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Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
For Our Readers Only
I just posted the last blog and thought it would be nice to help some folks out. Call MJM Ecommerce at 215.764.5712 and we'll audit your online marketing campaigns at no charge. There are no strings attached...there's no obligation to work with us...just contact us and we'll help you make the most of 2008 with actionable strategies.
Call us or email us at info@mjmecommerce.com
Call us or email us at info@mjmecommerce.com
Paid Search is Getting Expensive
I've been doing my year end recap to measure performance year over year and its been another prosperous year for our clients. The one thing that jumped out was the rise in PPC costs. I collected terms from each of the campaigns we run and compared costs year over year. Its amazing to see the increase. On average, the CPC rates rose 23% and some individual terms rose as much as 85%!
Some of these terms are brand specific terms and others are generic terms that are important to the business. This trend isn't totally alarming because CPC costs have been steadily rising over the psat few years. Analysts have predicted paid search campaigns would be much too costly for the small guys within the next 3 years.
This leads me to develop a new strategy for 2008 that involves an increase in SEO. My clients' marketing budgets can go a lot further if SEO is beefed up and a focus is put on improving organic ranks for critical terms. Doing this will allow me to use paid search as a supplement for those critical terms and divert money into other profitable channels.
Good luck to you in 2008 and start thinking more about SEO.
Some of these terms are brand specific terms and others are generic terms that are important to the business. This trend isn't totally alarming because CPC costs have been steadily rising over the psat few years. Analysts have predicted paid search campaigns would be much too costly for the small guys within the next 3 years.
This leads me to develop a new strategy for 2008 that involves an increase in SEO. My clients' marketing budgets can go a lot further if SEO is beefed up and a focus is put on improving organic ranks for critical terms. Doing this will allow me to use paid search as a supplement for those critical terms and divert money into other profitable channels.
Good luck to you in 2008 and start thinking more about SEO.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Customer Service (part 2)
Part 2 of this series focuses more on actual phone systems, metrics and tools to close sales.
Many times a business owner will run out to Staples, pick up a few business phones and desks and call it a customer service operation. While this works if you're just starting out or don't field many calls, you should research getting the right equipment and making the investment for the long run. Why you ask? Getting the proper phone system in place will allow you to make your customer service operations more effective and efficient because you're giving employees the proper tools. Its akin to giving a web designer a 10 year old computer with an old version of PhotoShop. Sure, you may get the job done, but its going to take longer and the end product may not be as nice.
Nortel offers a great call center package that includes well-featured phones and software to track phone metrics. With their system, you can make your business look bigger than it actually is by having enterprise level functionality. For example, you can implement a phone tree (menu) and group employees according to skillset. For example, you can divide your employees into one group of order takers and another group for order follow up. The entire system can be managed through a web interface.
Measurement is the key to effective management. You need to know how many calls are coming in, call reason, how many hang up, how long it takes to answer, how long the calls last and how many calls convert into sales. Knowing these numbers allows you to hold employees accountable, take steps to improve, create promotions and set up contests to reward performance.
Here's a scenario of how all this ties in to effective customer service:
Your current operation brings in 100 calls per day. 30 calls are for order follow up, 20 calls are for order placement and 50 calls are general product inquiries. Only 5 orders are placed (5% total conversion) for 10 total products (UPT =2) for total revenue of $200 (AOV=$40).
Keep in mind every phone call is an opportunity to sell.
After reviewing concrete data, taking steps to improve processes and creating a bank of promotions you devise the following contest. Employees will qualify for the contest if the group generates $300 in revenue. From there, you calculate which employee contributed most to the revenue total and you award him/her.
This is a simplistic take on the situation, but, you can't argue the results when you have a motivated group of employees who are working toward realistic goals set forth after reviewing concrete data. Making the investment in proper equipment will pay off in spades in the near and long-term.
If you have a call center operation and need help maximizing your operation, contact MJM for information that will get you moving in the right direction. Email us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit us at http://www.mjmecommerce.com/.
Many times a business owner will run out to Staples, pick up a few business phones and desks and call it a customer service operation. While this works if you're just starting out or don't field many calls, you should research getting the right equipment and making the investment for the long run. Why you ask? Getting the proper phone system in place will allow you to make your customer service operations more effective and efficient because you're giving employees the proper tools. Its akin to giving a web designer a 10 year old computer with an old version of PhotoShop. Sure, you may get the job done, but its going to take longer and the end product may not be as nice.
Nortel offers a great call center package that includes well-featured phones and software to track phone metrics. With their system, you can make your business look bigger than it actually is by having enterprise level functionality. For example, you can implement a phone tree (menu) and group employees according to skillset. For example, you can divide your employees into one group of order takers and another group for order follow up. The entire system can be managed through a web interface.
Measurement is the key to effective management. You need to know how many calls are coming in, call reason, how many hang up, how long it takes to answer, how long the calls last and how many calls convert into sales. Knowing these numbers allows you to hold employees accountable, take steps to improve, create promotions and set up contests to reward performance.
