Category Home Based Business
eBrand Media shares how to increase conversions by assuring customers.
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
eBrand Media has always been a strong proponent of keeping a security symbol in the homepage “hero” spot. Every site guest arrives with a degree of anxiety and their anxiety level increases exponentially as they move further down the shopping funnel towards the cart. Every friction point should be removed for the purpose of bringing form and function together to create an online store that is positive, easy to navigate, pleasant to be in and conducive to frequent and extended visits.
Clarity, clarity, clarity, and if you think you’ve given enough clarity, give some more.
The prospect of identity theft has led the majority of online users–53 percent–to stop giving out personal information online, according to a study released by Consumer Reports WebWatch.
Additionally, 30 percent of the consumers surveyed reported reducing their overall use of the Web, while 25 percent say they no longer make online purchases, according to WebWatch. The report, “Leap of Faith: Using the Internet despite the Dangers,” was based on a survey of 1,501 online adults.
Even those who continued to shop online reported taking precautions. Fifty-four percent of online shoppers said they now are more likely to read a site’s privacy policy or user agreement than in the past–while 29 percent say they shop online less frequently than before.
The results show a growing concern about identity theft, said Beau Brendler, director of WebWatch. “There’s been a pretty steady drumbeat over the last three years about it,” he said. In addition, the wave of headlines about security breaches at databases has led consumers to rethink how to best protect their personal data, he said.
A previous study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project also revealed that consumers had changed their online behavior, partly because of security concerns. The Pew study, “Spyware,” concluded that fears of spyware and adware had driven 48 percent of Web users to stop visiting certain Web sites.
In keeping with this theme we’d to share a valuable case study with you that we came across in our virtual library, obtained from a leading marketing journal.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Small Business, Start a Business, eBrand Media on March 3rd, 2009
Automatic Triggers, Fixed Action Patterns and Odd Number Pricing. Turning Browsers into Buyers.
By Tom Polanski
Recently, I came across some information about pricing. Researchers at Cornell University believe you’re better off pricing your products with an odd number than with an even number (for example, $39.71 vs. $40.00).
The researchers found that odd numbers cause buyers momentary confusion. Confused, people fall back on associations. And people associate odd numbers with discounts. Hence, odd numbers in a listed price equal a discount.
The Cornell report caused me to think about automatic triggers. This is a term I first came across in an enlightening book written by Robert Cialdini, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. A must read for all marketers. The premise is that we’re all inundated with too much information, that we suffer, to different degrees, from a form of cultural ADD and that we fall back on automatic responses.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Agencies, Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Marketing, Small Business on June 13th, 2008
Do You Have What it Takes to Start Your Own Home Business?
By Tom Polanski
For many people, the idea of a home based business is a dream. Work when you want, where you want, and how you want. Go to work in your pajamas. Be your own boss. All of these sayings are based on a kernel of truth.
But with every business – and especially home-based businesses – there are some facts that simply never change. Since you’re the driving force behind the business, you have to know if you have what it takes to succeed. Do you? Let’s find out.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Home Based Business on April 18th, 2008