Improve Results and Increase Sales and ROI in Comparison Shopping Engines

Hello eTaildTail community.  First of all thank you all for your emails and questions. I hope that I have been able to answer some of your questions in a manner that helps you better utilize comparison shopping engines and other marketing shopping destinations. 

Going into the weekend, I thought I would leave you with 5 tips to improve performance, and ROI, when using these marketing channels.

1. There are over 150 shopping destination channels that I know of which you can use to market your storefront.  Some are large, general, and well known channels, as Amazon.com, eBay, Shopping.com, Shopzilla, Shop.com, Pront.com, and PriceGrabber while others are smaller, general players, such as SortPrice.com, Become.com, myCoupons.com, Smarter.com, and PriceForSure.com and others are niche sites as Healthpricer.com, BobVila.com, HGTV.com, Cooking.com, GolfPricer.com, GourmetFoodMall.com, ToolCrib.com and many others. 

They all can lead to sales and many of them can work for you but you need to test which channels work best for your product catalog and manage each channel as you would separate marketing campaigns.  I recommend testing several channels and, after 3-6 months, compare each channel against the other and then only work with those that perform best for you. (Q: How? A: Use an analytic tool)

2. Improve the quality of each feed to each shopping channel by filling in all of the required fields that the shopping comparison engine requires. Then, update those fields weekely to ensure that these marketing feeds reflect the data that resides in your shopping cart technology.  This means cleaning up fields, especially where possible redundancy occurs, and defining new items accurately and thoroughly. In other words, make sure you map each shopping channel competely to the comparison shopping engines required taxonomy so that they can list your products accurately throughout their shopping comparison engine.

3. Make sure that the data feeds your are managing to each comaprison shopping engine, or shopping marketplace, reflect exactly the inventory and products that you are selling online. If you delete a product on your shopping cart, or run out of inventory, ensure you have a system in place that will "automatically" update these changes in the data feeds you are managing for each shopping channel. DON'T rely on doing it manually, as you will make mistakes and probably forget to make the "global" changes needed in each product catalog data feed file you are sending to multiple comparison shopping engines.

4. Manage each comparison shopping engine and marketplace differently.  They are unique channels that perform differently which requires that you create a separate data feed for each channel from which to market from on a weekly, if not daily basis.

5. Understand the economics of each comparison shopping engine and the options they offer to ensure that you manage to the highest ROI possible when using that channel.  Shop.com now givs the online merchant options to work on a commission or cost-per-click basis, JellyFish allows the merchants to set the "cash-back discount" they want to give a consumer for each product, SortPrice gives you a flat fee option per month, myCoupons.com gives you a flat "cost-per-redemption" model, theFind.com is free all around and now has introduced a CPC pricing model and Amazon.com is incredible but can charge large commissions for credited sales, so ensure that you are feeding products to them that are in line with the margins you can afford to give up.

Working with comparison shopping engines can be incredibly lucrative but you will need to do some work.  I think it is fun, especially when you see the sales roll in!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot:

Bonus Help: FEED IMMEDIATELY to 3 free comparison shopping engines: Google Shopping, theFind.com, and MSN LIve Search. You can only win and pay nothing, ever!

Have a great weekend.

-- Chip

Convert Your Clicks: Combine Search Marketing and Landing Page Optimization Intelligently

Here is some good advice from our friends over at Yahoo! Search Marketing.  I learned a lot, I hope you do too.
 
And this piece follows up nicely on yesterday's blog and my prior entry titled:

"Why YOU "Can" Fail With Google Adwords...AND Any Adword Campaign"

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for that blog entry and thoughts therein and also read below for valuable advice and tips and tricks to maximize your search, adword campaigns.

-- Chip

By Amy Borowicz

Ten landing page tips to turn visitors into customers

"There’s something about a ten-item list that makes us want to get all Hestonian on you and break out the archaic pronouns, especially when it comes to something like getting people who visit your site to actually buy from you. After all, you work hard to get clicks. What could be more important than turning those clicks into customers?

But we’re kind of a live-and-let-live bunch here, and we’re not so big on telling people what they have to do. So consider these a set of suggestions about how to help optimize your landing pages. That way, when people get to your site, they’ll be more likely to make a purchase.

1. Tell them why they should buy from you

Clarity of your value proposition is the most important factor in determining whether a customer buys from you or not. Ask yourself the question: “Why should I buy from this site?”

2. Keep ‘em with you

Protect your landing pages from the #1 threat to conversions: site flow disruption. After identifying a unique and compelling Value Proposition, you must ensure that you express it throughout your sales process in a clear, consistent and compelling way. Eliminate site flow disruption to help maximize conversions.

3. Don’t try to say too much

Don’t clutter your landing page with unnecessary details. Instead:
• Clearly state your key message using as few words as possible
• Use summary descriptions, sub-headings, bulleted lists and short paragraphs
• Adopt a standard one-column format for easy reading.

4. Make it simple

Improve the user experience with a site that is easy to navigate. A simple page layout that employs a clean visual and straightforward design is best. Here’s how:

• Design your site with a clear hierarchy with color and contrast for easily legible text
• Use meaningful and high-quality graphics (don’t clutter with too many)
• Use breadcrumbs to let visitors know where they are on your site
• Employ a clickable logo that takes the visitor to your homepage
• Use color to distinguish between visited and unvisited links.

Just as important, make sure you don’t:

• Employ horizontal scrolling
• Direct links to new browser windows
• Have flash-based content unless required.

5. Call them to action

Focus on one primary action per screen (don’t stuff too many products onto one screen). Make the call-to-action button clearly visible without having to scroll; don’t bury it under pages of information. Consider using tabs or a pop-up box to consolidate information.

6. Get specific

Provide product details and a large product image while displaying incentives—such as free shipping and warranty information—high on the page and close to the product. Don’t discourage visitors by requiring registration to your site.

7. Flaunt what you’ve got

What differentiates you from your competitors? Free shipping (both ways?), discounts, a 365-day warranty, price protection, privacy, customer service, etc.? If you’ve got it, flaunt it!

8. Search yourself

Make your site easy to navigate by helping potential customers find what they are looking for as quickly and easily as possible. A search feature box should be simple and visible with a type-in field, not a link. To help increase conversions, make sure your search results link to product pages.

9. Rally the believers

Credibility is a true testament: people don’t buy from websites, people buy from people. Thus, testimonials from devout customers—or even a letter from the CEO/Editor—persuades the unbelieving.

10. Let them make the choice

“Why should I buy this specific product?” Almost every e-tailer forgets about this, but it’s the question that’s key to Mr. or Ms. Customer’s mind. Prove to him or her why they should buy this over the competitive product by offering reviews, ratings and comparisons."

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full article on the Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog

Age Influences Values, Worries in Online Shopping: Pew Report

Once again I let the experts speak to online shopping.  I thought this was an interesting report for the eTaildTail community in regards to the behaviour pattern on those under 30 years old.

