Webdeology

Friday, October 12, 2012

35 Beautiful E-Commerce Websites | Smashing Magazine

50 Value Propositions for Ecommerce Retailers - CPC Strategy

For eCommerce companies, one of the biggest marketing challenges can be setting yourself apart from the crowd. By creating effective value propositions, you can help customers understand what makes you different—and also increase conversions and drive more revenue. Using some of these 50 value propositions can help you effectively compete in today’s competitive market, without necessarily having to lower the price of your product or service.

Here are 50 tried and tested value propositions to increase conversions and customer lifetime value.

50 Value Propositions for Online Retailers

1. Offer free shipping. Free shipping can help set you apart from competitors. Try adding it into your product prices and see if it increases conversions, you might be surprised from the lift even if product prices stay static.

Business-Supply.com added a free shipping threshold to their webstore and advertise it prominently on all web pages:

2. Have live help. Often eCommerce stores lose business when customers get stuck checking out. REIoffers live help to help people get through the checkout process and increase conversions.

3. Institute a deal of the day. Offering consumers a deal of the day is a great way to connect consumers with your brand—building brand loyalty.

4. Have effective order tracking. Make it easy for customers to view the status of their orders, and track shipping.

5. Recommended items customer may like. Amazon does a great job of showing customers items that are recommended based on past purchases and browsing history.

6. Have a 365-day return policy. Zappos offers a 365-day return policy. Even if your prices end up being a bit higher than other retailers, many consumers will appreciate a generous return policy.

7. Offer coupon codes in emails. Offering special coupon codes in promotional emails is a great way to drive people to your eCommerce store.

8. Provide gift-wrapping. When buying gifts for out of town friends, people often turn to online retailers. Be sure to offer a gift-wrapping option.

9. Have email gift cards available. Provide a way for customers to share their favorite stores with friends via email gift cards.

10. Offer customizable gift cards. Make sure that you offer gift cards for a variety of occasions. AtAmazon, customers can insert a photo to customize their gift cards.

Screen Shot - Amazon Customizable Gift Cards

11. Have resources like informational videos. If you have a complicated product, informational videos can help people understand how to properly use your product or service and see the value it can provide. MyBinding.com does a great job of setting up informational product videos for it’s customers:

12. List best sellers. If someone is unfamiliar with your product, listing best sellers can help them have confidence in their purchase.

13. Stay away from hidden charges. A surefire way to lose repeat customers is to add hidden charges.

14. Make your email marketing campaign unforgettable. Customers are inundated by emails from all sorts of retailers these days. Deal a day sights, discount clothing aggregation companies, and big retailers like Amazon and Walmart are competing with your emails that go to prospective customers. How do you win that war? You have to be different, unforgettable, and desirable to your customers.

15. Provide customer service via social media. Many customers turn to Twitter and Facebook to voice complaints regarding products and shopping experience. Be present and respond promptly to concerns, offering effective solutions.

16. Have a secure way of accepting payments. People want to make sure their personal information is protected. Make sure you display your VeriSign and other secure badges.

17. Decrease shopping cart confusion. Make sure it’s easy for customers to checkout via your eCommerce site.

18. Have excellent customer service. One way to set yourself apart from your competition is to make sure you have prompt customer service that goes above and beyond to rectify customer complaints.

19. Offer a variety of shipping options. For various reasons, people prefer different shipping companies. Offer at least two options of different carriers.

20. Give customers discounts for signing up for your newsletter. Have it valid for a limited time to increase urgency.

21. Offer coupons or discount codes when customers share their experiences. Whether it’s via social media, or blogs—coupon codes can encourage customers to share positive experiences.

22. Respond to feedback promptly. If you don’t have live support, make sure that you respond to emails promptly. If you can respond while someone is still shopping, they’re much more likely to finish the checkout process.

23. Send abandoned cart emails. If someone abandons their cart mid-checkout, be sure to follow up with an email offering resources if they need help completing their purchase.

24. Offer deals just to people who are on your email distribution list. Make sure it’s clear that the offer applies just to those who are email subscribers.

25. Have specific offers for people cancelling service. If someone decides not to upgrade after a trial version of your product, offer them a deal that they can’t say no to.

