the 7 pillars of ecommerce

The 7 Pillars of Ecommerce

A beginners guide to promoting & selling over the internet

I’m here to convert you

"I know half the money I spend

on advertising is wasted, but I

can never find out which half.”

John Wanamaker 1838 - 1922

Numbers to know

•  Online spend 2009: – Will rise 13.3% to £20.9 billion

•  By 2013: –  Set to reach £31.2 billion

•  That’s 10% of total retail spending…only!

Shopping habits have changed

•  Pre internet

Shopping habits have changed

• With internet

Pillar 1

The Conversion Rate

What is: Conversion rate

“The percentage of people that visit your website and actually buy

something”

Calculate: Conversion rate

No. Transactions / Unique Visitors

X 100

= % CONVERSION RATE

•  Targeted, qualified traffic

•  Higher conversion

Measure: Conversion rate

And don’t worry, it’s really easy!!

Google Analytics is FREE

Pillar 2

Usability

•  Usability –  Simple & instinctive to use –  People are Cognitive Misers –  Design Pages for scanning not for reading –  Talk in the same language as your users –  Prioritise the key information (users look for) above

the fold –  Trust and credibility need to be reinforced

Pillar 2: Usability

Pillar 2: Usability

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Usability: the homepage

•  The homepage – Most valued property on a website – Make it obvious what you do/if you sell –  Use it to spell-out the big picture –  Prominent internal search –  Seasonal campaign activity –  Resolution: 1024 x 768 –  Deep link into core areas –  Over the fold!

An example of a good homepage: Matthew Williamson

www.matthewwilliamson.com

a good homepage

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a good homepage

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Good, clear search

Deep link into site

High impact, current image

Clear navigation

Usability: product detail page

•  Product detail page –  Focus on one button – buy now –  The more images the better –  Detail on demand –  Zoom is essential –  Cross-sell/Up-sell –  Show delivery and availability info –  Share capabilities

An example of a good product detail page: Net-a-Porter

www.net-a-porter.com

a good homepage

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a good homepage

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THE PRODUCT IS THE HERO!

Alternative views Zoom options

Clear and prominent buy button.

Share capabilities

Pillar 3

The Checkout

Pillar 3: the checkout

YOUR CUSTOMER IS WAITING AT THE TILL WITH THEIR CREDIT CARD READY…

…WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

Pillar 3: the checkout

•  Sites lose over 50% of their customers at the checkout…

Why?

+  Just window shopping

+  I don’t want to register / Why do I have to register? I just want to buy this item and get on with my life

+  Too many clicks...Every click is a friction node where you will lose visitors

+  I don’t feel safe using my credit card

An example of a good checkout: Links of London

www.linksoflondon.com

07957519012

07957519012

Encapsulated checkout – i.e. no global navigation

Product details including delivery charges and payment options clearly laid out

Peace of mind

New customers not requested to enter email at this stage

Product details etc on every page in the checkout

Clear indication of section complete + ability to go back and edit

Prominent and clear call to action

Product details etc on every page in the checkout

Clear delivery and billing details

Pillar 4

Engage your audience

Pillar 4: Engage…

•  People don’t buy first time

•  Will they remember to come back?

•  What makes your site so special?

•  Make it fun but have a point

An example of good, commercially focused engagement: Links of London’s ‘interactive charm maker’

www.linksoflondon.com

Grab and drag charms emulating the real experience!

Click straight to checkout

An example of good, commercially focused engagement: Matches Fashion ‘Shop the Catwalk’ feature

www.matchesfashion.com

Video of catwalk plays with option of clicking to product detail

An example of good, commercially focused engagement: Coast ‘Style Notes’ feature

www.coast-stores.com (feature now offline)

Pillar 5

Search

Pillar 5: Search

•  Over 60% use search engines

•  Natural Search (aka organic) –  Achieved through SEO

•  PPC (Pay Per Click) –  Google, Yahoo, Bing

NATURAL SEARCH RESULTS

PAID FOR SEARCH RESULTS

Searchers behavior

SEO can work fast

•  To get ‘top ranking’ in Natural results.. –  Site build using SEO friendly CMS –  Good content –  External links…(buying links doesn’t work)

Search facts

•  60%+ search phrases now 3+ words •  90%+ 2+ words •  Being top of organic and paid (PPC) improves:

–  CTR –  Brand Awareness –  Recall –  Purchase Intent –  Conversion

Dixons.co.uk

Pillar 6

Email

Email: Retention

A customer is for life…

not just for Christmas…

Email marketing

•  Registered customers are like gold dust •  Highest spenders •  Highest converters •  Lowest CPA (cost per acquisition)

•  SO LOOK AFTER THEM!

Email stats

•  Returning customers: –  Spend up to 30% more

–  Cost you up to 70% less

•  Email open rates: 20% - 30%

• Click through: 25%

• Cold lists: 5%

Low hanging fruit

•  Most retailers not doing the basics •  50% happy to give you email address •  URL behind the till •  At check in •  On the readout •  On the display aisles

Email: Quick-fire tactics

• Decrease shopping cart abandon rates –  Email customer with offer after 3 – 6 days

–  Up to 30% come back

• Own the customer: auto email –  Thank you email

–  Check out new product

–  Incentive

Pillar 7

Social

Social media has now become ubiquitous

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184 million bloggers

73% of active online users have read a blog

45% have started their own blog

57% have joined a social network

55% have uploaded photos

83% have watched video clips

39% subscribe to an RSS feed

Source: Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends April 2008

Social media marketing

•  Generation ‘why?’ •  People listen to their peers •  Onsite reviews increase conversions

Harness the power

•  Wikis: Wikipedia •  Social networking: MySpace &

Facebook •  Presence apps: Twitter •  Video Sharing: You Tube •  Virtual Reality: Second Life •  Engagement: Blogging

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Harness the power

•  Wikis: Wikipedia •  Social networking: MySpace &

Facebook •  Presence apps: Twitter •  Video Sharing: You Tube •  Virtual Reality: Second Life •  Engagement: Blogging

An example of a good Facebook App: Anya Hindmarch ‘Be a Bag’

www.anyahindmarch.com

Case study: Anya Hindmarch

Case study: Anya Hindmarch

•  Upload image to ‘Be a Bag’ application

•  Naturally viral

•  Commercial value

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An example of an integrated blog: Jigsaw ‘Inside Jigsaw’

www.jigsaw-online.com

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Products in blog pages link direct to ecommerce site

Encourage visitors to leave an email address

Links to main ecommerce site always visible

Pillar 8 **BONUS

?

Number of searches on Google from iPhones surpassed those from all other phones at Christmas.

German iPhone users consume 30 times more data.

95% of iPhone customers regularly surf the Internet.

Google sees 50 times the number of searches using the iPhone than any other mobile device.

In summary

•  Measure and track everything

•  Usability is key to success

•  Perfect the checkout or lose $$$

•  Engage with your customers

•  Search is king, get your site ranking

•  Email can be very powerful

•  Use Social to connect with customers

•  Keep an eye on emerging tech

Thanks for listening

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