SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Online Marketing Options and Helpful Advice Going Into 2009
by Michael Lambert, CEO of MerchantAdvantage
It would seem that with all the articles, blogs, webinars, seminars and trade magazines available that all merchants would be completely in the know and up to date on, well, everything. But instead merchants feel they are under-knowledged in terms of what to do.
All of these information dissemination techniques lack the one thing that everyone thinks they want: One Simple Answer.
My belief is that if there was one simple answer, then there would be virtually no way to separate from the pack. There would be little or no value in going the extra mile, showing up in an unexpected place, or providing special pricing or service. The truth, for me, is that the difficulty of certain situations is the true opportunity to stand out and be recognized. But there truly is a great deal to consider when it comes to online marketing.
SEO - Should an online retailer care, or invest heavily in Search Engine Optimization? Search Engine Optimization allows merchants to leverage their efforts in terms of creating valuable content for their consumers. If a merchants content is well created, and there is interest in that content, then SEO can attract consumers from Google and other search sites.
But at what point does scrutinizing over text and such become an over expensive advertising campaign generating a great deal of interest in non-consumers generating much more work than sales? The essence of SEO is to be to the point and be as specific as possible about the product, but in a way that matches how consumers look for you products instead of what researchers might type into the search engines.
SEM - Search Engine Marketing is the practice of purchasing space within the search engines to attract those interested in you based on selected keywords that might be typed into the search engine. By paying for each click that occurs, it once again makes sense to focus a specifically and accurately as possible on words that would be typed by a perspective purchaser. The success of such a campaign might be measured by how much you pay in clicks vs how much you sold directly or indirectly from those clicks. These efforts are somewhat cluttered as many other marketing efforts for which you may compete with your SEM efforts.
CSE - A huge number of online shoppers constantly search for the best places to shop. They often do so using Consumer Shopping Engines (CSEs....better than Comparison Shopping Engines, I think). Once again you pay for this traffic, so if it doesn’t convert than you’re paying for nothing. How can a merchant keep up with all that is necessary to perform well in such channels? Click and Purchase tracking, and more importantly the analysis that goes with it, is without question the key to successful CSE marketing.
Enhanced Site Search - Buy providing a better user experience, many merchants find their conversions are greatly enhanced. Providing an easier and more feature rich site search tends to convert lookers to buyers, but with so many other factors in constant flux, this can be difficult to measure. So finding a site search tool that also increasing some other aspect of marketing would likely yield the best result. An example of enahnced site search can be found with SLI Systems, with whom I recently gave a free Webinar with explaning the many benefits of enhanced site search.
WEB 2.0 - By providing feedback mechanisms such as product evaluations and consumer reviews, news and rss feeds etc... a retailer stays in touch with their consumers and the consumers needs. This doesn’t always directly translate into profit, but almost always aids in online retailers success, depending on the focus of the online retailer.
So, I think we’re back to the original point, which is that when there is so much information, and so many options, how is a merchant to know which options are best for them? Are all of these marketing efforts needed?
What’s the one simple answer to this?
In an article that I released through linked in a few months ago I lashed out at retailers complaining that CSEs were really too difficult, and they should be made easier. In short, I said that with all of the tools and support information available to retailers by the CSEs themselves as well as third party tools (such as MerchantAdvantage), merchants wishing to succeed should take full advantage of such support.
So, for those of you wishing for a simple answer to the questions presented, namely do I need all of these marketing techniques, here’s just one simple answer: To whatever degree you wish for success, the answer is - YES.
NOTE: Everyone wants a simple path that leads to their goals. But more often the simple path leads to a less desirable destination.
- Michael Lambert, CEO of MerchantAdvantage
(a Web-based tool, marketing company)
Technology Bells and Whistles...Do You Need Them?
SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Technology Bells and Whistles
By B. Thomas Romeo, Sr. Techical Engineer at MerchantAdvantage
Now that most industries are considered online and connected to the Internet (as opposed to, let's say, 15 years ago where Internet connectivity was considered itself as a bell and a whistle) not only are there new ways of using the Internet but that very connectivity creates the posibility that these new technologies can actually catch on. Early on in the Internet days, companies survived by having a critical mass of users savvy enough to figure out a dial up connection and their software. Those who made it easiest (read: most intuitive) survived. AOL. Those who drudged along, even with good technology but poor interfaces, died off. Compuserve. Prodigy. Was it the bells and whistles that AOL offered or the clean interface and intuitiveness that helped them survive.
Right now, connectivity itself is being redefined. Not only has bandwidth been mainstreamed by DSL and Cable connectivity, but cellular companies are also changing the dynamic of access. We can now be online without dependency on our "home" network via widespread hotspots, like those offered by AT&T and Starbucks, and the mainstream emergence of 3G data modems.
Now instead of seeing more and more laptops show up in coffee shops and airports, we're starting to see more and more laptops showing up with little black or white 3G modems sticking out of the side of them. And let me tell you - these things are great! You can be anywhere and be connected. The obvious travel situations, in the car (stopped not driving), on a boat, in a doctor's office - any type of "waiting" situation - including if you are moving and are waiting for your DSL line to be installed. (This one I know about!)
Also a cool thing that is coming is for these little 3G modems to work with routers. This means you can stick the gadget in a router and build a network around them. Imagine having a house wireless network based on a 3G modem - multiple machines running wirelessly from a single cellular connection. Imagine having a little network in your car where your passenger carrying a wireless laptop or smartphone has a good solid Internet connection. This is definitely a bell and a whistle.
Many technologies like this have existed and have simply sat idle waiting for mainstream acceptance. A little analogous history for example might be when Apple released iTunes in January of 2001 setting the stage for their iPod. Later that year when the iPod was initially introduced, mainstream use of iTunes expanded. A few years later the iTunes store existed, then the AppleTV, and now if you talk about renting a movie you might be doing it from Blockbuster, Netflix or iTunes.
This is not even to mention the fact that iPods are considered the equivalent of microwaves in just a few years of existence. Other examples can include how we manage photos or videos. Let's forget about iPhoto and iMovie for a second and talk about Picasa and YouTube. It took awhile for digital cameras and videocameras to become mainstream but now that many people have access to them, Google has created some of the most intuitive ways to get those photos and videos onto the web. Now it's common to refer to YouTube videos or share a Picasa library, or even upload photos to a Flickr site using Picasa. There are even some cameras like the Flip that have "YouTube" built right in.
Now of course in regards to online marketing - our industry has also had it's “critical mass points” historically. In 1990 the first web browser was released, yet the Internet prohibited commercial transactions until 1991. In 1992 the first book was sold online and the protocols to buy and sell were being developed and deployed. In 1995, Amazon.com was born along with AuctionWeb (later to become eBay).
This is exciting stuff, and for me it's fascinating to look at both a little of history and a little of the future of technology and think about its implications not only for the media enjoyment we get out of the gadgets we have access to, but for the workflow implications that allow us to work faster and more efficiently. Even inside our industry we have the bells and whistles that allow our storefronts and channels to be more exciting and more robust, e.g Web and Shopping 2.0. We also have bells and whistles like the fancy ways to be connected wherever we are, faster than ever before - and with more critical mass to come, which always leads to greater stability and intuitiveness.
- B. Thomas Romeo
Posted by Chip Arndt on April 27, 2009 at 09:15 AM in ECommerce/MCommerce Soft Tools, Guest-Expert Commentary, MerchantAdvantage News, Online Storefront Tips and Advice, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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