26. Offer comparison shopping. Allow customers to compare similar items to find something that fits their needs specifically.

27. Target loyal customers. Giving special deals to loyal customers will increase their brand loyalty.

28. Offer referral bonuses. If someone refers a friend to your site, offer both people a discount on their next purchase.

29. Allow automatic delivery. Hearty Pet lets users sign up for automatic delivery so they’re sort of on a payment plan with products. This is awesome for sellers with perishable goods.

30. Have community forums on your site. It can be helpful to have forums for customers to help other customers troubleshoot issues and ask questions to other users. It’s also a great way to learn how people are using your product and ways you can improve.

31. Write an engaging ‘about us’ page. People like to connect with companies they buy from. Be sure that your about us page effectively communicates your companies vision and mission—as well as highlights the value you offer customers.

32. Follow-up with first-time customers. Send an email following up with customers after their first purchase. Offer to answer questions and thank them for their order.

33. Encourage people to write reviews. Send emails to customers after they have had a chance to try out their new product and ask them to write a product review.

34. Support charities. And then let your customers know. Today’s consumers like to support companies that they view as responsible retailers who give back to local communities.

35. Gift guide. Macy’s offers a gift guide for people who need to buy a gift for a loved one, but aren’t sure where to start.

36. Money back guarantee. If you’re going to offer it, make sure you stand by it.

37. Low price guarantee. If customers find a lower price somewhere else, honor that price. You may make less on the sale, but you’re keeping the customer shopping at your store.

BestPricedFurniture.com does this well:

38. Free shipping over a certain amount: Some businesses may decide that free shipping on all items isn’t feasible. However, even offering free shipping over a certain amount can help increase average cart size.

39. Get rid of scripted responses. When it comes customer service, people want to speak with a real person—customers can tell when customer service representatives are required to stick to a script.

40. Send coupons on birthdays. Make sure customers feel special by sending them coupons and special offers on their birthday.

41. Offer printable gift cards. When people buy a gift card online, chances are they are doing it last minute. Make sure they can print out a gift card to present it as a gift in person.

42. Provide online resources. HeartyPet offers a blog that helps it’s customers understand common problems with pets and how to fix them.

42. Allow customers to create wish lists. They can save items they want to purchase later

43. Make shopping enjoyable. Spend time on your shopping cart—make sure it’s easy to understand and intuitive for customers. You can set yourself apart by making the online shopping experience enjoyable.

44. Have knowledgeable customer support. Make sure your customer service staff can answer specific questions about products, as well as make recommendations based on customers’ needs. This is important whether it’s live chat, email or by phone.

45. Show cost savings. Demonstrate how people can save money by using your business.

46. Showcase how you’re different. There’s something unique about your company. Be sure it’s easy for customers to see what sets you apart from your competition.

47. Show customer testimonials on your home page. Again Business-Supply.com does a great job of this:

48. Add a sales section to your website that customers can easily get to. HUGO Boss makes it easy:

49. Make your site search better than your competition’s. Google just announced it’s letting smaller sellers use it’s in-site product-search feature.

50. As the business owner, reach out to your customers and connect. Having the CEO of a business reach out and check in on a customer’s experience (and offer goodies or freebies beforehand or to say thanks for talking to you) is a great way to leave a lasting impression on a customer and find out important details about your customer’s buying process. Make it personal and memorable for a long time and you’ll be sure to have created a long-term customer.

PHL still an 'offline market' for e-commerce —TNS survey | SciTech | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere

^{Lester Sualog, associate director for account management at consumer research firm TNS discusses the results of the “Digital Life 2012” study in a recent press briefing in Makati City}

In the Digital Life 2012 study conducted by consumer research firm TNS, it was revealed that although a growing number of consumers are doing online research prior to purchasing a certain product, they still prefer buying “offline”.

The most number of consumers who conduct online research are looking for a new car, with 18 percent researching exclusively online, and 84 percent doing both online and offline research prior to purchase.