Here's a scenario of how all this ties in to effective customer service:
Your current operation brings in 100 calls per day. 30 calls are for order follow up, 20 calls are for order placement and 50 calls are general product inquiries. Only 5 orders are placed (5% total conversion) for 10 total products (UPT =2) for total revenue of $200 (AOV=$40).
Keep in mind every phone call is an opportunity to sell.
After reviewing concrete data, taking steps to improve processes and creating a bank of promotions you devise the following contest. Employees will qualify for the contest if the group generates $300 in revenue. From there, you calculate which employee contributed most to the revenue total and you award him/her.
This is a simplistic take on the situation, but, you can't argue the results when you have a motivated group of employees who are working toward realistic goals set forth after reviewing concrete data. Making the investment in proper equipment will pay off in spades in the near and long-term.
If you have a call center operation and need help maximizing your operation, contact MJM for information that will get you moving in the right direction. Email us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit us at http://www.mjmecommerce.com/.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Customer Service (part 1)
An issue that sometimes is overlooked or not given adequate resources is customer service. I'm going to write a series of posts addressing this important marketing and business function. Its important because for many of your website visitors, a phone call to your customer service is the only human interaction they'll ever have with your company. This first post will address a basic component of customer service which is having all customer data at the drop of a dime.
Occasionally, I'll buy a product from a small business because they had the best price. It hits me how small they are when I call their customer service phone number to follow up on an order. I'm left on the phone waiting while the agent digs through paper to find my order or has to call me because all the knowledge resides in the mind of an individual who is at lunch. As a customer, I expect to get answers to basic questions when I contact customer service because that's what I've come to expect when dealing with more well known companies. Its not out of line to expect the same from a small business becasue at the end of the day that business took my money for a product or service I expect to receive. A negative customer service experience can drive away a new customer or a long time customer. One bad call is all it takes.
One way to streamline your customer service operations is to implement and integrate a CRM tool with your ecommerce platform. At many small businesses, the staff wears many hats and its not uncommon to have a designer or other person fielding customer service calls. How much more productive can your staff be if they had the proper tools?
I use SugarCRM because it works, its open source and its comparable to other expensive solutions. At a previous position, I implemented SugarCRM for my customer service team and the results were incredible.
First, my costs went down. My phone bills went down because customers weren't sitting on the 800# while my staff went looking for information. It drove down cost on outbound calls becasue we addressed customer needs immediately. It also improved my revenue contribution per employee ratio because my staff could immediately address customer issues while spending more time on revenue generating activities (i.e. home page refreshes, paid search placements, etc.).
Second, it improved the customer's perception of my brand and turned potentially negative situations into positive ones. Customers will always recognize you when you do the right thing. Part of doing the right thing is having all the information at hand to make a good decision. It also allowed any one of my staffers to properly address a customer issue by having all the customers notes at hand. It didn't matter if one person initially took the call because that person put all the notes into the CRM tool.
Third, it housed all my customer data in one easy to access application. I could access Sugar CRM and segment my customer list based on any number of parameters I chose and market to those folks with relevant email blasts, mailers or package inserts.
Finally, contrary to popular belief, it's not expensive to have an enterprise level CRM tool or to integrate. Contact us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit http://www.mjmecommerce.com/ and I'll tell you how to make this solution work for you. Check back soon for Part Two!
Occasionally, I'll buy a product from a small business because they had the best price. It hits me how small they are when I call their customer service phone number to follow up on an order. I'm left on the phone waiting while the agent digs through paper to find my order or has to call me because all the knowledge resides in the mind of an individual who is at lunch. As a customer, I expect to get answers to basic questions when I contact customer service because that's what I've come to expect when dealing with more well known companies. Its not out of line to expect the same from a small business becasue at the end of the day that business took my money for a product or service I expect to receive. A negative customer service experience can drive away a new customer or a long time customer. One bad call is all it takes.
One way to streamline your customer service operations is to implement and integrate a CRM tool with your ecommerce platform. At many small businesses, the staff wears many hats and its not uncommon to have a designer or other person fielding customer service calls. How much more productive can your staff be if they had the proper tools?
I use SugarCRM because it works, its open source and its comparable to other expensive solutions. At a previous position, I implemented SugarCRM for my customer service team and the results were incredible.
First, my costs went down. My phone bills went down because customers weren't sitting on the 800# while my staff went looking for information. It drove down cost on outbound calls becasue we addressed customer needs immediately. It also improved my revenue contribution per employee ratio because my staff could immediately address customer issues while spending more time on revenue generating activities (i.e. home page refreshes, paid search placements, etc.).
Second, it improved the customer's perception of my brand and turned potentially negative situations into positive ones. Customers will always recognize you when you do the right thing. Part of doing the right thing is having all the information at hand to make a good decision. It also allowed any one of my staffers to properly address a customer issue by having all the customers notes at hand. It didn't matter if one person initially took the call because that person put all the notes into the CRM tool.
Third, it housed all my customer data in one easy to access application. I could access Sugar CRM and segment my customer list based on any number of parameters I chose and market to those folks with relevant email blasts, mailers or package inserts.
