across multiple devices, provide in-depth reporting, and adapt your business strategy — based on concrete information.

With everything rolled into one, what’s not to love? Call us at (877) 794-5950 for any questions you may have. We’re eager to help you achieve profitable Ecommerce!

Don't know if you have heard all the hubbub about SSL 2.0 / SSL 3.0 / TLS 1.0 being deprecated, but it will no longer be in PCI compliance after June 30th, 2018. Good article on it here:

http://www.lexiconn.com/blog/2015/12/pci-council-pushes-back-tls-1-0-end-of-life-date-to-june-2018/

Originally, it was to be deprecated by the PCI council on June 30th, 2016. Another good article here:

http://blog.varonis.com/ssl-and-tls-1-0-no-longer-acceptable-for-pci-compliance/

The official push back on the end of life date is here:

http://blog.pcisecuritystandards.org/migrating-from-ssl-and-early-tls

The reason for the delay is that there are still older browsers and devices in circulation that only support TLS 1.0, so disabling support will stop these devices from placing orders.

Browser and device support can be seen here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:TLS/SSL_support_history_of_web_browsers

BirdDog's issue is that only Microsoft .Net 4.0 and later support TLS 1.1. So, as long as you are running 9.6.4 or later (where we converted to .Net 4.0 for all applications) you should be fine. However, all versions before that will not be.

On top of that, all web sites are in a mad rush to remove TLS 1.0, so even if you aren't doing credit cards, you could still be impacted. For example, UPS and FedEx are expected to take down TLS 1.0 in June of this year, which will impact our ability to rate freight with older software.

Recommended Action:

• Make sure you are running version 9.6.4 or later of all BirdDog applications.
• Consider disabling SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, and TLS 1.0 on your web server.

I have two items I want to share with you today about changes at BirdDog Software:

One of our goals at BirdDog Software is continuous and rapid improvement. Our customers live in a world that is changing rapidly and we have to do the same to keep their software investments relevant and valuable. In the past, this continuous improvement cycle gave us and our customers heartburn with stability problems. It also made it difficult to explain every feature and bug fix in a specific version of the software. The good news was, we're moving fast! The bad news was, we're moving fast!

In the fall of 2014, we introduced a new development model where every new feature and bug fix would be developed and tested in isolation before being allowed back into any release of the software. The feature or bug fix would then be tested again in the final version to confirm that there were no unexpected issues with other features and bug fixes. This new development and Quality Assurance process has not only increased the stability of our releases, but has also increased the velocity at which we can confidently release bug fixes. Another benefit to the process has been the increased level of visibility and documentation of the process. We now have a steady drum beat of development with a code freeze occurring every month and releases being announced on Facebook as soon as the version passes Final QA.

In addition to the new development process, we've also created a What's New section on the web site to show everything that is in a release. Each item is notated with New (brand new features), Better (enhancements of existing features), or Fixed (bug fixes).



I am very excited about the new process and recommend that you visit the What’s New section of our site to see all of the progress we’ve made this year. By browsing the What’s New section, you will see over 250 enhancements and bug fixes that have been released this year alone for versions 9.6, 9.7, and 9.8. On top of that, we have another 200 enhancements and bug fixes scheduled to be released before the end of the year!

On September 11th, we released our latest version, 9.8.1. This version alone included over 50 enhancements and bug fixes. Check it out in the 9.8 section of What’s New.

Like Us on Facebook for real time notices of updates and upgrades!

Thanks for your support of BirdDog Software where we strive to be Your Company’s Ultimate Best Friend!

Robin Zwirtz

President

E-mail campaigns that included coupons had higher open, click-through and transaction rates, according to a new report from Experian.

Statistics say electronic coupons are the way to a shopper’s heart—or, wallet.

Supercharge Revenue via Coupons with our integrated, BRAIN CRM and BirdDog Ecommerce.

E-mail campaigns that included coupons generated 43% more revenue than e-mails without coupons, or about $0.10 versus $0.07 per e-mail, according to the E-mail Benchmark Study from Experian Marketing Services. Additionally, 50% more e-mail campaigns in the 2013 holiday season included coupons than in the same period last year, Experian says.

The digital marketing firm tracked the performance of all e-mail campaigns sent by more than 50 brands during October and November 2013.

Compared with other types of e-mails, those with coupons had a 14% higher open rates, 34% higher click-through rates and 27% higher transaction rates. In welcome e-mail campaigns specifically, messages that included coupons had 2.5 times the transaction rates of welcome messages without them, Experian adds.

