3 Tactics for Boosting Facebook Page “Likes”

October 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

With the total number of users surpassing 800 million, Facebook is now an essential component of merchants’ sales and marketing arsenal. More and more brands are setting up outposts on Facebook pages; by one estimate, fully 80% of Internet Retailer’s Top 500 merchants use the site to reach customers and potential shoppers.

Of course, just having a Facebook page is only the first step. To truly integrate with shoppers’ Facebook browsing habits, merchants must convince shoppers not only to visit their pages, but to “Like” them – thereby enabling merchant updates to flow onto the shopper’s Facebook home page.

With so many individuals, brands and organizations hopping on the Facebook bandwagon, it’s crucial to offer a compelling “Like” proposition so your brand stands out above the fray. Consider these three tactics for attracting more “Likes” for your Facebook page:

1)    Offer exclusive savings, immediately. While plenty of Facebook promotions promise shoppers that if they “like” a page, they’ll receive the latest news and up-to-the-minute notices of sales that are also promoted elsewhere, fewer brands promise exclusive savings solely for Facebook fans – and fewer still reward a “like” on the spot with a targeted offer. Beauty outlet Sephora messages its Facebook exclusives with a landing page touting “Fan Fridays,” when followers receive an exclusive discount code. After clicking “like,” the latest discount code is revealed on the same page.

Example of Facebook "like" campaign from SephoraInstant-redemption promo code for Facebook followers of Sephora

2)    Put a spotlight on fans with community. Give potential brand followers incentive to “like” the page by putting them front and center. In addition to broadcasted messages about new products and upcoming events, use status updates to ask followers questions and institute polls to encourage feedback. Mega-merchant Zappos.com instantly communicates the central role brand followers play on the page with its “Fan of the Week” promotion, whereby each week a photo of a follower with a Zappos box is featured as the brand’s main profile picture. Visitors to the landing page see the profile picture featuring the latest spotlighted fan, as well as an invitation to engage in a “like-like relationship” – verbiage that puts followers on an equal footing with the brand.

Zappos.com Facebook "like" campaignCloseup of Zappos.com "fan of the week" Facebook promotion

Followers that view the Zappos Wall see a bevy of posts inviting participation. A challenge to pair shoes with a dress is followed a few hours later by the name of the winning entrant, who received both products for free as the prize; while a third post invites followers to fill in the blank – a post that drew 226 responses.

Example of compelling Facebook status updates from Zappos.com

3)    Promote the page to brand followers in other channels. When it comes to building a Facebook following, you don’t have to start from scratch. Chances are your brand had a cohort of engaged shoppers before Facebook even existed – in the form of email subscribers, repeat customers and longtime catalog browsers. Reach out to them now if you haven’t already with an invitation to join the community on Facebook, too.

eBags sent a Facebook invitation to email subscribers promising an instant discount for “liking” the page. The urgent timeline of a one-day opportunity for savings prompts shoppers to act immediately on the message. Clicking the email delivers shoppers to a coupon, also good for just one day, for 25% off and free shipping – a powerful incentive to purchase.

compelling email calpaign promoting Facebook "likes from eBags

 

Email campaign to promote Facebook "likes" from eBags

 

What tactics have you found successful to drive Facebook page “likes”?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Facebook

Top takeaways from the MarketLive 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey

October 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We hope you caught yesterday’s presentation of the results of the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey, which showcased dozens of actionable holiday tactics and examples along with the survey results. If you didn’t catch the Webinar, visit marketlive.com to access a replay and download a whitepaper detailing key tactics from the study.

Meantime, though, we wanted to share three key concepts to consider when fine-tuning holiday offers:

1. Shoppers do recognize value beyond low prices …

In the opening slides of the Webinar, we learned that merchants hope to hold the line on discounting this year by setting price breaks early and keeping them relatively uniform — in the 20 to 30 percent off range — throughout the season. Happily, the results of the consumer survey suggest this goal may be attainable: shoppers aren’t categorically against paying full price for items, and they recognize that the value of a brand goes beyond the discounts it offers.

