Category

Conversion

Fewer than 5% of visitors to an ecommerce site typically convert to customers. In this Conversion category, we offer insights to increase that percentage. Our expert contributors address ratings and reviews, social proof, site search, product page enhancements, product descriptions, checkout options, live chat, and much more — anything to help close online sales.

Analytics & Data | Checkout Tactics | Customer Retention | Customer Service | Photography & Video | Product Pages

Conversion
Customer Service Focus – January 2006

January 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

As I have mentioned many times before, communication is the key to excellent customer service. One of the primary ways that merchants communicate with customers is via email. Steve Walker, owner of Rescuepetstore.com said, “If I don't receive proper notification and follow-up from an e...
Conversion
Use Web Analytics to Improve Profits for New Year

January 1, 2006 • Mat Greenfield

I love this quote by Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.” It’s a great concept to bear in mind as the New Year begins. I expect many of you are looking for better results from your marketing, and Einstein reminds us that sticki...
Customer Retention
Reaping Holiday Sales in January

January 1, 2006 • Pamela Hazelton

So many online stores put all of their focus into attracting holiday shoppers during the end of the year that they overlook the fact that the month of January can also be profitable. At the very least, planning ahead to handle holiday returns and exchanges can help reduce the burden of ...
Analytics & Data
Web Analytics: Understanding Visitor Behavior

January 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

In the beginning, there were “hit counters”. Occasionally you will still see one at the bottom of a website, prominently displaying the number of hits over a given time frame. There was a time when the success of a website was gauged solely on this number, with a site that received many...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics Draws Industry Reaction

January 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

On November 14, 2005, Google announced its free, hosted web analytics service. Based on the Urchin analytics platform, which Google acquired earlier in the year, the service boasts website analysis tools aimed at executives, marketers, and webmasters. According to a Google press release,...
Conversion
Home Pages for the Holidays

December 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

With winter approaching, it’s time to start thinking about those holiday decorations, parties and gifts that will make the long, cold nights feel a little warmer and brighter. Whether you celebrate religiously or purely for the fun of it, here are a few sites that prove a little devotio...
Conversion
Customer Service Focus – December 2005

December 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

This month we are focusing on a several online businesses to see how different merchants deliver excellent customer service. We asked four merchants what was the single most important thing they did to deliver quality customer service. Marilyn Lysohir, Owner of CowgirlChocolates.com sa...
Conversion
The Best ‘Net Secrets – November 2005

November 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

Trick-or-treaters come and go, but a sweet tooth demands satisfaction year round. These sites handily prove that the Internet can satisfy a sugar craving in ways never dreamt of by your local candy store. http://www.hometownfavorites.com Big city life may offer superior access to fash...
Conversion
Understanding Online Advertising Terms

November 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

In a meeting with a national online advertising vendor the other day, I was amused when I noticed one of our top salesmen sleeping at our conference table. And, by sleeping, I don’t mean that this gentleman nodded off and required a quick nudge. I mean he was out, sawing logs....
Conversion
Customer Service Focus – November 2005

November 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

You probably can’t make every customer happy, so here are some tips on customer-dispute resolution and making a bad situation a little bit better. Communication is King. The most frustrating aspect of dealing with online retailers is lack of communication, especially if you have a pr...
Conversion
Calls-to-Action

November 1, 2005 • Mat Greenfield

If you’ve ever taken a marketing class, or read a marketing book that deals with any level of ‘direct response’ marketing, then you’ve come across the phrase ‘call to action’. It’s the idea that in order to make marketing or advertising effective, you must tell your audience what step y...
Customer Service
Your Policies Are Only as Good as What’s Posted

November 1, 2005 • Pamela Hazelton

Since the holiday shopping season is upon us, now’s the time to double-check store policies. Besides privacy, security and shipping, policies are what decide what happens when there is a problem with an order. So many stores neglect these important requirements, then struggle to make th...
Conversion
Email Marketing: Cultivating a Successful List

October 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

Many old-school marketers built mailing lists like your favorite aunt would make spaghetti: Cook a ton of it, and throw it against the wall to see what sticks. If any does, you know the pasta’s done. In much the same way, before email marketing developed some semblance of sophisticatio...
Conversion
Web Marketing: Hitting the Target

October 1, 2005 • Mat Greenfield

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to try my hand at archery during a Boy Scout camp. It’s actually quite hard to hit the target, (and for me virtually impossible to hit the bulls-eye). However, it occurred to me that some of the instructions I was given, were quite similar to some ...
Checkout Tactics
Navigation is Key

