Category: eCommerce
Daily Deal Sites – Flash in the Pan or eCommerce killer?
State of Play
New Daily Deal Sites (DDS) seem to spring up almost daily. Is it any wonder? With most consumers having the attention span and customer loyalty of a gnat, DDS cater to the consumer that is increasingly both strapped for cash and strapped for time. Let’s face it, few of us have the time or energy to stay abreast of what our favourite eCommerce sites may have on offer at any given time. Add in the increasing consumer penchant to buy online and you have the right mix of factors to make DDS wildly popular. Recent data bears this out.
So, should businesses list on DDS sites or not?
Closing Windows of Opportunity
Fame and Fortune
The Internet is the way to fame, fortune and the gilded lifestyle you have always dreamed of right? If you could just think of that ‘brilliant idea’ or invent the ‘perfect product’ your problems would be over right? You’d slap up a website, put it online, put your products on there and wait for the wads of cash to roll in right? Continue Reading…
Wireframes and how they help to develop the User Experience
Ever used a website and given up in frustration before you attained your goal? Then you know how frustrating and damaging a bad user experience can be.
A good user experience is about understanding who the user (‘customer’) is, what their needs are, and how they think about achieving their goals. Then it’s about placing that knowledge at the center of the design process, so the end product matches the real requirements of the users. Get that right, and people will purchase from you.
Put simply; get the user experience wrong, sales go down.
Times are tough
Two things are happening right now in the Business climate: either times are really tough, or further attempts are being made at building on profitability. Either way, all businesses are looking for smarter ways to streamline operations, find more effective methods for repeat business to either grow or become automated, and finally, grow new business acquisition.
The value of Unbranded Traffic
Google Analytics is still the unsung hero with regards to being the tool of choice to improve the performance of eCommerce websites. Without it, it’s impossible to truly understand how your website is accommodating your customers or “first timers”. With the hundreds of reports available in Google Analytics, where do you start? Answering this could take awhile, so instead, its best to focus on the philosophy of the type of reports you should be looking at which can tell the story of if your site is working or not. It’s those reports which show the performance of Unbranded traffic.
Demand to know your demand – Part 2
My last article discussed the ability to gain, for free, fantastic knowledge/insights into your target market without the need to pay exorbitant rates to learn target market demographics. Through the understanding of the demand for your products/services, a considerable amount of business decision making can be made.
One point to note, this article is geared for eCommerce, however, those businesses looking to develop a Lead Generation Strategy for their services would adopt the same philosophy.
Here are some examples of what can be done with this data:
Delivering Happiness
Tony Hsieh is the CEO of trail-blazing apparel store Zappos.com – the same Zappos that was acquired by Amazon for approximately $1.2 Billion in stock in July 2009.
Continue Reading…
Are you a Procrastinator?
For some, $300 is a drop in the bucket, but for me it was more like dropping it down a 120-foot well. While it is possible that the pipe connected to the pump in my below ground tank, which feeds water into our house, simply burst on its own, I cannot help but think I caused the issue myself.
Continue Reading…
Manufacturer’s and the Direct to Consumer Approach
Are you a Manufacturer who has serious concerns about moving to a direct to consumer approach? A blog post from E-consultancy titled, “Why Not Selling Online Can Damage Your Brand” covers many key reasons why a direct to consumer approach has become a “must have” in building a Manufacturer’s brand.
