Transcript Good Criteria - Learn At Northwoods

eCommerce
Success Strategies
A Lunch and Learn Seminar
Presented by
Patrick Bieser Sr., President Northwoods Software
This Discussion of “eCommerce”
Is really about “How to Sell Anything” using your Website
Applies to
All Websites generally
and eCommerce Website specifically
About Me
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Journalism and Psychology Major
33 Years Computer Industry
10 Years Building eCommerce
Involved with 25+ High Traffic Sites
Studied, Observed, Analyzed
Lectured on Usability and Content
strategies
• User (just like you)
Summary of Today’s Presentation
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Why worry about usability
What consumers want, don’t want
How they find you, how they are influenced
Example: A search for cookware
Checkout Best Practices (how not to lose them)
Two strategies for selling online
Marketing generates interest
Selling generates profits
Successful eCommerce Websites…
Market a little and Sell a lot
Marketing (35%)
www.canon.com
vs.
Selling (75%)
dpreview.com
Selling Requires….
• Good Usabilty
• Good Content, Good Information
Why Worry about eCommerce Usability?
• 50% of sales are lost because shoppers cannot find what they
are looking for
• 83% of shoppers leave sites due to poor navigation and
ineffective search
• 78% of shoppers abandoned their online shopping carts
• If 100 users came to a site ready to buy, only 2 finished the
sale – the rest went elsewhere
• US online holiday retail sales were over $39 billion in 2007, up
20% over 2006
• 126 million users bought online in the 2007 holiday season, a
6% increase over 2006
• 92.5% of adults research products and services on-line
Source: VirtualMarketingBlog.com survey of 40 ecommerce websites, Forrester 2006
Good Content - What consumers want*
* Based on online user intercept surveys
What Turns Users Off
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Search that doesn’t find what they want
Content written in marketing speak
Content that looks like an ad
Content that is hard to scan
Content that is skimpy on details
No sort or filter options
Pictures that are too small or too few
Inability to compare
Finding &
Influencing
eMail
Marketing
Online
Retailers
Branded
Sites
Online
Review
Pay for Click
Advertising
Review
Sites
Organic
Search Results
User Generated
Content (2)
Landing Page
or Catalog
Goal Pages
Community
Websites
Social
Networking
Friends &
Personal
Contacts (1)
Example: A Search for Cookware
• Keyword analysis of the cookware market….
What are they looking for
Analysis
• Searches are 10:1 generic terms vs. brands
• Strong evidence that people are doing research
• Typical pattern of long tail keywords
– Cast Iron Cookware
A User Looking for Cookware
Research Questions:
• What are my choices?
• What’s the best brand? Why?
• What’s the best buy for good quality?
• What’s the best buy for my budget?
• I’ve got $300 and want 14 pieces – what are my options?
• What do other’s think? I want to read good and bad reviews?
• What features should I be looking for?
• Are there any ratings systems? Are there “Editor’s Choices”?
• Etc.
The Score
Good Criteria
All-Cl
In-depth Information
Ability to Compare
Ability to Sort and Filter
Tools for Selection
Features Explained
Purchase Online
Opinions of Other (UGC)
Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
Store Locations
% Marketing
95%
% Selling
5%
Bad Criteria
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Ability to Compare
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Ability to Sort and Filter
Tools for Selection
Features Explained
Purchase Online
Opinions of Other (UGC)
Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
Store Locations
% Marketing
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95%
80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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% Selling
Bad Criteria
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Amaz
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Ability to Compare
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Ability to Sort and Filter
Tools for Selection
Features Explained
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Purchase Online
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Opinions of Other (UGC)
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Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
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Store Locations
% Marketing
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95%
80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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10%
% Selling
90%
Bad Criteria
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Amaz
Cook
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Ability to Compare
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Ability to Sort and Filter
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Tools for Selection
Features Explained
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Purchase Online
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Opinions of Other (UGC)
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Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
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Store Locations
% Marketing
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95%
80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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10%
50%
% Selling
90%
50%
Bad Criteria
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Amaz
Cook
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Ability to Compare
Advis
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Ability to Sort and Filter
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Tools for Selection
Features Explained
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Purchase Online
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Opinions of Other (UGC)
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Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
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Store Locations
% Marketing
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95%
80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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10%
50%
5%
50%
95%
% Selling
90%
Bad Criteria
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Amaz
Cook
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Ability to Compare
Advis
YAEY
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Ability to Sort and Filter
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Tools for Selection
Features Explained
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Purchase Online
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Opinions of Other (UGC)
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Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
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50%
5%
15%
50%
95%
85%
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95%
80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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10%
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Store Locations
% Marketing
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% Selling
90%
Bad Criteria
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Good Criteria
All-Cl
Calph
In-depth Information
Amaz
Cook
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Ability to Compare
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Ability to Sort and Filter
Advis
YAEY
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Tools for Selection
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Features Explained
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Purchase Online
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Opinions of Other (UGC)
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Benefits Explained
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Information on Brand
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Informative Stories
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80%
5%
20%
No Search / Doesn’t Work
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Content uses marketing speak
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Content hard to scan
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Content is skimpy on details
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Picture too small or too few
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Inability to compare
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10%
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50%
5%
15%
0%
50%
95%
85%
100%
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95%
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Store Locations
% Marketing
ConR
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% Selling
90%
Bad Criteria
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Checking Out – Best Practices
• Careful design allows more customers to complete
checkout.
• Filling out forms correctly during checkout is very difficult for
most users.
• Forcing people to register during their first purchase is
confusing and frustrating and drives customers away.
• Tell users where they are in the checkout process
• Show cart at all times possible
• Allow changes to shipping, billing, credit card at all steps
Online Strategy #2
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Build a brand marketing site (with a cool flash component)
Add eCommerce – catalog, registration, and checkout
Work hard on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Launch a Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign
Ignore 10 years of user studies of consumer web behavior
Wonder why sales are slow
Strategy #2
Strategy #1
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Build a brand marketing site (with a cool flash component)
Add eCommerce – catalog, registration, and checkout
Work hard on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Create rich content that draws search engine traffic
Offer explanations, research, and comparisons
Create ratings / charts that compare options
Offer credible (non-marketing) videos that explain the pros and
cons of options
Offer brand content to support validation
Allow users to generate content (UGC) on your research
75% said UGC is credible
35% said information direct from manufacturer is credible
Thank You