PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

This is an interesting read…

Windows on verge of collapse, says Gartner
Reports are emerging that according to a Gartner analysis, albeit a controversial one, Windows is on the verge of collapse. The conclusion being that unless something is done soon then it is only a matter of time before a competitor that is more able to tackle the problems it has faced will emerge and dethrone the OS King.

The analysis, carried out for Gartner by Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald, included a survey which asked if Microsoft needed to radically alter its approach to Windows to stay viable. Of the assorted IT managers and executives questioned, half apparently raised their hands.

I must admit I had been planning on a new computer and putting XP on it before XP fell into non-availability…but Vista’s problems seem to have forced Microsoft into extending its availability till 2010.

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Here are some web site sales conversion statistics from the USA. The names of most will be familiar to most of us. So I am thinking that good conversions rates also have a lot to do with brand trust and familiarity with the brand name.

Most of these companies spend large amounts on off line and on line advertising and branding, including via affiliate programs.

Can you build this sort of comfort with your brand. Yes you can, through ongoing communication with your customers (note these statistics do not differentiate between new and returning customers) via email/newsletters.

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Affiliate marketing is growing in popularity in Australia, with increasing numbers of merchants recognising the value of this style of performance-based marketing, while many web site owners are taking the opportunity to make use of web site real estate to earn some income.

At the peak of the pyramid are super affiliates who can take merchant product offerings and using advanced coding skills, provide hundreds if not thousands of product pages that can be access via shoppers using search engine results.

For most affiliates however, participating in this style of income generation is limited to the easier end of the coding scale - and limited to placing provided code on a web page.

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I was reading an interesting article in the emarketer newsletter this morning about the growth of online shopping.

If you are targeting US consumers online then the news is good for you:

The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s latest online shopping study, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates in August and September 2007, found that two-thirds of online Americans have purchased a product online at least once.

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I have just finished reading a very interesting article over at marketingexperiments.com that looks at price point for goods sold via the internet.

I have long advised clients that it it important to charge enough for your products. Turnover is one aspect, but overall profitability is another.

In the article, several experiments are conducted on different industries and pricing mixes.

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Here is an interesting article that should be of interest to all online marketers.

I find that there are some incongruities however. I say this because I run an online shopping portal that features merchants from across all categories. I can say that Books are one of the worst sellers, while Nielsen survey says they are the best. I’m not going to say what the best seller in the shopping portal is (and its not adult goods) but it wins hands down in terms of both total value of goods sold and number of sales.

If you are an online retailer - what are your experiences/thoughts? Share via comments .

FEBRUARY 1, 2008 Continue Reading»

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While increasing web site traffic using search engine optimisation is a particular focus for many website owners, making the most of visitors when they have arrived is, arguably, even more important.

This is amplified if the website owner is using pay per click on any of the search engines where conversions hold the key to ROI.

Which introduces a thing called continuity.

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Just last post I wrote about how a reduction in product size and perceived reduction in product quality can turn away a customer of 30 years (yes I did buy soap from a different manufacturer yesterday).

But just as easily, providing great products and above the norm service can lead to not only you and your business being seen as heroes, but the person dealing with you can also be seen as a hero by those around them.

Here’s what I mean - two recent emails from clients of our caricature gifts website: Continue Reading»

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It seems the shopping spirit has arrived for US online shoppers according to this report

Highest Spend Ever For Cyber Monday - eMarketer
US online shoppers spent $733 million on the Monday after Thanksgiving, aka Cyber Monday, according to comScore data.

comScore said that was up more than 20% over 2006, and 84% over the average daily online spending totals during the preceding four weeks.

Our brief survey of Australian online retailers and our own experience shows that increasing numbers of Australians are also going online to do their shopping.

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Is your website converting visitors to customers at about 0.5% ?

sThese conversion rate  will make you drool, or weep…

1800flowers.com - 29.4%
Proflowers.com - 25.9&
Roamans - 21.4%
QVC - 19.7%
Talbots - 17%
Lane Bryant Catalog - 16.7%
LL Bean - 16.6%
Ritzcamera.com - 16.2%
Office Depot - 16.2%
Lands End - 15.7%

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings

Of course the definition of what is a conversion is not stipulated - it could be a sale or a newsletter subscription , and the value of the items being sold can have an impact, as can the source of the traffic - generic click-through or type in from a real-world print ad or similar.

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