You can always find links to news stories like these on the right hand side of this blog daily, but sometimes I like to highlight the more relevant ones in a full blog entry.

-- Chip

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full article or read below, from the PEW Report

"When it comes to buying products and providing credit-card data over the Internet, the kids are all right, but Nana and Grampy just feel a little weird.

New results culled from the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s, published Tuesday, find that a majority of Web users under 30 find the Internet to be the best place to find good deals on merchandise or to locate hard-to-find items."

Age Influences Values, Worries in Online Shopping: Pew Report

According to the “Online Shopping: Internet” report, 83% of respondents 18-29 agreed that online shopping is convenient and 70% saying it saved them time. Sixty-two percent of the age group said they could find bargains on the Internet. Eighty-four percent in that age group said they valued e-commerce as a way to locate difficult purchases, while about the same proportion said they valued the ability to see an item before buying it.

Shoppers 30-49 found e-commerce to be equally convenient (82%) and even more of a time-saver (73%) but less of a money-saver, with only 52% said it helped them find bargains. The 50-64 survey population found Web shopping to be somewhat less time-efficient (67%), less convenient than their younger counterparts (77%) and much less effective at digging up deals (38%).

Worries about providing credit-card information and other personal data also increase with age, the Pew report finds. While 71% of the 18-29 group said it dislikes providing personal information online, that figure rises to 74% for those 30-49 and to 79% for users 50-64. For Internet users 65 or older, the Web-wary contingent grows to 82%.

And the older the respondents, the more complex they found buying items online. While 24% of those 18-29 and 30-49 agreed that Internet shopping is complicated, 30% of those 50-64 said the same, as did 34% of Web users 65 or over.

“Improving online users’ comfort levels with sending personal or credit card information over the Internet would have the biggest payoff for expanding online shopping,” the Pew report concludes. If respondents who worry about sending personal data over the Web were to have those fears allayed, the proportion of Internet users who shopped online would increase to 73% from the current 66%.

Overall, Pew found that 43% of Internet users report frustration at the lack of Web information about goods and services they want to buy. On the other hand, 30% said they have felt overwhelmed by the amount of information turned up during their online shopping or research. And 32% said some of that information turned up in their investigations or transactions simply has confused them.

The Pew online shopping report is based on telephone surveys with 2,400 U.S. adults conducted between Aug. 4 and Sept. 5, 2007."

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full article or read below, from the PEW Report

3 Steps to Extend Your Online Consumer Awareness Footprint by MerchantAdvantage

If you missed the below webinar last Thursday on extending your consumer awareness footprint using new marketing channels, it is available for FREE download with full audio at MerchantAdvantage.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to see it.

Below is what we covered, as a reminder.

-- Chip

3 Steps to Extend Your Online Consumer Awareness Footprint

With the rapid growth of "new and diverse" online marketing channels, retailers need to analyze and perfect marketing strategies to compete and gain market share.

As part of MerchantAdvantage’s A.M.M.O for 2008 series, January’s Webinar will cover:

-- Defining Your Current Target Consumers
-- New Online Marketing Opportunities:
       a. Case Study: Mobile Shopping by mPoria.com
       b. Case Study: "COUParison Shopping(tm)" by MyCoupons.com
-- Implementing a Diversified Online Marketing Strategy

Space is Limited, Click Here to Register Now! or call 800.550.9466 for more information about this event.

Join us for this insightful 30 minute MerchantAdvantage Webinar presented by:

Chip Arndt, EVP and Co-Founder, MerchantAdvantage and with guests

Greg Stoltz, President, MyCoupons.com and

Dan Wright, CEO & Co-founder, mPoria, Inc.

to arm you with the information you need to succeed in the fast growing online retail and mobile commerce world.

Don't miss the opportunity to attend this complimentary Webinar. We look forward to seeing you there!

Online Shopping Expectations Rise for 2008 and Will Lead to Higher Sales

I think the below comments from Kristina Knight, at Biz Report, summarize nicely what online merchants can garner in, and expect from, 2008 from online sales, if they listen to their customers and focus on making their websites the best shopping experience it can be.

You all have heard it before, I am sure, but please don't take this lightly.  Please note the last paragraph of the below report from Kristina.

If you spend a weekend strategizing and researching websites that do very well, because they are designed "flawlessly", and then create a design plan to ensure that customers have a wonderful shopping experience at your site, you will reap many rewards, namely sales and loyal customers in 2008.

-- Chip

"Having the right product at the right price isn't enough in today's online shopping realm. Ecommerce sites need much more according to a recent Allurent, Inc. survey. More than two-thirds of consumers surveyed said their online shopping expectations have risen since the 2006 holiday shopping season."

by Kristina Knight, Biz Report <<<CLICK HERE>>> for full article

80% of those surveyed said they would not return to an etailing hub after one bad experience!

The changes in technology are driving consumer expectations, according to the survey. Consumers noted that with increased technology and the ease of using technology they also want online shopping to become more advanced. Users want more than simple store-fronts and would like to see highly-advertised sites with more than just product explanations.

Bad online experiences are also beginning to bleed over into in-store purchases. More than 40% of those surveyed said that a bad online shopping experience would impact future in-store purchases. 60% said a bad shopping experience changes their view of the brand as a whole.

Along with this information, consumers said they expect to increase their online shopping during the 2008 holiday season. More than 65% of consumers said they would shop online more during the '08 holiday shopping season than they did during 2007.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full article

Online Shoppers Value Convenience, Price, Product Selection

This is exactly the type of information that small to mid sized etailers need to know going into 2008 to make their web storefronts and interactions with customers the best that it can be and the article comes from friends of eTaildTail over at AuctionBytes.com

I post the article in its entirety as it has some very helpful information for you all! You can also click over to AuctionBytes for th article and other great information.

-- Chip

Survey: Online Shoppers Value Convenience, Price, Product Selection

by Ina Steiner, contact her directly at ina@auctionbytes.com
full article at <<<CLICK HERE>>>

"Ecommerce trade publication AuctionBytes.com has published results of its December 2007 online buying survey. Over 900 respondents participated in the survey, and they give an interesting perspective on what buyers deem important when shopping online. Highlights of the survey follow, and full results are published in the January 6th issue of the AuctionBytes-Update newsletter, available online now.

Online-Buying Survey Highlights:

The biggest advantage to online shopping was convenience, respondents said, while the biggest disadvantage was not being able to closely inspect items before purchasing them. It's not surprising to learn that 61% of respondents bought from online auction sites and 55% of them bought from Amazon, given that 83% of respondents sell online. But it's interesting to note that 50% of respondents bought from major retail sites - and 29% purchased from "mom and pop" sites. Only 3% did holiday shopping on classifieds sites.

