8 Digital Strategy Posts to Start Your Week Right: E-commerce Link Digest

We’re heading into a quiet week here at Thinks Central, folks, as we gear up for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States. No matter what your week holds, take the time to review these 8 digital strategy posts to start your week right. Enjoy:

1. Chief Marketer outlines the 4 things CMOs need to know about Gen Z. At the same time, Forbes lays out the 4 Cs Of CMO concerns: content, culture, capabilities and commerce. And while we’re talking about CMO’s, Marketing Charts says mobile and IoT top the list of CMOs’ most important future technologies. Sounds about right across the board.
2. Speaking of mobile, a recent episode of Thinks Out Loud, our regular e-commerce and digital strategy podcast, says “Mobile is So Much Bigger Than You Think” and another recent post explained why it’s not “mobile first.” it’s “customer first.” Be sure to check ’em both out when you get a chance.
3. According to Quartz, Apple’s Tim Cook says cash will be dead for the next generation of kids and that the technology giant is making a grab for Venmo’s turf and might use iMessage to do it.
4. Since we’re talking about payments, Mobile Commerce Daily reports that Western Union is banking on WeChat’s popularity to fuel cross-border mobile payments.
5. Those two prior pieces help underscore why mobile payments will rule
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6. As for Western Union’s tie-up with WeChat, pay attention to the growth of messaging platforms overall. For instance, Mobile Marketer shows how brands are tapping Facebook Messenger to bolster customer service. Messaging represents an important trend that you’ll want to watch as we head into 2016.
7. Shifting gears, The Future of Commerce blog explains how to resolve omnichannel conflicts within your company. Really good read.
8. Mashable reports that Facebook may soon let you search individual profile pages, which is pretty handy but curious given that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Google just got a surprise ally in mobile-app search push: Facebook. Given Facebook and Google’s ongoing competition for customer attention and advertising dollars, it’s going to be interesting to see where we end up on this one. Stay tuned.

Hope you have a terrific week ahead, Big Thinkers and look forward to more insights and info all week long.

If you’re interested in learning more about making the social, mobile web work for your customers, be sure to check out this round-up of posts about “Google, Mobile, E-commerce. What More Could You Want?” these “6 Must-See Mobile Commerce Messages for You,” this set of “10 Terrific Mobile, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing Missives”: and other entries from our E-commerce Link Digest series, plus these “7 Special E-Commerce and Digital Marketing Trending Topics: The Top Posts of September, 2015.”

And if you want learn even more about how your customers’ changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, be sure and register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You can also check out these slides and video from my recent webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year”:

And, finally, you might want to take a look at some of our past coverage of the e-commerce, mobile commerce, and digital marketing overall, including:

• 10 Key Posts about Millennials and Mobile: E-commerce Link Digest
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56