I had a meeting with a client today who asked me about conversion rates. He wanted to present his services in such a way as to entice a potential client into buying a product from his E-commerce store. So, I made a small list of items that can help with conversion rates in general.
1. Make sure that your hottest selling items are prominently displayed on the Homepage.
2. Provide multiple angle photos of the product with zoom capabilities.
3. Add a customer rating system so third party consumers can provide their critique of the product.
4. Be certain your pricing is fair.
5. Provide a call to action and an incentive to buy now.
6. Use a well known credit card processor like PayPal for credibility and security.
7. Provide prompt responses to customer service issues and always ship within 72 hours. You will find that happy customers return and improve your conversion rates.
Good news for those with poor credit or the fear of long term contracts / commitments...Boost Mobile is now supporting the Android and selling it as the Motorola I1. Purchase price of the phone isn't listed yet on their corporate website nor is a plan listed for the phone, but I would imagine it will be similar in cost to their BlackBerry Monthly Unlimited plan which costs just $60.00 per month for unlimited text, talk, web and email.
I for one am excited to see Boost Mobile offering the Android. I like competition and options and of course I love the Droid! As mobile broadband, smart phones, and apps. continue to expand it makes the Internet and websites a vital and more user friendly part of our daily lives. So I say this....I'll see you at a Boost Mobile store!!!
We have all heard the cliche "A picture is worth a thousand words," but what is the message you are trying to portray with the picture? The advantage of a website is in its ability to contain numerous high resolution photographs of your products and services. Unlike print media where the cost of the ad or brochure increases exponentially with the number and size of the pictures provided, a website allows for an almost unlimited number of photographs. While the construction of the website requires an investment there is no ongoing print costs. Therefore it makes perfect sense to include numerous photographs for the benefit of the consumer.
It has been the experience of my firm that websites with large photo galleries perform much better than sites with fewer images. The sites with large photo galleries have a much lengthier average time of visit (time on site) and a better conversion rate. Another interesting fact is that visitors to websites often spend up to 80% of there time reviewing the photo gallery. With so much attention given to the pictures of your companies products and services it stands to reason that you would want both numerous photographs, but also that you ensure that the pictures you post are providing a constructive message.
I often suggest to my clients that they gather all their available photographs and then have the marketing team create a "theme" or list of emotions they want viewers to experience when reviewing the photo gallery. For example, if you own a romantic French restaurant on a lakefront the message you want the images to convey might be romance, seclusion, excellent food, wine, candlelight, tranquility, soft music, beautiful table settings, and magnificent views at sunset. Once your team has determined the message you want to convey pass the photos around to employees, friends, and patrons of your business requesting that they review the available pictures. It is a good idea to provide them with the desired message so they can tell you which pictures caused the appropriate response.
Going through this exercise will provide you with a list of pictures that you can use on your website to impact your potential clients with the desired communiqué. A message that will stir them into doing business with your company. So, the next time you hear the coin phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words" remember it isn't the words that are important...it is the right message.
A large percentage of products and services offered by small business enterprises is highly seasonal. For instance, snow ski resorts would not target the summer months to run a marketing campaign, but a summer resort on the beaches of Florida certainly allocates a significant portion of their marketing budget to the "hot" months. Most of my client's have a good marketing strategy in place long before their season starts, but occasionally a receive a call from someone who has failed to plan ahead or feel the need for a quick mid-course correction.
As my company's business model is to assist clients with online marketing strategies I am inevitably asked about the time required to launch a new website and begin attracting online visitors. Can it be done in 30 days? How will people find our website? How much traffic can we get to the site?
In most cases except in extremely complex web development projects a site can be created and launched in under 30 days, but what about attracting online traffic immediately after the launch date? The answer is Pay Per Click marketing. A service offered by all major search engines as a way for the search engine to monetize and a ready made solution for instant traffic results.
For example, lets assume that you are the owner of the resort in Florida and you want to attract search traffic from Google for the following search "Beach front resort Florida." You agree to pay Google $1.00 per click or visit to your website for being returned prominently in the search results for "Beach front resort Florida." Your corporate goal for the month is 300 unique visitors from this marketing campaign so you set your monthly budget at $300.00. Now anytime a potential client searches for your chosen search term and clicks on your website URL you pay google $1.00, and in return you have a potential client visiting your website. When you have received 300 visitors your budget is exhausted and Google shuts off your ad campaign.