A relatively small percentage of respondents said they shopped online primarily for price (6%). Instead, most said the biggest advantages to shopping online versus going to a mall or traditional retailer was the ability to shop at their convenience (45%) and because it was easier to find what they wanted (27%).

When asked which one factor was most important when deciding where to shop online, top answers were Product Selection (20%), Price (17%) and Security (17%).

Many said the biggest disadvantages to shopping online was that they couldn't closely inspect the item before purchase (44%), shipping costs (17%) and risk of non-delivery of item (11%).

When asked what method they employed most frequently to find items, 44% said they used search engines, and 39% said they went directly to a retail website. Only 7% used comparison shopping sites most frequently. When asked to rate various methods by how often they used them to shop online, 65% used Search Engines "frequently" and 25% "sometimes," while 18% used comparison shopping sites "frequently" and 34% "sometimes."

When asked which services they used to help them find products, 90% said they used Google, followed by Yahoo (22%).

Sixty-five percent of respondents "sometimes" (33%) or "frequently" (32%) use consumer reviews (such as Amazon Buyer Reviews and eBay Reviews & Guides) to help them make their buying decisions.

When asked to rate their level of satisfaction with their overall online buying experience, 61% said they were "Very Satisfied," and 36% said they were "Satisfied."

AuctionBytes also compared results from respondents who currently sell online with those who do not sell online. These results and many more interesting facts from the survey can be found in a two-part report in the January 6, 2008, issue of the AuctionBytes-Update newsletter, including which factors are important when buying from unfamiliar websites, and how shoppers found items online this past holiday shopping season."

Part 1:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208/m01/abu0206/s02

Part 2:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y208/m01/abu0206/s03

Post your comments on the AuctionBytes Blog:
http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2007/12/1197738015.html

Beanbasket Announces New Gift Modules: Online Retailers Can Give Consumers More Choices with Easier Setup with Gift Certificates, Gift Guide, Gift Reminders, and Flexible Gift Wrapping tools

Just in time for the holidays...or at least all of the holidays after this month and into 2008!

I always love it when shopping cart platforms expand their offerings to better leverage what consumers and online merchants are clamoring for everyday. 

Just this week, eTaildTail friends over at Beanbasket introduced some excellent new features to help differentiate their online merchant offerings to customers from other shopping cart technology platforms. 

These new features are excellent for site functionality, site "stickiness," better service offerings, and up selling opportunities. 

Also, online merchants can market some of these new features into many online marketing channels, as shopping desintation sites, comparison shopping engines, and marketplaces to encourage and entice customers to come to their online storefront to shop! 

If you need help doing this give MerchantAdvantage a shout. We can help and yes, I am a co-founder of MerchantAdvantage, so I am a little bias on how we can, help but seeing how we can help is FREE so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

So....some please check out some great upgrades from Bean Basket and thank you Beanbasket for sharing them with the eTaildTail community.

-- Chip

From my fiends at Beanbasket -- and call Jim O'Neill at 920-954-0807 ext 204 if you have any questions or are interested in their products -- tell Jim, "Chip sent you!" 

(getting to be a familiar phrase! Isn't it? LOL)

"Beanbasket.com, a leading e-commerce service provider, announces the new, enhanced gift modules with its latest software release.  These modules include gift certificates, gift guides, gift reminders, and flexible gift wrapping options.  With the gift giving season upon us, merchants will be able to offer consumers more options when buying gifts online.  Says Mike Harper, Beanbasket’s president, "This new gift module suite is focused on putting more tools in our merchant's hands to help increase conversions and create a deeper relationship between our merchants and their target audience."

Gift Certificates, a proven money maker for retailers, make it easy for consumers to choose a sure-to-satisfy option.  Gift certificates create loyalty, repeat business, and are almost always redeemed in excess of the original purchase.  Consumers may redeem the certificate in whole, partially, or in combination with other credit card check-out and options like PayPal.

With the Gift Guide, consumers can receive suggestions regarding gift ideas based on budget and number of recipients.  Merchants can preselect options to ensure hot sellers and/or overstocked items are promoted.  Corporate buyers will especially appreciate this useful and time saving tool.   

Gift Reminders offer another way to encourage loyalty.  Consumers can quickly and easily save important dates like birthdays and anniversaries and an email from the merchant will make sure that the consumer avoids an embarrassing oversight and that the merchant's products are top of mind. 

Flexible gift wrapping options allow busy consumers an easy way to save time.  Merchants can predetermine which items can be gift wrapped and whether or not a charge will apply.  Consumers can also enter gift messages for added personalization. 

The combination of options with the new enhanced gift modules allow merchants to easily offer their customers a way to set reminders, select multiple gifts, have them wrapped, and checkout with their own gift certificate.  Or make gift giving super easy by choosing to add Gift Certificates to their gift list!

About Beanbasket:  Beanbasket.com provides a high performance, extremely flexible, search-optimized eCommerce platform to fit almost any business model.  Serving retailers in almost every industry, Beanbasket.com offers two platforms for merchants of almost any size to maximize their sales potential. 

Beanbasket Business Builder:   Built upon reliable, enterprise-class servers, Beanbasket BB is the right solution for businesses looking to provide an attractive, efficient, and functional web store. Beanbasket.com's store model allows seamless integration into your new site design - easy to manage and update - with high-level product administration, inventory reporting and tracking, shipping options, customer notification, affiliate tracking and much more. Plus it is backed by 128bit SSL security and 24X7X365 support.

Beanbasket Enterprise:   All the features of Business builder but with Multi-Channel Order Management System for web stores, call centers, direct mail, and demand TV.  Incredible flexibility allows profit center management, call center scripting, campaign management, multiple warehouse fulfillment, and "every touch" CRM system and much more.  Beanbasket Enterprise is designed to take you to the next level of eCommerce sales."

Pronto.com Adds Product Buying Guides to Compliment Thriving Social Shopping Community

I think it is important to let you all know what good things the shopping destination sites are doing to help small to mid sized businesses make money. 

Yes, the shopping desination sites want to make money too, but many of them are doing some really great things to help your online business grow by driving quality buyers to their online malls!

To our friends Carolyn and Greg over at Pronto.com -- eTaildTail congratulates you, well done on this announcement and helping make online e-commerce more fun and practical for us all.

-- Chip

Pronto.com Adds Product Buying Guides to Compliment Thriving Social Shopping Community

Offers Holiday Shoppers One-Stop Convenience for Making Informed Buying Decisions on What to Buy, Where to Buy ItAnnounces Holiday Shopping Contest for Chance to Win $2,000 in Products

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Pronto.com(TM), an Operating Business of IAC , today announced that, just in time for the holiday season, it has added product Buying Guides to its industry-leading social shopping site. Pronto.com's new Buying Guides provide a digestible amount of information on a wide range of products, including reviews, unbiased advice and helpful, category-specific facts, so shoppers can make educated buying decisions without being experts.

