iksula content & open source solutions 01222013
DESCRIPTION
Product Content Solutions for Online Retailers (impacting site traffic, discovery & marketing/persuasion); and, Open Source ecommerce solutions leveraging Magento and DrupalTRANSCRIPT
Iksula Services
Iksula derives its name from an ancient river in India. Iksula believes and aspires to grow and flow, serving the needs of direct e-commerce companies
Iksula was founded in March 2007 to provide complete solutions for Internet and direct ecommerce companies globally having offices in India & US with 200 full time employees and 100 Associates.
Iksula is co-founded by ex-eBayites who have closely worked with Internet Retail, Online Travel and other direct ecommerce mediums.
Iksula through its ability offers world class solutions finding best answers to business problems and execute it using 3 pillars People, Process and Technology.
Currently 165 people strong: 30 Tech Developers, 112 Content Team (30 writers, 70 catalogers, 2 photographers, 10 image editors), 15 Internet Marketing Professionals, 8 Sales and Admin
About Iksula
A few of our clients
Services we offer
Technology
Internet Marketing
Content Production
Merchandising
Fulfillment Operations
• Ecommerce websites and applications in Magento•Magento certified partner
•Helping our clients and partners drive visitors and conversions through SEO, Social Media, PPC and Affiliate marketing• Producing high quality product content which increases conversions – Table Top Photography, Model Shoots, Image Editing, Descriptions, Cataloging, Articles, Blogs
• Category, Consumer and Analytics driven insights to matching supply and demand for increased ecommerce sales
• Customer Service, Courier Management, Warehouse coordination
Consulting•Helping offline players explore the online market•Helping online players to extract best ROI for their online presence
Our Clients are located across 4 continents
How do you make great product content?
Product Page Components
Version 1.0 Version 2.0Faster Bandwidth
Version 3.0Emergence of Social
Version 4.0Emergence of mobile
Basic Hygiene Calls to Action / Delivery and Returns Information / Stock Information
Product Attributes
Product Descriptions
Featured Driven to Informercials
Product Images Low resolution
High resolution, 360 degree views, Product videos
Product configurators, Videos, Personalization
Recommendations (cross/upsells)
Merchandising driven
Consumer’s site behavior driven
Consumer’s social behavior driven
??
User Reviews Text reviews Video reviews ??
Social Sharing “Like” buttons ??
Trial Rooms Zovi.com “Zovi Eye” ??
Key elements of a product page and evolution across time
Images: Photography
Types of photography
Table Top/Still – as the name suggests, it is done on a table top with or without styling
Catalog
Editorial
Table Top / Still Photography
Used mostly for accessories, electronics Focus on the product; low cost of production Can shoot 100-120 products a shift; 40-50 jewelry
products a shift; higher with photo boxes
Table Top Product Shots
Catalog Type Apparel Photography
Shot on models, but focus is on the product; plain background in most cases
Most fashion brands use this form - Zara, Neiman-Marcus, Diesel, Globus, Armani Collezioni, Burberry, Levis
Cost of production not very high Can shoot 80-100 products a shift
Editorial /High Fashion Photography
Lots of accessories Model and the background are styled; will usually follow a
theme Examples: Benetton, Versace Cost of production very high 40-50 products in a shift
Recommendations (cross / up sell)
Merchandiser selection driven Market basket analysis• An old offline retail technique which evaluates
groups of products that are bought together Collaborative filtering – pioneered by
Amazon• Users who bought this also bought that• Wikipedia Definition “the method of making
automatic predictions about the interests of a user by collecting taste information from many users”
• Some enhancements• Discover tool – Amazon again• Website recommendations based on your search
history, and aggregated data collected from other users
• Recommendations not necessarily based on what you are searching for
User Reviews
Text Reviews Actual consumer written. Eg: amazon.com Seeded reviews Powered reviews. Eg: powerreviews.com
Video Reviews http://www.firebox.com/product/5511/Mighty-Bo
omBall-Speaker They pay 50 pounds for every user video
But how do you produce high volume content – more than 300 SKUs a day?
What do you need to build great content?
You need Great language skills Photography as well as image editing Ability to do the very basic task of filling data
sheets every day Eye for detail
Along with Great Product Knowledge You need a Category /
Merchandising manager
What do you need to build great content?
A category manager OR members of the category and merchandising team producing content
= High quality content
BUT Very high production costs Poor productivity Production delays
What do you need to build great content?
You need a “Content Production Framework” consisting of
High quality content at a great price
Trained PeopleThe links that constitute the
delivery chain
TechnologyThe tool that assists PEOPLE to
complete their PROCESSES more efficiently
ProcessThe structure that defines
quality output and productivity
Let’s talk about Process first
A process helps you to Structure Work Flow for smooth
movement of work across task buckets Define expected output to ensure quality
standards as well as standardization of output
Continuous measurement and improvement
Process – work flow example
Tasks are broken down to logical groups & flows allowing easy project management
Tasks are executed according to expertise
Tasks are processed serially and in parallel for high efficiency
Pre-processing
Collections Identification
Options & Join product
Sheets
Sku Descriptions
QC Merging
Parallel processing
Serial processing
SKU Tagging
Competitive Pricing
Data Delivery
KIT Creation Collections Imaging
Attributing
Classing Related Items
Swatch Images &
Association
Complete
Process – defining output
Documentation, documentation and more documentation
Capturing every minute requirements
Some key documents Attributing instructions and guidelines Writing guidelines Photography style guide Image editing guideline
Process - sample photography guideline
Establishing basic definitions
Detailed guidelines by product line
Process - sample writing guideline
Define Measure Analyze Improve Control
The Six Sigma DMAIC Implementation Approach
•Define project objectives•Validate / develop Project Charter• Identify Quick Wins and refine process• Identify Performance Measures
•Data collection• Plot and analyze data•Determine if special cause exists•Determine Sigma performance
• Stratify process and data•Develop problem statement• Identify root causes•Validate root causes
•Generate solution ideas•Determine solutions, impact, benefits• Evaluate & select solutions•Develop process maps & high level plan
•Develop Pilot Plan•Verify Sigma improvement•Develop standardization opportunities• Integrate lessons learned•Handover to process owner
Process - a quality framework for continuous measurement & improvement
What do you need to build great content?
