|
About
Advertising
and Promotion
September
30, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Four
Ways to Grow Your Email List"
Customers
will more readily sign up for email campaigns that include
no-strings-attached insights...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
30, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Understanding
That Viral Isn't Really Social Media"
Viral
campaigns are fleeting. They create buzz and draw interest to get
people to talk about them. Social media campaigns are designed to
not just engage the influencers, but to engage an entire base of fans or
audience members and keep those conversations going in the long term...
http://www.clickz.com
September
29, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Email
Marketers On Board with Best Practices"
Seven
in 10 marketers use email segmentation, with a further 14% planning to do
so in the future. Web analytics is even more popular...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
29, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Men
and Women and the Inbox: Is
There Real Impact?"
Look
at response rates, complaint and unsubscribe requests, and buying habits
by gender, and see if there are differences by offer type, subject line,
time of day, or frequency...
http://www.clickz.com
September
27, 2010
From
E-Commerce Times:
"Cross-Channel
Marketing:
Three-Pronged
Approach"
In
a cross-channel marketing environment, since the marketing messages need
to be orchestrated over time and channels, unplanned cross-channel
marketing can cause more harm than good...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
September
25, 2010
From
Search Engine Watch:
"5
Link Marketing Strategies for the Holiday Season"
Link
building strategies can increase exposure and search engine
rankings. Some are bolder, such as a viral marketing contest, and
others as simple, such as asking customers for links...
http://searchenginewatch.com
September
24, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Email
Campaign Testimonials:
How
to Maximize Customer Praise"
What
was it about a particular customer's experience that will impress the
general audience? Was it customer service over and above the call of
duty?
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
23, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Strong
Growth for Local Online Advertising"
Advertisers
will spend $13.7 billion on local online ads this year, a number set to
increase 17.5% to $16.1 billion in 2011...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
23, 2010
From Search Engine
Watch:
"5
Overlooked Actionable Benefits of Attribution"
By
being able to see the entire purchase path for all conversions, a marketer
is given key insights into not only the performance of their ads, but also
many overlooked actionable benefits...
http://searchenginewatch.com
September
22, 2010
From
MarketingVOX:
"4
Underutilized Online Marketing Tools That Really Do Lead to Sales - and One,
Not So Much"
Only
23% of retailers have live chat on their sites, despite research
indicating retailers with live chat functionality boast 87% more unique
visitors...
http://www.marketingvox.com
September
22, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"The
Bare-Bones Checklist of Online Marketing"
Assess
your industry to discover where consumers are looking for your service or
product. Then, see how people use these sites to find you.
Does the site have a listings service, a forum, or another venue for you to
participate?
http://www.clickz.com
September
21, 2010
From
Harris Interactive:
"Integrating
Social Media Monitoring and Text Analytics"
With
the growing use of social networking sites, word-of-mouth has become a
real, persistent, and continuous growth channel with active online peer-to-peer
interactions delivering a level of influence that is only expected to
escalate...
http://www.harrisinteractive.com
September
21, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"7
Ways to Make Your Social Media Marketing Work Harder"
With
social media, calls to action comprise a broad array of options such as
likes, social sharing, comments, reviews, and RSS feeds...
http://www.clickz.com
September
20, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Email
Retargeting to More Than Double"
Get
back potential customers who may have begun and abandoned a conversion
activity...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
17, 2010
From
Retailer Daily:
"Online
Coupons Save Consumers $57M"
During
the first half of 2010, online coupon traffic measured about 80.25 million
users, a 49% increase from the first half of 2009...
http://www.retailerdaily.com
September
16, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Engaging
Mom Blog Readers with the Right Ads"
The
top characteristic of favorite mom blogs is being budget-oriented, which
came ahead of being informative, humorous, relatable or even fast to
read...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
16, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Why
You Might Want to Send an Email on Sunday"
Don't
just assume that weekdays are the best time to reach your customers.