With the holiday season fast approaching, Pronto.com's Buying Guides have arrived at a perfect time. According to a recent study by Burst Media, more than half of consumers expect to purchase either a portion or all of their holiday gifts online this year (50.7%), up from 37.6% in 2006. The survey also revealed that more than two-thirds (68.6%) of consumers shop online and use the Internet as a resource to research products. Pronto.com's new Buying Guides will help this surge of online shoppers dramatically reduce time spent shopping by arming them with the information they need to pick the perfect gift for family and friends.

"What makes Pronto.com unique to the industry is our focus not only on helping consumers find where they can buy certain products, but also in giving them the information they need to decide what to buy. This is especially useful during the holiday season," said Michelle Pae, Pronto.com's Vice President of Product Development. "With our new Buying Guides and thriving social shopping community, we've assembled critical buying information from across the Web into one convenient place to make shopping easy and fun."

Currently, Pronto.com offers dozens of Buying Guides, with more being added weekly, that cover products in popular categories such as Baby, Home & Garden, Electronics, and Entertainment. To access the Buying Guides, Pronto.com users should click on the links below the "Need advice?" column at the top right of the page after conducting a product or category search. After selecting the Buying Guide of choice, customers will find the following helpful insight:

    -- The Pronto Pick -- The recommended product in the category based on
       quality and value
    -- The Five -- Five key points the shopper should keep in mind
       Shop Talk -- Product-specific terms and descriptions that consumers
       should know
    -- Buzz -- What's hot right now
    -- Wallet Impact -- What consumers can expect within their designated
       price range
    -- Experts Say -- Additional opinions and advice from the experts

Currently the Web's fastest growing comparison shopping site with year-over-year growth of over 3100% and 5.2 million unique monthly U.S. users, according to comScore, Pronto.com is the first site to successfully fuse comparison shopping with a full range of social shopping features that allow users to rate products, interact with other users, write reviews and discover new products, brands and stores from other like-minded shoppers.

Pronto.com's 'Want It, Win It' Holiday Shopping Contest

Pronto.com also announced a holiday sweepstakes that will run from November 15-December 15, 2007, where one Pronto.com user will win $2,000-worth of his or her favorite products. To enter, Pronto.com users simply need to create a profile and "Like" five of their favorite or most-wanted products, write five reviews, and have five of their friends join them on Pronto.com. The winner will be selected from a random drawing on December 20 and will win $2,000-worth of products from his or her "Like" list.

About Pronto.com

Pronto.com (http://www.pronto.com) is the Web's most comprehensive social shopping engine. Thanks to patent pending Web search technology, Pronto.com's product index contains over 70 million products from over 65,000 online merchants, which is five times the merchants of most leading comparison-shopping engines. Named as "Best Online Price Comparison Site" by Kiplinger's, Pronto.com has a team of experts in technology, Web search, consumer products, and social media working to create a world-class social shopping experience. Pronto.com is an operating business of IAC , which operates Ask.com, Citysearch, Evite, Match.com, Bloglines, Zwinky, Excite and more.

About IAC

IAC operates leading and diversified businesses in sectors being transformed by the internet, online and offline... our mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world. To view a full list of the companies of IAC please visit our website at http://www.iac.com

    Pronto.com Public Relations, Press Only:
    Kendra Thornton
    773-525-6110
    media@pronto.com

    Brandon Warburton
    212-915-3849
    media@pronto.com

<<<CLICK HERE>>> for full press release and more information.

Holiday Commentary: Online Shopping Should Be Good For Electronics and Other Insights

Even though there is talk of recession, the GDP for 3rd Q 2007 in the USA was up over 3.5%, which was unexpected.  This growth, in light of high oil prices, a housing credit crunch and a decrease in housing starts and sales, was driven by consumer spending. 

It is my belief that as the FED eases interest rates for the last Q of 2007, we will see that this GDP growth will remain constant with consumer spending leading the drive as the marketplace comes to terms with housing and credit crunch issues.  Furthermore, as online shopping and search sites such as eBay, Amazon, Ask.com, Google, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz and others increase their off-line spending in traditional forms of media as television, print, billboard, radio and the like to drive consumers online to find products,  travel deals, and services this will have a positive residual affect for all online merchants selling products this holiday season.   

To compliment these positive trends, more online consumers are comfortable with shopping online and mobile commerce and as they want to save a few “gas” dollars, and as online merchants offer shipping discounts, I predict these two factors will help push online sales past the year over year growth of 10%, comfortably.  Also, while new to the US consumer, the advent of mobile shopping sites as mPoria (deals with most major carriers), iSave.com (powering iPhones) and mShopper (powering Sprint) should help add to the online shopping holiday push.  The recent annoucement of Verizon partnering with Shop.com also shows that the major wireless carriers are getting savyy, and are committed to, mobile commerce. 

As I speak to association and organizations, which specialize in understanding online shopping behavior patterns going into the holidays, especially the Consumer Electronics Association (“CEA”), I find that there is an emphasis on certain products per age range.

For all online electronics, sales, as I look over what sells through MerchantAdvantage and our “electronic centric” clients, we concur with CEA that almost $22 billion will be spent on all electronics for the holiday season, which began November 1. 

For the younger 15-25, of course iPods, games, MP3 Players, computers and cell phones are the key items.  For the “older” folks, who have full time jobs, flatscreen TV’s are very popular and the various accessories that come with it.  Now that is the fun side. 

With the advent of home offices, I find that online merchants that market their electronics, or better yet bundle offerings, in way that helps the 25 year old plus build their dream home office, that online electronic merchants will do well. What is very important to note, all across the world, is that people are designing their homes to support a “complete” home office, as they work out of their house or flat (apartment), and/or they want to come home, after their long day job, to a comfortable “fun office feel” to have fun online, play games, or finish up some work they did not get done at the office. 

Also for all buyers of electronics, we find that people tend to forget that often the best selling items are “support” products that accompany more expensive purchases.  One of our clients reminds us that sometimes the best success is selling a flat screen TV for a “reasonable” margin, with free shipping, to capture the client and then upsell them on all of the “goodies” that go well with a wonderful TV purchase. This includes vcrs, video recording devices, cables, and the highest margin item -- mounting products and tables on which to put the TV.  This analogy carries over into building a home office.  No one just buys a computer and works on the kitchen counter anymore.  They are building self supporting media/business/entertainment areas in their home.

If there is any back lash to spending online, it won't affect electronics. I think that electronics will do well into the holiday season. Other type of online products, as garden equipment, tools, high end clothing, bath products and home accessories would be the categoris that suffer the brunt of an online shopper wanting to conserve money.  The main reason is that electronics are fun and everyone wants the next best thing – at least that is how USA consumers usually act.  There is perceived, and real ongoing value, to having electronics and people who buy them are always using it. So if you are not selling electronics, those online merchants will have to be more creative to grab the attention of the consumer.