According to survey data, nearly one in three shoppers will pay full price for an item that is “perfect for someone on my list”, while 30% will pay full price for a unique or hard-to-find item someone on their list has requested.

Chart showing results from the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey

One of the best ways to connect shoppers with those “perfect” products — and maximize the potential for selling items without margin-destroying discounts — is via a gift guide or gifting center. But MarketLive’s research revealed that many merchants are slow off the blocks this holiday season, with just one in four Web sites promoting the holidays as of Oct. 21 — compared with 2010, when a majority of merchants had already kicked off their holiday campaigns. If you haven’t already, launch those gift guides pronto. Be sure to cater to an array of shopping styles, as Title Nine does here with a section devoted to gifts by price point, a link to the latest seasonal items and gift cards – which 42% of consumers seek when shopping for gifts.

Holiday gift guide example from Title Nine

Additionally, capitalize on the willingness to pay for just-right gifts by showcasing unique and limited-stock items, and by playing up customer favorites that are proven pleasers with categories such as “top sellers” and “top rated”. An Orvis email campaign from 2010 highlighted “top-rated gifts” and promised they would deliver on “quality and style.”
Holiday example from Orvis

Another strong component of value: customer service. Fourteen percent of shoppers said they’d pay full price for an item that came coupled with an “excellent customer experience”, while 73% of shoppers named free returns as a top promotion — a preference that stresses the importance of holiday shopping that is not only economical, but hassle-free from start to finish. To emphasize the value of great customer service, display product guarantees and return policies prominently, along with customer service contact information in the form of an 800 number and, if you offer it, click-to-call and click-to-chat options. And consider going the extra mile by promoting customer service as its own discrete offering, as J. Crew does with its Personal Shopper service, which promotes convenience and “hassle-free shopping”.

Holiday example from J. Crew

2. … but they still want that free shipping discount

Although shoppers may be willing to pay full price for products, they still perceive shipping costs to be prohibitive. When asked why they don’t buy more online, fully 45% of shoppers named high shipping costs as the top impediment — dwarfing other reasons by a large margin.

Chart showing results from the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey

As a result, free shipping continues to be the top promotion influencing purchases, with 83% saying free shipping with no threshold is key, and 60% saying free shipping with a threshold spurs action.

But this reluctance to pay for delivery doesn’t mean you have to offer free shipping at all costs. Instead, craft free shipping offers with thresholds that appeal to your core audience — and consider offering free shipping on all orders for extremely limited periods, as the Solutions Catalog does with its “Deal du Jour” offer, which promises free shipping for four mid-day hours only.

Holiday example from Solutions Catalog

During the Q & A session, a Webinar attendee asked what alternatives to provide if she categorically could not offer free shipping as a promotion. In this challenging situation, panelists recommended several alternatives:

  • Consider making an exception for loyal shoppers and top spenders. Giving them a free shipping offer no one else receives strengthens their connection to the brand. Alternatively, offer them a gift card good for future purchases when they buy holiday gifts.
  • Consider flat-rate shipping. Making the shipping expense predictable and easy to understand is a widely-used alternative to free shipping, that can be tied to a threshold or offered unconditionally.
  • Consider offering customers free shipping upgrades with a threshold as the holidays near. This method not only gives shoppers a price break, but eases concerns about whether gifts will arrive in time as well.

 

3. Prime your mobile presence for heavy research.

While mobile commerce has been on the upswing, survey data suggests that most consumers will actually complete their transactions in other channels. Just 11% of survey respondents said they planned to purchase gifts on their cellphones during the upcoming holiday season.

But researching gifts is another matter. Overall 61% of shoppers said they planned to research gifts online or on their phones before buying them on- or offline. Furthermore, the survey found that among smartphone users, nearly 40% will use their mobile devices to look up sale offers and specials before heading to the store, with price comparisons and searches for information about bricks-and-mortar locations also popular.
Chart showing results from the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey
Predicted in-store activity was nearly as heavy, with more than one in five saying they would check Amazon for price comparison while in the aisles, and 22% of shoppers saying they would use their smartphones to download product coupons while on-site.

