It’s all about customer engagement

As a retail business owner, how often do you make a choice not to settle for rudimentary changes that generate average results and please only the average customer? Many of us are guilty of this kind of complacency not realizing that by catering to the “average” site visitor, we are probably ignoring the greater majority of our prospects who demand personalized attention. Retail businesses that seek to integrate their overall marketing strategies and align them with the goals of a majority of their website users can achieve great results.

When utilizing best of kind Internet marketing tools, your site can be your primary marketing vehicle. But what value will a website bring to your retail business if people are visiting your site and not completing the desired action (i.e.: making an online purchase, subscribing to your promotional campaigns, visiting your store, etc.)?

Your website is a sales funnel, just like your store

Your target audience can always be profiled primarily on their needs / wants / pains / and problems. This can be further broken down into demographics and psychographics and where they are in the buying cycle (which decides their behaviour on your site). Your goal then is to ensure that every element of your website persuades visitors on your site to take the actions that lead to the delivery of your objectives (conversion). Conversion on your website means the visitor completing your desired action or objective. Pour site visitors through your website funnel while monitoring and measuring their actions to ensure that your efforts are driving results to the bottom of the funnel and your bottom line. Remember that every click on your site is a step towards conversion. Visitor satisfaction with every click on your site should build confidence until they reach the final click where they convert into a customer.

Conversion Architecture™ starts by defining your business goals and target audience, and then ensuring that every element of your site persuades visitors to take the desired actions. These elements include: persuasive copy, calls‑to‑action and conversion tools like live chat or click‑to‑call technology. The guiding philosophy of Conversion Architecture™ is that all websites must have a persuasive purpose. Building your site with Conversion Architecture™ in mind will result in more visitors doing what you want them to online – whether buying a new product, signing up for your VIP Club or printing off a coupon.

The 40/40/20 Rule

Conversion Architecture™ follows the 40/40/20 Rule – 40% Audience Targeting, 40% Offer and 20% Creativity. These figures come from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in its outlining of parameters that determine the success of any retail marketing campaign. Whether or not you use diverse Internet marketing methods like pay-per-click advertising, landing pages, viral social media marketing campaigns, etc., you can always think of your website as your primary marketing vehicle. Build it using the 40/40/20 Rule where (a) every element of the website keeps in mind the majority of users and their varied profiles; (b) there exist multiple acquisition channels making a variety of offers and (c) aesthetic design and creativity offers unique and personalized experiences for site visitors.

19 billion views on average for online video

…your retail business too can engage audiences with video    

Judging by the astounding growth of online video viewership (close to 125% in 2009), there is no doubt about the tremendous opportunity that has emerged for marketers. Sure, online video still has a long way to go before it gets close to television viewership but eMarketer predicts that online video viewership will nearly double to 11.8 billion total hours in 2010.     

As a retail business owner, you strive to educate your customers and prospects about your products and services. Now think about one of the most effective ways that people learn – it’s the interactive audio-visual medium (a.k.a. Video)! There can be no better way to show the use of your products, make a presentation about a new concept, share information and ideas to encourage better utilization of your products and services, promote an event, discuss success stories or a case study, and so much more. Using the combined power of voice, text, image, music and perhaps, a little bit of drama (for effect!), a simple video can engage your target audience like nothing else can.

If you’re thinking, “Video is expensive”, “I don’t have time to create videos”, “Video marketing is too slow”, “Video takes too much technical knowledge, skills and effort”…STOP! From retailers to chefs, MLM pros to fitness instructors, chocolate makers to computer manufacturers, everyone has used online video and very successfully at that. You don’t need to hire an expert videographer or have fancy cameras, lights and software. There are ways to create and market online videos quickly, affordably and efficiently. You just need to know what market trends prevail and which best practices yield the best results.     

Online video is not all about what you can show…

…it’s about what your audience can imagine!

Google’s 2010 Super Bowl Ad was a 52 second video. If you haven’t seen it before, take a quick look now.