If you check your email over the weekend, it stands to reason that they
might, too...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
15, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Create
a Media Plan and an Engagement Plan"
Map
not just where your creative will be placed, but what people will be
encouraged to do when they see and click on your ads. 10 quick items
that one would map out in a standard customer engagement plan...
http://www.clickz.com
September
15, 2010
From DM
News:
"E-mail
Open Rates Steady, But Inboxes Increasingly Cluttered"
Editorial
or service communications can be used for brand-building opportunities
when marketers send targeted messages and offers. Service messages
have the highest open and click rates, at 42.5% and 7.7%, respectively...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
15, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"How
Your Social-Media Strategy Is Stifling You"
Relax
and speak more authentically, offer up more of your own unique insights -
this can only add value to your messages...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
14, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"How
Social Media Is Changing Brand Marketing"
Attempts
to find superficial social success might be leading brands to create a
presence on networks that did not fit with the brand's personality or use
inappropriate campaigns in the hopes that one would go viral, even if it
did not truly convey the brand's message...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
14, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Five
Lessons From the Social Media Frontlines"
The
same motivators that work for direct marketing also work for social
media. We are still moved to action by emotion, direction, and
urgency. Adding calls to action increases clicks, engagement, and
sharing by up to 60%...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
13, 2010
From DM
News:
"Integrated
Marketing Is Not About the Creative Work"
Creative
concepts may not translate well from medium to medium. What is far
more important is to showcase your offer in the most effective way
possible in any particular medium...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
11, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Challenges
of Cross-Channel Marketing Integration"
The
goals of cross-channel campaigns are ones shared by virtually all
marketers. Their top priorities in cross-channel marketing are to
increase conversion and acquire new customers...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
10, 2010
From
E-Commerce Times:
"Teaching
Sales and Web Strategies to Sing in Harmony"
Seven
steps to craft a digital strategy that is well aligned to both sales and
marketing...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
September
10, 2010
From
MarketingVOX:
"Customer
Service As An E-mail Marketing Touch Point"
Once
the customer buys, why stop at just informing them that their order has
been placed? Why not invite the customer back to your site to answer
some survey questions, or write a story about how they plan to use the new
product they just bought?
http://www.marketingvox.com
September
10, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"B2C
Outpacing B2B in Social Measurement"
Marketers
expect to nearly double social marketing dollars from just under 6% of
total marketing budgets to just under 10%...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
9, 2010
From
MarketingVOX:
"4
Online Marketing Survey Tactics That Break Through the Noise"
The
phrasing of questions impacts the information people divulge...
http://www.marketingvox.com
September
9, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Four
Rotten Marketing Thoughts to Avoid at All Cost"
Social
media has great value as an extension of any lead generation and nurturing
effort but no single channel can ever deliver all the elements necessary
for an effective marketing program...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
7, 2010
From
MarketingVOX:
"E-mail
Drives Consumer Purchases. Does
Anything Else Matter?"
51%
of consumers are more likely to make an in-store purchase as a result of a
marketing email...
http://www.marketingvox.com
September
7, 2010
From
Search Engine Watch:
"Pay-Per-Click
or Search Engine Optimization"
In
the long term, SEO traffic can potentially far exceed what you would get
through PPC on the same budget, and will keep going long after you switch
off the spend...
http://searchenginewatch.com
September
6, 2010
From
Retailer Daily:
"Retail
Email Volume Grows 8% Annually in August"
Top
online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.6 promotional emails on
average during the week ending August 27...
http://www.retailerdaily.com
September
3, 2010
From DM
News:
"Simple
List Segmentation for Small Business"
Divide
your lists into the following nine buckets: three for recency, three
for frequency, three for monetary...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
2, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Brands
Undervalue Social Media for Customer Service"
While
marketers may have different objectives than those working in the customer
service department, it's important to have a cross-channel strategy and
integrate outreach to gain maximum exposure and positive chatter about
your brand online...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
1, 2010
From DM
News:
"Preference
Seekers Are the Sweet Spot in Your E-Mail Strategy"
The
top three things a marketer should demonstrate he knows about a customer
are the types of products and services he likes, the types of offers he
likes, and whether or not he is a loyal shopper or a first-time visitor...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
1, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Tis
the Season for Holiday E-Mails"
Send
messages that highlight web site improvements made since the last holiday
season, such as improved search, added delivery options, new product
collections or brands, or new content that helps customers make purchase
decisions...
http://www.internetretailer.com
|
About
Customer
Service
September
29, 2010
From
LexiConn:
"Are
Your Shipping Options Losing You Sales?"
