Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies, has transformed the face of commerce in part because it has managed to at once to be “The Everything Store” but still with a route into its sea of products that, for most users, surfaces what they might most want to see (and importantly buy or consume). That kind personalisation has become a goal not just for e-commerce companies, but for any organization running a digital business: users are constantly distracted, and when their attention is caught, they do not want to spend time figuring out what they most want.
Not every business is Amazon, though, so we are seeing a crop of startups emerging that are working on ways to help the rest of the digital world be just as optimised and personalised as Amazon is. Now one of them, an Israeli startup called Dynamic Yield has raised more money as it continues to expand its business, both to more platforms and to more geographies.
The startup’s Series D has now closed off at $38 million, with the inclusion of a $5 million strategic investment from Naver, Korea’s “Google” (it’s the country’s top search portal) that is also behind messaging apps Line and Snow. The plan is for Naver to help bring Dynamic Yield to Korea and Japan, by incorporating its tech into its own services and those of others that work with Naver.
(Personalisation and aggregators are strong magnets for users in Asia and thus big magnets for funding: Bytedance, which provides news aggregation among other services, was recently valued at $75 billion.)
Naver is not the only search engine that has caught site of Dynamic Yield over the years. Previous investors include Baidu (“the Google of China”), and we’ve heard that when the startup was younger — it was founded in 2011 — Google had tried to acquire it (Dynamic Yield rejected the offer, and it’s been approached for acquisitions numerous times since then).
Other strategic investors include the New York Times and Deutsche Telekom, alongside other backers like Innovation Endeavors, Bessemer Venture Partners, Marker Capital and more.
Dynamic Yield has raised $85 million to date and is now valued at “hundreds of millions of dollars”, but less than $500 million, a source at the company said, after seeing a strong expansion of its services.
Dynamic Yield says it works with over 220 global brands, and its tech reaches 600 million unique users each month, across 10 billion page views and 600 billion “events” on those pages. It claims its AI-based personalisation technology can lift revenues (or other engagement metrics) by 10-15 percent.
“It makes us an effective tool for surviving in a market where customer acquisition cost keeps getting more expensive,” said co-founder and CEO Liad Agmon said in an interview.
Dynamic Yield doesn’t talk about many of its customers on the record — most don’t like to reveal to rivals who they work with, Agmon said.
But they include a number of big brands across e-commerce, travel, finance, media and other segments that use its tech not just to show more targeted products to prospective shoppers, but to help power advertising, recommend content and position the same information to different people in different ways depending on who is viewing it (for example with different headlines).
There are a lot of personalisation and A/B analytics companies in the market today — others include Adobe, Marketo (which is becoming a part of Adobe), Optimizely, and many more. Indeed, I’d be very surprised if Amazon is not working on ways of productising its own personalisation tech in a way that is not intrinsically linked to its own marketplace (because some will never want to sell there, and because personalisation can be used for so much more than just e-commerce).
Dynamic Yield, however, claims that it has an edge over these because of how it works.
Agmon says that the tech sits on top of whichever CMS or other backend server that a site is using and is activated by way of a small amount of code. It uses machine learning to both “read” what is in a site, and matches that up against specific visitors and its own trove of experience.
Agmon added that when a business already has information about that visitor, that is the primary data that is used; otherwise it also incorporates other data sources like Acxiom and others — much the way that other marketing tech does — to form a stronger picture of your tastes.
It then runs this data through its own machine learning algorithms both to recommend content and to help a marketing manager figure out better customer segmentation overall. There is an “autopilot” version of the product where everything is automated based on Dynamic Yield’s algorithms; or options to use the data sources to set up specific marketing campaigns; or (as is common) a combination of the two.
Going forward, Agmon said that the plan is to work across an increasing number of interfaces where customers are going today to discover and buy goods and services. Indeed, we’ve described how some of the newest e-commerce startups have eschewed any website or app of their own and work exclusively in third-party messaging apps to acquire customers and sell goods.
But it’s not just these new digital platforms that are becoming targets for personalisation startups like Dynamic Yield.
Agmon said that his company is also working with a major retailer that is using its tech at its in-person payment points. When — for example — a customer comes to order a latte, instead of generic upselling to the latest seasonal flavour, the person taking the order will now know if the customer ever orders a sweet injection, or if she/he is more of a savoury snack of person. The cashier will then know what to recommend to eat with that drink that is more likely to be purchased.
The mom-and-pop shop with its reputation for knowing the regulars and what they like might have found its dystopian (but useful) heir.
I recently attended the Fast Company Innovation Festival, sponsored by Dell and other amazing companies. One of the panels I attended, in partnership with Dell, featured Nikki Reed, a former actress and founder of Bayou with Love, a fashion brand with a focus on sustainable development. Also, on the panel was Senthil Balasubramanian of Sistine Solar and David Lear, head of Sustainable Development at Dell.
While we all care, to varying degrees, about the planet, sustainability, and ensuring we’re good stewards of it, it’s not always easy to do, and we don’t always do our part. It’s important that creators, engineers, and designers all do their best to make products that look great. People sometimes need to be enticed to use a product, not only because it is good for the planet but indeed because it looks good as well.
To get people to get out of their comfort zones, said Nikki, you sometimes have to do something that turns their heads.