Lost in Paris aren’t you? The video didn’t do that. You did! As your eyes followed the text and online search on your screen, your mind wandered off picturing everything from chocolate to coffee, Le Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, Parisian models to French couture, and more! See how plain text scrolling on a screen and simple, really subtle, unobtrusive music can have that effect on you? No images, no photographs, no fancy graphics or use of color, and yet, the video makes you see so much, within the realm of your own imagination! That’s the power of online video.      

Sure, Google is one of the biggest, most well-known companies in the world today and they paid an astronomical figure to play this video during Super Bowl. (CBS charged 3 million dollars for a 30 second commercial!). But think about it, you could create a video like that sitting in your own office or home. The most important thing is to get your retail brand into the mind of your customer. And to do that, you have to think like the customer and find the niche that you’d like to occupy.   

Understanding market trends and following best practices in online video marketing can help you gain terrific results without having to spend too much time, money or effort on it.

Write content for your website that surfers will actually stop to read!

Writing for the Web isn't as simple as it might seem.  Without proper knowledge of how the medium works and what visitors to your page want and need, you could inadvertently be driving them away!

Before sitting down to write your content, you must understand that you must tackle writing Web content differently than you would when writing for traditional print media.  You have to write in a way that will get your point across without losing your readers' interest.

The following three tips will help to make your Web content more accessible and engaging to your readers, helping to make your website a more effective tool for your business.

Get to the Good Stuff

Let's face it: reading text on a computer monitor is more difficult than reading off a paper copy.  In fact, a study by Sun Microsystems states that it takes up to 50 percent longer to read on-screen copy than it does traditional paper copy.  Because of this, most Web users tend to scan the screen first to determine its relevance, before actually reading the content.  Knowing this, you can adjust your content accordingly to enable easier reading and scan ability.

First, be sure to start with what's most important – keep your most relevant information at the top of the page (“above the fold”), so readers can see it without scrolling down.  The first few paragraphs of your home page should give a summary of what readers will find on all pages, not just a general overview of your company.

Since they can't scan the entire 'document' like they could with paper copy, you need to make sure they know what other relevant info they will find on inner pages to encourage them to venture further into your site.  Herein lies the importance of creating an intuitive site navigation structure allowing your visitors to locate the information they are looking for in a timely and efficient manner.  If a visitor to your site doesn't find what they need off your home page, they are unlikely to browse through the rest of your site, where the 'real' information lies.   As journalists would say, 'never bury your lead' – don't make your readers search for your main message.

Use Language Effectively

Reading Web content shouldn't feel like reading an essay; paragraphs should be short and concise, and sentences should be kept simple.  You want your readers to actually read the content, not skip past it because it looks daunting and 'solid'.  White space, or, text-free space, on the page is easy on the reader's eye, so try to break up large blocks of text.  If the content you wish to portray is particularly complex or lengthy, utilize the 'read more' format, where the first couple of paragraphs are shown, and the reader can click to read more, or download a white paper on the topic.

Make the most of your content by using simple, 'tight' copy.  Leave out unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, clichés and exaggeration, as they take away from the factual content, which is what your readers are actually interested in.  One way to make your copy tight is to use the active voice instead of the passive, and write in the present tense.  For example, instead of writing "Our products have been used by customers to improve their visibility on the Internet," you could write "Customers use our products to improve their visibility on the Internet."

Avoid technical jargon and acronyms whenever possible, unless your website caters solely to technically-minded people.  Use easy to understand language to ensure that your message is clear.

Know When to Use it, and When to Leave it out

Graphics and hyperlinks can add value to your website, but when used unnecessarily, they can actually decrease the impact of your copy.

Images should help support your text, adding a graphically pleasing element to the page, thus augmenting the impact of your text.  However, images must be topical and not interfere with the text.  Also, file size of graphics should be kept to a minimum to ensure that they do not increase the time it takes to open the page.

