IMEDIA UK
The president of ForeSee Results reveals his five surefire steps to attract new online customers to your retail sites.
E-retail success begins with customer acquisition, the critical first step in convincing shoppers to buy from you. As an online marketer, you invest heavily in strategies to drive traffic to your site. However, not all web traffic is not equal, and while most marketers know which sources drive the greatest quantity, it's also important to know which strategies result in the best quality of site visitors -- the ones who will buy from your organisation, recommend it to others and think of you before the competition. We recently conducted research into customer satisfaction with the top 30 retailers in the U.K. (as measured by site traffic). A key part of the research was the analysis of different customer acquisition sources, including promotional e-mails, search engine marketing and advertising. We looked at which tools resulted in the most site traffic, but more importantly, assessed what led to the most satisfied shoppers -- those likely to buy again, recommend the site and engage in other desired behaviours. For data credibility, we used the methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a globally-recognised and utilised metric. Five strategies for online customer acquisition 1. Make use of promotional e-mailsPromotional e-mails are the most effective paid acquisition source, resulting in 16 per cent of site visitors in our study. More importantly, this group has higher satisfaction than shoppers who come to a site via search engine results, shopping comparison sites or advertising. The power of promotional e-mails goes beyond merely creating happy shoppers. These customers are highly likely to buy again from your organisation the next time they seek similar merchandise. Interestingly, U.K. marketers seem to make less use of promotional e-mails than do their U.S. counterparts. A similar study in the U.S. showed e-mail as the primary acquisition source for 27 per cent of American shoppers. 2. Realise that search engines and shopping aggregators result in quantity over quality
In our research, 16 per cent of shoppers visited a site via a result from a search engine or a shopping comparison site, such as Kelkoo. At first glance, that's impressive. But a closer look at the data paints a picture of quantity over quality. This group of shoppers has low satisfaction, 9 per cent below that of the promotional e-mail group. Furthermore, these shoppers report a low probability of future purchase. Shoppers who come to a site via search engines or shopping aggregators may be merely comparison shopping, making them difficult prospects for long-term loyalty. 3. Encourage word of mouth marketing
Word of mouth can be difficult to measure, but its success cannot be disputed. Our research shows that customers who come to your web site via recommendation from a trusted friend, family member or colleague are as satisfied as shoppers who visit because of promotional e-mails. Recommendation also results in a strong likelihood for future purchase -- online and the next time the consumer seeks similar products. Recommendation creates a viral effect, wherein shoppers who come to the site via recommendation are highly likely to in turn refer someone else to your site. 4. Recognise the place of advertising
Traditional television, radio, newspaper and magazine adverts still have their place. But in the e-retail world, these costly acquisition sources should be used judiciously. Only 7 per cent of shoppers in our research visited a site due to an advert. Whilst their satisfaction is higher than the search engine/shopping aggregator shoppers, it's 8 per cent below the satisfaction level shared by shoppers who come to the site via promotional e-mails or recommendations. The area where advertising may have the most impact is in offline purchase. Likelihood of engaging in this future behaviour was higher for this group than for any other acquisition source.
5. Don't discount the power of the brand
Whilst it's not a paid acquisition source, brand awareness is a big driver of online satisfaction, loyalty and sales. The most satisfied and largest group, 36 per cent of our study base, visited a site because they were already familiar with the brand, the site or the products. This group represents high-quality web traffic, with a strong likelihood of future purchase and recommendation. In fact, this group topped all others for satisfaction with the site, satisfaction with the retailer and probability of future online purchase. So, you can never go wrong by building your brand, though it may not be as easy to make quick changes in this area than in some of the paid customer acquisition sources.