Instead
of a dropdown menu for shipping, use a radio button system. This way
all of the options are clearly visible on the screen...
http://www.lexiconn.com
September
28, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Online
Shoppers Spending More Time on Manufacturer Web Sites"
Manufacturers
should offer store location tools - for instance, a list of online
retailers that carry the manufacturer's products - along with information
about what products are in stock and item prices...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
24, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"The
Future Shopper"
Technological
and social advances over the next few years will force companies to
embrace authenticity, improve customer experiences, or suffer the
consequences...
http://www.clickz.com
September
24, 2010
From
Marketing Charts:
"Consumers
Prefer Text Coupons"
45%
of consumers prefer to receive mobile coupons via text message, another
28% prefer to find mobile offers using an app, and 27% opt-in to receive
mobile coupons at the store...
http://www.marketingcharts.com
September
21, 2010
From
E-Commerce Times:
"Bridging
the Online-Offline Shopping Divide With 2D Tags"
2D
tagging technology directly enhances the retail experience by giving
consumers instant access to specific, relevant information they want - at the
moment they're engaged in a buying decision...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
September
20 , 2010
From
Retailer Daily:
"Online
Shoppers Research Big Ticket Items"
Retail
websites (45%), search engines (40%) and retailer emails (35%) were the
top three resources buyers used to conduct online research...
http://www.retailerdaily.com
September
17, 2010
From
Practical eCommerce:
"10
Ways to Make Category Pages More Shopper-Friendly"
If
you paginate products (displaying a set number of items per page), include
the option to adjust how many products load on each page. Besides Next
and Previous buttons, multi-page categories should include
linked page numbers...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
15, 2010
From
Practical eCommerce:
"Ten
Must-Do Items This Holiday Season"
Provide
site search and use it to your advantage. Site search can help
customers locate products faster, particularly if site navigation isn't
good or if the customer does not want to step through site navigation
structure regardless of how good it is...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
13, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Three
Tips for Easier Website Conversions"
There's
a thin line between customer choice and confusion. Use careful
product selection, an appeal to the emotions and the interactive functions
of your website to help guide visitors smoothly toward conversion...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
10, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Follow
This: How to Create a Compelling Reason to Gain Permission"
Eight
key questions to ask to make sure wherever your customers and prospects
are interacting with you, that you make it easy for them to do whatever
they came to do...
http://www.clickz.com
September
8, 2010
From MarketingProfs.com:
"Improve Your Website by Removing These Four Things"
There's little upside to Flash-based wizardry that hinders the visitor
experience and impedes search engine optimization...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
7, 2010
From
Search Engine Watch:
"Reach
Holiday Shoppers Penny-Wise and Pound-Wiser"
Have
mobile ads appear with a link to dial the store directly from an iPhone,
Android, etc. Capture foot traffic while shoppers' interest is at
its peak!
http://searchenginewatch.com
September
6, 2010
From
Practical eCommerce:
"Ten
Great Ecommerce Ideas for September 2010"
Impress
your customers after their first order with a shipping upgrade, a special
discount or store credit for future purchases...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
1, 2010
From
E-Commerce Times:
"Interacting
With the Connected Customer: Don't Forget the Cake"
The
connected consumer puts even more emphasis on getting the core
competencies right when interacting with customers...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
|
About
Webstore
Management
September
30, 2010
From
Forrester Research:
"Online
Retailers Ramping Up Global Expansion Efforts"
Nearly
three-quarters of retailers are already sending merchandise abroad from
their home country's distribution center, with an additional 17 percent
having an established foreign warehouse in place...
http://www.forrester.com
September
30, 2010
From
MarketingVOX:
"High
Fashion Designers Take Their Storefronts Online - Finally"
Designers
are following the same trail other stores and brands have taken to find
success online, reaching out to customers via social media...
http://www.marketingvox.com
September
29, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Five
Tools, Four Ways to Find Just the Right Keywords"
Look
at each search request as a question. If you can provide useful
answers, you're more likely to convert your visitors to customers or
clients...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
29, 2010
From
Nielsen Wire:
"More
Shoppers Intend to Buy, but U.S. Holiday Sales Likely to Remain Flat"
Value
retailers will attract shoppers, but online retailers will see the biggest
surge...
