Video Product Tours Yield 35% Increase in Online Sales Conversion

Appeared in Marketing Vox
11/26/07

A SellPoint, Inc. study conducted by Coremetrics found a significant increase in product purchases after online shoppers viewed audio/video tours of products, writes MarketingCharts.

The study analyzed online shopping behaviors to measure the impact SellPoint’s Active Product Tours (APT) on the purchase patterns of online shoppers. Among the findings:
There was a 35 percent increase in the sales conversion rate among shoppers who viewed the tours vs. those who did not.

Shoppers viewing the product tours spent more than 2.5 minutes, on average, engaged in viewing detailed product information about each product viewed.

The Active Product Tours are detailed product presentations featuring audio, video and downloadable sales collateral related to a particular product. Shoppers choose to view them by selecting a “Take a Product Tour” button on the product page.

SellPoint also released the following information:
Last year, online shoppers spent more time viewing APT on Thanksgiving Day than on CyberMonday (208,509 minutes vs. 181,726 minutes).

Based on SellPoint projections, Thanksgiving Day view time will total more than 380,000 minutes vs. nearly 182,000 minutes of view time on Cyber Monday.

About the study: The Coremetrics online shopper study was conducted on the CompU.S.A website, which features SellPoint APT for products from companies such as Canon, Panasonic and Epson. The study was conducted over 30 days and examined more than a million shopping sessions.

http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/11/26/video-product-tours-result-in-35-increase-in-online-sales-conversion/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink

What Is Your Key Metric?

If any paradigm shift has dominated marketing thought over the past decade, it is this: If a tactic can’t be measured, it can’t be trusted. It is this sort of thinking that has driven marketers, dealerships and otherwise, to shift their spending away from hard-to-measure mass market tactics like radio and TV and towards more measurable strategies like direct mail and electronic marketing.

But with all this measuring going on, the next question becomes this: What do you measure? What is the key metric that you look at to determine how your marketing is performing?

Do you simply measure leads generated? Or do you only count those leads that are successfully converted into sales? Perhaps you calculate how much each lead costs? Or do you go even deeper… examining how much profit each lead generated?

Use the comments section to tell us what your key marketing metric is.

eMarketer: online advertising skyrockets

From Digital Dealer
Nov 15, 2007
Volume 2, issue 46

eMarketer foresees U.S. online advertising will more than double as a percentage of total media, rising from only a six percent share of total media in 2006, to a little more than a 12 percent share in 2010. In approximately the same period, online spending will close to triple, rising from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $42 billion in 2011.

According to David Hallerman, a senior analyst at eMarketer, the three milestones which marked this change include:

“First, U.S. Internet ad spending surpassed $5 billion in Q2 2007, the largest sum recorded in any quarter according to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers,” says Hallerman. eMarketer projections suggest that in Q4 of this year spending will leap past the $6 billion mark.

“Second, while 69 of the 100 largest U.S. advertisers put smaller budget shares into four traditional media – television, radio, newspapers and magazines – in 2006 than the previous year, 70 of the same group put larger shares into Internet advertising,” continues Hallerman. Furthermore, 58 of those U.S. advertisers both decreased their traditional spending share and increased their Internet share.

“Third, even as the credit crunch pulls ad money off the total media table, the Internet looks to be more resistant to economic turmoil,” asserts Hallerman. “To put the obvious into figures, online advertising contributes more and more to the total ad spending universe every year.” That share will show 7.4 percent this year, approach one in 10 dollars next year, and will probably reach at least 13 percent by the end of 2011.

“Data from both eMarketer and TNS Media Intelligence indicate that 2007 Internet ad spending will be higher than for radio, as reported in August,” declares Hallerman. “That is the first time online ad spending will be greater than for any of the four traditional measured media.” The average ad spend per Internet user is also growing. In fact, 2007 marks the first year that marketers will spend more than $100 to reach each person online. And, by 2011, advertisers will be spending nearly $200 per user.

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000951885.cfm?x=bbD1BRj,b4TSprpk

With Your Website, Control Is Paramount

It has recently come to our attention that one of our competitors, Cobalt, has partnered with General Motors to offer manufacturer-endorsed template websites. At first, it seems that using one of these basic, inflexible sites is mandatory… but this is not the case. The industry has seen Chrysler, VW, Lexus, Mercedes, and others try this strategy and fail. But there is something they’re probably not telling you. Yes you have to pay the $199 to get leads down from GM, but you can use nearly any internet provider to build, manage and host your site. You don’t have to work within the limits and restrictions of the template site — and you shouldn’t. You can simply run the template site in the background and use it to feed data into your custom-built site.

What they’re not telling you about these template sites is how limiting they are. They don’t offer you flexibility you need in regards to search engine marketing/optimization, proactive marketing, branding, local promotions, multimedia and all of the other things that really make a web site sing.

So, is this now a necessary evil for GM dealerships? Probably so. Does it force your hand in regards to the way you build and run your website? Absolutely not.

