E-Merchandising Packages Aim to Simplify Online Selling

Software Magazine, Sept, 1999 by Elizabeth U. Harding

Be they large or small, companies are starting to look for a cost-effective way to integrate their e-commerce and online activities with traditional business operations.

In the mid-market, Multiactive Software Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, has software to help companies respond to potential customers more efficiently.

Says Brent Halverson, Multiactive president, "Statistics today show us that 42% of high-traffic Web sites either never respond to inquiries or they respond five days later."

Multiactive recently released Entice!, an e-business packaged software solution that integrates e-commerce, marketing, sales, and customer relationship management (CRM). According to Halverson, Entice! is designed to improve the way companies do business over the Web. It includes functions such as generating automatic responses to e-mail, self-qualifying sales leads, and intelligent one-to-one marketing.

Targeting large organizations with a packaged e-merchandising product is Blue Martini Software, San Mateo, Calif. Version 2.0 of the Blue Martini E-Merchandising System delivers enhanced capabilities for dynamic merchandising, targeted selling, and tailored customer service. Version 2.0 also extends its retail application by adding content management to other modules such as merchandise and customer management, WebStore operations, and tools.

Going forward, companies will rely on traditional and Internet selling to compete globally. According to Forrester Research, e-commerce will exceed $300 billion by 2002--quite an incentive for businesses to get their e-merchandising strategies in place.