Website Improvements for More Successful E-Commerce

Transcription

1 Website Improvements for More Successful E-Commerce FROM LANDING PAGE TO SHOPPING CART

2 Reminders for Today s Webinar Webinar recording & slides: will be ed to you within 48 hours after the event Discussion: visit the twitter hashtag: #LandingtoCart Questions: type your questions in the chat window to be answered during the Q&A or after the event

3 Presentation Overview Successful online retailers what are they doing? What are they doing on their websites that keeps their customers coming back? Enhancements you can make Q&A

4 Presenter Background: Erika Keirstead Erika Keirstead Product Marketing Manager, E-Commerce Sitecore Extensive background in Web Content Management and E-Commerce Focuses on improving the E-Commerce experience at Sitecore from all sides

5 About Sitecore Leader in enterprise-class web content management software (CMS) and marketing platform Presence Offices in 10 countries worldwide, with Partners serving over 50 countries Customers Over 2,500 customers managing over 30,000 websites worldwide Recognized Gartner 2010 WCM Magic Quadrant Leader Forrester Wave Strong Performer Gartner Cool Vendor in WCM 2008 Microsoft ISV Partner of the Year 2003/2004, Microsoft Gold Partner Supported Over 700 Sitecore Certified Partners worldwide

6 Some Sitecore Customers

7 Before We Begin Each online retailer is different From products they sell to size of operations, countless differentiators Today is about website improvements for more successful e-commerce Applies to all size, shape, and form of retailer so We re simplifying things just for today: Online retailer E-Commerce site

8 E-Commerce Site Improvements, Worth It? Forrester Research projects US e-retail sales will grow by 10% each year to $279 billion by E-retail Sales Totals (in $Billions) $279B $259B $240B $218B $197B $176B $157B Source: Forrester Research February 2011

9 A Tougher Customer It s not about the lowest price anymore Shoppers expect more Deeper, more personal interaction Provide personalized and engaging shopping experiences As your customer I want to feel like you know me Remember me - show me products that would interest me based on my history It s not e-commerce to your customer it s ME-commerce With that in mind let s start talking about enhancements you can make to your site!

10 Homepage Your virtual front door Visitors should be able to tell what you are selling right away Make it memorable & unique this is your brand identity Don t overload with text and Use white space to make content easy to read Good design can lead to conversion & add to credibility Differentiate yourself

11 Homepage

12 Product Information Product images not too small! Multiple angles or 360 spin Zoom or enlarge Accurate descriptions Quick View don t leave the page Short description Video more engaging than static imagery Top Seller? Call it out Display ratings and links to reviews Include links for any documentation Don t make them search for a manual Display inventory status Security Cross-sell & Up-sell

13 Product Information

14 Personalization & Profiling Using personalization and profiling tools to drive shopper satisfaction and retention They don t have a crystal ball or do they? Smart online retailers are using Web analytics to get an accurate picture of their customer Web analytics is just as beneficial to e- commerce sites as any other web site Where are they coming from? At what point are they leaving? What are they looking for? The more you know about your customer the better you can serve them.

15 Consumers like personalization How useful do you find personalized retail websites when shopping online? Useful 62% Neutral 32% Not Useful 6% Source: Forrester Research Inc. based on 636 consumers who purchased a recommended product

16 Personalization & Profiling The number of online retailers using personalization techniques and tools to create more relevant shopping experiences is increasing Everything you need to know in order to personalize is right there in the actions a customer performs past and present 61% of retailers said personalization is among the most important merchandising tactics in web retailing. -10th Annual E-tailing Group Merchant Survey

17 Personalization Works 1/3 of the Top 500 retailers used recommendations last year 1/2 do this year % of Top 500 retailers using recommendations Source: Internet Retailer magazine July 2011

18 User-Generated Content Everything is social & shared Customers trust other customers Uploading photos or videos Writing a product review Commenting on a blog post or news story Providing a rating for a product or service If the customer can add it to your site it qualifies

19 User-Generated Content Once upon a time when we wanted objective feedback on a product we d ask our neighbors, friends, associates or even a passerby. Consulting product reviews and other user-generated content is the online equivalent of asking your neighbor!