“Top Ten” signs a dealership is not serious about the Internet

10. They have AOL or Hotmail email address.
9. They still have the Field of Dreams mentality (Build it and they will come)
8. The Internet Manager spends more time integrating that new flying airplane on the site than making sure leads get followed up.
7. They switch website providers every year trying to find a site that will sell cars for them.
6. The Internet Department thinks they can take the same number of smoke breaks as everyone else in the dealership.
5. Policies, Procedures, and Accountability don’t pertain to the Internet Department.
4. The newspaper is their primary advertising medium, where the average reader is 55 and the new generation doesn’t even pick it up.
3. They use Cobalt or Reynolds as their primary web solution because they were told to (can you say brainwash).
2. The GM/Owner doesn’t use the Internet so why would anyone else.
1. The dealership has handed over a multi-million dollar profit center to Internet Guru they wouldn’t trust to baby sit their 8 year old daughter.

Brian Cox
President, Dealer Impact Systems
www.dealerimpact.com

Web Sites Influencing Used Car Buyers

From Digital Dealer
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Issue 44
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 44

Among late-model used-vehicle buyers who use the Internet during the shopping process, Internet use has surpassed all other shopping methods as the source for locating the vehicle a buyer ultimately purchases, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Used Autoshopper.com Study released late last week.

The study finds that Internet vehicle locators, such as Autotrader.com, CarMax.com, Cars.com and eBay Motors, are increasingly leading consumers to the actual vehicle they buy. In 2007, nearly one in four buyers of late-model used vehicles (23 percent) used an Internet vehicle locator or online classified ad services to find the vehicle they purchased — a 44 percent increase since 2006. In addition, 2007 marks the first year that Internet use surpasses all other shopping methods in locating the vehicle a buyer ultimately purchases. The proportion of used-vehicle buyers who use the Internet in the shopping process and who ultimately found the vehicle they purchased on the Internet is 10 percentage points greater than the number of shoppers who found their vehicle through the second-most-popular method, visiting dealer lots.

“This is just one indication that use of the Internet is now perhaps the most efficient source for shopping for and purchasing late-model used vehicles,” said Jon Osborn, research director at J.D. Power and Associates. “In the past, the majority of used-vehicle automotive Internet users relied on the traditional method of driving around to dealer lots to find the vehicle they ultimately bought. However, as the number of Web sites specializing in the used-vehicle market continues to grow, and the use of video, photos and improved dealer inventory management tools proliferates, we can expect that consumer use of the Internet for used-vehicle shopping and for actually finding a desired vehicle online will continue to increase.”

Consumer-generated automotive content (CGC) is dramatically affecting Internet usage for used-vehicle shopping, as consumers are offering their own experiences and opinions on makes, models and dealerships. With hundreds of sites listing shopping tips, vehicle reviews, pictures and vehicle specifications, CGC is becoming a highly sought-after and trusted source of information for consumers to help determine their buying decisions. The study finds that slightly more than seven in 10 used-vehicle automotive Internet users (72 percent) use CGC on the Internet either while they are shopping for their vehicle or after they purchase it. By far, the most popular types of CGC are consumer ratings and reviews, with two-thirds of used-vehicle automotive Internet users accessing this type of content for automotive information.

“Not only are reviews written by consumers frequently accessed, but also the buyers who use them rate them as the most helpful of all types of consumer-generated content,” said Osborn. “Among used-vehicle automotive Internet users who access consumer-generated ratings and reviews, 94 percent say the information is either ‘somewhat helpful’ or ‘very helpful.’ With this level of utility, CGC is one area that consumers will continue to seek out and may even expect to find on all automotive Web sites.”

The study finds various gender-based differences in used-vehicle shopping trends among automotive Internet users. For example, women not only tend to decide to buy a vehicle earlier in the purchase process than do men (15.9 weeks before the date of purchase compared with 14.1 weeks), but also decide upon the vehicle type and model earlier than do men. In addition, at the beginning of the shopping process, men are much more likely to know the make of vehicle they want than women (49 percent vs. 38 percent), while a much higher proportion of women are initially open to any vehicle that would meet their needs than are men (22 percent vs. 13 percent).

The 2007 Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on responses from 5,476 used-vehicle buyers who purchased pre-owned 2002-2007 model-year vehicles in January and February 2007.

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000941164.cfm?x=bbvBGF8,b4TSprpk

SEO lessons Nike and Tiffany’s didn’t learn

by Lisa Wehr

Published October 17, 2007 in iMedia Connection

A newly released Oneupweb study of retailers reveals some startling facts about the power of optimizing for search.

Quick, who’s the largest online retailer of shoes? Nike? Footlocker? Payless? Timberland? Not even close. The winner is Zappos.com, an eight-year-old company that, until recently, had little or no brand recognition. In 2006, Zappos.com sold more than the online sales of all the well-known brands listed above, combined.

Recently, Oneupweb looked at the top 100 online retailers, including some of the world’s most recognizable brands, to see how well they optimized their websites. What we found surprised even us.

