Unlike traditional marketing methods, such as display ads, content marketing does not necessarily focus on a company's products. Rather, it is about providing relevant target groups with informative and useful content in order to convince them of their own company and the brand.

It should therefore have become established as an integral part of the marketing strategy of companies. Above all, the right technologies and channels should be used. Content management systems help manage content and present a consistent image across all channels.

The purpose of this white paper is to give you a comprehensive overview of content management systems. It is aimed at all companies and decision makers who want to gain a first insight into the possibilities of content management, are already in the process of introducing a content management system, or replacing their existing system.

At a time when the availability of products and services has become a matter of course across countless providers through digital channels, customer loyalty is increasingly becoming a privilege for both retailers and manufacturers. A strong relationship with the customer is the key to long-term business success.

So how does customer loyalty succeed? Targeted customer orientation based on the principle of personalisation instead of watering can systematically cultivate customer relationships. However, the documentation, administration and profitable processing of the required data requires the support of suitable CRM software. But with the introduction of such a solution, various questions arise at the same time.

In addition to the question "What is CRM and how can my company benefit from it in the long term?", this white paper also addresses the requirements for the evaluation and introduction of suitable software and provides a detailed overview of the software solutions offered on the market.

Our steps through the digital world have become secure. We seamlessly switch between digital city center, cidigital commeral and industrial areas, as well as connected homes. Our experience is changing from excited joy about the comfort gained to high demands on the user experience.

In order to best serve user requirements, companies are focusing on data. Customer data, product data, order history, campaign KPIs, and more. All data is poured into tools designed to deliver the ultimate digital experience under the heading of Big Data.

Unquestionably, data-based information is a powerful tool that should be used wisely. But behind the digital devices, it continues to be people who have to be convinced by their own offer. They have a sense for the subtle differences and decide which offer they trust and which not.

Handelskraft wants to show how this can succeed in 2018.

E-Commerce is one of the strongest growth markets in the DACH economy - but at the same time it's a highly competitive market. Choosing and implementing a tailor-made e-commerce system is therefore an important success factor. But which e-commerce software actually suits each situation?

In our white paper, we don't just give an overview of leading vendors for different company sizes from startup to enterprise, we also explain why moving away from the pure e-commerce system to integrating an e-commerce function into a digital experience platform and what the benefits of this change are.

In addition, we clarify in what the approaches differ, like framework or SaaS.

But we not only describe the vendors and functions, we also rate them. Accordingly, we've updated the dotSource vendor matrix, which gives an overview of which systems are leading based on independent criteria. Here we cover all major players from Salesforce to SAP to commercetools and Magento, which was recently acquired by Adobe.

In addition to the provider comparison for both B2C and B2B and multichannel, we give extensive tips on what decision-makers should pay attention to when selecting e-commerce software.

Additionaly, we address what is important in-house for a system change or an update.

• A B2B online shop allows you to address B and C clients. Your sales team can focus on especially lucrative customers.
• An online shop offers more service and information. Products can be bought day and night and also directly from the location with the help of mobile commerce. 

• A B2B online shop can facilitate the first steps into the international market

Considering that every B2B customer is also a B2C customer in their private lives, who might even prefer to buy from Amazon and co, e-commerce should be be a given.

In the complex B2B sector, this extensive process of transformation does not happen overnight. Prepared companies which have built up e-commerce competencies will profit. 

72 percent of online shoppers who order overseas prefer to pay in their own currency. In the same way, foreign online shops, which are not available in the local language, enjoy little popularity. Because what a consumers don't understand, they won't buy. International e-commerce is a strongly growing market in recent years.

China, whose rising middle class has a high willingness to buy and whose spending on Western products pushes up cross-border goods spending, has contributed to this growth. China is the benchmark for international e-commerce.

Total cross-border e-commerce revenue increased by almost 28 per cent from 2016 to 2017. This development inspired many companies to take the leap across borders.

No matter if through a marketplace or your own online shop, getting started in international e-commerce is a challenge. Country-specific requirements lie on the path to successful internationalisation: Language, currency, payment methods, customs costs, the lack of uniform legal framework conditions, and so much more. But these hurdles are surmountable.

The »International E-Commerce« white paper presents the basic factors for a successful international digital business based on real use cases as well as up-to-date facts and figures. Retailers and manufacturers thus receive the perfect guide to getting started and optimising their own cross-border business.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) enable companies to measure the progress of important targets.

Digital platforms and programs are making it increasingly possible to measure the effects of previously difficult-to-quantify areas, such as marketing campaigns or how successful customer service is.

But it also turns out that this flood of data makes analysis it difficult.

After all, the customer journey can now be tracked across all devices and all business processes can be digitally displayed - even in real time.

The white paper »KPIs in E-Commerce« presents a strategic view of key figures and their role in e-commerce companies, addressing the following problems:

• What data is really important and meaningful?
• What key figures are the most important?
• How do you build a key performance indicator system and how does it flow into planning and controlling?

Unlike traditional marketing methods, such as display ads, content marketing does not necessarily focus on a company's products. Rather, it is about providing relevant target groups with informative and useful content in order to convince them of their own company and the brand.

It should therefore have become established as an integral part of the marketing strategy of companies. Above all, the right technologies and channels should be used. Content management systems help manage content and present a consistent image across all channels.

The purpose of this white paper is to give you a comprehensive overview of content management systems. It is aimed at all companies and decision makers who want to gain a first insight into the possibilities of content management, are already in the process of introducing a content management system, or replacing their existing system.