“The Success is measured by the enhancement of CRO and traffic for our customers”
These are just some of the metrics bringing succes to e-marketeers from IC Robotics and automated product descriptions. Meet Marc Nilsson, founder of IC Robotics, who helps e-commerce brands stay competitive with consumers and Google.
Meet Marc Nilsson
Q: How long have you been working with e-commerce businesses?
3 years.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
I’ve recently had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with my 9-month-old son, while on 4 intense months paternity leave. Also, I spend most of my time with friends and family - often getting together over a beer or some food - and play football, draw/paint, and cook.
Q: What problem are IC Robotics solving for e-commerce businesses?
The impossible task of keeping up with good and informative product descriptions that both Google and customers love.
Q: What are some of the success metrics that IC Robotics use to measure the effectiveness of your services?
Conversion rate, traffic, returns, and time-saving.
Q: What are the primary challenges currently confronting e-commerce marketers?
Our experience is that many ecommerces are struggling with balancing their resources. It is an industry that depends on many external factors and they have to deal with new trends and offers almost every day. They need to be adaptable and everything must be measured and weighed against price, savings, and potential money earned.
Q: What strategies can businesses employ to address these challenges and maintain a competitive edge?
In my opinion, some of the most successful ecommerces are the ones, that are willing to invest in things that can save or optimize resources in the long run. Whether it is employees with specific skills or a new technology. It might cost you money now but can turn out to be something that will help your business grow.
Q: What are your predictions for the future of e-commerce marketing?
At the beginning of this year, it seemed like marketing would be taken over by AI, and the thought of not being part of the AI wave where basically giving people FOMO. But within the field of text production, we are seeing more ecommerces going back to the old ways of writing content more or less manually. The feedback has been that the time spent on reading, correcting, and adapting text from AI is better used writing it yourself. It gives more control of the output which is something many ecommerces appreciate. Technology can move extremely fast but it takes a long time to change human behavior. And since the customers' needs and online behaviour have not changed, my prediction is that we will see that customers' expectations for content will increase as it gets easier to create. People want to feel like the communication is aimed at them and not written by a robot.
Q: What are the challenges of working with e-commerce businesses?
Everything moves incredibly fast in the industry. Whether it is new technologies, new initiatives from Google, AI, changes in algorithms, new trends, or a new social media platform. Ecommerces need to be up to beat. This makes it extremely difficult to adapt your strategy and communicate the values of our offering when you are just one of many companies offering something to this audience.
Q: What are your thoughts on the importance of data-driven marketing for ecommerce businesses?
If you ask me, data is one of the most important things when working with marketing and e-commerce businesses. Especially in these times where information is so easily accessible, it is important that content and strategy are based on real and relevant data. Imagine spending a lot of money on marketing and then not hitting the right target group or communicating the wrong information.
Q: What are your perspectives on the role of artificial intelligence in e-commerce marketing?
I believe that if it is used with a source-critical approach it can be very beneficial for any business. Content creation is a heavy burden for many ecommerces and this is something AI can make a lot easier. It is very effective when used for inspiration and making the first draft. However, the information is not always correct and the language is often general which can be critical within marketing. When it comes to selling products it is important to remember that nobody - not even AI - knows your products and customers better than you.
Q: Can you suggest three books or podcasts that our readers should explore?
Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow
Eric Ries - The Lean Startup
Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler - Predictable Revenue