Five Ways to Prepare Your E-Store for the Holidays

Shindigz.com is an example of an e-tailer that grooms its e-stores for the holidays.

by My Web Writers

Prepare your e-store for the holidays.   Delight and encourage shoppers, while providing unique opportunities to increase your potential customers. It goes without saying that if your site is a landing destination, your customers are going to shop more and spread the word about it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social networking media.

There’s no time like the holidays to make subtle, effective improvements to your e-store, all in the name of getting ready for the upcoming festivities.

Put up some decorations

It doesn’t take much these days to change a heading or personalize a background. If you don’t want to use your own pictures, search for public domain and free licensing ones to create an atmosphere of holiday cheer on your site. Include a few holiday specific articles, highlighting your best products with previous customer testimonials.

Make your e-store very user friendly

Keep your site stress free for your customers, providing easy access to product, ordering and shipping information. Update return policies and include all information pertaining to receiving items as gifts too. While you’re doing this, it’s undoubtedly a good idea to make sure your return policy is consumer friendly, as well.

Other important user friendly features on your e-store include navigation. Make products on your site easy to find and access. Product descriptions should be thorough and readily available, upon landing on each product page.  Refresh your product and category descriptions for SEO.  Eliminate unnecessary clutter. Minimize eyestrain by softening colors, and reducing glaring bling.

Give gifts and goodies to your customers

Free shipping is huge, but so are coupons. Perks are fun to find and receive when shopping. Provide ample opportunities for customers to save money, and receive special promotions and offers with minimal effort. This might include running a 3-Day sale, and posting a special coupon on Facebook for consumers to print. It could also be a “Refer a Friend” opportunity, where linking to your site sends your customer an extraordinary deal for their kindness.

Eliminate shipping worries

Flexibility is vital when it comes to shipping, especially for those last minute shoppers. As an e-store owner, you can make sure you’re able to deliver customer product in a timely manner; you can also extend the shipping time required by the customer. Give those frazzled shoppers a little breathing room, and make it easy to receive items in record time, even if they’ve been ordered a little later than expected.

Serve your customers well

Treat your customers like royalty. Make them feel wanted and special, by providing multiple ways to contact you. Set up a live chat or forum for their immediate questions and concerns. Make “Contact Information” easy to find and easier to use. Respond graciously and as soon as possible when you are contacted by a customer.

Preparing your E-store for the holidays is an opportunity to make your site stand out among the crowd. Take advantage of this opportunity, so you can drive traffic and increase sales opportunity well into 2013!

~MJ

Marketing to Generation Y Men

by My Web Writers

Capture His Gen Y Interest.

According to Luxury Society, “Gen Y’s annual spending power exceeds $200 billion and they also influence another $50 billion in purchases.  By 2017, Gen Y will eclipse Boomers in spending power.”

When creating a plan for marketing to Generation Y (1977- 1994), remember one important fact—we’re completely wired in to technology.  Whether checking Facebook on cell phones or playing video games, members of Generation Y are much more tech-savvy at a younger age than previous generations.  Generation Y was born with cell phones in hand, so it’s a natural progression that we essentially only communicate by way of cell phone.  The population of Generation Y is also very accustomed to instant gratification.  We are a generation that gets what we want when we want it.  If you keep these factors in mind when you put together a plan for marketing a product to Generation Y men, you’ll be off to a good start.

Gen Y Men Appreciate Brevity

Generation Y men are masters of multi-tasking and many have short attention spans.  One Generation Y male said, “If you can’t tell me what you’re selling and why I need it in fifteen seconds, you’ve lost my attention.”  In his article, “We Aren’t Sissies”, Josip Petrusa acknowledges that most Gen Y men are guilty of break ups via text.  He comments,  One thing is for sure, it definitely saves you hours and hours of your time.”

Marketing needs to reach men fast and be easy to understand.  If you choose to market via Facebook or email, create a quick read.  Write a two-to-three sentence description and add a picture.  Make it easy to look at and understand, and even better, make it easy to forward to others.