September 1, 2005 • Pamela Hazelton

Online shoppers need guidance about finding what they need, and information about the pages they are viewing. We get so used to all our friends and family being online, we take for granted that each and every day, thousands of people use the Internet for the very first time. This leads ...
Conversion
Autoresponders: Follow-up for Success

September 1, 2005 • Mat Greenfield

Something that I often suggest is that companies give something away on their website. I believe that this is essential even for websites that are primarily ecommerce in nature. The reason is to provide a low-commitment next step, for potential customers that aren’t quite ready to buy. ...
Conversion
Back-to-School Season Provides Lesson for eCommerce Sites

August 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

If you thought the back-to-school season meant little more than pencils and paper, backpacks and new school clothes, you'd be highly mistaken. In the ecommerce community, it provides us a subtle reminder as to the power of teaching our customers about our products and services. That's ...
Conversion
Attracting Hispanic Customers Online Not As Easy As Uno, Dos, Tres

August 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

As online business owners and marketers, you've heard the staggering statistics regarding Internet usage among Hispanics in the United States. Almost 16 million Hispanics will be online by 2007, and their collective buying power is already nearing $600 billion. Why is it that only one-...
Conversion
Parting the Fog of Visitors

August 1, 2005 • PEC Staff

Imagine this. You're the publisher of a metropolitan newspaper, tasked with gathering statistics on how many people read your publication on a weekly basis. Of course you count your subscriber base and your newsstand copies sold, but do you include those folks who only glanced at the ne...
Conversion
Know Your Enemy (err, Target)

August 1, 2005 • Mat Greenfield

An oft-repeated military slogan is “know your enemy.” I’m not too sure if it was first espoused by Sun Tzu, Clausewitz or Machiavelli, but I’m on board with the theory. If Sun Tzu (or whoever) were alive today, he’d probably be a web marketer, and his mantra would be “know your target.”...
Conversion
Customer Conversion: Overcome Buyer Resistance

July 1, 2005 • Mat Greenfield

The web has been spoiled by scams, fraud, identity theft, phishing, email address harvesting, and spam-mail. At this point, we are all very wary of disclosing our (somewhat disposable) email address, let alone our physical address and credit card information. We’ll call this buying resi...
Conversion
How to Purchase Banner Ad Space

July 1, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Just how do you go about purchasing banner advertising space? Here are your alternatives.
Conversion
Distribution Decisions: Drop-Shipping vs. Inventory vs. Fulfillment House

June 3, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

"Internet product sales are easy," said Bob Simple, when he first set up Bob Simple's Online Shoes. Now he's not so sure. He had found three quality shoe manufacturers who agreed to ship shoes to his customers as soon as he faxed them the order."
Conversion
How Retail Differs from Wholesale and B2C Differs from B2B

June 3, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

When it comes to e-commerce, sometimes our normal terms become inadequate. Here are some definitions: retail, wholesale, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer.
Conversion
P4: Pricing Strategy as Part of Your Internet Marketing Plan

May 9, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

When you go down to your local grocery store, you'll probably find Jif® peanut butter, and maybe Planter's®, and then perhaps a store brand, and possibly a generic brand (though generics are pretty well gone).
Conversion
The 4 Ps of Marketing as Part of Your Internet Marketing Plan

May 2, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

If you've studied marketing in the 40+ years since E. Jerome McCarthy originally wrote his classic Basic Marketing, then you're familiar with the "4 Ps of Marketing."
Conversion
Doing a SWOT Analysis for Your Internet Marketing Plan

March 14, 2000 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Restaurants ought to make bigger napkins since some of the most productive business ideas seem to come to mind over a meal. The SWOT analysis technique lends itself to napkin planning and snapshot insights.
Conversion
Dot.Com Countdown: 7 Steps to E-Business Launch

December 13, 1999 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Planning to start a new online business? I'm in the process myself, and thought it might be instructive to talk you through the seven steps necessary to launch an e-business. Since we're talking about a launch, we'll begin our countdown with step seven and end with the blast off.
Conversion
Review: Why We Buy – The Science of Shopping

November 15, 1999 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

The man is studying a narrow segment of modern anthropology, the science of shopping. The fieldwork methods are adapted from those of environmental psychology, Underhill's field when he began studying shopper behaviors 20 years ago for major retail chains.
Analytics & Data
Collecting Data from Your Website Visitors

July 1, 1998 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

To succeed, a small business website must be a carefully targeted, wisely designed, pay-its-own-way tool which adds to the bottom line. To achieve this you need to ask: What is the purpose of our Web site?

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