Last week we attended comScore’s webinar about the state of  online retail economy for 3Q 2009. As always, the there was a great deal of informative and interesting data.

For us the most important, and frankly eye-opening, statistic was that while most metrics were down (3Q vs year ago: sales were down 3% , number of transactions per buyer were down 16.4%, dollars spent per buyer down 18.4% and dollars per transaction were down 2.4%) – the number of people shopping online was up a whopping 19.6%. So, even in a recession, the number of people shopping online was up almost 20%. Yes, they are spending less money, but when they do need to purchase something they are turning to the Internet. 

Habits are changing. As the economy gets better (and eventually it will), new shopping habits will be in place for people and e-commerce will once again be poised for growth.

So if your e-commerce has not been bringing in the numbers you had hoped for, now is the time to look at your website and start investing in it. The buyers are out there, and there will only be more of them in the coming years. Make sure your site is set up to convert as many visitors into customers as possible. If you focus on conversion and user experience now, your business will be set to grow.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing conversion rates, down economy, e-commerce, Online Marketing, online sales, Search Engine Marketing, Website Usability

Small business owners are the engine of the U.S economy, and as a group, they rightly have a great deal to be proud of. When it comes to their company’s website however, their past success can be a hindrance.

As someone who often works with small business owners, below are the 3 most common mistakes we correct on their websites.

Mistake #1: Too much information on the home page

Because they have so much personally invested in their company’s accomplishments they place everything, including the kitchen sink, on their home page. Every service, every product, every press item, they want to find a way for it to all be front and center. Unfortunately, that leaves a home page where nothing stands out and users have no idea where to look.

A properly designed home page creates interest and drives users further into the site. That’s it. The rest of the website provides additional detail in the areas, products, or services that interest the user.

A home page should introduce users to the company, and tell them quickly (within 3 seconds):

• What this company does
• Why they should spend more time on this site (Point of Difference)
• Where they should click to get more details for whatever product or service they are interested in.

Mistake #2: Pride and emotion driving website decisions

Many small business owners are emotionally invested in and proud of their businesses, as they should be. They have had to trust their instincts on the road to success.

When it comes to their website, for many it is outside their area of expertise. This is not true only from a technical standpoint, but from a business standpoint as well. This is one area where industry knowledge, instincts and knowing their customers may not be enough.

Understanding how users behave online is a critical component when making decisions that affect a website.

• Gather data (through Google Analytics or other analytic tool), analyze the data, and understand how people are interacting with your site.
• Do an online competitive analysis. Know who your competitors are when potential clients search for the products or services you provide. You may be surprised to find your online competitors are different from your offline competition.
• Get to know your online competitor’s websites. Are theirs easier to use, or easier to understand?

Armed with accurate data and not emotion, you can make decisions that are right for your business and your website.

Mistake #3: Website content written using internal company language

The best use of a website is as a place where potential customers, who are looking for products or services like yours but who don’t know you exist, can find you. The website will introduce your business to potential customers. If it speaks to users who have never heard of your company, you can rest assured it is useful to those that have.

In order to write content that speaks to complete strangers make sure you do not use:

• Internal company language (every business has some forms of short hand)
• Industry acronyms (you’ll lose out on those new to the industry)
• Colorful language that is cute or funny to those who know you (outsiders may not get it or find it cute)

Read your website content and ask yourself, if I were speaking to a total stranger at a party, is this exactly how I would describe my business? And if so, would they understand it or would I need to explain further. If you would need to provide additional explanation, then the content will not be clear to a new user. Unfortunately, online you will not have the opportunity to clarify, because the user will have already clicked off your site and on to a competitor’s.

Take some time to look at your website with fresh eyes the way a new visitor would. If you find your site has any of these common mistakes, rest assured that you are not alone. Then, create a plan to fix them. Once you have tackled these problems, you will see how much more powerful a business tool your website can be.

Digital Marketing, Website Design business to business, competitive analysis, Content, Online Content, Online Marketing, Small Business, Website Content, Website Design, Website Usability

It’s that time of year – the dreaded “pre-holiday” season. It’s when anticipation runs high and sales haven’t quite started to rev up yet.

We recommend that our clients use the month of September to get ready for November and December. That gives us (and them) enough time to check and double check everything. While there are countless items to check off the list, a few things move the sales needle the most.

It’s mid-October, so it’s crunch-time and every day really counts.  This isn’t meant as a comprehensive list. This is a “if you’re going to do a few things to get ready, these are the things to make sure you do” list:

1) Make sure you analyze last year’s numbers.