Gen Y Peers Hold the Keys

Generation Y men will often ask friends’ opinions before purchasing big ticket items like computers or vehicles.  Because everyone has access to social networks, such as Facebook, through their cell phones, it’s easy to quickly ask for friends’ opinions of certain products and to have the feedback at your fingertips.  The majority of information any one person hears about a subject comes from friends.  If  friends like the product, the Gen Y male will be more likely to purchase the same product.

Overall, there are a few simple things to remember when marketing to Generation Y men:

1.  Gen Y men have technology at their fingertips.

2.  Gen Y men respond better when the advertisements are short and to-the-point.

3. Gen Y men rely on the recommendations of friends.

If you remember these factors, you’ll be able to put together an effective advertising campaign to market your product to the men of Generation Y.

~Holly

Marketing to Gen Y Women

by Holly

Generation Y Women Focus on Facebook

As a part of Generation Y, I know firsthand how large a role Facebook and other social networking sites play on daily lives.  Anymore, Facebook and Twitter are both easily accessible from cell phones.  Furthermore, with the recent addition of Pinterest, social networking is at its height (so far) and still growing.  Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are the three most popular among the women of Generation Y, so many companies have taken to using these social networking sites as a large part of their marketing strategies.  Some business Facebook pages, such as Victoria’s Secret, offer fun contests that can only be found on Facebook.  Recently, the Victoria’s Secret Facebook page was also a place to find a bonus Spring Secret Reward, a card that could be worth $10, $50, or $100.  Other businesses, such as Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, offer Facebook fan-only coupons.  This coincides very well with Pinterest, as many more women are turning to do-it-yourself projects for their homes.  All the social networks are interlinked somehow, and more often than not, it’s through the women of Generation Y that tell their friends to join, that link their pins on Pinterest and their tweets from Twitter to Facebook.  Furthermore, many of those Generation Y women, when asked to take surveys, have reported that they not only have friends that they see daily (“real-life friends,” as Marketing Chart says), but they also have Twitter followers, blog authors, and online friends whose opinions Generation Y women rely on.

Smart Marketing Gets the Attention

Women look for deals like “buy one, get one” deals and freebies that come with “liking” businesses on Facebook.  Any coupon or reward program offered with likely catch the attention of twenty-something women.  Especially in today’s economy, where everyone is looking to save money, you’ll find twenty-somethings who have a talent for couponing and stockpiling everyday household supplies.  According to www.marketingcharts.com, Generation Y women respond best to non-intrusive marketing that can be found on social media sites, blogs, and the like.  Also, when women find a product that they like, they’re very likely (61%, according to Marketing Charts) to recommend that product to their friends, family, and coworkers.  With that knowledge, you can change the way you market your product and potentially gain new customers in those twenty-something women.  You never know, by simply gaining a few new customers, you very well might end up gaining hundreds of new customers!  There is no limit to what a social network populated and visited by Generation Y women can cause.

Write Marketing Content that Americans Like

by My Web Writers

Writing marketing content is challenging even for professionals.  Writers labor to find the right things to say and do which help facilitate brand recognition and create positive social media messages. Imagine how difficult a campaign can become for foreign companies trying to introduce new products to Americans. “Nuts and bolts” techniques like having a web site and creating a presence through social media are well known, but how to actually write marketing content that Americans like poses a challenge that have many baffled. How do you market a product in a way that would sell in the States?

SEO Writers know the Consumer

Who is the American consumer? Having the answer to that question is crucial for a successful marketing campaign.  Statistics are only part of the equation, the rest boils down to having a comprehensive knowledge of the consumer.  Kimberly Palmer identified 5 Traits of the New American Consumer.

1. Optimism  - Americans believe they can still get good value for the price
2. Brand Consciousness – Likely to spend more for a brand they like.
3. Authenticity-seekers – Want a “more ethical approach to consumption.”
4. Purpose-driven – desire a simpler approach to buying.
5. Mature – Are more thoughtful during their buying and making choices that are more careful.

Palmer concluded that these traits are difficult even for American retailers to accommodate so imagine the challenge posed to a foreign merchant.

