Top 5 Presentations from EBE2023 You Never Knew You Always Missed

Did you miss the E-commerce Berlin Expo 2023 Conference and would like to know what it was about? We rush to help and offer you a brief summary in the form of key takeaways from the 5 presentations.

Find out more below!

Presentation 1: Merchandising e-com at Borussia Dortmund

This presentation was performed by Kerstin Zerbe – Managing Director BVB Merchandising GmbH at Borussia Dortmund GmbH & CO. Let’s see key takeaways from her presentation on the Challenges and Growth of Borussia Dortmund E-commerce Store

#1 Talent and Team Restructuring

The e-commerce team initially consisted of five generalists, with only one person having a digital background. Restructuring the team and hiring new specialists (such as a technical product owner, a UX designer, and performance marketing experts) was essential for driving growth.

#2 Adapting to Technical Limitations

Despite a challenging IT setup and ERP system, the team improved the customer journey by implementing features like shopping by the player and creating a visually appealing experience.

#3 Focusing on Targeted Marketing Strategies

By partnering with a specialized agency, the team developed a clear strategy, concentrating on specific countries and channels to optimize performance marketing efforts.

#4 Understanding the Emotional Aspect of Merchandise

Creating and selling products that evoke emotions and resonate with fans is crucial, as these products are part of their daily lives for 365 days a year.

#5 Handling High Online Store Traffic

Developing strategies to manage high traffic during special jersey launches, including funneling customers, improving IT infrastructure, and adjusting product release times, is essential to avoid website crashes, overselling, and long queue times.

#6 Balancing Partnerships and Collaborations

Maintaining a strong partnership with Puma while exploring other collaborations requires navigating a blacklist of competitor brands and ensuring collaboration opportunities don’t jeopardize the relationship with Puma.

#7 Managing Special Jersey Inventory and Fan Demand

Strategizing how to handle the demand for second and third jerseys, making quick decisions on production or pre-orders, and ensuring customer satisfaction without overproducing inventory is critical.

#8 Adjusting to Market Trends and Pricing Strategies

Adapting pricing strategies based on market trends and inflation, and finding the right balance between competitive pricing and maintaining profitability is essential.

#9 Improving Communication during Website Crashes and Errors

Having a communication plan to keep fans informed during high-traffic jersey launches, leveraging social media and other channels, ensures fans feel heard and supported.

#10 Expanding and Maintaining International Presence

Managing the international store’s uptime and performance, ensuring functionality during high-traffic periods, and catering to a diverse customer base is crucial for the team’s global success.

Check out the whole presentation here:

EBE23 – Merchandising e-com at Borussia Dortmund – an unvarnished insight

Presentation 2: Google Analytics 4 (GA 4) vs. GA Universal Analytics (GA 3)

This presentation was performed by Dr. Pascal Volz – Managing Director at fischerAppelt. Check out key outcomes on Google Analytics 4 for Businesses.

#1 Embracing the New Generation of Analytics

GA4 is a major departure from previous versions, offering enhanced features, data tracking, and reporting. To maximize data-driven insights, businesses must adapt to the changes and master GA4’s functionalities.

#2 Transition to Google Analytics 4

Google will discontinue Universal Analytics in four and a half months, making GA4 the sole data measurement tool. Running both tools concurrently is recommended to comprehend data representation differences and become familiar with the new system.

#3 Exploiting Custom Events and Metrics

GA4 enables the creation of custom events to measure user interactions and engagement on websites or apps. These events, combined with GA4’s active user metric, offer precise insights into user behavior and performance.

#4 Utilizing Custom Reports for Tailored Insights

GA4 provides six custom report types, such as user lifetime, freeform, and funnel exploration. By combining dimensions, events, and visualization techniques, businesses can generate personalized reports for deeper performance insights.

#5 Adapting to the New Measurement Approach

GA4 emphasizes a user-centric measurement model, aggregating data from various properties to present a comprehensive view of user behavior. This change necessitates adapting strategies and approaches when analyzing data in a GA4 audit.

#6 Flexible Event Creation and Analysis

GA4 allows custom event creation for diverse user actions, facilitating detailed analysis and segmentation based on these events. This enables businesses to identify weak points and address specific issues.

#7 Enhanced Path Analysis

GA4’s improved path analysis traces user journeys more effectively, enabling analysis of events preceding or following specific actions, such as purchases.

#8 Data-Driven Attribution Modeling

GA4 introduces data-driven attribution modeling, using statistical methods to evaluate each touchpoint in a user’s journey. This delivers more accurate insights into marketing channel contributions and optimizes marketing strategies without relying on cookies.

