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 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 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%) vs. Selling (75%) dpreview.com

Good Usabilty Good Content, Good Information Selling Requires….

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 million users bought online in the 2007 holiday season, a 6% increase over % of adults research products and services on-line Source: VirtualMarketingBlog.com survey of 40 ecommerce websites, Forrester 2006 Why Worry about eCommerce Usability?

Good Content - What consumers want* * Based on online user intercept surveys

What Turns Users Off 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

Online Retailers Branded Sites Online Review Review Sites Social Networking Marketing User Generated Content (2) Organic Search Results Pay for Click Advertising Friends & Personal Contacts (1) Community Websites Goal Pages Landing Page or Catalog Finding & Influencing

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  Information on Brand  Informative Stories Store Locations % Marketing 95% % Selling 5% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalph In-depth Information Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter Tools for Selection Features Explained Purchase Online Opinions of Other (UGC) Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80% % Selling 5%20% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalphAmaz In-depth Information  Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter Tools for Selection Features Explained  Purchase Online  Opinions of Other (UGC)  Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories  Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80%10% % Selling 5%20%90% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalphAmazCook In-depth Information  Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter  Tools for Selection Features Explained  Purchase Online  Opinions of Other (UGC)  Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories  Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80%10%50% % Selling 5%20%90%50% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalphAmazCookAdvis In-depth Information  Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter  Tools for Selection Features Explained  Purchase Online  Opinions of Other (UGC)  Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories  Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80%10%50%5% % Selling 5%20%90%50%95% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalphAmazCookAdvisYAEY In-depth Information  Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter  Tools for Selection Features Explained  Purchase Online  Opinions of Other (UGC)  Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories  Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80%10%50%5%15% % Selling 5%20%90%50%95%85% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

Good Criteria All-ClCalphAmazCookAdvisYAEYConR In-depth Information  Ability to Compare  Ability to Sort and Filter  Tools for Selection  Features Explained  Purchase Online  Opinions of Other (UGC)  Benefits Explained  Information on Brand  Informative Stories  Store Locations  % Marketing 95%80%10%50%5%15%0% % Selling 5%20%90%50%95%85% 100% Bad Criteria No Search / Doesn’t Work  Content uses marketing speak  Content hard to scan  Content is skimpy on details  Picture too small or too few  Inability to compare 

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 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 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