Finally, contrary to popular belief, it's not expensive to have an enterprise level CRM tool or to integrate. Contact us at info@mjmecommerce.com or visit http://www.mjmecommerce.com/ and I'll tell you how to make this solution work for you. Check back soon for Part Two!
When is it Time to Redesign Your Website
Recently, asked me when is a good time to redesign a website. There's no easy way to respond to that because you have to evaluate a few things before you get to the answer. I responded by saying some due diligence should be done on the following aspects:
- What is your competition doing? Look at what your competition is doing and compare it to your site. If the competition is updating their site and making it look better and function better then you should consider updating your site. You don't want to be left behind eating their dust because you're essentially giving up market share. On the other hand, if your competition is not doing anything to their site or they look and function horribly then this is your chance to blow them out of the water if your site can use a refresh. Put some time and money into your site's branding and functionality.
- How old is your site? If a significant refresh hasn't occured within 1 year, then you should consider changing some elements. Simple things like new colors, new home page merchandising and updated navigation can go a long way. If your site is more than 3 years old then consider a complete redesign to stay fresh in your consumers mind.
- How does it perform on search engines? This is more of a coding issue, but, practicing good SEO can result in more revenue. Hire an SEO expert to audit your site.
- Are you bored? If your site is tired and boring looking, simple change it!
Don't skimp on design! Good design can put you in a whole new level in your customer's mind. You've heard the old adage...dress the part and you'll get it. Same concept applies here. What would your site look like if you were #1 in your industry. Now go get it!
Visit http://www.mjmecommerce.com/ for our solutions.
Monday, December 3, 2007
What Holiday Promotions Should You Do Online?
The holiday season tends to make or break many fiscal years and can be a time when owners and managers walk on pin-and-needles. Depending on what you're selling, chances are there are many options for consumers to buy from and you need to set yourself apart from the competition. Promotions on your site can make this a holiday to cheer for and make your bonus check a lot fatter. Here are some basic promotions you can execute that will have immediate impact on your sales.
Free shipping has become ubiquitous online...surely you've been to a site that offered free shipping and it helped close the sale. You should do the same. Research has shown that at least 45% of consumers will abandon a shopping cart because of shipping costs. If you offered free shipping you can incresae your sales tremendously. The smart way to do this is to calculate your site's Average Order Value (AOV = Total Sales/Total Orders), Units per Transaction (UPT = Total Units Sold/Total Orders) and determine thresholds that will help you achieve your financial goals. For example, if your sites AOV is $75, then you may want to consider offering Free Ground Shipping in the Continental U.S. for orders of $85 (15% higher than AOV) or more. You'll be surprised at how many customers will buy another product just to get free shipping. Be sure to advertise this promotion in your email campaigns, paid search spots and anywhere else you promote your site.
Gift With Purchase. Another great tool to increase your sales by offering value to your customers. This can be a great tool to liquidate old inventory. Be careful though...don't give away anything of perceived low value because that can be detrimental. Use the same concept as above...create a threshold for qualification and promote it in emails, home page and paid search placements.
Percentage Discounts. This one is very simple, but, I've seen retailers lose money because they didn't execute properly. Again set a threshold for qualification and give a nice % off. For example, get 10% off your purchase of $85 or more. And again...be careful! Be sure you exclude gift cards and exclude baskets that have minimum shipping/handling fees because they're awkward to ship. There are other things to be weary of and be sure you understand how you implement this promotion.
I've got a long list of other effective promotions. Email me at info@mjmecommerce.com for the list.
Free shipping has become ubiquitous online...surely you've been to a site that offered free shipping and it helped close the sale. You should do the same. Research has shown that at least 45% of consumers will abandon a shopping cart because of shipping costs. If you offered free shipping you can incresae your sales tremendously. The smart way to do this is to calculate your site's Average Order Value (AOV = Total Sales/Total Orders), Units per Transaction (UPT = Total Units Sold/Total Orders) and determine thresholds that will help you achieve your financial goals. For example, if your sites AOV is $75, then you may want to consider offering Free Ground Shipping in the Continental U.S. for orders of $85 (15% higher than AOV) or more. You'll be surprised at how many customers will buy another product just to get free shipping. Be sure to advertise this promotion in your email campaigns, paid search spots and anywhere else you promote your site.
Gift With Purchase. Another great tool to increase your sales by offering value to your customers. This can be a great tool to liquidate old inventory. Be careful though...don't give away anything of perceived low value because that can be detrimental. Use the same concept as above...create a threshold for qualification and promote it in emails, home page and paid search placements.
Percentage Discounts. This one is very simple, but, I've seen retailers lose money because they didn't execute properly. Again set a threshold for qualification and give a nice % off. For example, get 10% off your purchase of $85 or more. And again...be careful! Be sure you exclude gift cards and exclude baskets that have minimum shipping/handling fees because they're awkward to ship. There are other things to be weary of and be sure you understand how you implement this promotion.
I've got a long list of other effective promotions. Email me at info@mjmecommerce.com for the list.
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