To assist shoppers with research and point them efficiently to in-store deals, design holiday gift guide specifically for mobile viewing, and spruce up your store locator — it should display not just store hours and maps for locations, but also specific in-store sales and promotions, as well as special holiday events. And don’t forget to use SMS messaging to deliver deals that entice shoppers into stores; according to survey data, fully 34% of mobile phone users have shared their number with at least one retailer to receive deals. Fashion retailer Armani’s “Text Love Get Love” campaign offered an instant incentive for shoppers to share their information, with a $20 discount coupon for their next purchase.

Mobile campaign example from Armani Exchange

If you attended the holiday survey Webinar, what were the key takeaways for you? What tactics are you planning to emphasize value?

Filed under Client Innovations, Mobile Commerce, Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey, 2011 Holidays

Holiday Survey Preview: Alternatives to Discounts in a Challenging Year

October 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Holiday sales growth chart from National Retail FoundationAdding to earlier tepid forecasts for the upcoming 2011 holiday season, the National Retail Federation earlier this month predicted that holiday spending would increase 2.8% in November and December. That’s a drop from last year’s holiday sales growth of 5.6%, but still slightly above the 10-year average of 2.6%, according to the federation.

For merchants, the temptation is strong to discount steeply to overcome shoppers’ cautious spending instincts. But this tactic can cut into margins, making it especially hard for small- to -medium-sized merchants to compete against discount-oriented behemoths such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

Still, the Wall Street Journal reports that 48% of retailers are more optimistic about this year’s holiday sales than last year’s — partly because some are considering strategies other than nonstop price cuts to attract shoppers.

To learn which strategies promise the greatest payoff for the holiday season, register for Wednesday’s MarketLive Webinar presentation, which will review the results of MarketLive’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Shopping  Survey.

An initial peek at the survey validates merchant optimism for the season. More than half of online shoppers, 56%, say they plan to spend no more than they did last year — an increase of 7 percentage points compared with last year. But the percentage of shoppers who say they plan to spend somewhat or significantly more this year has held rock steady compared to last year, at 7%, while the percentage of shoppers who plan to cut spending has dropped to 37%, compared with last year’s 44%. The data suggests the trend is moving in the right direction — toward steady growth — rather than regressing back to the radically slashed budgets of 2008 and 2009.

 Chart showing MarketLive 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey results

Additionally, the survey reveals that although consumers will spend cautiously, discounts aren’t the only way to win sales. While “saving money” remains the top reason consumers shop online, other motivations are almost as powerful — including saving time, finding unique items and skipping the madhouse crush at the mall.

 Chart showing results from the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey

Wednesday’s Webinar will translate these incentives into actionable tactics for creating holiday offers that spur sales — without breaking the bank. The survey will additional address key questions such as:

  • How early do we need to start pushing promotions?
  • What motivates customers to pay full price during the holiday season?
  • How important will mobile be for my business this holiday season?
  • Can I up my email frequency to multiple times a week without alienating customers?
  • Do I need to pay attention to social networks like Facebook when it comes to holiday shopping?
  • What can I do to best compete with Amazon?

The session promises to be a powerhouse of information, with MarketLive founder Ken Burke and Lauren Freeman of The e-tailing Group presenting. So mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 26, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, register now, and bring your questions and comments. We look forward to the discussion!

Filed under Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey, 2011 Holidays

Integrating content and commerce

October 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

“Content is king” has long been a mantra for eCommerce merchants. Rich subject-matter content not only lends credibility and authority to the brand, but it can also help boost a site’s rankings in natural search engine results.

But it’s not enough to create scads of relevant content and post it. In order to maximize the efficacy of content as a sales tool, it has to be integrated fluidly with products and promotional offers.

