Do you know the way to San Jose?

For those merchants who may be dreaming of a sunny vacation (especially those of you in the Northeast), but can’t bear the thought of being away from your business for days at a time, may I offer you a compromise: checkout the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition this June in San Jose, California. The Internet Retailer conference, sponsored by the magazine of the same name, runs from June 4th through June 7th.

Since Yahoo! is an exhibitor, we can offer you special promotional pricing to save an extra $100 on top of the early-bird pricing special (excludes exhibit hall only, single day or workshop only passes). Plus, you will get a $25 Starbucks Gift Card when you stop by our booth. To take advantage of this discount, use Exhibitor client code EC7334 while signing up through the special Exhibitor Client Discount Registration form.

The conference starts on June 4th If you choose to attend one of the two full-day workshops only, I would recommend the one on marketing your website which seems to be geared more towards small businesses. The following two days are filled with conference sessions where merchants attend common sessions in the morning but can choose from various tracks for the afternoon sessions depending on what topics you wish to learn about. Again the track for new merchants seems to offer the most promise for small businesses but you can bounce around to any session.

Some sessions of note:

• Day Two:
  • What E-Retailers Must Know About How Shoppers Use Their Sites
  • Identifying the E-Retailing Solutions Shoppers Find Most Useful
  • Marketing on a Budget—Promoting Your Web Site Without Going Broke
• Day Three:
  • The Scotch Boutique: The Web Is Made for Niche Retailing
  • How the Internet Creates Commodity Pricing—and What You Can Do About It
  • Getting Better Mileage From the Search Engines
  • How a Small Retailer Handles Customer Service

View full conference agenda

Regardless of when you attend, swing on by booth 1109 in the Exhibition hall to say “Hi”. Yahoo! Store representatives will be there if you have questions or comments and there may likely be some authorized Yahoo! Store developers if you are thinking of adding enhancements to your store and want some advice or a quote on services.

It’s not hard to imagine that picking up just one new idea from just one session could lead to a boost in sales that would exceed the cost of attending. It’s probably one of the best investments you can make in your business. Get more details (special bonus surprise included and no it’s not a set of Ginsu steak knives).

Paul Boisvert
Yahoo! Small Business