Posts Tagged ‘Online’
Friday, August 28th, 2009
In this world where “flat is the new up,” it is critical to make each visit of every shopper count. With fewer shoppers coming to your site, you have to be instantly engaging, catering to your shopper, making your site a destination. And, you have to get your shoppers to put as much as possible into their cart and then actually check out.
The question is - how can you take the flat or even decreased traffic and turn it into profit? Here are eight tips to help you entice your shoppers to buy more.
1. Shipping Offers - Lets start with getting people to your site. Shipping is something that shoppers are always concerned with. Free shipping, if you can afford it, always moves people to buy more. If your model does not support free, shoppers are also happy with flat fee shipping or even shipping with a minimum purchase (they will buy just one more product to qualify).
2. Incentives and Bundles - So, you got them to your site with a shipping offer, next, motivate them to buy more with incentives. Who doesn’t like getting a gift with a purchase or a special bundle of products for an extra discount? The shopper feels like they’re getting a bargain while you get to move more products.
3. Rebates - If you can’t offer discounts, another tactic to entice shoppers is to offer rebates. People get wide-eyed about rebates and will buy more to get them. Even if they do not actually redeem the rebate, they will be more loyal to your site for the service.
4. Personalized Product Recommendations - Next, lets turn to the customer experience. Today’s savvy shopper expects merchants to know them. Serving personalized product recommendations helps customers find what they’re looking for (and sometimes things they did not even know they wanted). The product detail page is the most logical location, but place recommendations throughout your site and most importantly in the shopping cart - it is a good place to put those impulse purchases - just like candy at the store check out.
5. Video - Another way to enhance the customer experience is to tantalize and engage your shopper with video. This medium can be used to demonstrate how a product works, show how apparel fits, or even do a virtual wine tasting. Video can answer questions shoppers have so that they buy even more than expected.
6. Ratings and Reviews - Lets face it, shoppers are social creatures, and love to talk and get advice from one another. Rating and reviews helps people get feedback from each other. Some shoppers can’t resist the temptation; they have to buy top rated items and will fill their cart.
7. Customer Service - Speaking of people talking , another thing that really helps is something just so simple - offer stellar customer service, and you will not believe how far that will get you. People talk and when they have a great experience, they will tell everyone they know. I do all the time!
8. Alternative Payment Methods - Okay, you have used tips 1-7 on your site and the shopper has stuffed their cart - this is when you are at risk for the dreaded cart abandonment. There are many things you should do to motivate your shoppers to click submit, maybe that is for a dedicated article. Suffice it to say, make it easy to check out. Alternative payment methods make it easier for anyone to check out - so make sure you offer them.
The bottom line is that you need to employ many different tactics to boost your average order value; it is the only way to take flat traffic and turn it up!
Lisa Joy Rosner is MyBuys‘ vice president of marketing.
Tags: customers, e-commerce, lisa joy, mybuys, Online, rebates, shipping, shopping, shopping cart, traffic, Video
Posted in Marketer, Online, Payment Processing, Retailer, SEM/SEO, Support Services, Video, Web Analytics, e-commerce, fulfillment, technology | 5 Comments »
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
According to a recent article in Online Media Daily, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said the site does not currently plan to discontinue its “erotic services” listings, despite renewed pressure from law enforcement authorities triggered by the recent “Craigslist murder.”
In an interview with ABC Nightline’s Martin Bashir, Newmark also said he disagreed that the site facilitates prostitution. “I wouldn’t put it that way; no, I disagree,” he responded when Bashir confronted him with ads that appear to be for prostitution and asked whether the site facilitates such activity.
Internet law experts say that legal action against Craigslist isn’t likely to get very far because Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act states that Web sites are immune from liability when users of the site violate state law.