The same concept holds true for inserting hyperlinks.  While some links that lead your reader to more information on external websites can be useful, you must determine the relevance and necessity of the links.  Do you really want your reader to stop reading your content to leave your site and read something else?  Over-linking can work against you, since it forces the reader to decide between continuing through your content and reading the information in the additional link.  Don't force your readers away from your content unnecessarily!

Purpose

The purpose of Web copy is to engage customers by telling them about the problem, predicament or ‘pain’ that your product can solve in a way that compels them to take the next step in the buying cycle. This means that not everything written on a Web page is classified as Web copy; items such as articles or valuable information for the end client are considered content.

Copy writing for offline sales is very different in comparison with website copy. People are more relaxed on the Internet, so it is important to use a friendly and engaging style of copy as opposed to a hard sell approach that is often used in offline sales copy.

On the Web, you only have a small amount of “real estate” to capture the visitor’s attention. Your message must be presented in a clear and concise way that compels the visitor to take the next step. All of this must be accomplished in the small space of the Web page “above the fold” (the area of the page visible on-screen without scrolling down). Another important consideration is that people do not read the same way on the Web that they do on paper. All of these factors play an important part in creating effective Web copy. 

Why is it important?

Effective Web copy is what persuades someone to take action. On the Web, action can be anything from getting people to read the next page, follow a link, sign up for a newsletter, call the business, or purchase a product.

Most companies, Web designers and developers do not understand the importance of Web copy. Actually, the majority of copy on the web today is quite shocking. Much of what is found on the Web is recycled copy from brochures, mission statements and other marketing material on the home page using language and industry- specific jargon that only industry experts would understand or be interested in. This material focuses on the company and not the most important person – the intended online audience. Readers can be alienated by confusing and untargeted copy, and will not continue reading. The bottom line is that good Web copy focuses on the customer and sales, which means profitability for you and your client.

The “Big Picture” of internet marketing is the key to staying focused, committed and motivated while cutting out all of the background noise of the internet marketing world. Invest your time and money training and obtaining only the things that will compliment your online business and help you grow it.

Spend the time filling in the pieces of the big picture as it pertains to your online business. The big picture entails four key components:

1. Product
2. Conversion
3. Traffic
4. Follow-up Marketing

When these four components come together, they make up the core foundation of any successful internet business. This is the secret to making money online.

First, we have product. In order to have a successful internet business, you need to have a product to offer people. You can’t make money if you don’t have anything to offer. Despite what many people believe, creating a product isn’t that difficult and there are many types of product you can create to put into the market.

These products could be eBooks, software, video or audio and these are just scratching the surface. These are only a few of many digital products you could sell online. Now, there are many ways to put together a product quickly and simply, whether it be from resale rights, master resale rights or ghost written works.

Your product can be something as straightforward as a website with a subscription form for a newsletter or ezine. If you are focused on affiliate marketing, you could build a landing page to capture prospects before sending the traffic on to the affiliate site. This way you leverage promotions to build your own mailing list and keep the subscribers for yourself. By doing this, you can tap a cash source virtually any time you wish.

By creating a newsletter with new affiliate offers and sending it out to your mailing lists, you have the possibility to make thousands of dollars. You build trust with subscribers and create the ability to generate revenue consistently for years from your target market.

The next part of the big picture is conversion. This measures the rate in which you influence visitors to take the desired action on your website. If you can manage to get half of your visitors to take the desired action, you have a 50% Conversion Rate. Improving your conversion rate is important because it helps you minimize your efforts while maximizing your results.

Conversion is a massive study with many schools of thought. For the beginner internet marketer, there are a few basics that should be followed. The most important one being copywriting. You could have the world’s greatest product for sale, but if you cannot manage to convince your prospect of that and get them to buy, than you’ve failed. Your words are a bridge between you and your prospects, so you need to make
them powerful.

By adding things like graphics, audio and video to your website, you can increase your conversion rate by allowing your prospects to interact with your website. When you add testimonials to the site along with case studies, your conversion rate will also rise. This happens because you are not just making a statement about your product anymore, you are now backing that statement up with hard facts and proof.

