You may be wondering, how is navigating an ecommerce site like driving a car?  The answer is simple: both processes are designed to get people (whether they are customers or drivers) from point A to point B. 

Ecommerce site owners, the ones responsible for making sure that their ecommerce sites achieve this goal, are busy people, and often wear many hats as part of running and maintaining their businesses. When people become busy, we tend to look for shortcuts. Usually, this is a time-saving measure that works, but in some cases, cutting corners can really hurt your bottom line. 

Many of the most common ecommerce site mistakes result from the desire to take a shortcut and accomplish things quickly. Think that your site is exempt from these mistakes? Don’t be so sure.  Common mistakes are common for one reason: many people make them.

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Can you believe that the month of April is almost over? It has gone by quickly for me, and we’ve been pretty busy here at Miva Merchant.  Here are some of our newsworthy achievements for the month of April, and if you haven’t registered for the DYMO/Endicia and USPS webinar happening tomorrow, April 24th, be sure to read more about it and follow the link to register below.

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When you’re in charge of managing a Facebook page, Twitter profile, or other social media profile for your company, you have the always fun, and sometimes far-reaching responsibility of being your company’s voice in the social media sphere. 

Assuming the identity of a corporation online can be a great opportunity to grow an online community, and to interact with people and other companies at the same time.  Social media management, particularly on the Facebook and Twitter platforms, is also a great opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service skills.

If you think that social media doesn’t have a customer service component, there isn’t a nice way for me to say this—you’re wrong.

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Shipping fulfillment is something that all online merchants have to negotiate on a regular basis. When orders come in, making sure these orders reach customers in a timely and cost-effective way can make the difference between business success and business failure.

Luckily, Miva Merchant ecommerce storeowners have a variety of shipping options to choose from. Our recent Miva Merchant 5.5 PR8 Update 5 included some new shipping integrations and features that all storeowners should be aware of, so if you’re new to Miva Merchant, or if you’re just unsure about what your shipping options are, this blog post will help explain the basics to you.  For specific questions, you can refer to the links below and/or leave a comment on this blog post.

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I recently read an article that mentioned a study conducted by the Cornell School of Behavioral Administration about restaurant tipping behavior in the United States. 

That same day, I read another article about social media lessons that companies can learn from food truck operators. Both of these articles made me think about how interesting it is that industries that appear to have very little do with each other (the restaurant and food industries and ecommerce, for example)  can actually learn a lot from one another in some cases.

The following are my ecommerce-focused expansions on three of the points that both of the articles touched on.

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Welcome back to another edition of Miva Merchant ecommerce news briefs. This week, we’ll examine the implications of the approaching GTLD application deadline, and take a look at what a recent study shows about brand loyalty and recognition vs. social networking popularity.

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Effective Monday, April 9th, we will be deleting our personal profile on Facebook in an effort to consolidate and streamline our social media reach.

Our Miva Merchant business profile will remain active, and we will continue to provide our fans with updates and content.

If you are currently “friends” with our personal page but have not “liked” our business page, please take a minute to do this so that we can stay connected with you! Thank you for your support.

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Welcome to a new month and a new week! Today, we take a look at the possibility that Facebook users may soon be able to “Hate” as well as “Like” content online,  and examine some statistics about mobile commerce and affluent consumers.

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With spring officially underway, flowers blooming, and warmer and longer days, many people are preparing for their spring weddings.  Along with all of the necessary preparations that go along with a wedding of any size comes the challenge of picking the right wedding favors to compliment the theme of the ceremony.

This week, our Store Spotlight, Hanson Ellis, focuses on an ecommerce store specializing in unique wedding favors, and unique and custom keepsakes for brides and grooms to cherish long after their big day is done.

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Miva Merchant partner DYMO Endicia, will be hosting a webinar in conjunction with USPS on April 24th, 2012.  The webinar, which will be held from 11:00 am-12:00 pm PDT, is intended to help business owners learn more about the services offered by USPS and DYMO Endicia.

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