#9 Custom Conversion Events

GA4 permits using any event as a conversion event, such as purchases or revenue, offering flexibility to better understand and optimize website performance based on specific objectives.

#10 BigQuery Integration

GA4 integrates with Google’s BigQuery, enabling data storage and analysis in Google’s cloud-based data warehouse. This allows businesses to merge data from various sources, like Google Ads and DSPs, for advanced analyses that inform digital marketing strategies. BigQuery is now free, making its capabilities more accessible to businesses.

Check out the presentation here:

EBE23 – Google Analytics 4 (GA 4) vs. GA universal analytics (GA 3)

Presentation 3: Meta meets the future – Stepping into the Metaverse

This presentation was performed by Volker Harbrecht – Head of Disruptors eCommerce for Meta in DACH. Learn more about his presentation on the metaverse and Its Impact on Business here:

#1 Metaverse: The Next Technological Revolution

The metaverse, encompassing augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR or XR), is the next significant technological shift comparable to the internet, facilitating deeper and more meaningful connections between people and businesses.

#2 Decentralized Nature of the Metaverse

The metaverse is an open ecosystem without a single owner, necessitating collaboration, standardization, and attention to user concerns. Multiple companies, such as Meta, are actively developing platforms, technologies, and tools for the metaverse.

#3 Significance of Avatars

Avatars are essential components of the metaverse, enabling users to express themselves and engage with others more immersively. The focus is on creating increasingly realistic and personalized avatars.

#4 New Marketing Horizons

The metaverse offers unique marketing opportunities for businesses, including AR/VR integration, brand storytelling, and nurturing new talent and partnerships, leading to more captivating and memorable customer experiences.

#5 Adapting to an Evolving Digital Landscape

As the metaverse expands, businesses should explore ways to harness its potential and modify their strategies to remain competitive and innovative in the changing digital environment.

#6 Cross-Industry Metaverse Applications

The metaverse can benefit a range of industries and departments, including marketing, operations, and product development. Companies should explore integrating metaverse experiences into their workflows, such as VR training, enhancing remote collaboration, or improving product design processes.

#7 Experimentation and Budget Allocation

Embrace experimentation and allocate resources for testing new technologies and metaverse applications. A willingness to experiment and learn is crucial for success in the constantly evolving digital landscape.

#8 Introducing Accessible Technologies

Begin with easily accessible technologies like AR filters to familiarize your team with the metaverse, fostering internal knowledge and long-term strategic thinking about metaverse applications.

#9 Collaboration and Standardization

Cooperation and standardization are vital for ensuring the metaverse remains inclusive and accessible to everyone, including those in less developed markets. Companies should collaborate to establish and adopt standards that enable compatibility and interoperability among different metaverse platforms and devices.

#10 Long-Term Vision and Strategy

Contemplate your company’s long-term vision within the metaverse. When developing metaverse strategies, consider how your company will transform and adapt over the next five to ten years and how to utilize metaverse technologies to maintain competitiveness and innovation.

Check out the full presentation here:

EBE23 – Meta meets the future – Stepping into the Metaverse

Presentation 4: Impact, Growth, and Profit in the Food Industry

This presentation was performed by Alexander Holzknecht – Chief Commercial Officer at Matsmart – Motatos. Learn more about top insights from Alexander Holzknecht’s presentation about Impact, Growth, and Profit in the food industry

#1 Late Decision

The food industry is one of the last industries to turn digital due to expectations, perishable products, and complex logistics, presenting unique challenges to solve. Customer expectations are higher than ever before, with consumers demanding more transparency, sustainability, and convenience, which requires digital solutions to meet these demands.

#2 Be the Change

Motatos is a company that is focused on solving inefficiencies within the food industry, building a strong international brand, and making local adjustments in each market to succeed. The company specializes in selling overstocked, short-bus-before-dated, and seasonal food products through e-commerce in a very specific niche of dry assortments. They use a central fulfillment system rather than a marketplace business to ensure efficiencies and logistics.

#3 Problems to Overcome

The food industry is struggling due to a lack of good solutions to tackle overstock and food waste. Sustainable food practices are critical for the planet, and companies should work to reduce food waste by purchasing and selling overstocked items to consumers. This is a smart way to address the problem and help build a more sustainable food economy.

#4 Optimize Logistics

Building a sustainable food e-commerce business requires efficient logistics to ensure that products are delivered to customers in a timely and cost-effective manner. This can be achieved through optimizing delivery routes, leveraging technology such as GPS tracking and automated warehousing, and partnering with reliable logistics providers.

#5 Difficulties with Profitability

Food e-commerce is a difficult business to make profitable due to the low contribution margins on products and high logistics costs. The only way to make it profitable is to find a sweet spot where you can balance these factors without sacrificing other things.