Three tips for boosting you conversion rates are:

1. Create safe communication in your copy so your prospects feel comfortable on your website.
2. Create credibility and trust so your prospects believe in your products and want to make a purchase with you.
3. Create a feel of urgency so your prospects are highly motivated to purchase.

The third part of the big picture is Traffic. Here are five keys to successful traffic generation:

1. Not all traffic is created equal. Your focus is only on getting highly targeted and market specific traffic that will convert well to sales.
2. Leverage all the traffic you get. Capture your visitors’ information for follow-up.
3. Master at least one traffic strategy and use it as your main method.
4. Do something everyday to get traffic to your site. Create a traffic generation plan and stick to it.
5. Money ties your traffic by adding different profit streams within your website. You could have a one-time offer, affiliate offers or even Google AdSense

There are many ways to get traffic, but you need to align them to the five keys above. Traffic generation requires some work, be it from press releases, articles, pay-per-click or joint-ventures and affiliate programs.

The final part of the big picture is Follow-up Marketing. This is the most important part in making the bulk of your money. Follow-up Marketing profits are the key to excess revenue. Follow-up Marketing is finding complimentary, higher-end or recurring income products across multiple scenarios.

1. Immediately after the sale or site launch.
2. During the checkout process as an add-on option.
3. A special offer or recommendation through follow-up email.

A huge portion of your profits will be generated by follow-up emails. This is why it is very important to capture the names and email of your site visitors and build your email lists. Affiliate products make great backend recommendations as you don’t need to create your own. You can simply offer affiliate products that give you high commissions, residual income or multi-tier profitability.

Make sure your backend products are complimentary to your market or site topic. This will help you create massive backend profit easily and consistently.

With 400 million users on Facebook, you know you are connecting with real people. More importantly, you are reaching out to the right people at the right time! Your business can use Facebook advertising to help increase demand for your product or service. Facebook Ads makes it easy and cost-effective to quickly set up and manage your campaign. You can use image and text-based ads, advertise your own web page or something on Facebook like a Page or an Event. Facebook Ads offers you the flexibility to choose  -- to pay per click or pay per impression in your local currency.  

Advertising online is all about measurable results. You can optimize Facebook ads to track your progress with real-time reporting. By gaining insights about what type of users are clicking on your ad, you can make modifications to maximize your results.

You also have the ability to combine other marketing solutions (like polls, sponsorships, groups, etc.) with your Facebook advertising to gain greater ROI. For example, when you have a well established Facebook presence with your ads, plus Facebook Pages or Facebook Events, you can take your advertising message a step further. Turn your ad into a trusted referral by including content from a user’s “friends” who are already affiliated with your products or services! For a low cost of participation, you get a truly engaged audience. Nothing can beat the positive and long-lasting results of that!     

400 million active users and over 60 million status updates per day

Facebook is already the “world’s largest social network” in 2010 having fought closely with MySpace and Twitter. Let’s look at some stunning Facebook statistics:

• More than 400 million active users
• Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
• 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day

• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook

(*Source: Facebook)

No matter what industry you are in or who your target audience might be; there is no denying that in one way or another, they are impacted by Facebook. If your business is not leveraging the power of this social network, you are missing huge opportunities. But it’s never too late to begin!

This is Real-time Socializing

Facebook Mistakes You Should Avoid

Having a large circle of “friends” on Facebook is great, but as a business owner, you need to be cautious about how you interact online. Expanding your network by sending out several friend requests to people you have never interacted with in some way can be a waste of your time and theirs. It’s the same thing with “accepting” friend requests. If you want to socialize in real time, it should be with people who have something to offer that interests you; something than can add value to your life in some way. At all times, whether it is just “writing on the wall”, a Facebook Ad campaign, a Page or an Event, your Facebook time must engage your target audiences in meaningful and positive experiences online.         

