Sep 16 2007
Conversion: Beyond the Basics
In my previous article titled 3 Guaranteed Methods for Driving Conversion I highlighted the need to cover a wide variety of user preferences. Users gravitate to specific shopping methods and will not necessarily use the best or efficient means to complete a transaction. The list I provided was a list of basics that you need to get right before proceeding with other programs because the ROI is guaranteed.
Where do you go next? The next step is to classify user preferences that are unique to your business by examining paths to conversion in your analytics. Typical classifications may look like this:
- Efficiency shoppers– use navigation and search features to quickly process a transaction and may be receptive to more robust features.
- Browsers– have a tendency to click-thru many thumbnails and may be more receptive to suggestive selling.
- Investigators– have a tendency to click-thru many pages and need plenty of information to gain confidence for a purchase.
- Socializers– have a tendency to visit non-product content and use send-a-friend features, e-mail, reviews and blogs to share information (typical profile for drivers of user-generated content).
- Digiphobics– users who distrust ecommerce, have minimal computer skills and are more likely to complete a transaction over phone or fax.
By analyzing these types of segments, you will have a much better understanding of where to get bang for your buck when allocating your marketing investments. For instance, if your demographic has a high percentage of Digiphobics and you are pursuing a viral marketing program, you may want place more emphasis on off-line tactics rather that jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. You also need to keep in mind that you may need to approach this as an analysis of untapped segments because your analytics can only measure what exists on your site. In this case, a competitive analysis of user types is in order.
I’d like to compile comprehensive list of user preferences to share at a later date. Please comment and add to this list.
