Ecommerce Tip #8 - 4 Ways to Profit From the Buying Cycle
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The problem with a lot of ecommerce sites is that they assume you want to buy right now. Of course, that’s only true of a portion of your visitors.
Some visitors are browsing, some researching and others comparison shopping. Your site and marketing can (and should) speak to each of these potential buyers. Here are 4 ideas to reach them:
1. Email
Email is routinely cited as one of the highest ROI tactics for online marketers. It’s great for customer retention and building a relationship.
Give sneak previews to your email list to find out which products generate the most interest. Test out creative concepts with an A/B split to email recipients.
Offers are the obvious route for email, but I don’t think they’re always necessary. In fact, I think relevance is much more important. Design Public, my favorite modern store, rarely provides offers. Instead, they have a simple email that highlights their interesting modern goods. I open everyone, because I love the products. Value is king (or queen):
When asked why recipients stopped subscribing to opt-in emails, more than one-half said the content was no longer relevant, and 40% said they were getting too many offers. - JupiterResearch (2007)
By the way, that image is a really great example of an email signup box from the New York Times. The iconography is easy to understand. The call-to-action and offer are compelling. Any doubts about value are easy with a link to a sample email and the privacy policy.
2. Blog
Blogs are so mainstream that it seems silly to mention them. Or, it would if businesses were using them better.
I think the best blogs reflect your target audience and connect with them in a meaningful way. It’s not another news or PR outlet. Those conversations are so inauthentic that they’re not worth the energy it takes to produce them.
Let’s look at a good example: Urban Outfitters.
Putting aside the rather unfriendly horizontal scrolling, the content is surprisingly well targeted. They have geographic specific content for local events (no doubt near their stores). Music, a critical component of the store experience and target market, has its own section. The Projects section opens up the design studios for enthusiasts.
Where’s the conversion? A small link to shopping and some product mentions.
The value for Urban is that they connect with their customers and stay top of mind, not to mention the potential link value from a worthy presence in the blogosphere.
3. Reviews
There are always some nagging doubts just before purchase: Is this cookbook any good? Those soles look a little tight–will the shoes fit? Is that furniture well made? The demand for objective information is growing:
64% of consumers reported wanting to see user ratings and reviews, based on a study of 5,000 online shoppers. (Forrester, 2008)
The question is: will you answer the questions on your site, or will you let somebody else answer it on theirs?
There are also 2 secondary benefits to user generated reviews:
- SEO - All of that content gets populated on your page, potentially boosting your rank.
- Market Research - You can learn a lot about products quickly. Intercept design issues and disgruntled customers before the problem spreads.
4. Free Trials
The “try before you buy” approach is great for low cost goods where samples can be efficiently distributed–consumer goods, limited time software, limited access to online content.
I was recently shopping for a notebook (I know, that is so weird) and one of my contenders was the Behance Action Method system (again, geeky). One thing that really impressed me was their Action Method Pad and the fact that you could download a PDF sample to try before you buy!
Proctor & Gamble actually took the idea to its extreme conclusion by creating and entire sample, coupon and advice website - P&G Everyday Solutions.
So there you are, 4 ideas to reach customers at different times in the buying process. What tools and methods have you found successful?
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