80% of the emaill coupons were available for in-store redemption and 70% were available for online redemption (some coupons could be redeemed in stores and online). Of the in-store coupons, 21% encouraged shoppers to display the coupons on their mobile devices rather than print them out, the report says.

To determine how much coupons contributed to click-through rates, the Experian analysis measured the percentage of clicks on coupon links versus other links in the messages. Following is each type of coupon with the percentage of all clicks in the message that it drew:

• Redeemable in stores only, 58%.
• Redeemable online only, 48%.
• Redeemable in stores or online, 46%.

Coupons don’t have to be enormous to entice more response from consumers than other promotional messaging. The most popular of the “dollar off” coupons was for $10 off, Experian says. That offer had a click-through rate of 2.8%, or 87% higher than the average for other promotional mailings. Meanwhile, coupons for $5 off had the highest transaction rates, 0.12%, or twice the average for non-coupon e-mails, the report found.

Among “percentage off” coupons, 20% off was the most popular, with a click-through rate of 2.5%, or 66% higher than the average for other e-mails, Experian says. Yet again, a slightly smaller deal—15% off in this case—garnered the highest transaction rate, 0.13%, also about twice the average for non-coupon messages.

As Smartphone and tablet adoption rapidly increases, so does the importance of mobile-friendly websites. Smartphones and tablets have changed the approach toward design and user experience. Before the spread of mobile devices with advanced web-browsing capability, web designers had only one primary challenge to deal with keeping the same look and feel of their websites. However, interacting with websites on smartphones and tablets is not the same as doing that on a desktop computer monitors. Factors such as Click versus Touch, Screen-size, Pixel-resolution, support for Adobe’s Flash technology, optimized markup and many more have become crucial while creating websites with Responsive Design.

Having a mobile–friendly website is essential. Mobile sales have already overtaken desktop sales, and mobile Internet usage is predicted to overtake desktop internet usage by end of the year. It is only logical that mobile search will overtake desktop search at some point in the near future as well.

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is an approach of laying-out and coding a website such that the website provides an optimal viewing experience — ease of reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling — across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).

Advantages of Responsive Design

1. ROI

2. Excellent User Experience

3. Supreme Flexibility

4.Cost Effective

5. It is Recommended By Google

(Bonus Advantage) Very Easy to Manage

Constantly innovating and optimizing for your online success - thats what we do!

Not a customer yet? 

Call us @ 877.794.5950 for a no strings attached product tour!

Already a customer?

Call us today and fing out how to take advantage of Responsive Web Design and Version 9.6 

Danchuk Manufacturing, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer in the 1955,1956 and 1957 classic Chevy restoration industry, unveiled its new responsive website, http://www.danchuk.com, which enriches the online shopping experience by delivering full content and functionality across all devices.

Since the initial launch of their website in 2008, online consumers have become more savvy, less patient and have a wide range of technology now to consume web content. As mobile and tablet use continues to skyrocket, it is essential that consumers be able to access all of the website's features across multiple devices – desktop, tablet and smartphone.

“When we set out to redesign our website we wanted to be sure that it would give all our customers the best possible shopping experience no matter what platform they choose to visit our site on” said Brian Danchuk, Information Technology Director at Danchuk.

To create a truly seamless shopping experience across desktop and mobile devices, the new site was built with Responsive Design methodology. Since launching their first version of Ecommerce in 2003, BirdDog Software has continued to utilize innovative technology and delivers features and functionality which make it a true, top-shelf platform. Currently on Version 9.6, BirdDog Software is the name to know when looking for a seamless, integrated, Ecommerce technology.

"By using Responsive Design, we were able to guarantee that we would have a website that will meet our standards, our customers’ needs and keep us moving forward embracing the technology we have now as well as that to come. Utilizing the resources provided by BirdDog Software we know our Ecommerce site will meet our needs for years to come.“ commented Bill Roche, Marketing Director at Danchuk.

Consumer research also found that consumers in the classic car restoration industry are making more and more of their part and accessory purchases online. Choosing to further ingrain their footprint in the industry, Danchuk now has a website that will not only make it easy for their customers to conduct business with them online, but it will also allow them the convenience to do it from any place and with any device... As a result, the new website delivers the robust online experience consumers are expecting with new features such as Saved Cart, which allows consumers to shop as their schedule permits, completing their purchase when they have the time, document management and more.

"This new website is a positive step forward for Danchuk Manufacturing, Inc., and we are very proud that together we were able to develop an enhanced online experience for both Danchuk future customers as well as their valued, existing customer base," added Jeremy Moberly, BirdDog Software VP Sales.