SEO Writers “Speak the Language”

Who better to write appealing content for Americans than someone who “speaks the language?” Foreign companies often already have in-house content writers and social media specialists who know what works at home. However, without also possessing an intimate understanding of the unique characteristics of the American psyche, those same techniques often don’t succeed here. For example, even though English is considered a universal language by many, there are versions that differ dramatically. “British” English is very different than “American” English. These lines are blurred even further by the myriad of regional and even local dialects.

SEO Writers Have the Knowledge

SEO companies are in the perfect position to understand and act upon the subtle nuances which can then be leveraged to create more effective content and overall media presence.  SEO’s have their feet “in the trenches” which allows them to adapt their content more quickly to shifts in consumer behavior such as the current importance of mobile marketing. Karlene Lukovitz suggested that “…marketers need to identify the problems that shoppers are trying to solve and provide informed solutions. Brands that don’t provide practical experiences will be ignored”.

Wow Consumers on Social Networks

Ravi Raj from @WalmartLabs asserted, “social media has transformed the way consumers behave online.”  The writer must ensure their marketing content is appropriate. Consequently, the tone of a blog or facebook post must not only be well written but also conversational.  Foreign corporations seek writers who develop written content that is not only understandable but speaks to a particular audience demographic. Twitter allows only 160 characters to write that perfect catch phrase. This limitation demands extreme creativity and economy of words. Press releases employ the language of business and must be more professional in tone and application. In this case, the prose that works so well in a blog or facebook entry could be completely inappropriate even damaging.

Final thoughts

When discussing the important of web-based marketing “one size doesn’t fit all”.  Writing effective marketing content for Americans means seeing the “big picture” and how culture, language and use of social media can interact seamlessly. In order to write quality SEO content for American consumers that appeals to web site visitors, writers must eat, sleep and be able to effortlessly speak “Americana” on a daily basis.” SEO’s offer this “total package” through not only compelling marketing content, but also knowing where and how it should be positioned.

~Jim

 

 

Improve Customer Service & Reduce Complaints with Web Content

by My Web Writers

Resolving customer issues is a reactionary approach to customer service. No matter how quick you respond and how pleased the customer is with the solution, you still had a service issue that inconvenienced the customer and cost you money.

Too many companies still think online customer service is providing a toll free number, email address or online chat.

Let’s move from resolving to reducing customer complaints by using service-focused website content.

Make It Simple to Find Your Hours and Location

I was meeting a colleague for lunch and went to the restaurant’s website to find the address. Their beautiful home page had an email address and phone number at the bottom. Why make the customer call or email and add an unnecessary customer contact? Or worse yet, lose a potential customer because they gave up.

After scouring the page I found a “Facility Info” link that led to the information. Eliminate the issue by putting the hours and location on the home page or at least change the “Facility Info” link to the more clear “Hours & Address.”

Idea: Make the right website content easily available. If the customer can’t find it, it’s as if it was never there.

Provide Helpful How-To Website Content

I was vacuuming recently. Then the handle wouldn’t lock in place. I tried several ways to fix the problem. No luck. Went online and searched for “XXXXXX handle won’t lock”. An independent store website detailed the simple fix. Three minutes later I was back in business. They now have a good chance of getting future business from me. That’s superior customer service.

Idea: Anticipate a customer service issue and make the solution available 24×7 online. Don’t make me call or bring it to the store for a simple fix. You ultimately may fix it, but you would have inconvenienced me.

Don’t Assume You Know Your Customer Complaints

Our roles grow as our company grows. We used to handle all the customer interactions ourselves. Now we are busy with vendors, hiring, payroll and many other demands. Make it a priority to schedule regular time to listen to your team.

How are they resolving customer complaints?

How would they eliminate the problem from occurring in the first place?

What is being said online about your company?

Do you make it easy for your customers to contact you personally? In-store and online?

Idea: Develop an early warning system to find customer complaints. Identify the top 20% reasons that cause 80% of complaints. Address customer confusion reasons with new website content designed to make the purchase decision and buying process easier.

There’s Not Enough Time in the Day

“Everyone already has too much to do. How do we develop new content and keep the business running?” Bring an experienced, skilled writer to the project. You’ll get a fresh perspective and content that leads to a better customer experience.

Idea: Visit My Web Writers to learn how to get started.

~Don