Many of the world’s leading brands ignore SEO and maintain poorly optimized websites. In fact, 60 percent of the leading online retailers had little or no optimization on their websites. As the success of Zappos.com and other savvy internet marketers illustrates, extraordinary customer service combined with sound SEO can help a company overcome the obvious competitive advantage of branding alone.

Nike just didn’t

Nike and brand marketing are synonymous. So, we were surprised to discover little or no sign of optimization on the company website. Someone searching for “athletic shoes” will not find Nike.com in the first three pages of Google results. In fact, the site barely shows up on page one of Google for the branded search term “Nike Athletic Shoes.”

Nike has an online visibility strategy. The company supplements its well-known branding efforts with paid online advertising for important keywords. Research indicates PPC campaigns are much more effective when combined with natural search. They aren’t in Nike’s case, leading us to speculate about how much more effective Nike’s online and offline marketing efforts could be if they were integrated into a well-executed SEO program.

Size doesn’t matter online

The beautiful thing about online retail is the way the medium levels the playing field. Huge warehouses and 500 worldwide locations mean nothing. Visitors don’t have to drive to a brick-and-mortar location; they are driven online to the retailer’s website. Retailers need only attract enough interested visitors to their sites and provide an excellent shopping experience after their guests arrive.

Searchers look for brands they know. However, Oneupweb’s recent research showed repeated examples of a well-optimized, savvy marketer successfully competing with a better known brand. Well-optimized websites position the challenger higher on non-branded keyword searches. The higher the position on search engines, the more traffic, conversions and sales.

Online, web-only jeweler Blue Nile outsells its much larger and more-well known competitor, Tiffany & Company. The Tiffany brand has been around 170 years; Blue Nile, eight years. Both sites are optimized, although the clear edge goes to Blue Nile when it comes to the degree of optimization and overall online customer service experience.

Well-optimized for a changing landscape

Our study did not include the use of new media as a criterion for the degree of optimization on a website. Nevertheless, we found that top online retailers who have well-optimized websites are 60 percent more likely to have corporate blogs or podcasts. This reflects a growing sensitivity to Google’s new Universal Search model specifically, and the growing popularity and viral power of blogs and podcasts overall.

Amazon.com, the leading online retailer for all three studies Oneupweb has conducted since 2003, uses blogs and podcasts in addition to many other sound SEO and SEM practices. Furthermore, the company constantly solicits user feedback and reviews to generate loyalty, links and social support for its products and services. The results speak for themselves.

Consider the opportunities

Our study should be good news to most online retailers. For those who do optimize well, it means an existing competitive edge that will allow them to compete successfully with some larger, more established brands.

And for those large brands that do not optimize well, there is a great opportunity for growth in the best or worst of years. Either way, there is much work to be done; work that can result in greater traffic and revenue.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/17011.asp

The Internet Is A Fad?


“The Internet is a fad, it is going to be like CB radios.”
– Blake C., circa 1997

That was 10 years ago. And, I’m happy to say, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The internet has so integrated itself into the way we communicate and access information, that few among us could imagine a day (or even a few hours) without it.

But despite this reality — which any rational person will concede is true — there are still business people who behave as if Blake C.’s quote above is true. And few industries have been slower to adapt than the automotive retail business.

We see many dealerships in our day-to-day dealings that, although they’re dabbling in various internet tactics, don’t seem to be taking it seriously. We here at Dealer Impact believe that what we’re seeing now is only beginning of how these new technologies will change the way people buy (and sell) cars. And as with any business dealing, first mover advantage is key — so why dabble? Get organized, get aggressive and revel in the awesome car-selling power of this new technology that was once labeled a “fad.”

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Keep It Clean

As dealership marketing becomes more and more digital (admit it, it’s happening), most dealerships are also moving away from mass marketing to more targeted efforts. And as they do this, the importance of good, clean data is becoming increasingly important.

So much of the value of digital marketing is tied to the value of the database that underlies the effort. Whether it’s an email campaign, an online service special or the inventory on your website, the marketing effort is only as good as the database that drives it.

Step #1 to powerful digital marketing: keep your data clean and up to date. Do that and you’re halfway home.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Let’s Get Little (and Frequent)

Faster, faster, faster. And more efficient. It seems to be the driving force behind Western Culture. As our lives become more cluttered and we’re bombarded with more and more demands on our time, we’re increasingly insistent that our information be delivered to us in small, digestible chunks. CNN delivers all the day’s news in 15 minutes, RSS feeds deliver just the info we want right to our computer or mobile phone and the family meal has been replaced by the nuke-it-and-run approach.

Is this a sad commentary on the state of our culture? Maybe. Is it reality? For sure.

So as marketers, what do we do about it? Well, we should adapt. We begin by understanding that we’re rarely, if ever, going to get more than 30 seconds from a prospect. So we don’t try to tell a 3-minute story. Instead, we should try to tell more 30 second stories. We combat quantity of content with frequency of content — and that’s how we win.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC