Spruce Up Your Storefront to Meet Holiday Shopping Demand: Special eTaildTail Guest Commentary

I have a special Guest Blog Commentary for the eTaildTail community today from our friends at SLI Systems. 

It is great read and helpful for the holidays to increase Webstore conversions.

Happy reading!

- Chip Arndt

Spruce Up Your Storefront to Meet Holiday Shopping Demand

By Geoff Brash, VP of Marketing, SLI Systems

With the holidays just around the corner, below are some tips for how you can deliver the best possible online shopping experience for your customers, and capture your share of online sales.  All of these tips are fairly simple and can be implemented in little to no time, so there’s no time like the present to get started (if you haven’t already!).

1. Create a “gift finder”: A gift finder is a useful tool that helps online shoppers find just the right gifts for the various people on their holiday lists. It’s easy to deploy, and can be promoted throughout your site. Generally, gift finders let people narrow their search by certain criteria, such as price, who the recipient is (kids, friends, co-workers and so on), or gift type. They’re then presented with a list of all the products that match those criteria. To see a good example, check out the gift finder on Vivre (click on “Giving” at the top of the page).

2. Prepare your site for holiday traffic: Make sure your site infrastructure can cope with the onslaught of holiday shoppers – you don’t want the site to perform slowly -- or worse,  crash – when people are trying to buy. This is one area where it might make sense to use hosted ecommerce technology solutions, so your site performance won’t drag during peak traffic times.

3. Make sure your site search results are relevant: The holidays are a great time to gain new customers, but if people can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll quickly move to one of your competitors – and possibly never come back. Try searching your site yourself. Does your site search deliver results that are relevant? Can it account for spelling errors? Can you provide results for those “long-tail” terms that aren’t as commonly used but have higher conversion rates? If you answered no to any of these questions, you might consider finding a new site search provider – one that can get your site up and running in very little time.

4. Show off holiday specials: Promote holiday merchandise or holiday-related items with on-site banners or other highly visible promotional tools. And be sure to use search terms visitors use on your site in these banners, so your messaging resonates.  You could also place the banners on site search results pages, when you have a captive audience.  If you offer free shipping for holiday purchases, heavily promote that benefit as well.

5. Put keyword data to work: To improve the chance that your products will show up on the first or second page of search engine results, review your site search activity and create landing pages related to the consumers’ likely search terms. Since customers may not be familiar with the brand names of your company’s products, optimize your site for the terms your visitors actually use – those they enter in the search box on your site.

Are you doing anything differently this year than last, or did you try something last year that worked so well you’re going to repeat it this year?

If so, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at geoff.brash AT sli-systems.com

Holiday Fixes To Your WebSite and SEO Search By Click Z

Friends of eTaildTail at Click Z have some great advice and "quick fix" help tips to optimize your Webstore for the Holidays.

It is a quick read and very helpful to all online merchants.

Here is the beginning of the article:

"It's that time of year again: just after Halloween and just before Thanksgiving. That means your Web site is probably frozen, with no more development possible. Your IT guys are bracing the site and making sure it can handle the traffic the holidays will (hopefully) bring. Usually at this time of year, I remind readers to harness the traffic in Q4 long after it's over or how to turn interactions like customer returns into acquisition opportunities.

Today, however, let's look at quick fixes you still have time to make to your site, even though it's technically locked down. Obviously, we will concentrate only on the easy things. Nothing on this list will change logic or technology on your site that your QA people will fuss over. Given that restriction, we can only address minor issues in this quick-fix list. But added together, these quick fixes could have a major impact on your success this holiday season.

Before the holiday season ramps up, try these fixes:..."

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full details.

- Chip Arndt

Credit Crunch Sends Shoppers Online for Cheaper Holiday Presents

It is nice to look at the cup half full, even in gloomy economic times. 

Or maybe it is just smart business to see that the collective world repsonse to the recent credit crunch market collapse, the stock market recovery today worldwide, and America's endless desire to consume may actually drive more shoppers to the internet to look for bargains and products for the Holidays.  We still "need" presents!

I don't believe that the online Holiday shopping season will be as robust as we have seen in the past, and it definately will not grow significantly beyond 5-7% over last year's performance, but online and mobile shopping will maintain itself and ecommerce merchants should be able to have an "okay" Holiday shopping season as:

1. people are used to shopping on line more and more
2. people are looking for bargains to save money and doing it online is easier, and
3. Americans are addicted to consumption

So here is the silver lining for the Holiday Shopping Season and how ecommerce merchants can prepare, as reported by eTaildTail friends at Tech Central.ie.

October 13, 2008

E-retailers Urged to Prepare For Christmas
Credit crunch sending shoppers online for cheaper presents

Businesses are being urged to ensure that their online stores are up-to-date and competitive as a growing number of shoppers turn to the internet for bargains.

A recent survey for ISP Eclipse Internet found that, with the credit crunch biting down, 54 per cent of respondents will be spending less this year on presents, and one in 10 are expected to buy more online thanks to lower prices and greater variety.

Around one in five now buy more than half of all Christmas presents online, jumping to nearly a third for 25 to 44 year-olds.

"The rising importance of online shopping has been accelerated by the current climate of economic uncertainty, with people looking to reduce the cost of Christmas without compromising too much on the overall event," said Mark Thomas, head of sales and marketing at Eclipse Internet.

Price and convenience are the two biggest factors driving shoppers off the high street and onto their PCs, according to the survey....

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to read full story

-- Chip Arndt

Gain Customers and Customer Loyalty During the Holidays: MerchantAdvantage and buySAFE Webinar

Hi eTaildTail community. I hope you can attend this free webinar on:

"Gaining Customers and Customer Loyalty During the Holidays."

Webinar Details: <<<CLICK HERE>>> to register
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM-2:30 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Pacific

Even during difficult economic times, consumers still shop online.

In fact, that will probably be the place they will shop most in an effort to save money rather than going to the “brick and mortar” stores.

Therefore, it is important to reach these customers cost-effectively and then build long-term relationships with them so that you maximize the ROI on your marketing spend.

During this 45 minute Webinar, buySAFE and MerchantAdvantage will provide precise steps any online retailer can take to reach and convert those consumers that are most likely to become a repeat customer during the Holiday season and beyond.

Online shopping, whether on a laptop or mobile device, continues to be the preferred way to reach new customers, build your brand, and gain customer loyalty.

As part of MerchantAdvantage’s A.M.M.O for 2008 series, October’s Webinar with co-host buySAFE will:

1. Show online retailers how to stay ahead of the competition by identifying, targeting and converting the most valuable Internet shoppers
2. Outline 4 phases using the "right" marketing channels to reach high-value shoppers during the Holidays to increase sales
3. Show online retailers how they can present their e-commerce products in front of millions of shoppers
4. Prove and show how any online retailer can afford to implement alternative, multi-channel marketing methods
5. Highlight a Case Study by buySAFE: "How buySAFE Increases Sales, Order Size , and Profitability"

Join us for this insightful 45 minute MerchantAdvantage Webinar presented by:

Chip Arndt, EVP & Co-founder of MerchantAdvantage with guest Tim Woda, Vice President, Business Development & Sales of buySAFE.

This Webinar will arm you with information you need to make smart, cost-effective marketing decisions in the online retail and mobile commerce world for the Holidays -- even during very diffiicult market conditions.

We look forward to seeing you online!

Webinar Details: <<<CLICK HERE>>> to register
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM-2:30 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Pacific

Have a great weekend!

- Chip Arndt

Will Consumers Be Shopping Online in a "Challenging" Retail Holiday Season?

Experts way in on this very precarious topic for all of us in the ecommerce and mobile commerce (mcommerce) industry for the holiday season.

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, which is owned by the great investor Warren Buffet, shares their valuable insights with us.  The article is an excellent overview of where we are and what to expect for online retail shopping during the Holiday shopping season. 

It is not as bleak as you might think, although it is not as optimisitic as I had hoped either.  We are definately in tough economic times but people are still shopping online more and more.

Here are some excerpts from the article and links to the whole article.  I suggesting reading it all; it's excellent and easy to digest.

Business Wire, October 1, 2008

Consumers Will Be Online in a Challenging Retail Holiday Season

"To understand consumers’ online research and spending plans this holiday season, Burst Media surveyed over 3,000 Internet users ages 18 and older in late August 2008 about their expected use of the Web for the upcoming holiday season.

With economic woes pervasive in news headlines, Burst fielded the survey again between September 21- 23, 2008 (n=1,247) to ascertain whether there had been a change in consumers’ planned holiday spending in the four weeks from the first survey. The number of consumers who plan to spend less this holiday season has increased since late August. While we cannot correlate this change with the economic climate, September data shows a significant shift from our earlier reading.

Among Important Demographic Segments – Moms, Men, and Higher Income Households – Spending Will..."

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to read full article.

-- Chip Arndt

Blueprint for Multichannel Sales Using Comparison Shopping Engines and Other Marketing Channels

Michael Lambert, CEO of MerchantAdvantage, and Jon Jessup, "Technical Envangelist" of Infopia, get up close and personal to help online merchants with their multi-channel marketing and sales' strategies.

MerchantAdvantage specializes in cost-effective, on-line tools to help online merchants send, optimize, and analyze their product catalog data and marketing campaigns when using any marketing channel, online shopping destination site, mobile commerce ("mcommerce") and comparison shopping engine.

Infopia is an e-commerce, business platform technology specialist with robust e-commerce and order management applications to work with eBay!, any marketing channel, and direct-to-consumer sales.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how any online merchant can increase sales and return on ad spend ("ROAS") in this free, 30-minute Webinar.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register. Yes, it is free!

Here are the details:

Topic: Blueprint for Multichannel Success

Building up the core of your online business—order and inventory management, marketing, and storefront capabilities—is crucial for success.

Another critical component is having a multichannel marketing plan that boosts sales. But all this requires sound planning.

A smart retailer knows how to use the eCommerce platform tools available to them and how to integrate various business applications before embarking on this journey. Get ahead of your competition by learning about winning multichannel strategies.

This free Webinar will cover:

• Marketing Channel Brief
• How To Use Marketing Channels Harmoniously
• Platform Concepts: Inventory Management, eCommerce Storefront, Order Management and CRM
• Open Platforms: Customization and Integration With Various Applications

Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM-2:30 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Pacific

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register. Yes, it is free!

I hope it helps...I know it will.

-- Chip Arndt

Get Elastic and FitForCommerce Free Webinar Helps Online Merchants Choose Best Online Technologies to Grow Sales

eTaildTail friends over at Get Elastic and FitForCommerce are teaming up and hosting a free webinar to help online merchants choose the best online technologies that can build their online business cost-effectively and efficiently. 

Each week Get Elastic has excellent advice and webinars for all online merchants to grow their business in a myriad of areas, such as: SEO and SEM advice, online shopping ideas, general site search and navigation methods, adword buys, technologies, and much more.

This month's webinar is free and should be a good one; it is titled:

The Art & Science of Choosing Ecommerce Technology
Date: August 14
Time: 9:00 am PST and 12:00 noon EST
Panelists: Bernardine Wu, CEO, FitForCommerce and Jason Billingsley, VP Innovation, Elastic Path Software

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to sign up, it is free.

Here is the overview:

Making the right choice is both harder and more important than you think. Attend this webinar to get step-by-step help from FitForCommerce, described in plain English! You'll learn:

• How to figure out what your ecommerce strategy and needs really are
• How to research ecommerce best practices and ecommerce technologies
• How to define and document your requirements
• How to assess the responses from the ecommerce solution providers; compare apples to apples
• How to select from your 'short list' of options

Sign up now and you will receive all 30 of FitForCommerce's "ecommerce Best Practices." You can learn about best practices for eCommerce Platforms, Web Analytics and Search Engine Marketing, to name just a few.

After you attend, you will also receive all 30 of FitForCommerce's "ecommerce Key Questions" to assist you in assessing ecommerce solution providers.

