Category Archives: Ecommerce

Why Average Online Conversion Rates Don’t Mean Anything

February 3, 2012 – 4:15 am

At the recent Direct Gardening Association conference, I heard a lot of attendees asking each other, “What’s your website conversion rate? What percentage of visitors to your website buy from you?” It reminded me of all the times I’ve been asked, “What’s your average response rate?” about the direct mail campaigns I’ve managed. The answer is completely meaningless, and here’s why: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Tagged | Leave a Comment

An Important Consideration in Holiday Email Schedules

November 14, 2011 – 9:30 pm

The holiday season is here, and you know what means: every merchant with an email list is ramping up their email schedule. Before you join them, give some thought to the effect that increased mailing frequency is likely to have on your list. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Email marketing | Leave a Comment

Gaining Insights Into Your Web Traffic

October 27, 2011 – 4:15 am

Web buyers are becoming a larger and larger percentage of everyone’s business these days. It’s important to keep in mind that not all web buyers are created equal. Your web buyers generally fall into one of two categories: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Online Strategies For Selling to the 55+ Market

April 8, 2011 – 4:15 am

An excellent article in a recent issue of Internet Retailer, titled Generation Buy, made some interesting observations on selling online to consumers in the 56-to-64-year-old age range. What caught my attention were two key differences in this age group: (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing | Comments (2)

Nearly 20% of All Commercial Emails Never Delivered

February 18, 2011 – 4:15 am

At a recent Direct Gardening Association conference, presenter Ken Lane of Hathaway and Lane cited a study by Return Path that found that 16.3% of commercial, permissioned emails never reach the inbox they were sent too – and no bounce notification is ever received.

I thought I may have misheard, so I looked up the study. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Email marketing | Tagged | Comments (4)

A Terrific Example of an Information-Rich Website

January 18, 2011 – 4:15 am

If you’re on the mailing list for our snail mail newsletter, Let’s Grow, you should have just received one discussing the competitive advantages that information-rich websites provide. A superb example (click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing, Online marketing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Building Website Traffic With YouTube Bloggers

January 14, 2011 – 4:15 am

BeautyChoice.com, an Internet Retailer Hot 100 Retail Website for 2011, has found a creative way to build their web traffic. Starting a couple years ago, BeautyChoice.com sought out young women makeup artists and hair stylists who had already gained a following on YouTube. BeautyChoice.com contracted with 20 of them to create two to four videos [...]

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing, Online marketing, Social media, Video, YouTube | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Product Upsell Choices Simplified

January 11, 2011 – 4:15 am

Abe’s of Maine, an electronics retailer that ranks as one of Internet Retailer Magazine’s Hot 100 Retail Web Sites for 2011, has done a masterful job of featuring upsell products. Click on any of their cameras, computers or most other products, and a column of “Recommended Accessories” appears on the right side.

The clever thing is the way they simplify the process. (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

An Idea For Increasing Both Customer Involvement and Sales

January 7, 2011 – 4:15 am

Today, another idea from one of Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 Retail Web Sites. Clothing company Free People’s site adds an interesting twist to the shopping experience. Product pages include not only the standard information you’d expect, but also (Click on the headline for more…)

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Social media | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Good Examples of Cross-Pollinating With Social Media

December 28, 2010 – 4:15 am

Last week, we posted about clothng designer Lilly Pulitzer’s use of customer photos, which customers submit at the rate of 1,000 per week, according to the company’s profile in Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 Best Retail Web Sites.  In addition to customer photos, a tour of the Lilly Pulitzer site reveals some clever integration between their website and their Facebook and [...]

By Val Gosset | Also posted in Facebook, Marketing, Social media, Website design | Tagged | Leave a Comment
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