You need a “Content Production Framework” consisting of
High quality content at a great price
Trained PeopleThe links that constitute the
delivery chain
TechnologyThe tool that assists PEOPLE to
complete their PROCESSES more efficiently
ProcessThe structure that defines
quality output and productivity
Technology
Work flow Productivity Quality
Project management tool that allows task allocation, management and time tracking
Tools that allow you to execute tasks faster
Helps to standardize data and in identifying errors
Technology
Work flow Productivity Quality
•Task Allocation•Tracking•Writing•Editing•Quality Scores•Reporting
Technology
Work flow Productivity Quality
Excel Macros
Photoshop Actions
Data Scrapers
Content Creation Tools
Classing Tools
Attributing Tool
Technology
Work flow Productivity Quality
Quality Environments
Staging Server Visual Check and Editing
Tool
What do you need to build great content?
You need a “Content Production Framework” consisting of
High quality content at a great price
Trained PeopleThe links that constitute the
delivery chain
TechnologyThe tool that assists PEOPLE to
complete their PROCESSES more efficiently
ProcessThe structure that defines
quality output and productivity
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People - a typical team structure
Cataloger 1
Quality lead 1
Quality lead 2
Team lead 2
Team lead 1
Project Manager
Program Management
The layer that drives productivity
Domain experts, the layer that drives quality
Execution layer
A hierarchical structure leads to career growth and long term employee retention
People - performance frameworkTask bucket wise analysis
Row Labels 7-Mar 14-Mar 21-Mar 4-Apr 18-Apr 25-Apr 2-May 9-May 16-May Grand TotalAccent
Name/Descrip Score [TBLPRODUCT] 3.68 3.73 3.79 3.84 3.99 4.00 4.01 4.04 4.03 3.91Options Score [TBLJOINPRODUCTSUPPLIER] 4.29 4.34 4.34 4.38 4.40 4.41 4.44 4.47 4.47 4.40Shipping Score [TBLPRODUCTOPTION] 4.58 4.58 4.60 4.62 4.63 4.63 4.64 4.64 4.65 4.62Pricing Score [DATA FILE] 4.82 4.83 4.84 4.85 4.83 4.83 4.78 4.75 4.71 4.79C & A Score [ATTRIBUTES] 3.65 3.68 3.68 3.70 3.69 3.68 3.68 3.68 3.67 3.68Images Score 3.92 3.97 3.95 3.92 3.88 3.88 3.89 3.85 3.85 3.90Associations Score 4.07 4.12 4.17 4.16 4.16 4.16 4.18 4.18 4.19 4.16Kitting Score 4.05 4.05 4.02 4.02 4.04 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.02
UpholsteryName/Descrip Score [TBLPRODUCT] 3.12 3.12 3.16 3.19 3.23 3.23 3.27 3.27 3.27 3.22Options Score [TBLJOINPRODUCTSUPPLIER] 4.27 4.28 4.28 4.29 4.31 4.31 4.31 4.31 4.31 4.30Shipping Score [TBLPRODUCTOPTION] 4.45 4.46 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.42 4.39 4.39 4.39 4.41Pricing Score [DATA FILE] 4.44 4.44 4.45 4.44 4.45 4.45 4.38 4.38 4.38 4.42C & A Score [ATTRIBUTES] 3.44 3.42 3.45 3.44 3.45 3.45 3.44 3.44 3.44 3.44Images Score 3.34 3.31 3.29 3.30 3.32 3.32 3.31 3.31 3.31 3.31Associations Score 3.86 3.82 3.74 3.71 3.74 3.74 3.72 3.72 3.72 3.75Kitting Score 3.58 3.57 3.57 3.51 3.51 3.51 3.51 3.51 3.51 3.53
• Extensive metrics on quality and productivity•Objective performance evaluation translating to a merit driven organization
Resource quality scorecard
People - enabling performance
You need extensive training programs to enable high quality and productivity
Great content through…
..a coming together of people, process and technology
High quality content at a great price
Trained PeopleThe links that constitute the
delivery chain
TechnologyThe tool that assists PEOPLE to
complete their PROCESSES more efficiently
ProcessThe structure that defines
quality output and productivity
Open Source Solution for Online RetailersCan it really make you money?
Why Open Source?
Fully Featured Out of the Box
Community Support
Secure
Global Payment Aggregators
Open Source Vs Proprietary Software
Cost Involved
Open Source
The Cost is low and no licensing Fee
Update
Open Source
MILLIONS of developers are working to keep the
software update
Customizability
Open Source
As the source code is available amendments
can be done as per requirements
Vendor Lock-in
Open Source
Free from Vendor Lock-in as the entire community
own the software
Development
Open Source
Open Standards facilitate integration with other
system
Best of Open Sourcefor Internet Retailers
eCommerce Featuresusing Open Source Solution
Virtual Dressing Room
Product Video
Compare Product
To remove from comparison
Differences are highlighted
Similar Products for comparison
Rotating Gallery with Zoom
Gift Finder
Customization at work
Multichannel
Selling Products to different vendors through single Platform
Customize Jewellery
Size Calibration
Advanced search
Auto Suggestion
Marketing ToolsTo Turn Browsers to Buyers
Promotions and Offers
Thank you