Posts Tagged e-commerce
The importance of building trust online with strong, consistent branding and customer-centric practices
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
I’m surprised by the number of companies that lack an understanding of how to improve stickiness on their site. Every end-user approaches a site for the first time with a degree of anxiety. We’re all a little apprehensive about whether the site will be secure, easy to navigate and, ultimately, whether we will actually get what we order.
Over the years we’ve looked at perhaps a hundred thousand sites and we’ve found that the best sites (and best converting sites) have security symbols above the fold, crisp images and convey a feeling of orderliness. Additionally a shopper is made to feel comfortable in other ways too; most importantly, no surprises! The “best practices” site will give the shopper a window view on availability and shipping costs well before they arrive at the check out page.
A real concern for end-users, too, is privacy…the collection and use of personal information. Studies show that 30% of the online population is still wary of giving out their personal information and an astounding 51% don’t trust search engines to keep their search data secret. Additionally, 30 percent of consumers report 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.
It’s a hot button issue for end-users and marketers too.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Customer Centric, Marketing on August 21st, 2008
15 common sense marketing steps for small business owners to take through thick and thin
By Tom Polanski
Here are 15 excellent marketing reminders for small business owners to think about over the weekend -
1. Conduct a Competitive Analysis and Plan Your Strategy
2. Optimize Your Home Page and Landing Pages
3. Optimize Your Website Copy
4. Implement Your Website Metrics and Testing Platform(s)
5. Improve Your Order Process
6. Develop Your Email Capture
7. Optimize Your Offer Pricing
8. Set Up Your Comparison Shopping Engine Campaigns
9. Set Up Your Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
10. Optimize Your Website for Natural Search Engines
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Marketing on July 25th, 2008
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
Is Your Head Buried in The Sand?
By Tom Polanski
It’s clear to me that e-commerce businesses are short-changing themselves in a number of ways. First, they seldom factor in offline sales and lifetime value when making marketing decisions. Secondly, many think in terms of net margin (again they don’t factor in revenue from offline sales and lifetime value). In addition, many are still of the, “I spent a dollar, I want two dollars back now“, mentality. This psychology has left many with woefully underdeveloped CRM practices in place. Finally, most fail to understand that because the internet is a giant calculator, everything can be tracked. The ramifications of this are stupendous. One example is that capital intensive testing can be amortized by positive discovery. Each conversion is an opportunity to spawn many more from the first purchase.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising on May 20th, 2008