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Tags: abc, Advertising, classified, communications decency act, craig newmark, craigslist, erotic listings, martin bashir, murder, newspapers, nightline, Online, sex
Posted in Advertising, Government Affairs, Online, e-commerce, technology | 3 Comments »
Friday, March 6th, 2009
The FTC recently released revisions to its self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising. But, how might these changes affect your business? In these particular principles, the FTC is focused on “third-party†advertising, rather than contextual or “first-party†advertising. Basically, a website using behavioral advertising only for one website and not aggregating data across multiple sites will not be directly subject to these principles, although they are still subject to other applicable privacy laws. Similarly, advertising based on a specific web query or click will not be subject to the principles unless that data is stored and applied to future actions.
The FTC’s principles focus on increasing transparency and consumer control, reasonable security and limited data retention, affirmative express consent for material retroactive changes to privacy promises, and affirmative express consent or prohibition of the use of sensitive data.
• Increasing Transparency: The principles require a disclosure to consumers that data is being collected and give a meaningful opt-out opportunity. The FTC voiced the desire for strong self-regulation even where data is not personally identifiable if that data “could reasonably be associated†with a particular consumer or device. The FTC also encourages disclosure in places other than the privacy policy. This might include a disclosure on or near an advertisement. They also encourage the use of empirical data to test whether the consumer understands the disclosure.
• Data Security and Retention: The protections should be based on the sensitivity of the data and the nature of a company’s business operations, the types of risks a company faces, and the reasonable protections available to a company. The FTC added that companies should retain data only as long as necessary to fulfill a legitimate business or law enforcement need.
• Material Retroactive Changes: Consent must only be obtained if the change is both material and retroactive. This makes data collected under the old privacy policy subject the old standards and new data subject to new standards, unless affirmative consent is obtained.
• Sensitive Data: The FTC continues to promote “opt-in†standards that require affirmative consent from consumers.
Ultimately this is an attempt to encourage and direct industry self-regulation, but it does not have an independent enforcement mechanism.
Tomi Turner is ERA’s legislative manager.
Tags: behavioral advertising, blog, Electronic Retailer, electronic retailing association, ERA, ftc, Government Affairs, Online, self regulation, tomi turner
Posted in Advertising, ERA, Government Affairs, Marketer, Mobile, Online, Retailer | 4 Comments »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
This week’s Time magazine cover story is about the death of the traditional ink and paper newspaper and the threat of its extinction/replacement by online versions that rely on a shaky, single advertising revenue stream. Written by former Time managing editor Walter Isaacson, it suggests that, like the migration from illegal downloading of music on Napster to the iTunes model where consumers willingly pay a small fee for content, that a similar model is imperative for the survival of professional journalism. Given the degree of competition and the sheer volume of content available from sources that include citizen journalists on the web, do you think this construct is viable?
As an avid user of Wikipedia, I’ve been among the thousands who have willingly contributed money to their cause. Why? Because, as a writer, I value it as a resource and I rely on it daily. It is also a not-for-profit enterprise and does not rely on advertising and I acknowledge that if avid users like me don’t donate, it can’t possibly survive without some other major funding source. So, in a way, their cause really feels like it is our cause. I can’t say I feel the same way about The New York Times, which just required a $250 million cash infusion from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu to stay afloat, but should I? With the sea change in generational media consumption habits, is it realistic to think that we can migrate away from a feeling of entitlement with regards to free and easy access to content to a model where we pay a nominal fee to access articles?
Sounds like a tall order to me, but what do you think?
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
Tags: Advertising, blog, carlos slim helu, direct marketing, Electronic Retailer, journalism, newspapers, ny times, Online, print, rick petry, the new york times, time, walter isaacson
Posted in Advertising, Just for fun..., Online, Research | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
In the online marketing world, a lot of time and resources are spent buying media, tracking pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, driving organic traffic via search engine optimization (SEO), and installing and customizing web analytics software to properly track all online marketing activities.
Dedicated in-house or agency staff craft keyword lists, write ad copy and manage keyword bidding to achieve the proper profitability, cost per action (CPA) and return on investment (ROI). Copywriters adjust our sales copy to improve click-through rates (CTR).