Many merchants are partway there when it comes to content integration: increasingly, there’s plenty of helpful content on eCommerce product and category pages to help guide shoppers’ purchase decisions. For its Balance Ball Chair System, lifestyle company Gaiam provides comprehensive product information – in the form of a thorough description, multiple images, a video,  customer reviews, and a “question and answer” section where staff and other customers can respond to shopper inquiries. In addition, via one of the product’s content tabs shoppers can also access a selection of instructional content related to balance balls on Gaiam’s partner site, Gaiam Life.

Product content example from Gaiam

Content example from Gaiam

In short, when shoppers are already browsing products, merchants are increasingly featuring relevant content alongside the merchandise. But what about when consumers begin their shopping journey by consulting the content first?

Many merchants with otherwise robust content sections fail to integrate products fully into instructional articles, how-to videos or even buying guides – as this outdoor merchant does in an article about springtime weather fronts and how they affect fishing. Although the article mentions various types of lures and baits which are on offer in the eCommerce store, there are no product images or even text links to entice readers (and potential shoppers) to purchase immediately.

Content example without commerce links

A good first step toward integrating products with content is to feature related items in a side column – as Gaiam does in the top example above. Visitors to the balance ball article on the Gaiam Life site view related products in the left-hand column, and can click to purchase them on the Gaiam site. Similarly, REI’s article for beginning cyclists includes links, not only to further related articles and instructional videos, but to relevant product categories – including comfort bikes, cycling helmets, and hydration options.  Browsers at both Gaiam and REI can act on article information instantly and with a minimum of clicks between content and relevant products.

Content example from REI

But sidebars are traditionally the location for banner advertising and other promotions which readers are adept at tuning out; product links positioned there may be overlooked altogether. A better solution is to build content with merchandise in mind – that is, to integrate commerce and content completely, providing both credible information and easy access to relevant products in one package.

Party supply and costumer retailer Party City offers a series of party planning guides that include links to products throughout. These guides have more how-to content than simple theme-based shopping categories, and more product links than a plain instructional article – striking an effective balance.

Content and commerce integration example from Party City

Similarly, educational supplier Carolina Biological offers a visually attractive guide to raising butterflies in the classroom that includes not only instructions for hatching and breeding butterflies, but comprehensive links to the kits and  other products to get the project started.

Content integration example from Carolina

How are you maximizing the effectiveness of your content?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Search Engine Marketing Tagged with Content

Email hospitality – welcoming new subscribers in style

October 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When shoppers subscribes to email updates from your brand, the landing page they see immediately after signup and the subsequent “welcome” message that lands in their inbox are key opportunities. With the right techniques, you’ll create a positive impression of your brand, introduce relevant product offerings and potentially make some money right off the bat. Don’t miss the boat – take advantage of these all-important customer  touchpoints.

Landing Page Secrets to Success

No matter what, you need a post-signup landing page, which is your opportunity to:

  1. Thank the person for signing up.
  2. Reiterate expectations. Remind subscribers what you’ll be sending them, how often and maybe even provide recent examples of emails sent. If you are including a coupon or special prize in your welcome message, let customers know they can find it in their first email from you.
  3. Offer whitelisting instructions. For example: “Please add to your address book to make sure you receive our exclusive subscriber-only offers.”
  4. Engage new sign-ups by introducing and linking to social media pages, product lines, blogs, etc. At a minimum, encourage customers to “Start Shopping.”

Shape FX’s welcome page is minimalistic, but gets the basics done, inviting shoppers to look for a special deal in a forthcoming email as well as offering whitelisting instructions.

Example of thank you message for email signup from SHAPE FX
Fred Flare does a colorful job of welcoming subscribers into the “Fred Flare fan club” and introducing lots of fun ways to interact. Reiterating what subscribers will receive plus some whitelisting instructions could round out this page.

Example of email signup thank-you message from Fred Flare

Welcome Message Best Practices

Welcome messages incorporate many, if not all, of the same best practices as landing pages — with the added opportunity of offering links to relevant products based on the subscriber’s prior shopping behavior.