All online retailers of electronics usually sell their products differently because they have to differentiate from so many online merchants selling electronics.  The big boys and girls, deluge the marketplace with ad words, advertising, listing at many shopping comparison sites and then usually offer the lowest pricing, as they are volume players.  But not all of them are just attracting attention and long-term value via the lowest pricing.

One client, I can’t name, who does very, very, very well, actually keeps their margins high by providing the best, and I mean best, customer service.  This starts with being advertised everywhere and then when the customer calls in from their website or emails them, the customer simply is treated so well that you want to buy your products from them.  I call it the "Disney" or "Neiman Marcus" affect.  When everyone in your organization understands that at anytime that they speak to anyone, I mean anyone, out side of the company that that person is a potential customer.

A Real Time Tip

Always be prepared to offer “additional” products to support the product purchased. These support products often are offered at some discount.  Here is the philosophy and I like it.  So you get an inquiry for a flatscreen TV, MP3 player, or digital camera.  The price is competitive but not the lowest on line.  The online merchant follows up immediately with the customer via an email back, a phone call, or an onsight offer for additional items  that pops up next to support the product desired (such as a robust memory card for a digital camera or special carrying case), to ensure that the customer knows about specials on products to support the original product.  The customer then reasons that they might be able to get the original product at a lower price but certainly not the accessories.  Because the customer follow up is so good, they buy the product AND the ancillary items and the online merchant manages their margins better.  And the best part, you have a customer for life if you continue to treat them right!

Most electronics sellers are willing to lower their prices during the holiday season and definitely offer deep shipping discounts.  I am not a big fan of the former practice, as it decreases ROI and relies on volume, per above. 

On the other hand, a sales in hand is some one to market to into the future, and as long as you protect your margins, it may not be a bad thing to do.  But remember, low pricing is NOT the only way you gain trust and customers.

Be creative in how you market.  For instance, create specials to get people to buy now and guarantee delivery on a certain date and offer discount pricing on items if they are bought by November 30, or December 3 etc…..and make sure you upsell other items at the same time associated with the original product purchase, see above. This is always helpful as the consumer can then get a good price, ideas for associated products and know it will be delivered in time for the holiday. Netflix and BockBuster do this very well, as they suggest other film titles when a conusmer comes on line to buy a product. 

All online retailers also should remember that the best way for the consumer to determine the best deals is to use review sites and then “shop” around.  While my merchants might not like to hear me say to consumers that should “click away” to compare pricing, that is part of the fun and games of online shopping. 

People learn by exploring and the shopping comparison sites are great places to start.  Review sites, as Powerrevies.com or Buzzillions.com, are also good. These are both partners of MerchantAdvantage and friends.  So I suggest online merchants should get their product catalog to these sites. 

And if you need a list of shopping comparison sites to list your products to, check out MerchantAdvantage, as they support over 100 of them, all the way from PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, Yahoo! Shopping (the biggies) to PlanetOnline.com, MyCoupons.com, PriceForSure.com and Smarter.com (smaller ones).  Oh yeah, and if you really want niche, check out GolfPricer.com and ToolCrib.com, very niche sites but the consumer can find great products, pricing, and special offers because they are niche shopping sites, that attract a devoted clientele, that you will find no where else.  So listing your products at these sites might be very beneficial.

All in all, people have fun shopping online, so for all online retailers should play into this "known" behaviour pattern and make it fun, easy, and practical to buy products from you.  It is soooo easy to hunt around and compare prices, reviews, and services that online merchants should be aware that the "Holy Grail" is not the "one time sale" when using comparison shopping engines, review sites, or other online shopping sites, but capturing a potential client for the future!

My Parting Advice....to online retailers who spend lots of money, time, and energy to get "leads" to come to their sites via the various marketing channels and search engines:

Focus on what to do when the potential client is at your site.  This includes how they navigate your site, ease of finding products, offering specials, coupling product offerings and offering coupons and discounts for the future when they buy from you for the first time.

When online retailers care about their ongoing business, not just the one time sale, consumers will be very, very loyal to you and come back to your site time and time again.

Here is to a wonderful holiday shopping season for us all!

-- Chip

SLIDES AND AUDIO Now Available of "Online Marketing Alternatives Webinar for Small to Mid Sized Businesses"

Hello eTaildTail community....I thought the webinar today was full of great information and great examples of some sample marketing campaigns you can execute with as little as $1,500 a month.

If you missed today's MerchantAdvantage webinar on "Alternative Online Marketing Methods for Small to Mid Sized Online Merchants" you can download the slides and audio from the front of MerchantAdvantage's site.

>>>> CLICK HERE and it is FREE! <<<<<<<<<

Over 250 people participated in the webinar, so don't miss out!  Enjoy

--- Chip

SPECIAL FREE WEBINAR: Alternative Online Marketing Methods for Small to Mid Sized Online Merchants

Hello eTaildTail community.

It is time again for a helpful FREE monthly webinar by MerchantAdvantage.  It is open to everyone in the e and mobile commerce arena.  The topic is "Alternative Marketing Methods and Options for 2008." 

It might seem like it is early to think about 2008, but we all know that the time to prepare for 2008 is now!

The webinar will be given by MerchantAdvantage's CEO and e-commerce expert, Michael Lambert.  Simply, CLICK HERE to sign up and it is all FREE and I trust you will learn a lot from MerchantAdvantage.

I hope you are having a great week  and if you have any questions about the MerchantAdvantage webinar just email me at chip@eTaildTail.com

-- Chip

CLICK HERE to sign up and it is all FREE.

Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups and Small to Midsized Online Merchants: Part 2 (continued from Friday October 26 -- Please see prior blog for the first part of the story)

eTaildTail fiends and community are expanding across the globe and providing wonderful insights to help small to mid sized online merchants.  Here is the second part of the 2 part series that speaks to issues small to mid sized merchants have all of the time with marketing solutions and implementation therein.   

I recommend reading it carefully, as it really can help.  I participated in helping write the article but rather than summarize it, I feel it is important to post it here for you all to process on your own time.

Chip

Part 2 -- continued from Friday, October 26

by By Andrew K. Burger -- syndicated columnist at e-commerce Times and friend to eTaildTail

"Just how important is marketing to the aspiring e-tailer? "Critical. Automated marketing for startups and SMBs is the price of admission. Understanding and improving the customer experience is how to stand out from the crowd," commented Eric Feige, general manager at Usability Sciences.

There is a wealth of options out there for startup online retailers looking to craft and manage all-important marketing  campaigns and programs, as Part 1 of this series notes.

While e-tail technology and support continues to get cheaper and become more ubiquitous, the barriers to commercial success are also growing. Larger and more established retailers continue to invest their resources and get better at using the online channel, while the ranks of new and small and medium-sized business  (SMB) market entrants swell. These factors are several reasons why e-tail startups are learning from the experiences of others and tapping as many avenues of support and advice as they can, particularly when it comes to e-marketing and automating the marketing function to the greatest degree possible.