While slower to develop, Canadian retail retail eCommerce now has validated momentum. Not only are more Canadians buying online, in a wider array of categories, a significant number of both small and large specialized retailers launched online stores in Canada last year.

eCommerce managed to buck the recession that dragged down the rest of retail, growing double digits in 2009 with a predicted 12.5% increase again in 2010 (source – eMarketer). Approximately 10 million people made online purchases last year (almost 49% of the total online population). eMarketer estimates online sales of $7.5 billion in 2009 with Canadian retail eCommerce sales reaching $11.4 billion by 2012. There are still high levels of growth as online shopping will be driven by purchases of electronics, apparel and footwear and relatively less by furniture, beauty products and groceries. While retailers will continue to pursue sales growth through eCommerce, there is also an increased focus on using the internet to influence sales that happen in stores. Studies have found that over 50% of retail purchases are influenced by the Web in some way.

Here are just a few of the benefits of retail eCommerce:

• Sell products and services
• Instantly advertise specials or offer sales-generating online discounts
• Take orders automatically, anytime
• Quickly respond to customers without any additional staff
• Easily track inventory and sales data

For any retail business looking to grow, eCommerce still represents one of today's single greatest opportunities for retailers to target new customers and increase sales.

Welcome to our newly launched WSI Retail Group site and our first blog post.

The WSI Retail Group site was created specifically for Retail Council of Canada members to provide a wealth of information and services regarding all facets of Internet Marketing. WSI Retail Group site is a must visit for Canadian retailers at any point in their online journey. For those retailers who are looking to create an online web presence to an established website with an Internet marketing strategy, the site contains leading edge information as well as tools to get you started or determine your current performance. Keeping in-line with the RCC’s commitment in bringing value to it’s members, free access to valuable tools, downloads, best practices, video’s and on-going education is within a few simple clicks. For those that require further consultation and services, WSI Retail Group is excited to discuss member priced solutions aimed at driving more online traffic and better conversion for your retail business.   

"Who is WSI?"

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, WSI (We Simplify the Internet) is a global Internet solutions provider with more than 1500 local offices in 87 countries. In Canada alone, WSI has over 100 offices specializing in the small and medium-sized market space. WSI provides Internet related marketing services and technologies that deliver maximum return on investment for businesses the world over.

WSI Retail Group is committed to improving the profitability of Canadian retailers through the use of leading-edge Internet marketing and technologies, delivered by knowledgeable, service-oriented Certified Internet Consultants. As more retail businesses realize the importance of the Internet to their continued success and growth, WSI Retail Group is ready to serve their needs with real e-business solutions.

What is an Internet Consultant?

Our Internet Consultants are specially trained and certified Internet business experts. Just like the many other business professionals and advisors you've come to depend on (such as your lawyer, your accountant, your stock broker, etc.) a WSI Retail Group Internet Consultant is in your local community to ensure your retail business realizes the full profit potential offered by the Internet. That potential goes far beyond just selling products and services online with a website; our Internet Consultants have a wide range of specialized tools at their disposal and can offer you a variety of solutions tailored specifically for your retail business. These Internet solutions can include technologies that make your day-to-day processes more efficient, save you money on operational expenses as well as Internet marketing services to better sales and customer management.

WSI Retail Group Internet Consultants may not be what you've come to expect when you think of Internet "experts", particularly if you've been approached by other Web Developers in the past. Our Internet Consultants focus on delivering true business solutions while leveraging our best of kind websites. Another difference that sets Internet Consultants apart from Web Design professionals is their goal of creating an ongoing business relationship with you. It's almost common practice in this industry for a firm to design a website for a retailer and then move on to new business, never looking back. This may work well for the Web Design firm, but it certainly doesn't work well for you. In reality, websites are only the beginning - our Internet Consultant's services will deliver far more value to your retail business and help you to achieve a real return on your website investment as you build a profitable long-term partnership.

For more information please contact WSI Retail Group today.