  1.  Welcome subscribers into your community rather than thank them for joining a list. In other words, instead of saying “Thanks for joining our mailing list!” try creating a different subscriber experience through statements like “Welcome to our exclusive community!” or “We’re so happy that you’ve joined this very special group!” You get the idea.
  2.  Avoid subject lines like “Email Marketing Confirmation.” Sounds stiff and impersonal, doesn’t it? Subscribers may also be confused by such messages and wonder if they are confirmed, or still need to confirm.
  3. Consider a welcome coupon or an incentive to start shopping/interacting right away.
  4.  Timing should be immediate. Shoppers should receive the “welcome” email in their inbox within minutes of signup; otherwise, they may not remember requesting the communication and consign your message to the trash — or, worse, to spam.
  5. If you employ technology for personalized product recommendations, use it in this email. Offer instant, concrete proof that your products are relevant to subscribers’ needs. The personalization could be as simple as showing apparel appropriate to the subscriber’s gender, or a more complex display of cross-sell possibilities based on past site browsing.

Minus the very large welcome image at the top which could be minimized to allow the main message to live higher on the email, Segway does a truly fantastic job of including best practices. They welcome subscribers into not just the newsletter, but a green “movement,” reiterate expectations, offer a coupon, encourage dialog and invite subscribers to engage with their various social media sites.

Segway welcome email example
Zappos.com immediately sets an informal, approachable tone with its welcome email, calling its weekly newsletter the “Shameless Plug”. The welcome email also reiterates Zappos.com’s core identity as a customer service company, stating that “We believe out customers should be treated like family.”

Welcome email example from Zappos.com

Example of personalization of email at signup from NordstromNordstrom proves that personalization doesn’t have to rely on elaborate technology – shoppers can select to receive email about women’s or men’s clothes or deals from discount outlet Nordstrom Rack upon signup, at right — a choice the welcome email confirms with its graphic of a silhouetted stylish woman. The welcome email conveys Nordstrom’s emphasis on service, with links to live chat, in-store pickup and personal stylist services.

 

 

Example of a welcome email from Nordstrom

The subscription landing page and welcome message together create a pleasant and clear sign-up process that builds a positive first impression with your brand. If you haven’t evaluated your sign-up process lately, now might be the time. You could find yourself with a nice boost in subscribers and revenue.

How have your sign-up tweaks impacted your results? Share your success stories!

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Email Marketing

Three key live chat strategies

October 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Usage of live chat is on the rise among merchants. By the fourth quarter of 2010, — and for good reason: live chat is the preferred communication method for 1 in 5 U.S. shoppers, only two percentage points behind phone support.

And live chat tends to satisfy customers’ needs. According to Forrester Research, not only do 77% of consumers using chat say they’re able to get the information they needed, but even among those who do not, a majority report being either satisfied or neutral about the experience, rather than feeling negatively.

Chart about live chat effectiveness from Forrester Research

But as with any customer service opportunity, live chat can go awry if it’s not deployed thoughtfully. If you offer live chat, adopt these best practices:

1. Integrate, integrate, integrate.If you offer live chat, don’t just Live chat should not just be a text link on the customer service page; it should be a prominent option at every step along the path to purchase – and not just on your main eCommerce site. Include chat links:

  • In the global header and footer. These anchor locations ensure live chat is always an option on the page.
  • In the center content area on the product page. Make it easy for shoppers to ask questions as they mull item details by placing a prominent link to live chat above the fold, as Beauty.com does on its product detail page.

Beauty.com example of live chat link placement

  • In a prominent, fixed position in the cart and checkout. Live chat should be offered alongside phone support in an easily-accessible position throughout the checkout.
  • On social networking sites. Consumers who follow your brand on social networking sites may prefer the convenience of live chat to phone or email support – make the option easy by including a prominent link to live chat, as Land’s End does on its Facebook landing page.

Land's End example of live chat link on Facebook

  • On mobile devices. Offer a live chat option for mobile users, for whom typing text directly via the mobile Web browser is less of a hassle than starting a separate email application. And consider adding a click-to-call function so shoppers on the go can receive live voice support.