But we’ve almost completely ignored our website and landing page. Sure, we occasionally do facelifts, or even wholesale redesigns of our sites. But these changes are rarely tested and are simply assumed to improve the situation. They are just a cost of doing business.
Missed Opportunity
In almost every other area, performance is scrutinized under a microscope as we drill down on mind-numbingly detailed reports. Once someone converts, extensive retention e-mail campaigns are set in motion to persuade visitors to deepen their level of engagement.
We worry about every single word in our e-mails as we test headlines and offers. We analyze “bounce rates,†“open rates†and “unsubscribe rates†with almost religious fervor in order to extract the last penny of revenue and profit possible over the lifetime of our interaction with someone.
Even though we spend obscene amounts of money to buy traffic, the effort devoted to the landing pages to which that traffic is sent is negligible. A couple of hours of a graphic designer’s and copywriter’s time are often all that the landing page merits. With a cursory review by the higher-ups, the landing page goes live.
Worse yet, we assume that the quality of the landing page can’t be changed, so we don’t even look for ways to improve it. We turn all of the other knobs and dials at our disposal and continue to neglect the biggest profit-driver under our control—the conversion efficiency of the landing page.
This is costing a lot of money in the form of missed opportunity. Double- or triple-digit conversion rate gains are routinely realized through engagements. Yet, there’s still a widespread perception among online marketers that their landing pages are already solid and can’t be improved through testing.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
There are three important activities in online marketing:
• Acquisition: Getting people to your website or landing page.
• Conversion: Persuading them to take the desired action(s).
• Retention: Deepening the relationship and increasing its lifetime value.
But not all of these receive equal weight or attention in most companies.
Because of the large amounts of money spent on acquisition and retention, sophisticated systems have been created to maximize the ROI of these activities. But the efficiency of the website or landing page has been largely neglected. Many companies are beginning to understand that website and landing page conversion can have a dramatic impact on online marketing program profits. That’s where the new battleground is in the coming years.
You can meet with Tim Ash of SiteTuners as he optimizes e-commerce sites for increased revenue live at ERA’s eRetailer Summit on Monday, March 2, from 3:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m. Register here! To have your company’s website considered for a makeover, contact Ashley Cavell at acavell@retailing.org or via phone at (703) 908-1020.
Tags: acquisition, click through rates, conversion, cost per action, cpa, ctr, ecommerce, Electronic Retailer, electronic retailing association, emails, ERA, eretailer summit, landing page, miami, Online, retention, roi, search engine, sem, shopping, sitetuners, tests, tim ash, traffic, websites
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, ERA, Marketer, Online, Research, Retailer, Web Analytics | 5 Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
Retailers know all about the importance of effectively merchandising their end-caps, shelves, and racks to provide in-store shoppers with key “why to buy†messages, but when it comes to translating some of these approaches in the online world, most are failing to provide shoppers with the same level of attention.
With 90 percent of consumers going online to research products before making a purchase, online merchandising is equally (if not more) important as in-store merchandising. Visit any product page on most retailers’ sites and chances are you’ll see little more than a “picture and a paragraph†describing a product. Very rarely will you see specific “why-to-buy†messages, let alone more persuasive merchandising that leverages the unique capabilities of the online medium, such as video, audio and animation.
With their online venues, retailers have tremendous opportunity to engage and educate their shoppers using video tours that dynamically demonstrate product features and benefits. The use of rich media allows unique product capabilities to be seen by the shopper in the context of real use scenarios. Video product tours can also be augmented with other compelling product content such as sell sheets, 360-degree images, printable user guides and product specifications – elements that would be impossible to provide alongside a product in store, and once again take unique advantage of the online environment. There’s no better time to pull out the stops and impact your highly qualified niche of shoppers than while they are in the process of researching and buying products online.
Online video product tours aren’t all show. Independent third party studies show they increase conversion rates by providing shoppers the information they need to make informed purchase decisions. In so doing, video tours also make your site ‘stickier’ - in fact, shoppers view video product tours for an average of two minutes per tour– a major victory of extended engagement in the online retail world where your competition is only a click away.
