Holiday 2011 first look: messaging to bargain hunters

September 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 

By now you’ve probably read the early forecasts predicting that the 2011 holiday season will be a subdued affair. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts a 2.2% gain overall, down from 4.4% growth in 2010. ShopperTrak, which combines economic trends with foot traffic data, predicts 3% growth overall, compared with the 4.1% gain it reported in 2010.

But in a continuing trend, eCommerce promises to be a bright spot. According to Internet Retailer, research firm Kantar Retail predicts a 13.5% increase in online sales. Although that’s a decline from the robust 16.5% growth Kantar reported in 2010, the 2011 forecast still holds out the promise of double-digit growth in an otherwise tepid year.

Forecasterss predict a rush of bargain hunters who will shop frugally and hold out for deals. As Jack Kleinhenz of the National Retail Federation told the Wall Street Journal, “There will be lots of promotions—that’s become the norm.”

To maximize the potential of online holiday sales in 2011, merchants should design their promotions with these savvy deal seekers in mind. That doesn’t mean automatically dropping prices or eliminating barriers to free shipping; it does mean prominently communicating the value of your brand and products wherever shoppers roam.

1. Make it easy to seize opportunities across channels.

Gift guides, shareable wish lists and “save cart”/”print cart” options have long been part of merchants’ holiday playbooks — but with shoppers doing more research than ever in advance of purchasing, it’s crucial to fulfill their need for product and promotion information, in whatever format they seek it.  In particular, don’t neglect:

  • Cross-channel visibility. If you offer in-store inventory lookup, make it prominent not only on your eCommerce site, but on mobile devices, so that shoppers on the go can quickly ascertain where they can find sought-after products and what discounts might be in effect at local outlets. Tie store locator services to your calendar of in-store events and promotions. And for catalogers, devote space in printed materials to encourage shoppers to sign up for email delivering frequent holiday deals and tips.
  • Social-to-store possibilities. Use your Facebook page and Twitter feed not only to drive online sales, but to keep shoppers apprised of the latest in-store holiday happenings. Train social media customer service staff to localize responses and help connect shoppers with in-store as well as online options for resolving their questions.
  • On-the-go discounts. Shoppers should be able to apply email offers on both mobile devices and through the Web site; if the technology is available, allow them to translate a promo code into a coupon they can scan from their phones in stores.

2. Encourage immediate purchases.

Counteract shoppers’ instincts to hold out for better bargains with irresistible promotions early in the season. These offers needn’t slash prices, but can focus on the convenience of beating the holiday rush and the security of knowing sought-after items will be in stock.

  • Promote pre-season bargains. Culinary retailer Williams-Sonoma’s email campaign encouraged shoppers to “get a holiday head start” by taking advantage of a 4-hour September sale. The campaign’s product imagery put the emphasis squarely on decor, tabletop items and glassware — categories suited to shoppers with plans to host get-togethers for family and friends during the coming holiday season. Early holiday promotion example from Williams-Sonoma Target’s home page promotion similarly mentions holidays explicitly with the tag line “Cyber Monday deals before November” — promising shoppers they’ll find discounts now that are as enticing as what will be offered later in the season, when much-hyped shopping days such as Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (usually the second Monday in December) drive frenzied sales spikes. Example of early pre-holiday promotion from Target
  • Play up scarcity. Merchants should prominently promote new arrivals, holiday-specific products and popular gifts — and, especially in the early going, message the convenience of purchasing now rather than scrambling to find items later. For example, retailer Toys “R” Us has already published its 2011 Hot Toy List of popular gifts; product pages emphasize scarcity by limiting the number of items purchased per customer and encourage immediate purchase with a free shipping discount.

Toys R Us early holiday promotion

Toys R Us toy product page with purchase limit

 

3. Emphasize “white glove” customer service – starting with shipping.

Shoppers’ relentless focus on the bottom line can be an opportunity for merchants to emphasize the value of stellar customer service. Make customer service information especially prominent — not only on your eCommerce site, but also on social outposts and your mobile site.  After all, what’s the use of scoring the lowest possible price for a product if it doesn’t end up arriving in time, or if  confusion over a return or exchange policy mars the purchase experience?

First and foremost, put a special emphasis on shipping. From a marketing standpoint, shipping discounts are the top promotions online buyers seek during the holidays — so featuring them prominently is a winning strategy to boost sales. And from a service standpoint, clear communication over delivery options and timelines helps shoppers complete purchases in time and within their budgets.