 

2. Set clear expectations for availability. It’s crucial to message hours of operation, wait times and other alternatives so shoppers don’t feel stymied. Specifically:

  • Prominently display hours of operation – preferably before shoppers open a separate chat window.  Incorporate hours of availability into live chat buttons and graphics, and list them on the global header and footer as well as on the customer service page.
  • Provide alternatives when live chat isn’t available. If your customer service phone lines are open 24/7, direct shoppers to that service; and let users looking for chat leave a message in the form of email, as Ice Jerseys, the official NHL site, does.

Ice Jerseys example for when chat is offline

  • Display – and update – wait times. If chat representatives aren’t immediately available, let shoppers know how long they can expect to wait, and then keep the chat window active by updating their status if the queue is long.

3. Guide the opening of the conversation – but once underway, don’t rely on canned content. If shoppers are at sea while browsing the Web site, they’ll appreciate a little guidance on how to get started with live chat. Once the one-on-one conversation begins, however, it’s crucial to keep it real.

  • Provide a set of drop-down options as part of the chat initiation routine – and explain why. Shoppers looking for instant gratification with live chat may be frustrated if they perceive they’re being asked to supply extraneous information; clearly state that the data will help them achieve their goals faster, as Sierra Trading Post does in its chat window.

Sierra Trading Post example of drop-down guidance for chat

  • Once the chat begins, establish credibility with conversational and informative advice – not canned answers. In addition, rather than pushing shoppers to choose quickly, use low-pressure sales techniques that put the emphasis on guiding shoppers to the right products, as NutriSystem does in the chat exchange below. The brand’s chat representative offers to “ask a couple of quick questions” to guide the shopper’s choice.

Low-pressure sales technique in chat - example from NutriSystem

  • Select and train live chat representatives wisely. Although transmitted instantly, words on the screen have staying power that spoken information does not; grammar and spelling errors are magnified, and may irritate shoppers who have opted for chat to avoid outsourced phone support. Chat representatives should have impeccable English skills and, additionally should be able to juggle multiple chat windows at once to maximize efficiency.

 

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain Tagged with customer service, live chat

Forced account creation: a trend to ignore (for most)

October 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

More and more merchants are employing forced account registration – that is, forcing account creation before shoppers complete their first online purchase. Merchants force account creation in the belief that they can capture more shopper data that way – especially an email address – even if a purchase is ultimately abandoned. But for most merchants, the opposite may, in fact, be true.

The trend is certainly real. We surveyed 100 retailers from the Internet Retailer 500 – the 50 top-ranked merchants earning more than $25 million in annual online revenue, and the 50 top-ranked merchants with online sales under $25 million – and discovered that overall, 1 in 4 of these merchants use forced account creation.

Data on usage of forced registration vs. guest checkout from MarketLive

But there’s a marked discrepancy between large and small sites, with the big players using forced account creation almost a third of the time – 77% more often than the specialty and niche merchants. After all, larger brands not only attract larger audiences, but they can offer deeper discounts due to economies of scale – giving shoppers a powerful price incentive to endure the account creation process.

We also noticed similarities in the type of products and services on offer among merchants deploying forced registration. Broadly, they fit into one of the following classifications:

  • They’re large, multi-category merchants. As stated above, mega-players like Amazon.com, Overstock.com and Drugstore.com have the clout to force account creation – they offer consumers the convenience of one-stop shopping and the lure of wide discounts as payoff for setting up an account.
  • They offer goods and services consumers replenish more than once a month. For constant users of grocery or diet meal delivery and movie rental services, account registration can actually be a time-saver – they need only enter payment and shipping information once.
  • They offer B2B goods and services. For merchants selling to other companies with the need to place recurring or standing orders, forced account registration can similarly be a convenience rather than a hassle – allowing customers to easily access order histories and manage billing.
  • They’re membership organizations with incentives to join. From Costco, which offers members steep discounts for buying in bulk, to the Gilt Groupe, whose members receive exclusive promotions on sought-after luxury goods and local services, registration is tied to receiving significant benefits unavailable to the general public.
  • They message incentives for account registration clearly. Regardless of the business type, merchants successfully employing forced Forced account registration example from ID Wholesalerregistration spell out the reasons shoppers should sign up. At right, IDWholesaler calls attention to the convenience factor for its B2B audience, citing easy order tracking and reorder options as well as price discounts.