Just how important is marketing to the aspiring e-tailer? "Critical. Automated marketing for startups and SMBs is the price of admission. Understanding and improving the customer experience is how to stand out from the crowd," commented Eric Feige, general manager at Usability Sciences.

E-Marketing Challenges

The main challenges facing startups include ensuring they employ people with a keen understanding of marketing, specialize in the e-tailers' particular line of business and have the technical acuity required to manage campaigns, according to Affect Strategies' President Sandra Fathi.

"When e-tailers outsource or assign to 'experts' SEM (search engine marketing) or SEO (search engine optimization), often the person is an expert on how to perform the task but not the topic or store they are performing it for," Fathi told the E-Commerce Times. "This can create very expensive problems. Thousands of dollars could be spent optimizing the site for the wrong keywords or creating Google AdWords campaigns that attract the wrong search customer."

To avoid this pitfall, startups "must be sure they understand exactly what type of services they are buying and understand how to evaluate and measure their marketing campaigns. Online marketing is fluid and constantly changing. E-tailers need to monitor their campaigns closely to make sure they are continuously performing," she said.

Leveraging Data

Companies such as MerchantAdvantage offer products and services that startups can use to automate online marketing processes and move up the e-marketing learning curve quickly. The company's Channalytics data analysis and data feed management software offers the means whereby startups can automate the time-consuming processes of collecting, organizing and analyzing e-tail site data and using it to create and manage online marketing campaigns and programs.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY>>> Please click over to read all of it at e-commerce Times -- it is really helpful and no obligations if you click over -- Promise! Just lots of helpful advice.

Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups and Small to Midsized Online Merchants: Part 1

eTaildTail friends and community are expanding across the globe and providing wonderful insights to help small to mid sized online merchants.  Here is the first part of a wonderful 2 part series that speaks to issues small to mid sized merchants have all of the time with marketing solutions and implementation therein. 

I recommend reading it carefully over the weekend, as it really can help.  I participated in helping write the article but rather than summarize it, I feel it is important to post it here for you all to process on your own time.

Enjoy...Part 2 will be posted Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Chip

PS Don't forget to root for the Red Sox! LOL

by By Andrew K. Burger -- syndicated columnist at e-commerce news and friend to eTaildTail

"Most small e-tailers do not have extensive marketing departments, said Affect Strategies' President Sandra Fathi. "They cannot hire a seasoned expert for every task, nor should they. However, there a plenty of tools and programs that help automate processes to make their marketing programs more efficient and their employees more productive."

Designing effective marketing  campaigns and finding the right marketing mix are primary concerns for any online retailer. They are especially important for startups and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) competing with larger and better established e-tailers, as well as the rapidly growing number of their SMB peers.

Creating marketing campaigns and finding the right channels is a process of continual experimentation and refinement. It also entails building up an expert's store of knowledge about your customers, products, markets and suppliers, as well as how to make use of analytical tools and data feeds to capitalize on them.

This in turn means that startup e-tailers need to roll up their sleeves and get close and personal with all the raw data that an online retail business  generates and the various data collection, analysis and automated marketing tools and methods on offer.

Automating Marketing: The Basics

Efforts aimed at automating marketing, according to MerchantAdvantage's Michael Lambert, can basically be divided into two categories: automating marketing efforts while maintaining control and responsibility for them, and hiring a third-party to manage and handle various marketing efforts on an e-tailer's behalf."...continued"

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY>>> Please click over to read all of it at e-commerce Times -- it is really helpful and no obligations if you click over -- Promise! Just lots of helpful advice.

Product Catalog Data Feed Strategy: Why an Online Merchant Should Feed to Several Shopping Comparison Sites

I have received many mails about where online merchants should feed their product catalog data to get the most sales and drive traffic back to their online storefront. 

My answer is simple.  I don’t know...AND FRANKLY...no one has the exact answer....even the so called "experts."

The reason I say this is because there are many, many shopping destination sites that can help you get sales and drive traffic back to your online storefront/your website. I believe that the best way to find out which sites work best for you is to experiment and use a tool based solution that lets you experiment.

It is true that the big four, namely, PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, Yahoo! Shopping, and Shopping.com drive almost 70% of all “pay per click” traffic to storefronts.  Add in Amazon and that probably goes up to 75%.  Add in an eBay store, that you can set up and feed your product catalog into, and a feed through an affiliate, as Linkshare, Performics, Commission Junction, and that number might go up to 80%.  And then add in three FREE listing sites as Google Product Base, TheFind.com, and MSN Live Search (not their marketplace) and you certainly reach 80%.

But does just listing your product catalog to these marketing channels lead to more sales?  Or does it lead to more exposure and clicks with little sales?  The only way to find out is to:

1. experiment
2. analyze and then,
3. choose!

Outside of the better known sites, there are over 150 other shopping destination sites that, while small and less well known, are none the less destinations that have potential buyers. 

These sites don’t have 10,000 merchants selling the same products, sometimes they have only 25.  These sites certainly don’t have the “traffic” of the bigger sites, but they do have consumers looking for products, and are a cost-effective alternative that just might lead to a higher ROI (return on investment) = less clicks but more clicks lead to sales.  So why not try them?

As I have said many times over, it is always critical to first master the science of getting one data feed properly to a shopping channel and then to master the art of marketing that feed properly into that channel.  If you do not do this then the likelihood of realizing the effectiveness of that marketing channel diminishes greatly. 

But, I am always surprised that online merchants think that they only can, or should, feed their marketing data to just a few destinations to realize sales.  If you understand and actually market your feeds properly, why would you not take the opportunity to market your product catalog to as many places that might work for you?  Why limit yourself?

If I said to you that you had the opportunity to open up a brick and mortar store in 10 cities cost effectively, as opposed to just 3, wouldn’t you try it?

If I said to you, that when you do open those stores that you are not obligated to stay in that city for more than three months and would have no more obligations, if you decide that those store fronts were not performing well?  Wouldn’t you do it? Wouldn’t you try it?

Of course you would. 

Any person, advisor, expert, or company that tells you that you can only make money feeding your product catalog to shopping destinations that “they” choose is absurd.  You certainly can make money feeding your product catalog data to just a few places, just as you can make money feeding your product catalog to just one marketing channel – but why limit yourself -- especially if you know how to use shopping destination sites.

My advice?  Don’t limit yourself to just a few marketing channels, as the marketing channel you don't try just might be the one that "could" have worked the best for you and ensure that any advisor or company that you work with gives you:

1. choice
2. the ability to analyze how your marketing efforts are performing in real time = never market without the ability to understand how effective those efforts are, and
3. the ability to change how you market your product catalog into each unique channel

If you have figured out how to optimize your feed correctly for 1 or 2 of the more of these well known sites (either on your own or though a service based or tool based company), why not take a few minutes to try different ones?

