The liberalization of generic top level domains confirmed

At the end of June, the ICANN board approved a policy allowing for the creation of an unlimited amount of gTLDs (generic top-level domains such as .com and .org).  Any person or organization with the technical and financials means to manage such an extension will be able to request its creation.

The administrative and technical framework is still to be determined, but already brand rights are being considered.  More precise policies should be announced by the end of the year, and the project should see the light of day in 2009. For the moment, here is what was announced:

• Brand owners will be able to halt the creation of extensions on which they have rights.
• The distribution of these extensions will begin with a sunrise period during which only brand owners will be able to register their own brand domain names.

This information is definitely reassuring for brand owners.

Brand owners should properly weigh the advantages of registering their brand name as each new extension becomes available. As an agency offering domain names management services, IC-Agency will be following these developments very closely.

Listening to what your customers are saying

This is our reality: the Internet has completely rocked the way companies are marketing.  Every day, millions of netizens are sharing their consumer experiences related to your products and services.  Your brand image, its reputation and the wants it creates are being molded on the Internet.  Whether you like it or not.

As much as this citizen articulation can be damaging, it also represents opportunity: a chance to listen to your customers, join in on their conversation and learn from the criticism, observations and suggestions to improve on your product, launch a new one or to optimize your corporate communications.

IC-Agency offers its clients a monitoring solution that gathers and analyzes thousands of consumer opinions in blogs, forms and social networks (Facebook, YouTube, etc).

Collected opinions are automatically grouped within a secure web interface and are evaluated by the IC-Agency team.  Each opinion, available in its full text form, can be tagged with a specific theme to allow for in-depth reporting.

A search function exists that allows filtering along multiple criteria, as well as a subscription feature that alerts you that a new opinion been published relating to your specific search.

A flexible privacy system makes it equally possible to limit publishing certain opinions only to those concerned within your organization (ex: only Client Services can view opinions regarding hotline quality).

Lastly, the interface contains a reporting module allowing for a graphical representation of perception evolution of each brand or product attributes.

Contact us if you are interested in seeing a demo of our online monitoring solution.

iPhone 3G leads the way of the usability revolution

On the weekend it was launched, over 1 million units of the latest incarnation of the Apple iPhone were sold. However, one of the most groundbreaking aspects of this launch was not the phone itself, but the concurrent launch of the App Store.

After filtering through the novelty games and standard productivity software, there remain a large number of apps that are designed to deliver web content in a manner that is easy, intuitive and even fun. Borne out of the developer’s kit provided by Apple, these apps follow the same principles of design and simplicity that made the iPhone a success. Already, over 500 apps are available, and together they have seen over 10 million downloads over last weekend's launch.

The launch of this aptly-named “killer app” will cause many to rethink the delivery of their website content, not only for creating apps, but also regarding their “traditional” online home. Already, Facebook is preparing a relaunch of their menu and navigation based on the intuitive design of the iPhone version of the site. The iPhone has forced designers, developers and marketers to think about usability, providing the event necessary to jumpstart the next of evolution of web content delivery.

Keep in mind that the true winners will not necessarily be those who are first on the scene with an app, but those who understand and put into practice the complimentary roles their website and their app can play.

See you at E-Commerce Paris

From September 23 to 25 at the Porte de Versailles, the 5^th Paris E-Commerce Convention will host approximately 380 exhibits, 200 conferences and over 20 000 visitors.

For this occasion, Holistis will present, on Tuesday, September 23, a conference with a provocative subject: “2% of your visitors become customers, a fatality?”.

In 2008, 32 billion dollars will be invested to attract visitors to merchants’ sites. However, 98 % of these visitors will leave the site without purchasing something.

Why are your visitors leaving? Holisitis is an e-merchandising solution that allows testing and personalization of your content in real time to increase your visitors’ engagement, and, in turn, their conversion into loyal customers.

Based on our studies of clients’ cases, we will discuss  the main reasons for losing visitors, the impact that testing and personalization of content will have on your sales, and most importantly, how quickly and easily we can improve your sales, all while making the customer more satisfied.

Come see us in Paris: IC-Agency and Holistis are waiting for you! If you would like to meet us, please contact us at this address. This event is free and open to all. Programme and registration here.