The 2013 Yahoo! Merchant Summit is only two weeks away. Are you ready?
This year’s edition is the 5th in the annual gathering of the Yahoo! Stores community. It’s a bit like the Internet Retailer Conference and Expo – only focused on the Yahoo platform. FastPivot has attended every year. (Here is a recap of the 2010 Summit. Amazing how quickly time flies!) Depending on the year, we’ve spoken on panels, taught in seminars, or provided feedback through the one-on-one table sessions with retailers. (We love doing the one-on-one talks!).
The Yahoo! Merchant Summit is a great place for Yahoo! Stores, both new and veteran retailers, to learn about the latest trends and platform features, and gather actionable tips to grow their Yahoo! businesses. Here are our tips (a cheat sheet?) to make the most of your time in Santa Clara.
When: Tuesday, Aug. 6 – Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013.
Where: Marriott Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA.
Hosts: The Yahoo! Small Business team.
Who attends: Yahoo Merchant Solutions customers, 20+ vendors selling to the Yahoo Merchant Solutions community. FastPivoters Matt Ledford and Keith Enloe will be attending.
How many: Approx. 200 Yahoo! Stores retailers.
Cost: $299
Content: You’re guaranteed to hear about site design, conversion best practices, and search engine optimization. These are staples on the conference schedule.
Why attend: It’s an educational and networking opportunity. There are sessions, conferences, parties, and vendor demos. You get to hear presentations from current store owners, developers, and Yahoo! personnel like product managers and developers.
How to register: Yahoo Store owners can register here.
These are the details. Below is what we specifically recommend to make the most of next month’s Yahoo! Merchant Summit.
Tuesday Morning
Pick up your badge. Walk around. Introduce yourself. See what vendors are on site and make a note which ones you want to talk to.
Tuesday Afternoon
Rob Snell has been around the Yahoo! world almost forever. He wrote the book “Starting a Yahoo! Store for Dummies“. He’ll be talking at 1:15pm about how to get the most of your store.
At 2:30 pm, check out the panel discussion on connecting with mobile customers. Mobile is only going to grow so make sure you’re doing the right things with your operations and marketing.
Tuesday Evening
Definitely attend the 6–9:00 pm cocktail party at Yahoo! Corporate Headquarters. Grab a shuttle bus from the Marriott. Yahoo! does a nice job of catering, and you won’t see this much purple unless you attend a convention of Barney enthusiasts.
Wednesday Morning
Get up early to watch the sun rise over the Fremont hills to the east. Head to breakfast. First session at 9:15 by Kevin Richards of Ventura Web Design is how to build a winning team. It is often something that retailers overlook as they focus so much on driving traffic and converting.
Wednesday Afternoon
After lunch, you’ve got two options for each of the afternoon sessions. At 1:30 pm, you can choose between “Bringing In The Pros: Manage the Experts You Hire” and “Best Practices in E-Commerce Design and Functionality.” At 2:35 pm, your choices are “Social Persuasion: Using Online Marketing to Attract More Customers” and “Backend Optimization to Boost Performance.” Matt Ledford is one of the panelists for “Social Persuasion” so you might want to favor that one. 😉
Make sure you don’t leave the show without talking to the vendors you saw on Tuesday morning. This afternoon is your last chance as the vendor area (aka Partner Showcase) closes at 6:00 pm.
Wednesday Evening
If you’re not returning home in the evening, there are a number of very nice restaurant options in Downtown San Jose or Santana Row. While it is a chain restaurant, we’ve always enjoyed il Fornaio near the San Jose Convention Center. (It has amazing bread, along with tons of Italian menu items).
That’s it. Rest up the week before you leave for Santa Clara as your time at the Summit is best spent very busy. If you would like to schedule a meeting with either Matt or Keith, contact us at 828-225-8883 x301 or tag us on twitter @Fastpivot
Look forward to seeing everyone at the 2013 Yahoo! Merchant Summit.
