Shaping the Digital Customer Service Experience

The face of retail is changing and so is customer service— for the better. As featured on CNNMoney.com, Mike Duncan speaks to the digital age of customer service in specialty retail. By integrating social media, product recommendations, consumer reviews,  Live Chat, and more,  learn how to enhance your customer’s shopping experience and supersede any storefront customer service.

IASC, SIMA and BRA members confirmed for China Action Sports Retail Summit and CASE

(Hangzhou, China Aug. 2010) Yeah yeah, you’ve heard how big the China market is and how it’s growing. Yeah, it’ll take over as the worlds largest consumer economy inside of 10 – 15 years, BUT, what’s up with retail over there? Especially Action Sports retail!?! Because the market is still evolving (it’s a biiiiig baby) at retail, the opportunities are diverse and the need for dialog is critical. Early adopter companies will shape the landscape for their own as well as Chinas future Action Sports Market.

With this in mind Wabsono International, the guys that brought you Greg & Rusty Long, Mark Healy and Jamie Sterling surfing the Qiantang River bore and the Baby Dragon series Skate contests, is bringing together Respected U.S. Specialty Retailers, Surf/Skate brand executives and Chinese retailers in a forum to present and discuss the challenges and opportunities that this massive market has to offer.

Held on September 25th in conjunction with the three day Surfing China Tidal Bore Festival in the beautiful city of Hangzhou, the Summit format will include discussions and Q&A from US retailers on how they grew their business in the early years, Chinese retailers discussing how retail is evolving in China (25 yrs ago all retail was government owned) and US Brand leaders discussing how they grew their business in partnership with Independent retailers.

US retailers confirmed:

Mike Duncan of BRA
Todd Roberts of ZJs
Milo Myers of Hangar 94
RB Alexander of Hobie Sports

US Brands confirmed:
Cathey Curtis of Quiksilver
Frank Messman of Black Box
Tod Swank of Tum Yeto
Jenn Kong of Vans

China Retail Panel:
The Source
Sanfuhuwai
Eno
Fly

For additional Information, contact Glenn Brumage gbrumage@cox.net
or visit: http://www.surfingchinaexpo.com/

Buyers looking for the latest products for the upcoming season know exactly where to find them — at ASR. Twice a year the Surf/Skate Lifestyle and Fashion industries invade San Diego to conduct business and preview lines for the upcoming seasons. ASR tradeshow provides an authentic and efficient forum for buyers, sellers, media, and the investment community to conduct business and move the action sports industry forward. It’s the platform that unites brands of all sizes with an unmatched national and international buying audience.

Mike Duncan, Sage Island’s CEO, will be presenting three different seminars during the show.

The Board Retailers Association (BRA) hosts Survival of the Fittest – BRA Retail Certification Programs August 12th, 2010. Retailers are encouraged to take advantage of the trip to the trade shows by attending a full-day of certified retail education focused on current market issues facing specialty retailers.

Strengthening Your Website’s Presence through an Integrated Marketing Plan
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island Marketing Agency
10:00 am on August 12th

Your website is a critical component of your business. At a time when online competition has never been so fierce, it’s crucial to have a marketing plan for your website that drives results. This seminar, presented my Mike Duncan, CEO of Sage Island addresses the necessity of a well designed, innovative site, and how to properly market it through a hands on  approach of planning, analysis, and optimization. Mike speaks to the art of  SEO and PPC tactics and how to  expand your brand on the web to drive results.

Ten Ways for Retailers to Improve Website Presence
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island Marketing Agency
Saturday, August 14th at 11:00 am

In the ever changing world of retail, competition has never been more fierce. Your website is a critical component of your business. This seminar teaches a fully integrated marketing approach leading you through the basics of a well designed, innovative site, and how to properly utilize e-commerce solutions. Learn how to build and expand your presence on the web to drive sales and maximize your bottom line.

Leveraging the Power of Social Media
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island Marketing Agency and Danny Keith, Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop
Saturday, August 14th at 2:00 pm

Over the last few years, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have gone from college networking sites to marketing powerhouses. Businesses today tap into Facebook to reach their audience in more targeted, local, and efficient ways than ever before.  This seminar, presented by Danny Keith, owner of the Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, and Mike Duncan CEO of Sage Island, teaches the latest tactics and applications that elevate social media from self promotion sites to professional lead generating tools.

More on Sage Island Speaking Engagements Here

1/13 All Day
Multichannel Marketing for Retailing
Today’s retail operations include more venues than ever before. As websites compete with brick and mortar stores and catalogs, new media marketing channels such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are rapidly growing to compete with traditional advertising. In this seminar, you’ll learn to utilize all of these marketing channels to drive traffic to your retail store. You’ll learn new ways to grow your retail business and reach new customers now. From the basics of driving web traffic through search engine marketing to landing page optimization, this seminar will prepare you to navigate the new retail marketing landscape to maximize your reach.

