eTail Marketing Quick Tips
Q. How can we get stronger out of this crisis ?
Carine Moitier, Co-Founder and COO, Bivolino.com
A. Carine Moitier will share with you 10 lessons out of 10 years experience in e-Commerce as Bivolino.com Co-Founder and COO. Indeed, she survived the 2001 internet crash and got stronger out of it.
Q. If there is just one marketing tip you can give, what would it be?
David Edouart, E-Commerce Marketing Manager, 3 Suisses
A. Answer your customer needs as simply as possible! Never forget your customer is not an expert of your business or of your website. So, he has to find what he is looking for as quickly as possible. What are my best tips to fulfill this goal?
- Use your customer vocabulary, not the company’s
- Always keep in mind that each click requires an effort from your client: quicker is better most of the time. Thus, focus on direct access to your products or on easy tools to select what your customer is looking for
- It is crucial to explain briefly and simply who you are and why people can trust you before asking them to give you their credit card number
- Of course you want every visitor of your website to go through your checkout process; the best way to get the higher transaction rates is probably to make your checkout process as simple as possible
Making things simple is one of the most difficult parts of our job. I suggest before launching a new design or a new feature on your website, you double check it with non-experts or non-users of your website. I am sure they will give you extremely interesting feedback and help you to make your message simple and understandable to them.
Q. How are you allocating your marketing spend differently in 2009?
Depesh Mandalia, E-commerce Development Manager, Warner Leisure Hotels
A. We’re leveraging more from our affiliates as this helps reduce the brand’s marketing burden during the economic challenge, whilst maintaining a healthy marketing ROI. By working closer with top affiliates they become a closer ‘extension’ of your own marketing operations, understanding the brand needs and challenges, working with them to increase their own returns and in turn increasing your own brand sales.
Q. What role does social media play in the marketing mix? Is it even part of the marketing mix?
A. Social Media is another outlet for marketers to communicate with customers. However, web savvy surfers are quite aware of social media being used for marketing purposes and some of the best examples use more subtle means to engage with prospects and to allow customers to become brand advocates. Build Social Media around your brand, your USPs but most importantly around your customers. Why would they use it? What benefits are there to them? Why would they want to engage? The ROI, whether increased leads or sales should be seen as a long term payback and not the overarching objective.
Q. Which key trends and growth opportunities do you foresee over the next 3 years?
Kieron Smith, Managing Director, The Book Depository
A. We’re seeing a polarisation of the consumer market into two camps – the cheap and disposable (but with ethical credentials), exemplified by Primark, H&M, Aldi, Lidl, and, on the other side the ’buy to keep’ – things that will stand the test of time. If customers are going to spend money then they want it to be special – to stand the test of time. So limited editions, co-operative efforts, something hand made or different. People will shop from both, but there isn’t much room in between.
People are becoming more 'community' focussed – not just in terms of their social lives, i.e. staying in more, but they are wanting to do things like buy from etsy.com where they can pick up a bargain, buy something special and unique and be supportive of people trying to make some money (rather than corporations).
Consumers want to be more personal with gift purchases this year - so making things, or buying hand made things, not spending huge wads of money; coming up with something special and personal. Look also at the trends for collective cooking on TV. This has converged well with the new push towards frugality and the credit crunch – but people who aren’t on a tight budget want it on their own terms, as ‘recessionistas’.
Going back to basics, remembering it’s not about spending money but it’s about the simple pleasures in life. Book clubs are still on the up; a cheap way to have a regular social event without going out and spending lots of money.
Encourage two way communication using online media - cheap and quick and can easily appear to be personalised even if it is more of a mass communication. Find out who your advocates are, engage with them, reward them (even with kudos) and get them to spread the word too. There are many ways to communicate in this new environment – but just doing a video viral doesn’t mean it’s right for your message, actually something offline may be better. Online more conversations between people in the business and customers – for example the was Twitter is heading. We could see a further blurring of brand definition between corporate and consumer. Imagine buying a book from The Book Depository and then getting a personal email from the author to say thank you for buying and what did they think of the book?
Use other people’s traffic e.g. Flikr/Google use the footfall. Social networks might work for you they might not. Use all your traffic. Use your current contacts – ask everyone (e.g. see what etre.com do) who comes into contact with you if they want to receive your newsletter and then strike up a conversation.
Q. If there is just one marketing tip you can give, what would it be?
Christian Holtmann, GM, QuelleContact, Quelle GmbH
A. Listen to your customer, don't think for him, just ask him- add and test some good ideas - that's the way to concentrate on the core issues.
Q. How are you allocating your marketing spend differently in 2009?
David Oliver, Head of Marketing Programmes, Hertz Europe Limited
A. Our focus in planning and managing marketing activity has become more on the short term, so more tactical, more promotional and more directly sales oriented. Many long term marketing development projects have been reviewed or investment suspended for the time being, until the true economic situation becomes clearer.
Q. If you only had ₤500,000 marketing budget to spend this year, how would you spend it?
A. Firstly in sustaining core communication and loyalty programmes with our most valuable customers. And secondly, probably in investment online.
Q. What are the keys to customer excellence and obtaining optimal lifetime value in your opinion?
A. Investing in managing customer relationships including for example managing customer experience, influencing service delivery, segmentation and targeting of messaging, exploring lifetime value, churn and retention drivers. Overall understanding the customer and taking care of them
Which key trends and growth opportunities do you foresee over the next 3 years?
Firstly flexing to adapt to changing economic circumstances and changes in market dynamics. Secondly understanding and looking after your most valuable customers. And thirdly more online, more digital media, more emerging new media.