Posted by Cris Rominger on Fri, May 29, 2009
If you’re looking for practical, best-practices marketing advice on what works and what doesn’t, you can’t beat MarketingSherpa’s research. Nothing but tried-and-true findings straight from the trenches. The recently released 2009 Ecommerce Benchmark Report is full of new information to help drive sales. Here’s why I’m a fan…
We’re loyal followers and avid readers of their products – and also affiliates. That means you can purchase new reports at a discount from our site. Very cool.
Zero in on what matters to you
I especially like how MarketingSherpa acknowledges that not all organizations are created equal and what works in one industry doesn’t necessary work in another. That’s why they’ve separated out lessons to be learned from “High Knowledge” organizations that are making use of advanced web analytics and automation. And why they’ve broken out data for B2B vs B2C products and B2B vs B2C services.
That means, as a B2B marketer, I can look at products or services data and zero in on:
- Trends, benchmarks, and challenges
- Metrics for cart abandonment, tools and promotions, and shopping cart tests
- Free and paid media tactics and tests
- Email, offline, search, and social media tactics
- Conversion rates
Think beyond pricing
Knowing we’re all coping with lean economic times, the report also highlights tactics and tools that can increase revenues without further chipping away at slim margins, such as:
- Limited time/inventory promotions
- Loyalty programs
- Customer reviews/ratings
- Product videos
Find answers to top questions
Most importantly, the report answers questions that are top of mind for many ecommerce marketers, such as:
- How can I lower shopping cart abandons?
- What percentage of repeat customers should I expect?
- What motivates online shoppers to buy?
- What marketing tactics bring the best ROI?
- What’s the average ecommerce search click conversion?
- How does my site’s search presence stack up against our competitors’ visibility?
We’re conducting a shopping cart audit next week. As an e-retailer, it’s too easy to lose touch with your customer’s experience. Having an objective third party test the waters can help ground you in the user’s perspective and answer questions such as:
- Is it working the way we expect?
- Where are the leaks?
- What is causing friction?
- How can we make it easier?
Help a marketer out
Here’s where you can do your part for the greater good. We’ve likely all had a bad online shopping experience. If there was one thing – or two or three – that you’d change to make a process easier, what would you suggest?
My pet peeves are 1) being asked to enter my shipping address, even if it is the same as my billing address. Couldn’t you just give me a checkbox: “Use billing address as shipping address”; 2) wiping out all my data if I try to submit without filling in a required field; 3) not letting me change the quantity ordered once I’m hit with the grand total.
What are some of your online shopping rants?
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Thu, May 21, 2009
I’m pleased to introduce Cris Rominger as a contributor to this blog.
In a world where 92% of B2B buyers turn to the web first when looking for service providers, effective internet marketing is essential. Cris will be writing about web marketing, search engine optimization, writing for the web and search engines, usability, conversion optimization, and user-focused design.
Cris’ insights are based on what works in the real world. Her 20 years’ communications experience spans web development, information architecture, user-interface design, usability, web copywriting, and search engine optimization.
Cris joined Business Communications Group in 2007. She helps our clients build B2B websites that engage business decisions makers, get to the top of Google search results through advanced SEO, and, through it all, stay focused on what it takes to build trust with savvy buyers.
Check out two of her recent articles posted at our company site:
Posted by Robert Celaschi on Mon, May 18, 2009
By Robert Celaschi
By now almost everybody has heard the Internet mantra that “information wants to be free.” What it really means is, “I want someone else to foot the bill.”
Advertisers paid for most distribution…
There’s nothing new about that. It’s how radio and television have always worked in the United States. The audience never paid for the broadcasts. Advertisers did. The model wasn’t much different for newspapers and magazines. The subscription price covered only a small fraction of the cost of making and delivering the product. Advertisers paid the bulk of it.
The same principal drove the press release and the story pitch. You tried to coax an editor into assigning a story that featured your business or executives. Advertisers covered the cost of getting it out to the world.
The difference on the Internet is that advertisers aren’t nearly as willing to pick up the tab. It’s true that they are starting to support some video sites. If you want to watch shows on Hulu, for instance, you have to sit through commercials. But you probably haven’t been using TV sitcoms as a conduit for your business-to-business marketing.
Selling content gets tougher
Newspapers and magazines are having a tougher time convincing advertisers to pay big bucks online. Most don’t even charge a subscription fee from online readers. And those that do are still working out the bugs.
Businesses are in a slightly better position for getting the word out. There’s already a structure in place for selling content such as whitepapers (see examples). People recognize that it’s worth paying money for. Most businesses also are used to footing the bill for straight marketing materials and press releases, and build it into their budgets.
DIY-ers can flourish
Now it’s time to apply that thinking to areas where you used to rely on coaxing an editor or reporter into telling your story. As that platform shrinks, other opportunities arise for a do-it-yourself approach.
First, the Internet has made distribution relatively cheap and easy. Today you can make information available to millions of people around the world without having to own a printing press or a broadcast tower. The White House, for instance, is going straight to the public by posting candid photos straight to a Flickr account.
The lower cost also has inspired the creation of new ways to pass information around, including blogs, Twitter, business networking sites such as LinkedIn, and social networking sites such as Facebook.