http://blog.nielsen.com
September
28, 2010
From
Practical eCommerce:
"5
SEO Reminders That Can Drive Holiday Traffic"
Customers
think and behave differently as they move through the conversion
funnel. General product landing pages targeted to customers in the
early stage of the funnel should include introductory copy explaining what
the product is, what it does, and what its general features and benefits
are...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
28, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Retailers
Increasing Spending on Internet, Mobile Channels"
83%
of retailers expect investments in their website architectures to either
increase or significantly increase over the next 12 months...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
28, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Fix
Your Writing or Suffer Lower Conversion Rates"
The
preferred structure for most Web writing is the inverted pyramid. It
uses the principle of primacy (ordering) to control saliency
(importance). In this style of writing, you put your conclusions and
key points first...
http://www.clickz.com
September
27, 2010
From The
Globe and Mail:
"More
Canadians Shopping on Net"
Canadians
used the Internet to place more than 95 million orders in 2009...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
September
27, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Catering
to Affluent Shoppers Online"
Affluent
customers expect online shopping to be a form of entertainment.
Video is an appropriate delivery mechanism for some of those entertainment
experiences...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
25, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Consumers
Force Retailers to Adopt Social Strategy"
Retailers'
top key performance indicator for social media is the quality of consumer
insights they gleaned from social efforts, followed closely by number
of repeat visitors, and quality of new sales leads...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
24, 2010
From
Search Engine Watch:
"How
to Create Site Information Architecture"
Without
a proper architecture, sites tend to wander aimlessly with no clear
direction or pathing, so users don't get the information they need; you
don't get the conversions you desire; and over time the site languishes...
http://searchenginewatch.com
September
23, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Five
Ways to Improve Email Deliverability"
A
compelling welcome message is essential as it sets the tone for what
readers can expect...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
23, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"E-Retailers
Are Cautiously Optimistic About the Holiday Season"
79%
of online retailers expect their sales to grow, but most of them project
growth of no more than 10%...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
22, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Happy
Online Holidays"
Overall
holiday sales will increase just 2% over last year, while non-store sales,
about two-thirds of which occur online, will jump 15%...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
22, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"How
to Build a Content Time Bomb"
By
writing blog posts in a format that is likely to be found, you can bring
more incremental traffic to your blog by driving people to content you
have already written rather than just to your latest post...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
21, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Five
Reasons Why Social Media Is Right for Small Business"
Social-media
activity shows prospects who you are, what you do, and how and where you
do it. They will see you as a trusted source of information, a
critical factor when it comes time for them to make a decision...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
20, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Does
Free Shipping Pay Off?"
Test
what works best with different product categories and pricing strategies -
for example, offering free standard shipping only for light-weight but
high-margin products, or setting a minimum order value...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
19, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"From
Redesign to Launch:
Tips
and Tricks"
When
you rebrand your company and dramatically change your site, you will
necessarily alienate your customers for a while as they get used to the
new site. You will probably see a period of adjustment, in terms of conversion, as
your users get used to how the new site operates...
http://www.clickz.com
September
17, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Three
Ways to Find Negative Keywords"
Negative
keywords allow you to take advantage of the broad-match option - meaning
you can capture a greater variety of queries and more long-tail traffic
- while still restricting your impressions...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
17, 2010
From CNET:
"Social-Media
Malware Hurting Small Businesses"
To
address the malware and privacy risks from social networks, 57 percent of
SMBs have social media policies in place. And most use staff to
actively enforce those policies...
http://news.cnet.com
September
16, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Achieve
Less Din, More Dialogue With Your Social-Media Presence"
Social
media is less about creating marketing opportunities and more about
engaging people, above and beyond marketing. It's less about buying
a presence through a new advertising channel and more about earning
consideration as your brand and customers (and influencers) interact...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
16, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Is
It Acquisition or Is It Retention?"