FitForCommerce™ experts help ecommerce businesses analyze business and technical requirements, leverage best practices, gain visibility to market offerings and select 'best fit' technology solutions. FitForCommerce's unique ecommerce Diligence™ process and toolkit ensures rigorous evaluation and knowledge-based decision-making.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to sign up, it is free.

I hope you can join them.  I am.

-- Chip Arndt

Increase Conversion Rates When Using Comparison Shopping Engines

Emails have come into eTaildTail recently in reference to my recent commentary titled: Why Online Merchants Should List Their Product Catalog on Comparison Shopping Engines.

Most of those emails ask questions related to Return on Add Spend ("ROAS"), when using comparison shopping engines and shopping destination sites, and how best to increase this very important business metric.

I defer to an excellent read over at Channel Advisor with Mark Vandegrift, who summarizes The Importance of Conversion Rate when using comparison shopping engines and shopping destination sites.

Channel Advisor is indeed in the same business that I am and my company MerchantAdvantage, and, while some might consider them a competitor, I prefer to see them as colleagues in helping online retailers around the globe gain more success when executing their ecommerce and mobile commerce strategies.

The Importance of Conversion Rate is a nice complimentary commentary to my prior blog. Here is the beginning of that commentary:

"How can I improve the return I get from Comparison Shopping Engines?"

"This is by far the question I hear most from merchants using CSEs. The answer is pretty simple: Improve your conversion rate. Making that happen, however, isn't quite as easy.

First, let's look at why conversion rate is so critical..." <<<CLICK HERE>>> to continue that read.

I hope that both commentaries help small to mid-sized business increase sales, and ROAS (conversions from clicks to sales) when using comparison shopping engines and shopping destination sites.

Welcome back from 4th of July weekend and onward we charge together.

Chip Arndt

Using Testimonials/Reviews Effectively: How Credibility Indicators Can Help (or Hurt) Your Conversions

l Yes, I love MarketingExperiments free Webinars.

These webinars have a great track record of helping my clients on numerous issues. 

If you want to learn more about how "reviews/testimonials" can help, or hurt, drive traffic to your webstore and convert visitors to buyers, may I suggest signing up for Dr. Flint McGlaughlin's free webinar July 9.

Details below,

Happy 4th of July weeek and weekend.

Chip Arndt

Join a FREE July 9, 2008 MarketingExperiments Webinar

Topic:  Using Testimonials/Reviews Effectively: How Credibility Indicators Can Help (or Hurt) Your Conversions

When: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 – 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. EDT

Presenter: Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, Director, MarketingExperiments

Is "testimonial blindness" the new "banner blindness"?

As more and more websites use these credibility indicators,
marketers need to know if these elements really work, if they're
just cluttering up pages, or worse – hurting results.

During this free, one-hour Web Clinic, we will:

– Examine recent tests that increased (and reduced) conversions
– Discuss proven ways to use testimonials more effectively
– Review and optimize attendees' landing pages (time permitting)

NOTE: To be considered for a live landing page review, please
include your sign-up page URL when you register.

eBay! Changes and What Sellers Should Do

As I say often, I gladly rely on friends of eTaildTail who are far more knowledgable about certain products, marketing efforts and areas of ecommerce than me.

Debbie Levitt, President of AsWas, a company that specializes in helping small to mid-sized businesses work more productively with eBay!, is one of those people.

If any of you out there in ecommerce land work with eBay!, in any capacity, you want to attend this AsWas FREE webinar!

Happy eBay! selling.

Chip Arndt

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register for this FREE Webinar on how to work more productively and intelligently with eBay!

From AsWas and Debbie Levitt, President and CEO:

Tuesday, July 1: Free webinar on -- "eBay! Changes and What Sellers Should Do"

"eBay! has been making a lot of changes, and more are coming!

Let's talk about what's going on and how you should and need to respond to these. This webinar will look at the announced changes, possible future changes, and how to stay compliant and ahead of things!

We will be live on a phone call and you will be viewing our presentation. So if possible, please be at a phone and computer!"

This webinar is on Tuesday, July 1 at 11am Pacific Time|2pm Eastern Time.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to register for this FREE Webinar on how to work more productively and intelligently with eBay!