Archive for the ‘Calls to Action’ Category

Size and shape of buttons will influence conversion.

Depending on the size, shape, placement, color, or wording of your call-to-action button, you may not be seeing enough action.  Testing variations will help you determine which button is optimal for your specific needs.

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Research has been conducted in September 2008 about ‘What 3 internet marketing tactics will you emphasize most in the next 6 months?’

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The subject line is an essential element to the success of any email marketing campaign. Unfortunately, after spending a lot of time getting the email body copy perfect, many marketers put minimal effort into the subject. Without a great subject line, your wonderful copy may never be read…

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I had a bad dream. 

I dreamt New Zealand Businesses wanted to grow their eCommerce potential but had no idea where to turn for clear information or answers on Online Marketing. Hang on, it wasn’t a dream, it was me thinking about the Breakfast presentation on Online Marketing at the Crown Plaza (Auckland), where the speakers almost tried to confuse the 200 strong Marketing and Senior Managers in attendance.  It was then; I decided to write part 2 of the Online Shoppers Guide on how to find an Online Marketing supplier. 

Don’t get me wrong, they were all good speakers, but they didn’t help.  People come to these things for answers (I come for the food), after the Breakfast, they probably left with more questions!  I left with a stomach ache.

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The Agency Paradigm:

Back in October 2007, Budget Rent A Car was using an agency to drive their Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign.  Even though Budget’s media cost exceeded their revenue, Budget thought nothing of it.  It was a cost of marketing online, and if Budget wanted to be visible in Google, it was a necessary evil.  Budget had the same mindset for PPC as they did with offline marketing.  The Agency would add it to their communication mix to ensure the “Budget” brand was in everyone’s face, whether people were looking to rent a car or not. 

The “Push Marketing” paradigm to the Nth degree.

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I am going to admit something.  I sometimes have a tendency to drive fast.  I can’t control it, call it an innate need.  When I was a youngster  I rode my tricycle fast, when I was pre pubescent, I rode my skateboard fast, and when I was a teen, I rode my ten-speed fast.  In those days, the worst thing that would happen is the odd scraped knee.  

Now that I have a car which has a tendency to go fast (it’s not my fault), there is the rare occasion when the police disagree with my interpretation of following the rules of the road.  The result?  A speeding fine!

Being a responsible adult and doing my part to contribute to the Government’s unlimited pot of money, I wanted to pay the fine online.  I am too busy to post a cheque, and couldn’t even tell you where my cheque book is.  I haven’t seen one in years.   I head to the New Zealand Police website hoping to find a simplistic method to pay the fine.  I budget 5 valuable minutes out of my important day to do the right thing.

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In the wonderful world of Advertising, Agency’s typically adopt or pick up “buzz words” in order to bamboozle clients.  This is done to make them sound as if they are at the leading/cutting edge of the advertising world with the hopes to secure more business.  The web is no different. 

We at Exceed Online and Alkemi New Zealand are now seeing and hearing everyone use terminology such as “Persuasion” and “Conversion”, to achieve the same.  What’s funny is the “buzz word users” truly don’t understand the meanings of each term nor do they understand how to apply each to a client’s website and strategic marketing principles. 

For those of you who have these words shoved in your face, please read on.

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If a retailer tells you their website does not affect their physical bricks and mortar business, they are either doing something very wrong or telling fibs. The statistics below prove the power of a multi channel approach!

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The buying process for every individual is different.  There are visitors who are in the early stages of buying wanting to learn more about the product or service, and late stage buyers who know what they want and want it now. 

Are you confused?   

Most of you realise this contradiction and typically opt for building a website around the late stage buying process.  Why?  Because it is easier.  Though appeasing late stage buyers is less of a challenge (many are still not doing a good job at it!) a greater understanding of how both buying types interact on your site is important.

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Persuasive links are the “connectors” from one micro event to another in a sales process.  The number of micro events in a sales process will vary; however, what’s more important is the ability to persuade visitors to follow micro events with the hopes of leading to a single macro event i.e. a sale.    If visitors resort to using the navigation or, “Plan B”, it means your sales process is unclear, your sales process does not match the visitors buying process, and/or your links in the body of the website are not persuasive enough.   

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