In Technology
Multi-channel marketing communications - all in one!
Customizing Your Online Ordering Portal
Posted by 
on Thursday, August 26, 2010 
at 2:10 PM 
in One of my favorite features in the ilinkONE Version 8 software is how users can easily customize the look and feel of their online ordering portal. Primarily, users have quite a bit of flexibility on how they present their “Item Search” page to users.
When people visit a site to place an order, they certainly may know which product they’d like to order. But oftentimes, people simply like to browse. Thus, they may utilize the Product Group and Product Type categories.
In the ilinkONE Version 8 software, users have the option to present the Groups and Types via thumbnails. Thumbnails for each group or type can be displayed directly on the Search page. Users also have options as to how big the thumbnails may be. If you only have a few items, then you certainly may take a look at using the large thumbnail option.
But no matter what you choose, you certainly will want to ensure that the sizes of your thumbnails are consistent.
If you’d like to do this in your own instance of our software, it’s real easy. The main two things you need to do are:
- Modify your Client Rules to display thumbnails for Product Groups and Types (other options include text links and dropdowns)
- Create your thumbnails, and then upload them via the Database Admin pages for Groups and Types
I hope that you find this feature helpful!
Below is the screenshot of one way that thumbnails could spice up the front page of your online ordering portal:
Tags ilink.me Anti-Spam enhancements
Today we’re happy to announce that we’ve rolled out spam prevention enhancements to our short URL service, ilink.me.
New anti-spam Error Message
In an effort to protect end users, we now validate the URL you try to shorten against lists of websites known to be unsafe. If you try to enter an unsafe URL, you’ll see that error message above.
We do this by integrating in real-time with trusted spam, phishing and malware lists, and will continue to keep our anti-spam protection as robust as possible by integrating with new services as they become available.
Enhancements like these should help ensure that users can rely on our ilink.me service to execute and measure social media marketing campaigns without interruption!
@MBossed and our QReate & Track Software
Ryan McAbee writes a very dynamic blog that covers the world of print media.
Along with frequent posts on m-bossed.com, he is quite active in sharing helpful information on his Twitter account.
Recently, Ryan used our QReate & Track software application. That tools allows companies to generate QR Codes and then measure their effectiveness.
Ryan was kind enough to post an article on his blog where he discusses his experience with using our software.
Please feel free to check out the article here >>
The Mobile Invasion
During the upcoming weekend, I’d like you to look around a bit. Perhaps it’s while you grab a coffee, travel on public transportation, or attend a sports event or concert. As you watch what others are doing, I am quite sure that you will come to this conclusion: more and more people are carrying and using smart phones.
Mobile Marketing Watch published the results of a study by Nielsen that confirms this. In fact, the title of the post is “Android, Smartphones Invading U.S. With A Vengeance“.
Here is the chart that pretty much sums up what we all know, or will know, after this weekend 
There is no need for anyone to believe that the growth of smart phones will slow down anytime soon. Thus, if we are a printer, mailer, fulfillment house, or some other sort of marketing services provider, we must do everything we can to ensure that we ride this same path upwards.
- It might be with QR Codes: 2-D barcodes that help make print interactive and provide measurement.
- Perhaps it’s finding ways to incorporate calls-to-action on printed materials that require SMS/Text-Messaging.
- It may also mean finding ways to communicate with our prospects and customers via text.
Sure, this type of change will affect our business in various ways. If we are driving people to the web on their mobile phones, it would be wise to point them to mobile-optimized landing pages. If we are communicating via SMS, we may need to invest in new technology or a service.
But as the Nielsen study helps us to see, people are investing in smart phones. If we make the necessary investments to keep up with them, we may reap the benefits quickly.
Warehouse/Ordering: State Restrictions (Feature Highlight)
In the business of collateral distribution and fulfillment, it sure would be easier if all users could order and receive the same items. The company managing the inventory would have a lot less stress.
However in many industries, that is not the case. Financial Services and insurance companies have many rules that dictate which collateral can be shipped to people, based on the State that they live in.
Many of our service provider clients have received business from companies in those vertical markets. One way that our software supports them is via our State Restrictions feature.
In the Inventory Management section of our software, users have the ability to create and define details of the products that they are responsible for. This might include reorder points, descriptions, print instructions, and order approval rules. Users can also define if a product (or kit) is restricted to specific States.
If a product is restricted to specific States, our Order Placement/Shopping Cart pages will honor those rules. Users will only be able to view and order products that are available to the applicable State. This helps to ensure that any laws surrounding distribution of that sensitive literature are honored.
Another example of how this feature may be used is if a person orders a kit. Let’s say someone orders the “Welcome to ACME Insurance” kit. This kit might include a generic Welcome letter, a What’s New document, and perhaps a description of the various insurance options that are offered. But if the person lives in the State of Massachusetts, the system could automatically inform the warehouse that they must include a supplement that provides state-specific guidelines when they ship the order.