If your business doesn’t fit into one of the above categories, we still recommend giving shoppers the option to check out as a guest – the risk is too high that forcing account creation will alienate potential customers.  Forced account registration is a significant cause of purchase abandonment, contributing to 14% of incomplete purchases, according to industry researcher Forrester.

A large usability study recently reported in Smashing Magazine found that forced account creation was an even bigger barrier to purchase: one in three shoppers abandoned purchases when forced to register, the study found. Test subjects gave two primary reasons for their reluctance:

  • Inconvenience. Consumers already juggling multiple logins at home and work are unlikely to create another username and password if the product can be found elsewhere without registering.
  • Mistrust.Registration degrades customer trust – broadcasting the intent to store shopper’s personally identifiable information, while creating the expectation of future marketing harassment. The researcher reported, “40% of test subjects expected to be spammed with marketing material, even if they explicitly declined to sign up for a newsletter during the checkout process. …  ‘If I create an account, they can send me spam from now on and forever.’”

Since guest checkout is such a boon to shoppers, merchants should not only offer it,  but they should call attention to it at the beginning of the checkout –  as 1-800-Flowers does, letting shoppers know they can set up an account later if they so choose. Those opting to sign in can use their Facebook login, boosting the convenience factor of account creation.

1-800-Flowers guest checkout example

L.L. Bean similarly offers guest registration while enumerating the benefits of account creation – putting an emphasis on convenience with the promise of “faster checkouts, order history and more.”

L.L. Bean guest checkout example

Collect email addresses in the very first checkout step; if shoppers abandon purchases later, merchants can still contact them for follow-up, even without forced account creation. To build trust, clearly state the reason for collecting that email address  — to communicate about the shopper’s order — as Barnes & Noble does below. Make signing up for additional updates and offers an optional extra.

Email requirement in checkout from Barnes and Noble

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Analytics Tagged with checkout

MarketLive Performance Index: A First Look at Q3 Data

October 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 Third-quarter data from the MarketLive Performance Index is hot off the presses! From July 1 to September 30, Index merchants saw a more than 15% gain in visitors and revenue growth of over 18%, with conversion also inching upward by 5.24%, to 4.66%.

3rd quarter 2011 data overview from the MarketLive Performance Index

The data also highlights a potential challenge for merchants – engaging shoppers beyond the first page of the site. Year-over-year data for the third quarter shows a marked increase in the “1-and-out” rate, which measures the percentage of visits ending after just one page. The “1-and-out” rate increased by nearly 15% in the third quarter, suggesting that increased traffic is also bringing more visitors who aren’t immediately connecting with products or offers that meet their needs.

The “1-and-out” growth is a continuing trend. Earlier in the year, our second-quarter report for 2011 similarly found the “1-and-out” rate had jumped, albeit by a smaller percentage. Merchants have a significant incentive to better serve those visitors – if they can be persuaded past the first page of the site, they’ll potentially go on to purchase, driving even larger gains in engagement, conversion and sales.

The need to offer compelling products and offers is especially acute heading into the holiday season, when visitors are likely to research and shop heavily online.

With continuing economic uncertainty fueling a conservative outlook, shoppers nonetheless report they plan to maintain holiday spending at levels on a par with last year. According to new data from the MarketLive/e-Tailing Group Holiday Shopping Survey , a majority of shoppers – 56% – report they’ll spend the same amount as they did last year, with 7% saying they’ll spend more and 37% predicting they’ll spend less. Regardless of their budgets, consumers will use the Web to hunt for deals, with 61% of shoppers saying they intend to research products online before making offline purchases, according to the survey.