If
existing customers are using PPC search to come back to the site, is that
the most effective and efficient means of getting them to do business with
us again?
http://www.clickz.com
September
14, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"The
Naysayers of Landing Page Optimization"
Your
landing page does not exist in a vacuum. It is possible that your
business has significant offline marketing components, multiple
distribution channels, alliances, and partnership agreements of various kinds. Some of
these may restrict your ability to test various aspects of your landing
page...
http://www.clickz.com
September
14, 2010
From
Practical eCommerce:
"Performance
Metrics for Ecommerce"
The
Holy Grail of ecommerce is selling more to each individual customer, since
cost of acquisition (PPC advertising, emailing marketing monthly fees, and
display advertising) can be a major expense...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
13, 2010
From DM
News:
"Better
Analytics Drive Better Creative"
Through
attribution measurement, credit can be given to channels that customers
touch or see before their last click...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
13, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Have
We Gone Too Far With Targeting?"
Turn
targeting tools inward and focus more on the ability to target people who
are already engaged to provide them with a better experience, rather than
simply trying to get more people to buy stuff...
http://www.clickz.com
September
9, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Create
a Mobile Buzz Users Will Remember"
The
most time should be spent on building a mobile commerce site that delivers
an experience that's personal and relevant to the end user...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
9, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"Quantity
vs. Quality: What Gets You Ahead in Social Media?"
Growing
your base audience is important; monitoring how that happens is
critical. Is it other influencers that are bringing you new
fans? Is it your content? Is it the exclusive information you
are giving to your audience?
http://www.clickz.com
September
8, 2010
From ClickZ.com:
"Why Merchandising Must Get Social"
Reviews (especially negative reviews) give a realistic depiction of
performance, leading to more satisfied buyers and decreased returns.
And user generated content can point out product details to help shoppers
make the exactly right purchase for them...
http://www.clickz.com
September
8, 2010
From USC Annenberg School:
"2010 Digital Future Report"
For the first time, the Internet is used by more than 80 percent of
Americans - now 82 percent. The average time online has now reached 19
hours per week...
http://www.digitalcenter.org
September
8, 2010
From Practical eCommerce:
"Unique Content Good for Search Engines, Good for Consumers"
If revenue is the most important goal of content creation, then take
special care to optimize that content for conversion...
http://www.practicalecommerce.com
September
3, 2010
From
eMarketer.com:
"Online
Holiday Shopping Preview: What
Retailers Need to Know"
The
same bargain-hunting attitude adopted during the past two holiday seasons
is likely to define shopping behavior again this year. Consumers
will go online to find coupons, compare prices on shopping engines and
research items, even if they plan to buy them in-store...
http://www.emarketer.com
September
3, 2010
From
InternetRetailer.com:
"Most
Web Shoppers Shop Online at Least Once a Week"
83%
of online buyers shop on the web at least once a week.
31% check
retailers' social media pages...
http://www.internetretailer.com
September
3, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"A
Deliverable E-mail Address Does Not a Relationship Make"
Six
ways to boost engagement and maintain a connection with a larger portion
of your e-mail file...
http://www.clickz.com
September
2, 2010
From
ClickZ.com:
"How
to Help Your Business Prosper: 3
Questions to Ask"
Search
is an inexpensive research mechanism for business. New international
markets, new vertical markets, or different customer segments can be understood
using search...
http://www.clickz.com
September
2, 2010
From
E-Commerce Times:
"How
to Build a Better Business Blog"
A
blog is a quick, low-pressure way to get your customers to engage with
you, but surprisingly few businesses ever think to include a link to their blogs
in any prominent manner on their home pages...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
September
2, 2010
From
MarketingProfs.com:
"Formulate
Your Content Strategy in 10 Simple Steps"
What
value does your content deliver directly to people? What value does
it deliver indirectly - the payback you get for telling someone else about
it? The direct value is the content's social currency, and there are five types of
value...
http://www.marketingprofs.com
September
2, 2010
From DM
News:
"Jump-Start
a Local Search Marketing Program"
Put
yourself in your customer's shoes when promoting your business.
Think about what keywords you would type into a search engine to find your
business. Build your program around those phrases and words...
http://www.dmnews.com
September
1, 2010
From
Search Engine Watch:
"Re-Thinking
Relevance in Link Building"
The
best place to start looking for links is from every non-competitive site
that is really passionate about your subject. But don't just beg
them for links. Share that passion with them...
http://searchenginewatch.com
|