#6 Low Rate of Returns

Unlike other e-commerce businesses like fashion or consumer electronics, food does not have a significant return rate. Customers are unlikely to return food products, which means that the money that sticks with you after the initial sale is relatively high compared to other e-commerce businesses.

#7 Assortment and Costs

To make a food e-commerce business profitable, it is necessary to work with a distinctive range of assortments and focus on reducing costs in logistics and marketing. It is essential to drive a different picture by restructuring and refocusing on a more profitable business model.

#8 Affordable and Sustainable Products

Sustainable and affordable products are becoming more important for customers. Customers are switching to cheaper and private-label brands, which are often more sustainable. Therefore, businesses that can offer affordable and sustainable products may have a competitive advantage.

#9 Customize your Messages

Local adaptations and clear messaging are essential for successful expansion into new markets. Each market is at a different stage of development, and customers in different regions have different levels of brand awareness. Therefore, it is crucial to adapt messaging and marketing strategies to fit the local market.

#10 Define a Clear Mission

A clear impact mission can help differentiate a business from its competitors. Customers are increasingly conscious of the impact of their purchases and are looking for brands that align with their values. Businesses that have a clear impact mission and can communicate it effectively to their customers may have an advantage over competitors who lack such a mission.

Check out the presentation here:

EBE23 – Impact, growth and profit in the food industry: […] scale-up in an international expansion

Presentation 5: How Tools & AI Will Change Your Marketing Forever

The presentation was performed by Norman Nielsen – VP Growth at Omio. Meet top insights on his presentation about How Tools & AI will Change Your Marketing Forever.

#1 AI is not the Only Important Technology

While AI is gaining popularity and is being actively used in various industries, it’s essential to acknowledge that it’s not the only important technology out there. Companies should consider other tools that can help them improve their efficiency, understand their customers better, and scale their content creation.

#2 New Work is Here to Stay

New work is a concept that encompasses various aspects of modern work, such as work-life balance, flexible working hours, and remote work. As companies adapt to the changing work environment brought about by the pandemic, it’s crucial to embrace the principles of new work and implement them in the organization.

#3 Focus on Meeting Efficiency

Meetings can be a significant drain on time and resources, and many employees feel that they spend too much time in meetings. By reducing the number of meetings, making them more efficient, and using tools such as the Get2Growth platform, companies can improve productivity and save time.

#4 AI-Powered Tools

With the increasing availability of large language models and other AI-powered tools, we are entering a new era of synthetic content creation. Companies can leverage these tools (preferably together with a plagiarism checker) to create content more efficiently, personalize their messaging, and improve their customer experience. However, it’s essential to remain mindful of ethical considerations and potential biases that can arise from using these technologies.

#5 Analyze your Audience

Audience analysis can be done at a granular level to understand the differences in audience interests and behaviors between locations. By using tools such as ChatGPT and Search APD, it is possible to obtain data on audience affinities, growth, and preferences. This information can be used to make data-driven decisions about delivering products and services that cater to the needs and preferences of the target audience.

#6 The Power of Reviews

Reviews are an essential component of the modern content world. Consumers rely heavily on product reviews to make purchase decisions, and businesses can leverage this by obtaining genuine reviews from their customers. Many tools can be used to obtain reviews that are scalable, standardized, and trustworthy, and can be used to drive conversions.

#7 Use AI to Streamline Content Creation

Synthetic content can be used to create automated content that is tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the target audience. Tools like ChatGPT can be used to create automated content that is engaging, informative, and persuasive. By leveraging synthetic content, businesses can create a powerful marketing tool that drives conversions and enhances customer engagement.

#8 Use AI for Productivity

The key to using AI for productivity is to start small and identify areas where AI can have the most impact. Tools like RescueTime and DeskTime can help identify time-wasting habits and prioritize tasks, while AI-based project management tools like Forecast can help automate repetitive tasks and improve team collaboration.

#9 Take Advantage of AI-powered Chatbots

Chatbots are a great way to improve customer service and automate repetitive tasks, but it’s important to make sure they’re well-designed and tested for effectiveness. Tools like Tars and Dialogflow make it easy to design and deploy chatbots, while platforms like Ada and LivePerson offer more advanced features like natural language processing and sentiment analysis.

#10 Embrace New Technologies and Stay Ahead of the Curve

To stay ahead of the curve in today’s rapidly-evolving technological landscape, it’s important to be open to new ideas and embrace emerging technologies. Whether it’s using blockchain to secure your data or exploring new applications for augmented reality, there are endless opportunities to innovate and grow your business.