While the Philippines continues to be predominantly an “offline market” in purchasing products and services, the TNS survey said some categories have started to register online purchase, with holiday or travel purchases topping the list at 8 percent, followed by computer peripherals (2 percent), clothes and shoes (1 percent), and personal computers or laptops and tablets (1 percent).

Most online users are still accessing the Internet through personal computers at home (50 percent), and Internet cafés (49 percent), but “non-stationary” access to the Internet is steadily increasing with the advent of smartphones.

Consumers accessing the Internet through their mobile phones and tablets are at 12 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The study, which covered 1,000 local respondents, also showed that the digital medium has overtaken radio and print. Results revealed that on a daily basis, 89 percent of respondents watch TV, 45 percent connect to the Internet, and 36 percent listen to the radio. Reading newspapers and magazines follow at 12 percent and 4 percent.

Interestingly, the online medium, alongside the mobile phone, is now the primary communication channel for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families.

A total of 81 percent of families who have relatives abroad communicate with them using the Internet through their personal computers, with 77 percent using their mobile phones to call or send SMS and MMS messages.

Only 24 percent of respondents continue to use landline phones to reach their family members abroad. Majority of family members were likewise found to belong to social networking sites, primarily Facebook (90 percent) and Twitter (6 percent).

The survey revealed that 54 percent of Filipinos say they have used the Internet. The study found that Internet usage is greatest among Filipinos aged 34 and below, with the younger age groups having had very recent online access.

A total of 85 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 20 years old have accessed the Internet within the past four weeks, followed by 74 percent of Filipinos between the ages 21 to 24 years old. More males were also seen accessing the Internet at 58 percent compared to females at 52 percent.

“While Filipinos who belong to the upper and middle class have greater access to the Internet, the TNS Digital Life 2012 study found that the incidence of Internet usage is over 50 percent across urban Philippines,” said Gary de Ocampo, managing director of TNS Philippines.

About 71 percent of Filipinos from the ABC socio-economic classes (SEC) and 51 percent from the D SEC have access to the Internet.

“As part of the Digital Life 2012 study, TNS looked into the social media activities of Filipinos in relation to brands and shopping,” said de Ocampo.

Filipino digital consumers, he said, have an average number of 440 friends on social networks, noticeably higher than the 171 average number of friends from last year’s findings.

Filipino teenagers between 16 to 20 years old remain at the forefront of social networking with the most number of friends (with an average of 613 friends) compared to the other age groups.

Social networkers are also interested to learn about brands and are open to the idea of online shopping using social networking sites. The study found that 59 percent of social networkers believe that social networking sites are a good place to learn about brands, while 45 percent think that these sites are a good place to purchase products.

TNS also gave a snapshot of its upcoming Mobile Life survey which polled 500 local respondents and is due to come out this March 2012.

The study found that mobile phone ownership in the country has increased to 84 percent from 2010’s 81 percent. Mobile phones are now as popular as DVDs players in terms device ownership, it added.

In terms of mobile phone brand, Nokia is still by far the most popular handset with 64 percent of those surveyed said they owned a Nokia phone, but down from 2010’s 70 percent. Samsung was a far second at 12 percent.

Smartphone ownership has also grown with 34 percent of the respondents saying they own a smartphone unit. — Newsbytes.ph

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

5 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Engagement | Social Media Examiner

Having trouble engaging your Facebook audience?

If your fans are not interacting with your brand and sharing your content, what value are they?

In this article, you’ll discover how to get more likes, comments and shares. I’ll reveal five strategies for Facebook posts that get your fans buzzing.

#1: Keep Your Updates Short

Research repeatedly shows that the longer a post is, the less engagement it will receive.

Blame it on Twitter, but people don’t have the time or patience to read anything over 140 characters anymore.

Results vary, but research shows that 100 characters or fewer seems to be the sweet spot. This will also allow for easy cross-posting on Twitter.

Want even more engagement? Let a photo do the talking.

Posts with fewer than 140 characters combined with bold, beautiful photos get the most response.

According to Facebook, posts that include a photo album, picture or videogenerate about 180%, 120% and 100% more engagement, respectively.

Starbucks is a great example of a brand combining short posts with beautiful photos. Their posts generally fall within the 100- to 140-character mark and elicit thousands of likes and comments.