AdWords, Analytics and sales figures. You need to know what worked and what didn’t, specifically during the holiday season. Use that information to create your AdWords campaigns for this year.

It may seem like an obvious step, but some companies review month over month figures. More than any other time, it’s important to review year over year numbers, because the holidays are such an aberration for most ecommerce companies.

2) Get up to speed with your competition.

Read industry trades. Check your competitors’ sites. Have their websites changed? Understanding where they are right now and what the industry buzz is, can help you understand how robust your competition will be in the coming months.
 
3) Get your email-marketing schedule set now.

Even if all year long you’re able to work a day, a week, or a month ahead, the holidays move so quickly. You have to have a preliminary email-marketing schedule laid out, and get started on the graphics and messaging for these campaigns. The coming days will get busy. You should leave as little to the last minute as possible.

4) Create landing pages that complement your holiday AdWords campaigns.

Landing pages can help improve conversion rates, and are a critical part of the SEM process. Once again, if possible, look back to last year. Learn from what worked and what didn’t. Using the data available should help performance every year, regardless of the economy.

Online marketing is a fast moving industry, even in slow times. During the holiday season, every hour counts. Get in front of the process now, so you can have a successful, profitable, holiday season.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing AdWords, Ecommerce, email-marketing, holiday sales, Landing Pages, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, sem

There’s a silver lining in everything, even in this economy. You just have to look for it.

Some of the best businesses rise out of the ashes of a fallen market and it’s no coincidence that most success stories view a down economy through similar lenses. Perspective matters when it comes to doing business in this economic climate. Otherwise, there are valuable opportunities to be missed.

Consider some of the following when wading through the muddy waters of this economy:

Less competition in the marketplace: In a down economy, there’s less competition. Period. Take advantage of the fact that there are fewer businesses competing in the same space.

This could be a huge opportunity to leverage your business and capitalize on the scarcity of competition. A proactive business can achieve greater market share and even become the market leader.

Advertising is less expensive: Historically, when markets are down, the first thing to go is advertising budgets. So, media companies often cut deals to boost their revenues and keep their advertisers. They practically give it away.

This is great news for you. Take advantage of low rates and increase your exposure to boost your brand presence.

Relevant messaging in the marketplace: Is your message relevant in today’s marketplace? Not the marketplace six months ago, but the present market with all its faults and inefficiencies.

Successful businesses take the time to evaluate the relevancy of their message in these uncertain times. Does it resonate with your consumer? Are you providing them with a solution that presently works for them? These are important considerations that show your potential customer that you have their best interest in mind and will, ultimately, make your business stand out.

Don’t just survive, thrive!
Surviving a down economy means operating with more fortitude than fear, thinking strategically, maintaining a “glass half-full” mentality and action, lots of it.

No matter what your business, if you take proactive measures to navigate this economy you’ll not only increase your chances of survival, you’ll most likely be one of the businesses still standing tall.

Marketing advertising, digital advertising, down economy, marketplace, Online Marketing, opportunities, Small Business

You shouldn’t be sending leads to your website, your website should be sending leads to you.

“The thing is our website is where we send leads to get more information. It’s basically like a digital brochure.”

The next time you hear anyone in your marketing or sales department utter those words, let them know if that’s how they view the website, it would probably have been less costly to create some printed collateral to give potential customers then to invest in a website.

The Internet is the best way to let people you don’t know and who don’t know you, but who need what you have, find you.

Create a website so that it’s helpful to users who know nothing about you, and keep in mind that they will be stopping by your competitor’s sites as well. Help them understand what you do or sell and why they should consider doing business with you. For B2B sites (especially those with complex sales cycles), you don’t need to put every tiny detail about your business front and center.

Remember that for B2B sites that don’t have an e-commerce function (like selling white paper downloads, for instance) the goal of a website isn’t to close a potential sale, it’s to create interest. The website should introduce your company to the user in a way that gets you on their short list. You simply want them to say, “I should get more information from these guys.”

That’s why if you’re investing in a website, it should be more than a high-tech, high-priced, brochure. Brochure’s are generally given to people following some sort of interaction. They are given out after a sales person has provided some background on the business. Even a 30 second conversation can put the information that’s in the brochure into context.

That process is backwards. Rather than using a person to provide initial information and sending leads to your site for more information, create a website so it can be easily found and write it so it provides the necessary introductory information.

It will act as your best salesperson, working 24/7 to get your business in front any potential customer looking for what you provide. Done correctly, the website will lead them to you for more information.

Marketing, Website Content, Website Design B2B, business to business, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Online Marketing, Small Business, Website Design, Website Usability