Who pays to build the audience?
But now you’ll get stuck with the bill for some of the functions you used to hand off to the print or broadcast media: gathering useful information, organizing it, and presenting it in an attractive way to an audience. You need people to write the profiles and cases studies, others to provide photos, still others to make the material easy for search engines to find on your Web site, and to bring items to the attention of bloggers and people seeking information through social media.
Information has never been free. All that’s happening now is a shift in who pays for it. Don’t let that chase you away from opportunities.
Do you have some tips to share about how you are getting someone else to foot the bill for your marketing efforts? For instance, maybe you’ve made presentations at a conference. Who paid to gather the audience? Not you.
How are you beefing up your marketing budget to deal with the changing media landscape?
How are you getting somebody else to foot the bill for your B2B marketing efforts?
NOTE: This post is Robert Celaschi’s first bylined contribution to the B2B Communications Red On Marketing blog.
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Fri, May 15, 2009
I’m pleased to introduce Robert Celaschi as a contributor to this blog.
Robert has been reporting and editing business stories since before there was a Web. He spent many years on the editorial staff of the Sacramento Business Journal and is a former managing editor of the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. He joined Business Communications Group in 2005.
For this blog he’ll be contributing items about effective ways for a business to talk about itself, and how to get others talking.
This he knows. He has helped our clients produce dozens of clear and consistent case studies, press releases, contributed articles, executive profiles, blog and newsletter content, and in-depth guides.
So don’t worry, he won’t be giving grammar lessons. It’s all about what works in the real world.
Please stay tuned!
Posted by Rebekah Donaldson on Tue, May 12, 2009
When a local list broker asked me for career advice last month, I realized that a human element is often missing from discussions about marketing trends and forecasting.
I realized too that inbound marketers can learn from the performance of companies like Harte Hanks - a company that essentially wholesales data to channel partners like list brokers (in addition to selling directly to its client base).
"Should I retrain?"
Last month a list broker wrote to me asking,
"Are email and postal direct marketing to prospect lists truly going to become less effective in the next decade? If so, would you recommend a transition to social marketing, mobile marketing...? Maybe I need to institute some changes right now..."
He'd been reading my stuff about the future of B2B marketing, and where the numbers point. And how it's clear that one of the most effective communication tools over the next decade will be each company's own online presence.
That means hard working Web sites, of course, that ensure prospects find you.
And, on the flip side, it means less print advertising and purchased lists.
That's an ominous prospect for list brokers - professionals who sell lists for purposes of direct mail, email, and telemarketing.
The macro marketing environment
Let's get clear about terms here. Very roughly speaking, list brokers retail wholesale data collected by companies like . No brokers I know collect data themselves - they do, though, analyze and interpret data, create direct marketing campaigns, and sometimes manage campaigns.
Here is a chart showing the performance of Harte Hanks stock from May 2005 to May 2009:
Credit: www.tradingmarkets.com
The Harte Hanks CEO says in a May 5th 2009 press release that,
“There continues to be economic uncertainty that makes it difficult to predict when conditions will improve. While we face challenges, we have a terrific client list and our businesses deliver products, services and marketing solutions that are even more necessary in this environment.”
If I go along with him, I have to infer that his clients don’t get the HH value proposition. If they got it, they’d buy. But who could be better at conveying value through marketing communications than a Harte Hanks? There must be something else going on.
Truth be told, Harte Hanks has, itself, moved into the website building business (see paragraphs under “Selected Highlights” near the bottom of this release).
Bye bye, list biz?
So yes, colleagues in the list biz, I’d recommend changing your focus. And I don’t take the issue lightly. It’s your career and livelihood we’re discussing.
A September 2008 post here called Is B2B marketing going obsolete? said
“The marketplace has experienced a significant shift in power. No longer are just vendors hunting prospects. Prospects, now, are experienced marksmen too. So… what now? What does this mean for B2B marketers? Should we change professions? Retool our company’s marketing? Wait and see?”
More recently, ”The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Marketing Report,” the 12th annual study conducted for Shop.org by Forrester Research Inc., showed that 88 percent of retailers surveyed said email is a high priority for the coming year, largely to retain customers.
Notice those last three words. These are emails to people who already have a relationshipwith the retailers. Not to prospects from purchased lists.
In fact, the study said 71 percent of retailers plan to send segmented emails to customers based on stated preferences or purchase data.
Challenges of being in the school of push communications
In What won’t fly in that 2009 marketing plan I suggested that B2B marketers consider skipping traditional marketing techniques in their 2009 marketing plans.
The reason: Purchased lists, whether they involve emailing, snail-mailing or telemarketing, belong to the school of ‘push’ communications.
Core skills of a successful list broker
So where does that leave list brokers? Many have been very, very successful for a long, long time with lists.
I’d venture that the best list brokers are particularly savvy about:
- Client relationship management
- Audience segmentation, including
- Behavioral targeting
- Psychographics
- A/B testing
- Quantifying ROI
What are some other strengths of a well-trained list broker? How can they apply their skills to newer marketing methods?
Resources — please add
I’ll start us off with a suggested resource — an article in the Hubspot blog. Please add your ideas.
- Ten Tips for Marketing Job-Seekers in the Class of 2009