  • Offer shipping promotions consistently across channels. When you offer free shipping with or without a threshold, be sure to promote it not only on your eCommerce site, but also in email, on mobile devices, and on social outposts. Land’s End promotes free shipping with orders of $50 or more when shopping directly from Facebook — the same threshold that applies on its eCommerce site. Example of free shipping offer on Facebook from Land's End
  • Promote the service advantage of site-to-store purchasing. To encourage shoppers to buy online rather than simply heading to the store without completing purchases first, stress the convenience of site-sto-store pickup — Sears does in its “5 Minutes or $5″ promotion. Customers presenting an email purchase confirmation in the store will receive their items within five minutes, or else they’ll get a $5 coupon. Example of site to store promotion from Sears
  • Message those timelines. Position messaging about delivery cutoff dates prominently across all your brand properties. The more detailed the information, the better — and don’t forget to pair it with instant access to customer service through all available channels — including phone, live chat, email, and Twitter.  In 2010, Armani Exchange used a countdown clock on its eCommerce home page to message the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds shoppers had to complete their purchases in time for holiday delivery. Armani Exhange's shipping countdown clock from holiday 2010Housewares manufacturer Cuddledown also featured a countdown clock — and offered a deeper level of detail showing delivery cutoff zones across the country. Shoppers could quickly scan the map, locate their delivery zone and get a precise cutoff date for their area.Example of detailed delivery schedule infrormation from Cuddledown

MarketLive’s 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey and Holiday Strategies report, produced in conjunction with the e-Tailing Group, will be released October 26 – featuring holiday tips and best practices and highlights from our latest consumer survey.  Register for the Webinar now — and meantime, let us know: what early holiday strategies have brought you success?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Email Marketing, Seasonal Selling, Social Commerce Tagged with 2011 Holidays

How to take advantage of widespread geo-location usage

September 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The recently reported that through their cell phones and social networking activities – either tapping the GPS functionality of their mobile devices or posting current location data with status updates to social media sites.

That number is impressive, suggesting merchants should ramp up mobile efforts to take advantage of the trend. Further, the data suggests how merchants can map the journey into geo-location.

According to the Pew report, most location-based usage is centered around looking up directions and getting local recommendations – fully 23 percent of U.S. adults use such tools. By contrast, just 4% of adults use so-called “geosocial” services requiring them to explicitly “check in” to locations, while 7% of adults tag their locations on social media.

These numbers suggest that merchants would do well to first ensure they’re covering the fundamentals when it comes to geo-location services – starting with:

  • The basics: tagged locations on maps and social sites. It may seem basic, but merchants should start by ensuring their brick-and-mortar locations show up on searches in Google Maps and Mapquest to facilitate finding by shoppers on the go. Locations should have Google place pages, and merchants may additionally want to consider creating robust profiles on business directories like Yelp!. Similarly, be sure to give your existing Facebook business page a location and link it to a place so that consumers using the social network’s mobile services can use the built-in mapping capabilities and “check in” when visiting.
    Google Plaes example
    For merchants who need to catch up on these basics, which are free to set up (with optional advertising tie-ins) consult

  •  A robust mobile store locator. Shoppers who explicitly seek out locations through merchants’ mobile sites should be rewarded with a feature-rich store locator. In addition to offering turn by turn directions, merchants should at a minimum list store hours and upcoming in-store events – and consider tying in location- or region-specific sale offers.And store locators aren’t just for brick-and-mortar retailers. Brand manufacturers can get in on the act by pointing shoppers to partner retailers who stock the brand’s products and participate in local or regional promotions. Beauty manufacturer Clinique displays which stores are featuring a “Bonus Time” with free sample giveaways and other goodies along with promotion dates.Clinique store locator example

How far to travel the geo-location path beyond these essentials depends on your audience. The Pew report shows that there’s a wide gulf in usage patterns between smartphone users and other cell phone owners; for example, usage of social services such as Foursquare is 140% higher among smartphone users compared with the overall cell phone population.

So if your target customers are heavy smartphone users, consider an active presence on geosocial sites like Foursquare and GoWalla, which offer consumers an opportunity to “check in” at locations, share the information with friends and offer recommendations on places to visit. To successfully leverage these sites to drive online and in-store traffic and sales, plan on investing resources in maintaining an active profile replete with targeted offers – and promoting the service across platforms, as Dunkin’ Donuts is doing with its “President of Dunkin’ Nation” campaign on Facebook. Customers who “check in” frequently at Dunkin’ Donuts locations are eligible for daily and weekly prizes as well as a grand prize featuring a flat-screen TV.

Dunkin' Donuts Facebook-Foursquare promotion example

 

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce

Connected Commerce: Filling in the Grid

September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Customers’ expectations are higher than ever for an integrated brand experience. Shoppers expect to be able to research and buy products, interact with and communicate about brands wherever they roam – from their smartphones to social networking sites and beyond.