This conservative, but hardly catastrophic, consumer outlook should be cause for merchants to take heart. The challenge will be to find ways throughout the holiday season to engage shoppers, beyond simply slashing prices. For key tactics to try, be sure to download the MarketLive Performance Index Vol. 16 report, which will be available at marketlive.com Oct. 13.

And for more holiday best practices, be sure to sign up for MarketLive’s 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey and Holiday Strategies Webinar, presenting original research produced in conjunction with the e-Tailing Group. Register for the October 26 Webinar now.

Meantime, how do your Q3 numbers stack up? What are you doing to engage visitors beyond the first page?

Filed under Analytics, Seasonal Selling Tagged with MarketLive Performance Index

Social Media Watch: Google+ on the Verge

October 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The commerce buzz has been building about Google+, the search engine giant’s new social platform. By some estimates, right about now — taking around 90 days to do so, compared with three years for Twitter.

Chart showing growth of Google+

In addition, Ad Age reported last week that Google+ business profiles will soon be available. Currently, just two brands have official sanction to test Google+ — Ford Motor Company and General Motors.

Test Google+ brand page for Ford

Google+ has repeatedly urged other brands to avoid setting up profiles as individuals — perhaps in an attempt to head off the confusion that surrounded Facebook Pages and Facebook Profiles. But as the Ad Age article reported, a number of brands have ignored that request and begun experimenting with Google+. The situation is causing some brands to spawn multiple profiles, including unofficial profiles owned by fans or squatters. The article opines,

“The situation is reminiscent of what marketers discovered on Twitter a few years ago when they tried to register for Twitter handles and found those corresponding with their company names had already been claimed. In one egregious situation, Hyundai’s legal department wrangled with Twitter for months to obtain ownership of , to which an individual had posted racy photos. … it will be frustrating for eager companies who waited patiently for Google’s green light only to realize the network has been filling up with fake profiles.”

We don’t recommend launching a renegade profile — merchants will only have to start over again once the official business profiles are available, which seems immediately imminent.

But we do recommend immediately familiarizing yourself with Google+ and its potential strengths. Just a few of them:

  • Search. Speculation is rampant as to whether and how Google+ activity will affect the Google search engine’s algorithm for natural search results. As PC World reports, Google disabled its “Realtime Search,” which displayed Twitter tweets and updates from Facebook, in July when a cooperative agreement with Twitter expired — leaving the field open for Google to integrate Google+ updates exclusively.
  • Integration. Google has built an impressive array of applications that could seamlessly interact with Google+ profiles. Individual users can already merge their profiles with their Picasa photo albums, and the opportunity is enticing to merge Google+ business profiles with Place pages, YouTube channels, Google Analytics and even Google Checkout functionality — as this mockup of a potential brand page for Starbucks shows. The mockup includes “closest locations to you” using Places and Google Maps, and YouTube video content in the “About Us” section.
  • Mockup of Google+ brand page for StarbucksSegmentation. With its “Circles” concept, individuals (and, eventually, brands) can classify connections using custom categories of the user’s choosing. You can add people to circles without establishing a mutual connection — much as you can follow Twitter users without knowing them — and like Facebook’s Groups feature, you can post updates and information to indivdiual Circles. For merchants, the opportunity to segment individuals into circles and present targeted promotions will be a real boon.

In addition to mapping out a game plan for eventual Google+ business profiles, merchants can cater to Google+ users now by enabling “+1″ functionality alongside the Facebook “like” button. Like the “like” button, the “+1″ tag empowers individual Google+ users to boost the brand via word of mouth on the Google+ network. To maximize opportunities for Google+ mentions, add “+1″ capability to blog posts and individual product pages — as Newegg has done above the fold on its product page.

Example of

Stay tuned for more news on Google+ for businesses — and meantime, here are a couple of additional resources:

Filed under Social Commerce Tagged with Google+

WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera