Archive for 2007
December 28, 2007 by Kelly Rusk
With the New Year upon us, I’m sure we all have celebrating on the brain. Whether we will celebrate ‘07 being a great year–or celebrating its end– this time of year is always about reflection and improvement for the future. First, let’s recap all of our New Year’s Resolutions so far:
- Integrate in ‘08 - Carolyn suggests combining marketing efforts, such as email marketing and web personalization to maximize the customer experience.
- Communicate in ‘08 - After finally realizing the potential of Twitter first-hand, I recommend looking to new communications tactics to further your marketing efforts.
- Ameliorate in ‘08 - Jim Cain searches for the perfect word for this ‘-ate in ‘08′ series, picks one, and then uses another, but laces the entire post with valuable marketing insight to help you ‘ameliorate in ‘08.
- User-Generate in ‘08 - Carolyn advises you follow the ever growing trend of user-generated content by adding UGC reviews to your site.
So given the timing, our final New Year’s Resolution idea for you is to Celebrate in ‘08. Whatever marketing efforts you embark on in 2008, don’t forget to take the time to celebrate your wins. It just makes life a little more fun!
That’s it! See you next year!
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No Comments | Posted in Kelly Rusk, eCommerce
December 21, 2007 by Carolyn Gardner
User-generated content (UGC), aka stuff that’s posted by an online user or consumer vs a traditional content provider, has surfaced to be a major trend in online media.
For e-commerce retailers, UGC is especially important since it serves as a means to attract and appeal to targeted customers. For credibility, consumers are taking charge and smart e-commerce marketers are embracing it.
Sure it’s risky inviting customers to do a product review but according to a great report by Omniture and Jupiter Research (Web 2.0 Retail Technologies: Disruption or Innovation for the Retail Industry?), more people will write a product review about a product they like vs a product they don’t like - we’re talking 9% vs. 4%. I would have thought otherwise since I’ve always heard that people are more likely to tell people about bad experiences vs. good ones. Fortunately online experiences seem to be different.
But just how much clout do these review have? Almost 50% (48% to be exact) of online shoppers find these reviews helpful. So with that in mind plus the fact that the majority of reviews will be positive, what are e-commerce retailers waiting for?
Credibility builds trust.
Trust builds relationships.
Relationships build loyalty.
Loyalty builds sales.
BTW, this report I mentioned above also gets into a nice section on how “Social Networks and Community Sites Are Beginning to Extend the Reach of Online Branding and Loyalty”.
PS - I may do another post before the end of 07, but then again I’m kind of outa here for the holidays. So…don’t hold your breath but do indulge this holiday season! I think I’ll be doing the same.
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1 Comment | Posted in Carolyn Gardner, Social Media, eCommerce
December 19, 2007 by Jim Cain
I have been challenged by my fellow Sitebrand bloggers to include a post on the end of year theme, which is entitled “-ate in ‘08”.
Like I think most people would, I opened up a dictionary in one window and Wikipedia in the other, on a quest to find the coolest word that ends in -ate.
That word is defenestrate. A bit of a stretch from a thematic perspective. (Throw your ideas about personalization out the window…..yikes)
I then limited my search to words that apply to the specific slant of my current blog postings, ideally one that would set the stage for the tone of next years posts. Three red bulls later the right word was found.
a·mel·io·rate [uh-meel-yuh-reyt] - to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve; meliorate.
There’s a winner. The purpose of my posts over the last few months, to be continued over the course of ‘08, is to share our take on the emerging discipline of eCommerce. As a firm that has a positive, but disruptive (in a good way) business impact on the companies we work with, Sitebrand plays a key role in changing the way marketers approach their websites.
My new years blogging resolution is to ensure that each post references a new (read low adoption), accessible (meaning any marketer can do it), and profitable (kind of a given) concept that can be used to increase visitor engagement and grow conversions on any web property.
Hopefully next year we will see an ongoing amelioration in marketer owned website initiatives.
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No Comments | Posted in Personalization, Social Media, Web Analytics, eCommerce
December 18, 2007 by Kelly Rusk
Carolyn Gardner guest stars on Practical eCommerce’s podcast, eCommerce Conversations. Carolyn discusses methods of proactively managing the customer experience via “web personalization” with Pat Callahan.
Check it out here…
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No Comments | Posted in Kelly Rusk, Personalization, eCommerce
December 18, 2007 by Jim Cain
I like to read my news on the Internet (never at work of course). Rather than reading yesterday’s events today in a paper edition, I have become accustomed to reading news as it happens. This value however is greatly diminished by how totally obnoxious ad-serving technology is. If I want to read about my favorite hockey team, or the new Radiohead album, I would prefer to not have to close a dancing Bacardi bottle floating on my screen, or read around a div layer requesting that I do a survey.
I have never, ever, clicked on a disruptive piece of advertising.
Conversely, I am a big fan of the old Microsoft Office Paperclip character. For all the knowledge I have about leveraging technology, I often need some gentle nudging when it comes to learning how to use it. Many of the things I do now as part of my day came from that Paperclip popping up on my screen saying “Are you trying to…?”, or “Did you know…?”
Don’t get me wrong, after a certain point the Paperclip drove me up the wall and I turned it off. But during that initial period it added a ton of value. In fact, if there was a Paperclip module to help me to get my Blackberry to integrate properly into my email, I would pull out the credit card.
So attention eMarketers: You are currently sitting on a great deal of ad-serving technology that could be used for good (read - visitor value and message relevance) instead of evil (read – disruptive, bounce rate inducing annoyance).
I have a new customer whose online brand identity is tied into a cartoon character, who currently exists primarily in their logo. They are going to be using that character to manage visitor behavior, and leveraging adserving media technologies to do so. First time visitors to the site will see a floating representation of this character, welcoming them to the store and explaining their value proposition. Lost shoppers will see rich media with the character informing them of specials and customer service options. An online catalog becomes an interactive visitor experience, using technologies that are normally used for garish billboarding.
The ability to serve creative outside of the traditional webpage real estate presents some very neat opportunities for visitor interaction. Take a look at how your favorite media properties are launching advanced but disruptive advertising, and re purpose them to add real value to your visitors.
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No Comments | Posted in Personalization, Social Media, Web Analytics, eCommerce
December 17, 2007 by Carolyn Gardner
Shopping days are non-negotiable but shipping days are all about how much we’re willing to pay. As for what’s more important, it really comes down to buying behaviors.
If you’re an online shopper, it’s all about the number of shipping days right now. Sure - choice and price might matter, but if you’ve got to get your gift to your sister in Cary, NC, before Christmas, a huge part of where you shop will depend on shipping guarantees.
So how are e-commerce retailers responding? And just how far will they go to maximize holiday purchases? The answers vary but it often comes down to how much consumers like you and I are willing to pay.
With mixed feelings, I’m happy to say there a ton of last minute shoppers like me. The bad news is our group is growing every year. The good news is retailers keep extending their shipping deadlines.
By continually extending shipping deadlines, I daresay retailers are enabling our delinquent shopping behavior. And good on them, they’re making lots of extra money from it!
If you’re like me and wondering who can still guarantee they will ship your gifts in time for Christmas, USA Today has a handy reference list:
•UPS. The company’s busiest day will be Wednesday, when it expects to ship 22 million packages, says Rosenberg. Its 2007 ground fuel surcharge is 3.5% and air fuel surcharge is 11.5%.
•USPS. Today is the last day to send domestic mail for arrival before Christmas, says Veto. Express Mail sent by Saturday comes with a guarantee for arrival by Christmas. Express Mail is delivered on Christmas Day, she notes.
•FedEx. Today will be FedEx’s busiest day of the year, and it expects to ship 11.3 million packages, says spokesman Howard Clabo. Saturday is the last day to ship in time for Christmas arrival.
•Wal-Mart.com. Wal-Mart’s standard shipping window expires tomorrow, Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. PT, says spokesman Ravi Jariwala.
•Amazon.com. Today is its deadline for free shipping for most orders of $25 or more, says Amazon spokesman Craig Berman. Tuesday is the deadline for standard shipping orders to arrive by Christmas Day.
•ToysRUs.com. The site extends free shipping through to tomorrow for purchases over $49, says spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh.
•Bestbuy.com. The electronics retailer’s standard shipping deadline for Christmas is Thursday at 11 a.m. ET, says Chap Achen, director of Best Buy’s order management. “The longer we can extend the cut-off date, the more likely consumers are to shop with us.”
•Circuitcity.com. The company is offering free shipping for any order over $24. The last day for standard shipping is by 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, says Mark Oldani, vice president of Circuit City Direct. The company is offering 10% off any order purchased online but picked up at the store by Saturday.
•Landsend.com. Standard shipping for Christmas ends at midnight ET Wednesday, says spokeswoman Land’s End Amanda Broderick. Monogrammed items for Christmas can be ordered through Tuesday.
DID YOU KNOW? This week, more packages will be shipped than any week of the year, says Susan Rosenberg, UPS (UPS) spokeswoman. AND - More packages, cards and letters will be mailed at the post office today — roughly 1 billion — than any day of the year, says Joanne Veto, spokeswoman for the United States Postal Service.
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No Comments | Posted in Carolyn Gardner, eCommerce
December 12, 2007 by Kelly Rusk
To carry on Carolyn’s resolution theme, I challenge you to ‘communicate in ‘08′ and what I really mean is embrace new communication techniques, which are forming and solidify online as we speak…
In fact, A big ‘thing’ happened yesterday… Web Strategist & Forrester Analyst Jeremiah Owyang posted about the increasing popularity of Twitter, which seems to have accelerated exactly what he was talking about — Within hours, over 200 comments from Jeremiah’s readers sharing their twitter IDs & now, 24 hours later, the hype has exploded across the blogosphere.
The point is, microblogging front runner, Twitter, is really starting to take off. As exciting as it is, as a marketer I would advise to ‘proceed with caution.’ For a few reasons:
- Like many things ’social media’ Twitter is community oriented, personal, and interactive. You can’t expect to be successful if you aren’t able to embrace these features. It’s not about pushing your message out; it’s about interacting and communicating with people who are interested in your brand.
- Phoniness/Insincerity is easily caught online. And if you’re caught, it can have a strong negative impact on your brand.
- And most importantly - you need to know what you’re getting into, before you find yourself knee deep. Mitch Joel provides a fantastic list of 10 tips to get started…
Ok, now I admit, though I’ve been following Twitter talk for some time, I didn’t REALLY get into it until yesterday (though thanks to Jeremiah, I already have a healthy list of followers!). I’m definitely no expert, just sharing my impressions/perspectives from a marketing/PR point of view. If you’re really keen about starting a Twitter strategy, you should read Web Strategy: What the Web Strategist should know about Twitter.
So here’s to a New Year full of new and exciting communications strategies! Now, where’s my champagne?
PS- Love it if you’d follow me on Twitter, I’ll follow you back!
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2 Comments | Posted in Kelly Rusk, Social Media
December 11, 2007 by Carolyn Gardner
Forget about going to the gym more or eating healthier in ‘08. That’s what everyone’s going to do. Instead, why not think about integrating your marketing message in ‘08. Way easier, trust me!
What I mean is stop putting your messages and efforts into silos. Cast your net wide by integrating your beloved email messages with personalization.
Take Roots for example. Here’s a company that sent an email campaign with more than just a fab subject line. They actually have a strategy that’s going to go beyond the inbox. That’s right… after compelling people to open the email using the subject line: “Free shipping for lunch”, Roots is going a step further and integrating “time of day” personalization into their web site. So during the various lunch hours across multiple time zones, when Roots knows they’ve got lots of keen shoppers on their site, they will serve up web campaigns that leverage the “free shipping for lunch” call to action. Yup, just another part of the personalization magic.
More New Year’s Resolution ideas to come!
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2 Comments | Posted in Carolyn Gardner, Email marketing, Personalization, eCommerce
December 11, 2007 by Jim Cain
There has been a common theme in my last few blog posts regarding both educating and incenting marketers to spend more time on in-site conversion optimization. In short, eCommerce professionals have all the tools at their disposal to convert more of their existing traffic; why aren’t they doing it?
Over the last week or so, I have seen some of the answers to that question in a series of great blog posts by Jim Novo regarding Control Groups.
While his purpose is to speak specifically to email marketing, I think it also directly speaks to some of the core issues that marketers face in the evolution from their current task orientated responsibilities to being more goal oriented - in line with corporate objectives:
- Proving the direct impact to the business of any in-site marketing or technology initiative.
- Justifying the opportunity costs spent on doing something new, rather than the traditional traffic generation/post-sale marketing currently being done.
- Dealing with the fact that analytics data is never 100% accurate, and needs to be used more like a barometer than a calculator.
Quick example: Marketer decides to bring on an advanced merchandising management tool, never a bad decision. Three months later the vendor shows them fantastic results in the reports generated by their tool, but marketer’s analytics show no direct lift. Without being able to directly prove revenue impact, the vendor gets fired and the marketer gets egg on their face.
Imagine instead if the marketer had done two things differently:
- They had implemented the merchandising management tool so that it only affected 50% of the unique sessions on their site.
- They built separate conversion funnels for the ‘control’ and ‘optimized’ pieces of their traffic in their analytics tool.
Like Jim Novo says in his articles, the marketer will now be able to both definitively prove direct impact in terms of sales (product shown, product clicked on, product bought) but will also be able to show the ‘halo effects’ on conversion that showing more relevant products has. The control group provides a real world, real time baseline (Think Bowflex ‘Before’ and ‘After’ picture).
In short, conversion optimization is like high school math. You only get full credit when you show your work. A properly executed control group is a great way to ensure that happens.
Relevant Articles
Jim Novo: Why Use Control Groups? - http://blog.jimnovo.com/2007/12/02/control-groups/
Jim Novo: Control Group Benefits - http://blog.jimnovo.com/2007/12/11/control-groups-2/
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1 Comment | Posted in Personalization, Web Analytics, eCommerce
December 7, 2007 by Jim Cain
Email has been flying furiously in the sales department all year regarding industry articles that sound a great deal like the first three quarters of our sales pitch.
Examples abound, but please find a quote below from an Eric Peterson penned document which is available on his fantastic Web Analytics Demystified website.
“Running tests is the final step in the process of doing web analytics, the point at which you provethat you’ve generated solid analysis against a well-implemented and well-validated data set. The proof is observed improvement as measured by your critical site key performance indicators, improvement that can be translated into incremental revenue or operational savings, a financial benefit that can be directly tied to your investment in web analytics.”
from “The Web Analytics Business Process”
Or how about this one from Shane Atchison (also a great writer) in an article from ClickZ.
“Improvement is continuous. As Japanese car manufacturers have demonstrated over the past several decades, continuous improvement makes products endlessly better. As perfect as you might believe your site to be, you know it can be just a bit better. Do that, and repeat. This is the beauty of optimization and why you should allocate budget for this upfront.” (from Think Your Web Site’s Perfect? Think again )
I could go on ad nauseum, but the moral of the story is that at least twice a week someone sends around a great article about the importance of understanding your traffic, and optimizing conversions accordingly. AND NEVER ONCE HAVE THEY SAID HOW
It’s dumbfounding that no one is offering proper best practices on how to actually make your analytics actionable. As referenced in an earlier post, most marketers don’t feel empowered or supported to make the most out of what analytics tells them. A strong ‘next step’ series of practices would help provide some of that incentive.
Obviously this is a self serving statement, as I happen to sell a tool that allows marketers the agility to be testing and optimizing conversion in an ongoing fashion. But I will fire the first shot in the war of transparency and give every marketer an under-performing traffic segment that you can be speaking to with a little bit of work.
First Time Visitors: They are expensive (read: keyword buys and SEO spend), they convert lower than your overall site average, and they probably make up over half your traffic in a given month. If you came up with a few different calls to action, targeted them specifically to first time visitors, and then tested their impact against the conversion rate of that segment, you will add thousands of dollars to your bottom line.
This week’s Call To Action: I encourage any readers to comment with things that they have done to take what they have learned in their analytics, and then action on it. This ‘open source’ approach to conversion optimization will help marketers and vendors both in maximizing the results of their hard work.
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No Comments | Posted in Personalization, Web Analytics, eCommerce