You might be surprised that you do better, or just as well, in terms of ROI.  And at the very least, you will get more exposure, branding, and a better education for yourself on how all of these sites can work for you. 

To help you all, I will continue to list shopping destination alternatives here at www.eTaildTail.com, that you can experiment with as time and resources permit.  Some of those channels may work magic, others may not work at all – but any scenario, never limit yourself. 

Oh yeah, and if you are wondering if you can afford to experiment with other channels, after you understand how to work with 1 or 2 channels effectively, here is a quick financial analysis that shows you can:

Example:

Sample 12 month marketing feed spend campaign: $3,000 per month/$36,000 per annum

Per month:
$ allocated to affiliate feed marketing (Commission Junction, Linkshare, Performics) = $500 (pending your type of product catalog = not always a recommended strategy)

$ allocated to adword/key word marketing (Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com etc) = $1,000

$ allocated to a product catalog feed based tool = $150

$ allocated to FREE channels (Google Product Base, TheFind.com, MSN Search) = $0.00

$ allocated to commission based sites (Amazon, Underbid, JellyFish.com, Shop.com) = $0.00

$ allocated to larger destination sites (Shopzilla, Yahoo! Shopping, PriceGrabber) = $1,000

$ allocated to smaller destination sites (see MerchantAdvantage for list) = $350

Makes sense. So now what? 

1. You are insane if you do not list all of your products to Google Product Base, MSN Live Search, and TheFind.com = all FREE and you can do this easily by using a tool based feed solution for $145 per month. 

2. You are insane if you do not list “higher margin products” to commission based marketplaces as Underbid, JellyFish and, if you can get them to agree to work with you, Shop.com and Amazon.com with the following caviat: always make sure you know their all in costs for commissions because sometimes it can be high.

3. You are insane not to try 2-4 marketing channels outside of the big ones listed.

More Help = tool based solutions in the marketplace to help execute the above

If you want help to make sure your feeds are perfectly optimized to one or many shopping destination sites try the following companies. 

They are tool based offerings, cost-effective, and will save you tons of IT headaches as they solve the taxonomy issues for you – each company works differently and has drastically different levels of support, webinars, newsletters, sophisticated online triuble ticket support, analytics, etc…, so make sure you compare:

www.MerchantAdvantage.com (the pioneer in the industry)
www.SingleFeed.com
www.FeedPerfect.com
www.GoDataFeed.com
www.ChannelBrain.com
www.SmartFeed.com

Also, there are service based companies such as: www.ChannelIntelligence.com , www.ChannelAdvisor.com, and www.Mercent.com.  They are all very good but can be expensive.  Ask them how they charge, i.e. SKU count, revenue share, transaction costs...other. 

ChannelAdvisor and ChannelIntelligence have also introduced tool based offerings, which are similar to the ones above but are more expensive and there "all in costs" should be clearly understood and demarcated before signing.  Check them all out to see what works for you.

Prepared For the Holidays Properly? Last Minute Hints for Online Merchants to Grow Sales

Okay, much of the following information probably has been addressed by each of you, but it is worth noting again as you still have time to ensure that you have least considered some merchandizing tips for the holiday season, which may be helpful to bring in more sales and new loyal customers.

There is no question that shopping online during the holidays has increased and with the advent of mobile commerce it will grow. I am one of those who do not agree with Wall Street analysts and Research companies that online shopping is going to level off by 2010. It will continue to grow as the next generation of young folks “lives and breathes” online and on their cellular devices.  As long as online retailers continue to be innovative to reach them and understand the power of the functionalities of new cellualr devices (as the Iphone ....and others will follow) = online retail will grow. Period. 

But that is 2010 and it is now 2007.  So what can you do right now to make online shoppers’ experiences more robust so they buy more products from you? 

Some of the tips are obvious, others may not be, and I sure you all have ones that I have not thought of, so, at the very least, I hope the following stimulates conversation within your company to make your shopping season the best that it can be!

1. Comprehensive Content for Product Descriptions on Storefront AND Data Feeds to Marketing Channels, Shopping Destination Sites, Comparison Shopping Engines and Affiliate Sites

This seems so obvious yet many online merchants fail to think like “all” consumers and instead list products how they would like them listed, often missing important information that a buyer might want to see before a purchase.

Tip: Every detail is important to list: good pictures, side view pictures of products, product number (especially if it is electronics), manufacturer name, unique product descriptions (descriptions provided by the manufacturer are often boring and if you use them without providing your own “twist” what differentiates you from others selling the same thing?), easy to read and understand shipping costs, all in cost, product review(s), and “hacker safe” site logo(s), to name just a few.

2. SEO, Keyword Buys Should Mirror Your Product Catalog and Be Directed to Proper Landing Pages on Your Storefront

Sounds obvious right? 

It is astonishing how many online merchants spend lots of money on SEO and keywords yet fail to have the “linked reference” that pops up on a search engine or shopping comparison site direct back to the properly optimized and exciting offers on your storefront.  Think of it like walking into a brick and mortar store through the supply room.  Would you be excited to buy a product if that was the entrance? 

Of course, you need to direct the consumer to a landing page with the product they are looking for, but that landing page can have “helpful” ideas for other products, specials, upsell promos, and other exciting marketing language to draw customers deeper into your storefront. 

Tip: For a perfect example of what I am referring to see www.Cooking.com

3. Avoid all “Controllable” System Roadblocks to a Consumer Buying a Product

We are all human and by definition are imperfect, but we can certainly try to eliminate things that would turn off any customer.

Tip: Pretend you are a customer and go through the entire process and all possible options to buy a product from you. 

a. call your 800 number and see what they do, feel how they treat you, listen to what they say on the phone, hear the tone in their voice, and then determine if the person answering that call is presenting your company in the best light, and, most importantly,  do they make it easy for you to take the next step to purchase a prodcut and if you don't want to purchase make you want to come back?

b. Make an online purchase on your storefront, make two, make three = go through the entire process and determine if it is efficient, the shopping cart is efficient and easy to use, the payment process system is easy, there is excellent follow through, polite email or personal follow up, and on time delivery.

c. Know your inventory levels and, if you run out, make sure you have a system in place to guide an excited customer through the proper channels to get them that product "soon" and/or guide them to another “suggested and similar” product and let them know when and if the product will be available.

d. Try new technologies, as online live chat, for excellent customer follow up, product education and the like. AND make sure that these new ideas do not interfere with executing what you are already doing very well, ergo, only adopt new technologies if you have the time, money and resources to execute them well and not leave behind what you are already doing well.

Remember, human beings are imperfect so excellent customer service cultures are not easy to build and they are even easier to destroy.

4. Promotions Might Sound Great But They Can Destroy Margins

This is a hard one as we all want to “give away a freebie”, but these freebies, if not controlled properly, can destroy profits and frankly make your business look cheap, from the marketing side.