But perhaps the most compelling news for retailers is that video product tours are provided free of charge by leading manufacturers through various content syndication networks. The video tours are also hosted by those same networks, so there’s no IT impact for the retailer. Effective, free, and easy – it just doesn’t get any better than that.
Rick Martin is SellPoint’s CEO.
Tags: ecommerce, merchandising, Online, product demonstrations, products, retailers, rick martin, sellpoint, shoppers, Video
Posted in Advertising, Direct Response, Marketer, Online, Research, Video | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Can you believe we’ve had this online community for a year already? Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, voted and contributed to this ongoing social dialogue. As we move forward, I thought it might be fun to look back at some of the more interesting, funny, thoughtful or even provocative posts from the past year. As we said from the get go in launching this blog: Join the discussion—we dare you!
Direct Response, Radiohead and Rain
The Evolving Online Morality
Print is Not Dead!
The Young Professional Facebook Paradox
A World Without the Internet?
I Need a Hip Replacement
Happy Valentine’s Day?
ERA: Tucker Out of Bounds on Obamamercial
What Does Marketing Mean to You?
Live Shopping Bloopers
Has PETA’s Advertising Gone Too Far?
PETA Responds!
Tags: Advertising, blog, bloopers, drtv, electronic retailer magazine, ERA, facebook, infomercial, live shopping, marketing, media, obama, Online, pat cauley, peta, print, radiohead, television
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, ERA, Electronic Retailer, Government Affairs, Infomercials, Just for fun..., Marketer, Online, Retailer, Social Networks, Video, Web Analytics | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
It is clear that for online retailers to remain competitive during this holiday season, their sites must offer personalized recommendation engines, product reviews, live chat and a host of other features supported by social behavioral platforms. Consumers are driving this demand, and to ensure they continue to return to a site, they must have access to the technologies they have come to rely on.
Marketing professionals need to know the benefits they can expect from deploying social behavioral platforms, as well as why it is critical they integrate this type of system before the 2008 holiday shopping season ends. Following is a list of benefits online merchants can anticipate in terms of ROI, as well as short- and long-term effects.
• Immediate and measureable results are the “brass ring†every business is looking for. Satisfied customers may not contact retailers directly to share their thoughts regarding positive experiences, but increased average order sales and repeat visits exemplify their contentment.
• Online marketing systems decrease the need to manage on-site merchandizing and in turn reduce the need for seasonal retail staff. Using a multichannel approach empowers retailers with the ability to reach consumers of every demographic. Additionally, a ubiquitous presence engenders a perception of strength and longevity.
• Low cost of ownership is paramount to internal teams, and can be easily achieved through the deployment of fully automated software. A system that collects data, like click patterns, searches conducted and products purchased—all provided through the simple act of shopping—creates a self-sustaining system that essentially runs on its own, requiring no maintenance.
Once the IT department and business team deem the site ready to include e-commerce optimization software, key functionalities the project manager should look for are:
• Intelligent mining of large data sets – This offers real-time, automated, intelligent predictive suggestions.
• Performance-based models – Empower retailers to invest in the future by developing their online presence now, while keeping costs low and building their brand.
• Landing page optimization – Directs consumers to the specific page of the product being searched, presenting the merchandise most likely to appeal to shoppers.
It is crucial in today’s economic climate that online retailers employ strategies expressly designed to mitigate costs and optimize resources at hand. Instituting a social behavioral system that can be deployed in days rather than weeks ensures shoppers are greeted with personalized treatment and individualized care in time for the holiday shopping season, which will also begin laying the foundation for future retailing success.
Dr. Rolf Elmér is CEO of Avail Intelligence.
Tags: avail intelligence, dr. rolf elmer, ecommerce, Electronic Retailer, holiday season, live chat, marketing, merchandizing, Online, retailers, shoppers, social media
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Europe, Marketer, Online, Retailer, Social Networks, Support Services, Web Analytics | 1 Comment »
