In the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, a motivational speaker played by Alec Baldwin addresses a group of salesmen. He writes three letters vertically on the chalkboard, “A B C.” He explains that the acronym means "Always Be Closing."
The way that Baldwin's character thinks about sales, I may think about reading. I think of: "ABR,” Always Be Reading. Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I try to get in a page or two of the Times, Wall St. ...
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Your Bridge 2.0 update is complete. Your site now offers a smoother, cleaner experience for customers--and you.
Your upgrade to 2.0 software is free and automatic--you do not need to take any steps. This free upgrade is especially valuable because a new retail website costs $11,000 - $29,000 on average to setup. (Source: Atlantic Business Technologies.)
1. You will wish to learn what is new in 2.0.
I will be sharing a video about what is new in Bridge 2.0.
Do you want to boost your Google ranking and better promote your store?
Try 'domain masking.' Domain masking is a service that Bridge offers that hides the 'bridgecatalog' part of your domain name. With domain masking, your website addresses will be 'cleaner,' you'll increase your Google ranking, and you'll enjoy other benefits.
As an example, Vieuxtemps (a gift shop in Charleston) uses domain masking. Its website urls are:
I was going to recommened reading this Shopify article about converting website visitors to shoppers but then I realized what a rip off Shopify is.
In the screen shot shown, we see Shopify promote nine apps. The apps use the 'freemium' model where you try it for free, then often quickly get stuck paying. In sum, Shopify is nickel and dime-ing users.
When you use Shopify, it's like going to Disneyland and paying for each ride separately. You think that the theme park will be fun but by the time ...
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February 6, 2019
February 6, 2019
Your business likely has to pay taxes on your Bridge sales in 2018. While paying taxes may not be fun, Bridge has made it easier.
Your Bridge now allows your business to easily see how much you collected in sales taxes.
How to visit your Tax page:
1. Visit your Bridge. Login. 2. At the very top, click on “Management.” 3. On Management home page, under “Reporting,” click on “Tax Collection.”
The Globe shared this pic of a Herend's Dachshund and its color and composition just hit the mark. This shows what a nice pic can be and how you can share it on your Chalkboard.
The Globe shared this pic of a Herend's Dachshund and its color and composition just hit the mark. This shows what a nice pic can be and how you can share it on your Chalkboard.
Do you know a shop owner that needs help competing against Amazon?
Good news: Bridge will pay you to help.
Bridge will give you $40 for referring a new retailer who signs up for a free Bridge account in the month of June.
How can you get your $40? Simple: 1. Email us the name of the store. Please include a contact name. 2. That's it. We'll take it from there.
The only requirement is the store sign up for a free Bridge plan and sync for free with two of its suppliers via the Smart ...
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March 30, 2018
March 30, 2018
As you likely have read in the New York Times or the Wall St. Journal, social media companies are under fire. Users are abandoning social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snap as if they were a ship on fire that has run aground. In the New York Times graphic, it depicts social media as a boat on fire--with a user escaping by row boat.
Did you know that Facebook has recently changed its algorithm to show more news from friends and family and less news from your business? Due to this change, most of your customers don't see the news that you post on Facebook.
What can you do about this? Bridge has a solution: You can have your Facebook posts copied to your Bridge. Your news will be seen by 1,000s more customers.
What retailers currently use our Facebook copying service? Our Facebook duplication clients include:
Did you know that Facebook has recently changed its formula to show more news from friends and family and less news from your business?
Due to this change, most of your retailers don't see the news that you post on Facebook.
What can you do about this? Bridge has a free solution: You can have your Facebooks posts copied to your Bridge's news page. This news will be seen by your Bridge retailers and reps. This news may also appear alongside your product on their Bridge sites. ...
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February 16, 2018
February 16, 2018
Your 5-step registry incentive is now: $40.
Bridge has updated the default incentive for brides that complete the 5 steps from $30 to $40.
If you have changed this amount to an amount other than the default $30, this will not affect your account.
Bridge updated the incentive amount to $40 in order to get more brides to promote your business. We are at war with Amazon, Zola, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Target. We have to give brides all the motivation we can to promote your store.
"In order to facilitate a customer’s independent research in the initial phases of their buying journey, a retailer must have their full catalog of shoppable inventory available online."
Bridge: Sounds like they need our Smart Product service :)
Excerpt:
"...high shipping costs accounted for 54 percent of online shopping cart ...
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February 9, 2018
February 9, 2018
What if there was a way for stores to save $8,900? If they could, stores could spend that on inventory instead.
We'll share how stores can save:
If one uses Shopify (a popular e-commerce platform) to make an e-commerce site, the store often signs up for a lot of recurring costs. In comparison, when a store signs up for Bridge, there are no fees.
Shopify In the first year, the store may pay $6,000+ for using Shopify: + $79/month for Shopify general service (plan that offers a gift card). + $75/month ...
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February 9, 2018
February 9, 2018
Keeping up with the Joneses
Dear Retailer,
Amazon does it. Zola does it. Even Crate & Barrel does it in one form or another. We’re talking about: the registry sign-up bonus.
And now your Bridge website does it, too. When a bride opens a new registry, she will automatically be offered a $10 in-store gift card for registering at your store. This is another way Bridge are helping you remain competitive in the registry world.
Here’s how it works:
On your Bridge site, there is a now a banner appearing ...
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January 14, 2018
January 14, 2018
A friend of mine asked me about the buy local movement and young people. She wonders if young people (people under 40--gosh, I guess that excludes me?!) cared about the buy local 'movement.'
My response to her was that asking someone to buy local is sort of like asking someone to ignore the major principles of why people shop (aka ignore capitalism). The primary reasons we shop where we do is:
1. Selection. People want a wide variety of selection…aka: all the items you can find on Amazon.
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Indie Retailers Get Sales Boost from Product Syncing Service
Sales increases ranged from roughly 4.5 percent for brands such as Arte Italica and Spode to more than 13.5 percent for Beatriz Ball and Vietri
January 2, 2018, Allison Zisko
NEW YORK—Main Street retailers are benefitting from a tabletop product-syncing service offered by Bridge, an e-commerce platform that includes file sharing and a social network.