Creative solutions, discounted shipping, free shipping, special promotions for purchases over a certain dollar amount, special follow on coupons, and many other things are all great and need to be managed properly.

Tip: There lots of ways to do this, be savvy, think, do your research on how others do it and check out www.LLBean.com -- this is not the only site to look into but they do a nice job of packaging a sale with clicks and links to gift cards, promotions, gift wrapping and the like.

5. MultiChannel..If You Can

Simple.  If you have a brick and mortar location, offer an off line, in-store pick up option online = this brings the customer to you twice!

6. MultiChannel Marketing…IfYou Can

Simple. Use and test more than a few marketing channels, affiliate sites, comparison shopping engines, shopping destination sites, and other areas to market your storefront product catalog.  Try a new type of fun marketing effort called "couparison shopping" over at www.MyCoupons.com -- I kind of like it and it is different = it just may lead to great sales and branding.

If you are confused by what I mean check out www.MerchantAdvantage.com and see what they can do to help guide you, they also have a comprehensive lists of shopping destination sites to test and see which ones may work best for you.

7. Gift Cards….Gift Cards….Gift Cards….Did I say Gift Cards?

They work.  How is that for blunt?

Gift cards work because they are often bought in addition to a purchase, instead of a purchase (by indecisive people like me…LOL) and best of all they are cash upfront in your pocket.

Again see how www.LLBean.com does it for reference purposes. 

Tip: Yes, you have to have a good system in place to manage this promotion and yes, some people redeem gift cards months later, but sometimes they don’t and you still made money.

Oh yeah, always have an expiration date on the card for easier management purposes (some say no…I say yes…you decide what is best for you).  If you do use gift cards let them expire in a 8-12 months – 6 months is too short.

AND FINALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT TWO:

8. Establish Cut Off Dates for Holiday Deliveries

Simple....and make sure that you make it easy to read and the language is clear.  For example:

Last Day to Ship to Arrive Before December 20 is _________
Last Day to Ship to Arrive Before December 21 is _________
Last Day to Ship to Arrive Before December 24 is ___________.....you get the point.

Tip: Place a nice little “box” with this information on the original landing page, the shopping cart page, and the final check out page (prominently on the last two).

9. Be Nice, Follow Up, Be Human, and Love Your Customer

Emails are easy ways to communicate and bond with your customer and professionally cover the following important follow up items:

1. thank you for visiting our site and looking at our products
2. thank you for your order = order confirmation
3. tracking information to follow order
4. delivery confirmation (always a nice touch)
5. exposure and awareness of new product launches, specials, and promotions
6. thank you for being a customer, loyal customer, preferred customer
7. newsletter follow up (if you have one)
8. Other?!?...be creative!

Tip: Never underestimate the power of the 3 P’s to customer follow up in any form of direct electronic or personal direct communication: Polite, Prompt, and Precise!!!

Good luck as you prepare for the holiday shopping season.

Pumping Up Online Sales Through Potent Promotions

E-Commerce Times often have excellent articles and advice that all online merchants should read.  This is certainly one of them. – Enjoy and I hope it helps! -- Ed

By Stephan Schambach
E-Commerce Times
For full article and to comment please CLICK HERE

"Moving forward successfully into the future, today's retailers must vary the types of the promotions they offer, to maintain a high level of consumer satisfaction toward their brand. Success is a simple recipe: Learn about the most loyal shoppers, promote to a targeted audience, keep customers happy and loyal, and sell products.

Gone are the days of promotions strategies that begin and end with heavy discounting. Today's savvy retailers know their promotions strategies must be innovative, creative and customizable to specific consumer segments. Since the online channel often contains the most comprehensive set of retail products, it makes sense for retailers to use the Web as the channel of choice for overall promotions management.

When building a comprehensive online promotions strategy it is important to create offers targeted at acquiring new customers, increasing average order size, moving excess inventory and satisfying customers to build strong loyalty. Without a well-thought-out strategy, and the tools to measure success, it is impossible to know whether or not the promotions are generating true return on investment.

Centralize to Strategize

To get a true measure of promotions success, retailers must centralize the management process. This could result in an organizational shift that empowers the online merchandisers and marketers with more control over promotions strategy.

Further, retailers must be sure the e-commerce  system/service provider they choose to run their promotions program allows both the merchandisers to set up catalog and price-based promotions and marketers to run customer acquisition-based promotions. Once this is in place, the company can be on its way to improving margins, increasing sales  and creating more loyal customers.

Five Steps of Successful Promotions

Using today's available tools and technology, multichannel retailers can create customized promotions plans that deliver offers to consumers based on the segmentation of their preferences and shopping behavior. One retailer who has embraced a new promotions strategy and reaped the benefits is Gardener's Supply.

The multichannel gardening supply retailer had its best year for revenue and profits in 2006 due to its fortified promotions efforts. Promotion-based search results delivered better conversion rates, more than two dozen types of promotions increased customer satisfaction, and promotions overlap created increased conversion rates.

To execute a winning promotions strategy, retailers should follow these five essential steps:

1. Customer segmentation. The first step of successful promotions execution is to segment customers into groups, particularly when a brand attracts a diverse group of shoppers. By collecting customer data, merchandisers can better understand the triggers that make a consumer react to a specific type of promotion. Tracking consumers by these behavior groups allows retailers to introduce specialized promotional programs and communicate to consumers with relevant offers.

Online capabilities facilitate the collection of information provided by consumers when they register on a site and by their shopping habits. Consumers can then be grouped by price sensitivity, product class, order size, number of visits and other relevant characteristics.

2. Get creative with promotions. The goal of promotions is to cut through the noise created by the market, and ultimately get a consumer to make purchase. For this reason, promotions must be creative and offer real value. Think beyond discounts. New promotional concepts -- such as shipping destination, shipping methods, "x" first customers, every "nth" customer, every "x" order, items per promotion, apply offer to "nth" item, returns-based, payment method, free product choice, rebates, multiple bonus products and many others -- are starting to be used by some of the most innovative retailers on the Web.

Some retailers are even starting to use stock-level based promotions to move excess inventory. Although there is a lot of flexibility with online promotions, one warning to the wise: Be sure to have rules in place for managing promotions to avoid pitfalls such as giving away double offers or unintentionally not providing a consumer with the best available promotion.

3. Test promotions. Once the customers are organized into relevant groups and the promotions have been created, retailers can better determine the effectiveness of certain promotions by performing A/B tests. A/B tests are a comparative form of testing that allow merchants to test several promotion types against a typical offer to determine which option will yield the best results.

For example, different promotions can be offered to a single group of consumers to find out which promotion is more effective. This can be as simple as offering a 20 percent discount versus a 30 percent one to determine discount thresholds. Since it delivers real-time results, A/B testing is the best vehicle for testing time-sensitive offers. Testing is an import measurement tool for protecting against over promotion, which unfo