The Rocket Newsletter

February 2009

Has it stopped snowing yet? Our obsession with the weather caused Twitter to crash due to all the chat about it. This is yet another indication that the UK market is one of the (if not the) most advanced in Internet terms, and further emphasises the essential need for brands to have a solid web strategy for engaging with their customers. This month we're all about "commitment"...we hope you find the content of value. 

The Customer Journey - Commitment

How to make them buy - turning your visitors into customers

Presuming you have followed Propellernet's process your engagement strategy should be working well for your business. You will have helped your potential customers weigh up their options and your advocates will be helping sway their decision making process in your direction. Their fantastic recommendations and warts 'n' all overview of your product and services has minimised the perceived risk of commitment and your product matches their budget. Bingo!

Why do people change their mind just before they buy?

So are they going to buy? All the indicators are pointing in the right direction aren't they? Is there anything else that could put them off? Consider this...have you as a consumer set out to buy a product from a site recommended to you, only to change your mind at the very last minute and buy the same product, for more money elsewhere? It is certainly quite a common occurrence, but why?

Things which may put people off are:

  • A convoluted/confusing user journey to make a purchase/commitment
  • Hidden costs not shown up front such as delivery charges and taxes
  • Poor delivery timescales
  • Unclear product descriptions lacking detail and user recommendations on the site
  • Requesting too much information from the customer too soon
  • Caveats such as "By agreeing to our terms and conditions you also agree to receive our hourly marketing newsletter" or something similar.

There are probably a few others you may have experienced. The key thing for any brand is to make the whole commitment phase easy. Ensure the purchase feels low risk. Make sure there are no hidden elements which have not been brought to the consumer's attention in advance. If you've defined the online "sales funnel" for your website (and we're sure you have) you should also segment this by the routes of entry to the site. This will establish which routes through the funnel are the most and least effective. Then use the analytics to understand the reasons why...for both types.

Focus on the route to purchase and test

Things to look out for are relevance of content to the expectation set at the point of entry. Next track the process that then follows. Look for any areas with high drop-out rates. Pay close attention to relevancy, look and feel of the content and imagery throughout. Take an open minded approach to the process and be prepared to try and test new things, you'll be surprised at the combinations which are successful...and if you didn't know, achieving the most optimum "commitment" route can be automated for you at very little cost. Of course, if you're a little unsure of how to approach this or just need a fresh set of experienced eyes to look at your onsite "commitment engine" we're here if you need us.

If you found this article of value, then make sure you receive our monthly newsletter. The next phase we will cover is "experience" which ideally leads to loyalty and brings up some reputation management issues as well. It will be interesting. Of course, if you can't wait this long you can always contact us at rocket@propellernet.co.uk.

Best regards,

Client Corner - Top Tips for Marketing During a Recession

One of our travel clients experienced its busiest month on record for online holiday bookings in the month of January 2009 - the same time the UK officially entered a recession. 

A lot of this recent success can be attributed to the integrated approach to online that we took with them - running their paid search, natural search, link development and online PR all in a parallel strategy. Now maybe you are thinking... great for them, but how does that help me? Well we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to provide you with some lessons learnt.

Top tips for marketing during a recession:

  • Eavesdrop. There are lots of buzz monitoring tools you can use to listen to your customers online. FREE customer research is invaluable at a time when you need to be improving the products and services you offer your customers.
  • Get personal. Talk to your customers and understand what really motivates them - giving them a platform to voice their views and opinions is more likely to get them excited about your brand. Consider free survey tools like Survey Monkey.
  • Move some budgets online. If you're cutting marketing budgets, be careful not to cut off the hand that feeds you completely. Often it's better to switch some of your offline budgets to more transparent and cost effective online channels. The short and long term benefits of an online strategy can be huge in comparison!
  • Take an integrated approach to search.  Running paid and natural search campaigns in parallel allows you to share research and learning's, while increasing exposure and if done well, over time you should be able to reduce your paid spend as your SEO efforts gain more coverage. Also paid offers a great short term strategy for offer lead keywords, allowing you to be much more reactive to seasonality, whilst natural allows for the development of a solid long term traffic source.
  • Obsess about conversion rates. It may not sound healthy to obsess about anything, but if you're targeting the right keywords yet you're only converting 2% of users - start asking yourself what's happening to other 98%! Think about what the impact to your business and the bottom line would be if this conversion rate rose to 3% or even 4%.  Are you landing traffic on the right pages? Is there a clear and concise message with an obvious call to action?
  • Get social. Once you know who your customers are don't be afraid to talk to them. It's cost-effective but needs commitment and resource from marketers (and we can help too). This may also help - Top 10 tips for brand engagement via social media.
Chris Clapham

Staff Profile

Name: Chris Clapham
Role: Marketing Manager

Why Propellernet?
Propellernet's whole strategy and especially their integrated approach to managing online visibility for clients impressed me from the outset. The agency is made up of a great group of people, who have all been really friendly, welcoming and they know their stuff too. All this coupled with the seaside location convinced me that Propellernet was the right move for me!

Interesting Fact:
My biggest claim to fame is through my cousin Stuart whose misspent youth growing up with director Garth Jennins formed the basis for the recent film 'Son of Rambo'.

 

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Rocket News

  • The rocket gets their running shoes on
    Jack, Linda, Stu, Gavin, Annelies and Chris are getting set to run the Brighton half marathon on Feb 22nd
  • Snow on Brighton beach
    Check out some of our pictures on Flickr.
  • Propellernet get social
    We have launched our very own social media network to share ideas and facilitate conversations about all things digital. If you would like to take part in the conversations then drop an email to rocket@propellernet.co.uk introducing yourself and we can arrange an invitation.