20 Product Reviews 64% of shoppers typically read reviews before buying 39% read at least 8 reviews 85% of consumers trust the shopping advice they get on Twitter * Source: The E-tailing Group

21 Mobile Commerce is not Mini Commerce According to Barclays Capital the projected growth of mobile commerce over the next 5 years: 2012 : $8.8 billion 2013: $14.0 billion 2014: $21.0 billion 2015: $28.7 billion Neilson Company predicts that half of all mobile phones in use in the US will be smartphones by the end of 2011 Poll Question: Do you have a mobile commerce site?

22 Going Mobile Very different from e-commerce site Only way to know if it works well is to view the site on each device Don t go there unless you re committed to retaining the brand experience you have on your e-commerce site Your customers perceive a mobile site within the entire brand & company experience consistency is key

23 Going Mobile As a colleague of mine says Don t shrink, rethink!

24 Going Social Social networks are an important part of e-commerce Between 1% and 2% of e-retail site traffic in November and December (of 2010) came from social media.* Public profiles on Facebook posted by consumers can be accessed by retailers Shopper brand & product preferences posted A Facebook Like is becoming a key factor in decision-making by shoppers No time to read all the reviews and ratings this is a quickie thumbs up, a great to have *Source: MarketLive

25 Some Traits of Successful Sites Simple & intuitive navigation Don t lose them at the front door Accurate sitemap that makes is easy to follow It s called a map for a reason, lost shoppers are hard to find again Never stop thinking like a customer

26 Checkout: Worth Review It s easy to forget how important the checkout process is to the customer Provide a Guest Checkout: 23% of shoppers will abandon when asked to register before checking out according to Forrester Research Don t punish the Guest checkout customer! Provide ability to track and get order status just as you would a registered customer Aim for 4 or less steps at checkout Display SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates, security badges, customer & BBB certified links these encourage trust with customers

27 How are Customers Paying? How customers are paying online (in billions)* Credit card $88.9 Debit card $57.2 Alternative payments $32.6 Prepaid/gift card $13.6 Store-branded credit card $12.2 Can you add some flexibility? It could mean more transactions. PayPal E-check Bill me later * Source: Javelin Strategy & Research, 2009 data

28 Cross-sell & Up-sell Implementing a cross-sell and up-sell strategy Just like the displays at store checkout counters Entice the buyer Products must be relevant You may also like Customers who bought Discounts and free shipping can push up-sell and cross-sell Benefit increase AOV

29 E-Commerce Success Criteria Personalized shopping Mobile & social commerce Online experience simulates in-store experience Accurate and up-to-date product information Shopper-generated content Promotions and s that are relevant More ways to pay and ship Real-time order information Intuitive and easy to navigate site

30 Empowered E-Commerce Engage in a consistent dialogue across channels Guide the shopper with contextual offers at exactly the right time Prompt their route with suggested next stops Coordinate their journey in an organized fashion Identify and overcome customer interaction challenges Understand customer experience at an individual and segment level Regularly test offers & promotions Target tests against segments to refine promotions

31 Step 1: Think Like a retailer, that is Start thinking like your customer Go through your site with a shopper s eye What do you see?

32 Improvements We Covered Today Using personalization and profiling tools to drive shopper satisfaction and retention Attracting and engaging more shoppers across channels with targeted offers Turning browsers into buyers with user-generated product reviews and ratings Reducing cart abandonment and increasing average order value Implementing a cross-sell and up-sell strategy

33 Takeaways There is no silver bullet for e-commerce success Rather it s a matter of testing and seeing what works best for you & your customer Shop your own site and pay attention to: Product descriptions & imagery are they accurate? Page load times what are they compared to what you expected? Checkout steps how many are there? When is shipping displayed? Run a few searches not simple ones - and note the results. Do you have a sitemap? Can you find customer service information? Does this site feel secure and protected from fraud? This is not an easy exercise but it will pay off.

34 Questions & Answers Webinar recording & slides: will be ed to you within 48 hours after the event Questions: type your questions in the chat window to be answered during the Q&A or after the event More educational resources: visit for white papers, ebooks, videos and more.