#2: Don’t Use URL Shorteners

A recent study by Buddy Media found that engagement rates were three times higher for Facebook posts that use a full-length URL, rather than a link generated by a URL shortener like bit.ly.

Converse fans may have liked this post, but how many actually clicked on the link? Generic bit.ly URLs are less likely to drive traffic to your site.

Why is this?

The likely explanation is that Facebook users want to know where you’re taking them. This makes even more sense considering the fact that Facebook users are increasingly accessing the social network exclusively from their mobile devices (20%, or 102 million and growing).

A shortened URL does not indicate what type of website you’re taking them to, which is a deterrent to mobile users.

But didn’t we just learn that longer posts have lower engagement? Yes, but a URL doesn’t seem to count in this instance.

If you’re worried about post length, use a brand-specific URL shortener that lets users know you’re taking them to your website.

For example, Victoria’s Secret uses http://i.victoria.com/wSl instead of this crazy-long link: http://www.victoriassecret.com/shoes/whats-new/studded-suede-pump-betsey-johnson?ProductID=68804&CatalogueType=OLS&cm_mmc=fb-_-stores-_-status-_-suedpump090512.

Get more clicks by using a brand-specific URL shortener. Fans want to know where you're taking them.

#3: Post at Times Ideal for Your Fans

Getting your post at the top of fans’ newsfeeds is paramount for engagement. So how do you do this?

For one, make sure you post at the right times.

Recent data from bit.ly shows that the optimal time to post on Facebook is between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm, when Facebook traffic peaks.

Links posted between 1 and 4 pm get the highest click-through rates, with Wednesday at 3:00 pm being the best time to post all week. Links posted before 8:00 am and after 8:00 pm are less likely to get shared.

Another thing to consider is the TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) factor. As office burnout peaks toward the end of the week, more people will be escaping to Facebook.

Engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursday and Friday than other days of the week, according to Buddy Media. Engagement rates fall 3.5% below average for posts Monday through Wednesday, when people are more focused at work.

If your goal is likes, not comments, Dan Zarrella of HubSpot found that Saturday and Sunday posts get the most likes.

Don't forget about the weekend. Saturday and Sunday posts get the most likes.

Finally, make sure you post enough content to stay visible in the newsfeedwithout annoying your fans. The key to walking this fine line is to know your posts’ lifespan.

The average Facebook post lifespan is 3 hours, although this varies by page.

A post is considered “alive” when it’s occupying the newsfeed or is a Highlighted Story and receiving a continuous stream of engagement.

A post is considered “dead” when its engagement stops growing more than 10% per hour.

Never post while another post is alive or you risk losing engagement.

How do you find your average post lifespan? EdgeRank Checker Pro analyzes your post engagement on an hourly basis (found in the Post Grading section at the bottom of your page analysis).

EdgeRank Checker Pro lets you know your average post lifespan and the best time to post again.

It also tells you the best time to post again. Once engagement has fallen below 10%, your post is considered dead and it’s safe to post new content.

If your average post lifespan is 3 hours, then wait at least that long before posting again.

#4: Use the Right Words for Higher Engagement

What you say—or don’t say—on Facebook matters. Certain words elicit more engagement, while others will leave your post dead in the water.

Buddy Media found that action keywords like “post,” “comment,” “take,” “submit,” “like” or “tell us” are the most effective. Be direct in your request, and fans will listen.

Want your fans to do something? Tell them! Fans respond well to specific instructions.

On the other hand, if you’re running a contest, sweepstakes or other promotional offer, fans don’t respond well to direct or aggressive language.

Softer-sell keywords such as “winner,” “win,” “winning” and “events” will make fans excited rather than feeling like they’re being sold to.

Aggressive promotional keywords like “contest,” “promotion,” “sweepstakes” and “coupon” will turn them off.

#5: Ask Questions

Asking a question is a surefire way to elicit comments, but not all questions are created equal. How and where you ask a question matters.

Place questions at the end of posts to increase engagement.

Questions placed at the end of a post increased engagement by 15% over questions placed at the beginning.

“Where,” “when” and “should” drive the highest engagement rates, with “would” generating the most likes. Avoid asking “why” questions, which have the lowest like and comment rates.

Beauty retailer Sephora has mastered the art of when to use action keywords, promotional keywords and questions to get fans engaged.

This Facebook post generated 38,028 likes, 2,188 comments and 4,778 shares.

Combining action keywords like "shop" with soft-sell keywords like "score" will encourage fans to take action. End your post with a question to get 15% more engagement.

For even more tips, read 5 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Engagement.

A List of Action Verbs to Use in Your Ads - WebSavvy | WebSavvy

How to Keep Your Marketing Engine Chugging With Community-Generated Content

You’ve heard so much about inbound marketing and the need to produce content that I’m guessing you’re probably blogging, curating, aggregating, and filtering all manner of content. But there’s one type of content that you may not be focused on, and I happen to think it’s some of the most potent to be had -- and that’s community-generated content.

Your customers, partners, vendors, advisers, and suppliers -- you know, the people that already know, like and trust you -- are more equipped to tell the real story of your business than an army of writers in any marketing department. So why not engage them to do just that?

Imagine taking your best, most loyal, most vocal community members with you on your next sales call and asking them to simply explain the real benefits they’ve realized because of the work you’ve done with them. That’s the power of customer-generated content when done right, and that’s why you need to routinely find ways to acquire it.

But how do you actually do it? Below are five ideas to help you get your customers to tell and share incredible stories that will help to fuel your user-generated content engine.

1) Create a One-Question Testimonial

Create a survey that asks every customer just one question -- "On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that you would refer us?"

Now, set the survey up so that if the answer is 1-4, the survey-taker is redirected to a page that apologizes and sets the expectation that they will hear from someone immediately to find out what went wrong. If it’s a 5-7, send the customer to a page that says, you’re not happy until they're happier, and ask them to suggest how you could have done better. For the 8-10 answers, redirect them to a form that allows them to submit a testimonial and ask them to check a box if they would agree to be interviewed for a case study.

This is a great way to automate testimonial generation and keep a real-time pulse on how you’re doing. I use Wufoo forms to run this process, but I’ve heard good things about Formstack as well.

2) Host a Video Appreciation Party

This is such a great way to get lots of great video content.

Once a year or so, hold a client appreciation event to say thanks and create a networking event for your clients and prospects. Hire a video crew for the event and ask some of your clients to talk about their experience with your business on camera. For some people, you might want to wait until a few bottles of wine have been emptied, too ;-) Then let them record a five-minute commercial for their own use, too.

This is a great way to get lots of testimonials and case studies in one day, and your clients will get very engaged in swapping stories and selling each other on the benefits of working with you.

3) Ask Customers to Tell Their Story

Getting your customers to share their experience is a very powerful form of content. You can sit across the desk and interview your customers in order to extract this kind of content, or you can employ a handful of tools that make it very easy to capture these stories.

For audio-only content, a testimonial recording line from AudioAcrobat is a great way to go. You simply provide your customer with a phone number that they can call and record their story. The service then produces an MP3 and code to embed on your site for people to play the recordings.

You can also use a tool like MailVu that allows you send a link with a video capture tool so your clients with a web cam can record a video testimonial or story and submit it with little work on your part.

4) Establish a Community Knowledge Base

What if you could find a way to get your best customers to willingly shoulder creating answers to questions and best practices? Tools like ZenDesk and GetSatisfaction make it easy for you to enable community members to provide help and archived advice to other customers and prospects.

Robin Robins, founder of Marketing Technology Toolkit in Nashville, TN, involves her customer community in an incredible way. She has created a membership program that allows her mostly IT business customers to receive ongoing business-building support through coaching, training, and tools she provides.

She has created what she calls “accountability groups” in the membership program, and customers head up these groups and do a great deal of work keeping participants engaged and on track. Heading up these groups is not a paid position; loyal and committed customers that want to play a bigger role in the community do it.

5) Help Your Peers

Using a tool like Google+ Hangouts, Skype Video Conference, or GoToMeeting Video Conference, you can easily host and facilitate a group video conference where your customers and their peers can discuss important industry and business challenges and trends. You can record and archive the event and create some very useful and engaging content.

This is not a sales event, but by virtue of the fact that you have included customers in the conversation, there will be the inevitable discussions about what you’ve done to help them address a challenge. Record it all and you’ve got some powerful content.

Creating opportunities to capture the stories your clients and other community members have to tell is an important piece in any fully developed content strategy.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Get More, Better PR with Video :: PR In Your Pajamas

Video has always been the medium of choice for maximum engagement with the audience. And now that it has become cheaper and easier to create videos, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be using more of it for PR.

Video isn’t just for businesses that want to reach out to young consumers, either. Even if you’re in the B2B space, video could prove to be a highly effective way of enhancing your marketing and PR efforts.

Two of the findings of a Forbes study, “Video in the C-Suite: Executives Embrace the Non-Text Web,” are:

senior executives are watching more business-related videos than ever before. Among the executives surveyed, 75% watch work-related videos on business-related websites and 52% watch them on YouTube, at least once a week.

work-related video can spur action. 65% of respondents have visited a vendor’s website as a result of watching a video.

Ready to use more video for your PR? Below are some tips and thoughts.

What To Put In Your Videos

For those who are just getting started with video, it can be hard to think of what specific content can be translated into a video format. Here are some examples:

Executive Interviews

Similar to putting sound bites or quotes in a press release, videotape your company’s top executives answering questions with your key messages. If you have celebrity endorsers or spokespersons, capture them in video, too.

Product Demos

Some products are better demonstrated on video than described in text or depicted in a photo. It’s the next best thing to putting the product in the hands of a prospect. Create videos of your product in use, demonstrating its many features and benefits. Or you can create an introductory video like this from one of our clients, Quickmobile, that communicates to your target audience in a fun way what you do:

Special Events

If you have live events, always document them in video. Pick out the highlights of the event.

Man-on-the-street Interviews

Interview people participating at events, employees (about what they enjoy most about their jobs, for example), and other “ordinary” people.

How-to Videos

Show how to carry out various tasks related to your product, such as alternative applications, setup or installation, troubleshooting, care and maintenance. You can also respond to FAQs with a video.

Testimonials.

Feedback from actual customers and clients are more powerful in video than other formats, because video reveals so much more about the person. Try to get video testimonials from your customers, but also be on the lookout on YouTube and other video sharing sites for videos uploaded without your involvement.

Customer Case Studies

These are more detailed than a testimonial. Create a video focusing on a specific customer to show what problems they have solved with your product. If you can capture “before” and “after” video, that would be even more powerful.

Video Contest

Need an idea for a cool and potentially viral online activity? Try a video contest. Whatever you do, make sure the videos are relevant to your product or business. Have participants upload their vids on YouTube and you’ll get exposure for years to come.

Video Collaboration

YouTube celebs have done this (here’s an example). They ask their audiences to create and upload their videos, which are then edited together into one final video product. You need to have very clear instructions so the resulting video will be of good quality.

Animation

If you have tables and graphs, transform them into animated graphics. These can be used within video presentations, or left “bare” and shared for others to use in their own productions.

Now that you have video content, what exactly do you do with them to get more exposure and PR?

How to Get the Most Bang Out of Your Videos

1. Your News Release

The most obvious PR use of video is adding it to your press release. Sites such as PRWeb allow you to embed or link to a video to help tell your story. Here’s an example of how we used video in the Quickmobile press release.

2. B-roll

Raw footages edited together can be useful to broadcasters as B-roll or supplemental footage for their reports. Make sure your B-roll has establishing shots of events and locations, interviews, event highlights and other newsworthy footage.

3. Video Sharing Sites

Upload your videos to YouTube, Vimeo and other video sharing sites. YouTube videos rank highly in Google and other search engines, which means you can attract plenty of targeted traffic. These sites also allow your video to be shared and embedded in other websites, increasing your exposure even more. Plus there’s always the possibility of your video getting picked up by TV networks.

4. Social Networking

Share your video on your Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking accounts. Did you know videos can be pinned on Pinterest too?

5. Company Website

Embed videos on your website. Encourage visitors to share them and embed them in their own sites.