As businesses look to create products that are better for the planet and supporting sustainability, they have to be designed with the consumer in mind. In essence, the advice is: build products that people will WANT. Senthil shared how his company could just make solar panels, but instead, they want to make solar panels that LOOK great on your home and that others will want to have as well.
Senthil said that “sustainability and aesthetics go hand in hand”.
David shared that as Dell creates products and product packaging, they work hard to ensure that the products they’re making today can be used (or reused) in the future. Dell’s product packaging, for example, is made to be re-used or recycled.
In fact, Dell’s partnership with Nikki Reed is all about re-use. Inside of Dell’s computers, and that of every other computer and electronic gadget, there’s gold on the electronic circuitry. When recycled in large quantities this can add up to a lot of gold. Nikki’s partnership with Dell lets her take this gold and use it in her jewelry.
Other insights from the panel included Nikki sharing that she has access to an advanced research tool where she can get insights from millions of people. It’s called “social media”. Leverage the power of social media and other listening tools to LISTEN to your customers.
Senthil shared that difficult times can be great opportunities. When he first started his company he didn’t have all the funding he needed. However, he and his team thought “what can we make with the funds we have” and hence the line of good look solar panels was born.
Overall, Dell’s panel shows that smaller business can do big things. It just takes the desire to do so, being purposeful about it, and listening to and educating your customers.
The post Actress and Entrepreneur Nikki Reed Shares Her Insights on Sustainability, Tech, and Design appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.
5G is here, and it seeks to supercharge your internet speeds. On October 1, 2018, Verizon launched its 5G ultra wideband network ahead of many of its competitors leading the charge for incredible speeds and downloads times. 5G is rumored to launch fully in 2020, getting its start in the US, South Korea, and China. Here’s what the launch of 5G will mean for your small business.
5G s the 5th Generation of cellular networking. Just as every new release and generation of cellular networking has changed the way we interact with the internet and our phones, 5G will do just that.
TheVerge.com explains that even more than being the 5th generation of cellular networking,
‘“5G” is an agreed upon set of standards defined by the International Telecommunication Union (the ITU) and the 3GPP, who work together with hardware companies and carriers to define what exactly a 5G network actually is.’
Verizon has been working on their launch for quite some time, continually pushing their partners and others in the field to do more, faster. Currently, Verizon is spearheading the 5G network world with its 5G Technology Forum and 5G Labs, working together with other companies and developers to bring the 5G Network to fruition. Rather than wait on the competition or sideliners to bring what they have to the table, Verizon has decided to bring about the launch of 5G Home to get the ball rolling for the 5G world. There is no doubt, however, that we will soon see 5G networks from many other providers, all with various add-ons.
In early-mid September, 5G Home was available for ordering ahead of the official launch date. Initial users were part of an offer called the “First on 5G” members, who received three months of 5G Home Service for free. Following the introductory period, Verizon customers could add the service to their plan for only $50 a month. Those customers interested in the network who were not Verizon customers could get the service for $70 a month.
With the rate of solopreneurs and digital nomads growing, many small businesses are beginning in homes. Entrepreneurs often don’t have the seed money to open a storefront right off the bat, so many begin in their home. With a 5G home network, the speed and efficiency at which you can conduct your business will increase dramatically. You will be able to manage your business with the comfort and reassurance of a reliable network.
For more traditional brick and mortar small businesses, transiting to a 5G networking isn’t just a simple upgrade. 5G will bring about crazy fast speeds– some estimates claim up to 10 gigabits per second on a given device. With 5G, companies can now customize networks based on the devices they’re using and their individual needs. Lag times will almost cease to exist, and customization will become king. Small businesses will soon become inundated with offers from startups and large providers with tales of how 5G will change the game– and it just may.
Verizon is currently setting the pace for the rest of the 5G world. Planning to launch a series of other 5G services, Verizon has made it known that a 5G mobility plan is in the works. Verizon has already made leaps and bounds into the 5G world including making the first 5G video call, the first 5G data transfer, and even the first Hologram call. (What!?)
There is no doubt that other companies are working on similar projects sure to be just as promising. AT&T has hinted at a launch later in the year of their own 5G network, and are even working on improving their 4G network as a stepping stone to 5G. There is soon to be a technological 5G arms race amongst competing companies, with the promise of competing offers, incentives, and specialized features across the board.
With the bar set high and the race started, it will be only a matter of time before the next 5G possibilities are launched and reaching into the stratosphere for success. This all is great news for the small business world. Having these technological advantages and advances at your fingertips will only prove most efficient and promising for your small business. Take full advantage of any 5G services that you can, as a small business that is up to date in a technological world will be able to grow rapidly and successfully.
The post 5G: How Fast Mobile Broadband will Affect Your Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.
It’s been a while since Matt and I wrote a blog post on modern management with Citrix Endpoint Management.
Wait: Citrix Endpoint Management? What happened to the …
(Reuters) – Shares in Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell 6 percent on Friday, cutting its market value back to less than $1 trillion after it forecast softer-than-expected sales for the holiday quarter and fueled nerves over iPhone sales by saying it
The post Apple loses $1 trillion status after soft holiday forecast appeared first on CloudTweaks.
(Reuters) – China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue on Friday, another sign of slowing momentum for China’s giant e-commerce platforms and its economy. Alibaba’s stock has fallen more than 12 percent this year, weighed down by
The post Alibaba quarterly revenue falls short of estimates appeared first on CloudTweaks.