For merchants, that expectation means integrated features and services that were once “nice to have” are now mandatory.  But we’ve found that while many merchants are experimenting with new platforms and formats, efforts remain highly segmented. This tendency is understandable – after all, on the surface, different mediums seem to serve different strengths. Industry researcher Forrester found that 61% of merchants view “listening to and better understanding customers” – not sales – as the primary ROI of social marketing, for example. Similarly, we merchants tend to think of search as an acquisition channel and email as a retention tool, while our flagship eCommerce sites remain the primary driver of online conversion.MarketLive graphic showing fragmented use of eCommerce platforms

 The problem with this approach, of course, is that shoppers don’t consult the graphic and segment their behaviors accordingly! Increasingly, they expect to fulfill diverse needs through whichever device or channel they prefer – whether it’s purchasing directly on Facebook or receiving loyalty offers on their cell phones. To meet this rising demand for total integration, we encourage merchants to move toward a more holistic approach, where each potential connection point with shoppers supports no less than five core needs:

1. Researching a product. Of course merchants should provide robust product information and customer reviews – but are they available via mobile devices and Facebook as well as the eCommerce site? Innovative merchants are translating long-successful practices from their eCommerce sites into new formats – for example, creating persona-driven mobile tools, such as Target’s “All About Baby”, that engage shoppers and connect them with the products they need.

 Target Baby mobile campaign

 

2. Buying a product. Wherever merchants establish a presence, their products should be front and center – and targeted at the medium’s audience. On Facebook, for example, merchants should feature customer-driven selections such as top-rated or top-“liked” items and/or the latest seasonal products. In springtime, Title Nine focused its featured Facebook products on the upcoming swim season – delivering the latest looks to its brand followers.MarketLive client Title Nine's Facebook page

Once shoppers spot a product they like, buying should be easy – without leaving their current environment. Merchants should consider implementing on-Facebook purchasing, transaction-enabled email, and a streamlined checkout process for mobile users.

3. Reaching customer service. Here’s a seeming no-brainer: a merchant’s customer service information should be ubiquitous on whatever platform shoppers use. BCrate and Barrel's Facebook pageut while most merchants have now made customer service links easily accessible on their eCommerce sites, in a recent survey we found that less than 10% of the 40 largest U.S. merchants’ Facebook pages include a customer service phone number – and only one showcased its online chat feature via Facebook. It’s an easy change to make: incorporate customer service information prominently, as Crate & Barrel does on its Facebook page by integrating the customer service number prominently into the anchor graphic on its page.

4. Supporting customers’ lifestyle. Successful merchants connect with their core audience by delivering not just products, but shopping environments in tune with shoppers’ tastes. Showcasing complementary content and in-depth expertise builds brand credibility – making it crucial to translate across platforms and media. Fashion-forward merchant Armani Exchange not only showcases its music channel, videos and promotional events on its flagship eCommerce site, but also via mobile and Facebook outlets – engaging shoppers wherever they connect with the brand.

5. Giving social feedback. As touchpoints proliferate, so do the opportunities for merchants to solicit shoppers’ opinions – thereby gaining valuable insights and shaping future marketing and merchandising strategies to suit shoppers’ needs. Savvy merchants are “crowd-sourcing” which products to feature as sale items and inviting customers’ ideas for products or services – as Perricone MD does below, with its Facebook poll asking followers to select which item will be included as a free sample with orders.

By supporting each of these behaviors on multiple platforms, merchants can achieve truly connected commerce. How many squares on the grid can you fill in? What are the challenges to filling in the gaps? Where are you seeing integration success?

 

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce

The MarketLive Blog: Giving New Meaning to Connected Commerce

September 19, 2011 by Ken Burke Leave a Comment

We’re excited to launch the MarketLive Blog today. With it, we’ll establish a clearinghouse of best practices, emerging trends, and news from the world of connected commerce.

You may wonder why we would start a blog now, when social networking sites increasingly demand brevity and issues are frequently aired via a dispersed array of hash-tag comments and text-message headlines. The answer is simple: we want to provide a connection point, a gathering place for merchants where we capture what’s buzzing around in the ether and provide plenty of room to explore concepts, analyze results and discuss the complexity that is online commerce today.

We won’t just Tweet a URL showcasing a new practice; we’ll explain why it’s worth looking at, detail considerations for merchants who want to implement something similar – and open the discussion to your suggestions via the comments section, which we hope will be just as rich as the posts themselves.

It’s only natural that we at MarketLive would create such a hub. After all, we’ve been helping hundreds of merchants sell goods and services online since 1995; currently, MarketLive merchants annually generate over $2 billion in sales, and that number is growing! Through constant close contact with our merchant partners, we have unique insight into what works, where challenges arise, and what shoppers seek.

Through the years, our internet strategy team has served as the hub for this collective wisdom – and has added to the conversation with our own trend-watching and original research. Starting with my book, Intelligent Selling, in 2002, we’ve published trailblazing whitepapers on topics such as word-of-mouth marketing and building customer trust, and since 2007 we’ve provided the industry’s definitive benchmark with the MarketLive Performance Index.

This blog is a natural complement to our efforts – enabling us to share trends and information quickly, while also stimulating discussion among our merchant partners and the eCommerce industry as whole. We anticipate that blog posts and discussion will dictate future research, spawning topics for us to investigate and report on in still further depth.

Meantime, we’re eager to hear from you about our new endeavor, and to shaping this resource to fit your needs. What information do you seek that the blogosphere hasn’t yet provided? What topics would you like us to address? Post suggestions in the comments – we look forward to the discussion!

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