While the above example was intentionally simplified it was intended to answer in simple terms a question I receive several times a week from my clients. Most individuals are pleasantly surprised to learn that a last minute website project can still provide a healthy return on investment and be used in a last minute marketing campaign. While I strongly suggest planning a website at least 6 months in advance for a seasonal marketing campaign it is still a tool that can be inserted into a hastily conceived marketing strategy.
I also receive a lot of calls from corporations who feel that their existing website is under performing. There can be a few different reasons for a website to be falling short of corporate goals. Sometimes the corporate goals are unrealistic, but in most cases the culprit is the design of the website or the online marketing strategies of the site. Perhaps the site isn't user friendly, doesn't provide good product photographs, poor copy, unattractive colors, incomprehensible navigation, or unreasonable pricing. However, even a perfect website cannot create business without online traffic.
Online traffic need be viewed in two stages. Short term traffic and long term traffic must be differentiated. If a website is well optimized it will eventually attain good organic traffic results. Organic traffic translates to free traffic coming from search engines, partner sites, referring sites, and links. However, if a site is either new or has a history of poor performance an organization cannot count on organic results for quite some time. In the short term it is wise to use Pay Per Click marketing to fill the gap. Eventually the organic traffic will come and Pay Per Click can become supplemental or non-existent in the marketing campaigns employed.
A few other online strategies can be employed for long term success such as blogging, online press releases, and using affiliate marketing resources. A good online marketing firm can make strategic suggestions and provide a road map to online success.
If your season is upon you or approaching quickly I suggest contacting an online marketing firm to prepare your business for online success. Enjoy your season!
The importance of online advertising is well known and accepted by the vast majority of business owners in today's society. However, most of my clients admit that their organization has room for improvement both with the design and use of the corporation's web presence. While many businesses have strong marketing departments dedicated to improving their customer's online interactions with their products and services most admit that their organization is struggling to keep up with an ever changing online landscape.
The fear of falling hopelessly behind the competition is a relevant concern because the online tools and advertising options is growing exponentially. Social networks, blogs, online press releases, Pay Per Click marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Tweeting provide just a small cross-section of the daunting online marketing opportunities. Amazingly I talk with clients routinely who are just beginning construction of their company's first website. They are behind the proverbial 8 ball, but can they catch up with their fast paced competition? Yes, with a highly focused marketing plan and allocation of the proper funds it is still possible to capture an online audience. However, the time to act is pressing because of a new technology looming on the immediate horizon.
Enter White Space Technology. This technology will have a similar impact on our daily lives as the invention of the Internet, and cell phones. It will bring high speed connectivity to White Space devices (such as smart phones) enabling an entirely new consumer experience. Imagine driving through an unfamiliar city looking for a Starbucks. As you move within the city limits your phone connects with the Wide Area Network using the now abandoned analog TV frequencies and queries the networks database for the various Starbucks locations. The network returns the results and your cell phone shows you the nearest locations while tracking you on GPS. You tap a location on your touchscreen and the phone provides instant driving directions to the Starbucks of your choice. In the mean time, you click on the Starbucks menu icon and a complete menu uploads to your phone. You select your items and head to the check-out. Your phone contains your credit card records so you don't have to go through the inconvenience of digging out your wallet and typing in the required name, card number, expiration date, and security code. You just click the pay now button and the transaction is complete. Starbucks' website sees that according to GPS your expected arrival time is 7 minutes. A question pops up asking if you would like your items ready in 7 minutes, but you see a gas station ahead and decide to fuel up first. So, you click no and enter 12 minutes. You arrive at Starbucks 12 minutes later and pick up your steamy cup of coffee and a fresh hot bagel and hit the road. Sound to good to be true? Think again, this technology is currently under development and will be an integral part of your life in the near future.
The key to success in the future depends heavily on the strategies employed today. White Space Technology will bring new challenges and even the experts don't know all of the answers on how to prepare for its colossal impact, but one thing we all agree on is the necessity to stay current and competitive with the current marketing tools in order to prepare for entering the new online
community. So, is your organization ready?
...and Dramatic Realities. Elemental Designs offers first class website design, highly focused search engine optimization, online marketing, branding and logo designs.
Elemental Designs will not rest until we help your business reach your online goals.
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