1/14 11am
Navigating the Social Web
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island CEO
This seminar will give you tips to improve your website’s promotional strategy through blogging, social marketing, and Web 2.0 results. Learn to utilize the social web to connect with your client base, improve customer service, and generate sales leads. Streamline your blogging and social media marketing methods with the latest tools, techniques, and innovation. You will leave the seminar with actionable tactics you can use to make money NOW.

1/16 2pm
Learning the World of Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island CEO
PPC Advertising isn’t just about sponsored search listings anymore. In this seminar, you’ll learn about emerging pay-per-click methods, including product feeds for shopping search engines like Google Base, affiliate marketing techniques, and more. You’ll also learn tried and true methods for getting your business at the top of the search results in Google, Yahoo, and Bing instantly with sponsored listings. Get instant visibility and measurable results for your business with these tips and tricks.

SIA

Fri, 1/29 – 8am
Get started in the world of Ecommerce: Ecommerce for Beginners
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island CEO
In this seminar, you’ll learn tips and tricks for beginners in ecommerce. From using a Yahoo shopping cart to building a custom ecommerce website with an integrated POS system, this seminar offers simple step-by-step instructions for how to sell and market your products online and where to take your online business next. Utilize the top tools and techniques for ecommerce success along with analytics to track your conversion rate and maximize your selling power. You’ll learn the techniques that make ecommerce giants like Amazon and Endless successful to turn your mom and pop store into an online selling machine.

Fri, 1/29 – 11:30am
Tricks to Improve E-Commerce Website Traffic
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island CEO
This seminar will outline best practices for analyzing and refining your ecommerce website to maximize your online sales power. Turn your website into a selling machine with optimized graphics and landing pages that convert. We explore how to analyze web data to determine if your category pages, detail pages and checkout process are performing up to par, and discuss best practices to help improve performance and increase revenue.

ASR

Wed. 2/3 at 11:00
Pay-Per-Click Advertising the basics and beyond
Presented by: Mike Duncan, Sage Island CEO
In this seminar, you’ll learn the ins and outs of paid search engine listings as well as emerging pay-per-click methods, including product feeds for shopping search engines like Google Base, affiliate marketing techniques, and more. Learn how to get your website to the top of the search results in Google, Yahoo, and Bing instantly with sponsored listings. PPC offers instant visibility and measurable results for your business. Master it with these tips and tricks!

Go Twit Yourself – How To Cut Through The Hype and Really Make a Difference Online

Sage Island CEO and Creative Director Mike Duncan will be speaking to industry insiders at the Transworld Snowboarding Industry Conference December 15-18. In his seminar, he’ll offer tips to improve your website’s promotional strategy, social marketing, blogging and Web 2.0 results. This may be the most valuable time you spend and learn specific tactics to get your hands dirty and improve your online  sales and overall bottom line. Learn top tools and marketing strategies that can strengthen your website online marketing efforts at little to no cost. You will leave the seminar with actionable tactics you can use to make money NOW.

TWITTER, SOCIAL MEDIA, SEO, PPC: WHO HAS TIME FOR ALL THIS GEEK STUFF?
Location: Meeting Room 5A
Just think if you could do market research, organize focus groups and build your customer base all without spending a dime? Thanks to social media and great internet tools, you can. Small businesses are acquiring loyal customers, gaining valuable insight and boosting their business by harnessing these tools. Learn the top tricks and tools in a changing internet environment to boost sales and your brand without needing an army.

LEVERAGING SOCIAL TOOLS
Blogs, Facebook and Twitter – Learn the best ways to use the latest social marketing tools to communicate and connect with customers, get instant feedback on ideas, listen to what’s being said about your brand and more.  With real world examples, this seminar will help and help make sense of the tools, and help you make them work effectively for your business.

ECOMMERCE STRATEGIES FOR MULTI-CHANNEL SUCCESS
In this seminar you will learn everything from the state of retailing online to driving web traffic, search engine marketing and POS integration. The digital channel is retail’s new growth engine and you must master this domain in order to be a successful retailer. Learn ten things that you can do to improve your ecommerce website.

TECH TOOLS: 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE
This seminar will give you tips to improve your website’s promotional strategy, social marketing, blogging and Web 2.0 results. This may be the most valuable time you spend as you will learn specific tactics to get your hands dirty and improve your online sales, and the overall bottom line. The seminar will present top tools and marketing strategies that can strengthen your website online marketing efforts at little to no cost. You will leave the seminar with actionable tactics you can use to make money NOW.