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Free Setup - Nab Transact The Adobe business catalyst ecommerce tools support a myriad of payment gateways, however we are pleased to advise that we can now offer to all our clients a special deal with NAB, utilising the Nan Transact gateway. Download information regarding this special offer now! We are happy to discuss this further with you if you wish. This offer is available to all our customers across Australia. A NAB Business Transaction Specialist is also very happy to speak with you, wherever you are,  about this arrangement. You do not need to be a NAB customer to take advantage of this offer.  Contact us to find out more
Facebook Timeline Facebook never stands still, the most recent change is Timeline for Business. This will effect all business pages from the 31/3. We are conducting some information sessions on this next week, but get in quick as they are filling up fast! Secure your place now
The Rocket is on the launchpad Are you keeping up with our new building? We are starting to get excited to see it taking shape and looking forward to all the extra room, for staff and clients. If you haven't been keeping up to date - find out more at our blog.

 

The old McDonald's adage of 'would you like fries with that? is a real winner in the online space.

The benefits of cross selling or upselling items are well know to retailers - but are e-tailers using them to their advantage?

The Adobe Business Catalyst system allows for easy integration of related items or those impulse buys so favoured of traditional retailers that they stick at the point of purchase and various vantage points in their shops.

Are you using these tools to your advantage?

It is a shame to see only one item appear in a shopping cart when with a little effort you could entice them to purchase that extra bangle, extra fitting or extra food purchase to boost your average spend per sale.

How can you do this?

• Ensure you link related items to all products - even if they are not necessarily related! Ie make sure the fitting that goes with the bulb are always linked together, the shoes or bag that goes with the dress are easily just a click away
• Freight enticements - let people know freight is free with purchases above a certain level. Isn't it better to encourage people to lift their spend another $50 to avoid paying say $6 in freight?
• Specials on the home page or filtered through the inside catalogue pages - encourage that random impulse buy by putting specials in the face of your regular browsers.

Bringing your real world retail merchandising skills into the online world is not hard - just different, so make sure you are maximizing your individual shopping cart spend at every opportunity.

Yes, it is possible!

The Client

Woolerina have been producing the highest quality Australian made merino wool clothing since 2006 and in July 2010 they expanded their production capacity and range all based from their Forbes office. 

In May 2010, Woolerina moved their site across to our platform in the anticipation that it would be a better fit to grow their online business in tandem with their offline real world business.

The Plan

In December 2010, Woolerina approached us to help build and drive more sales through their site. A considerable amount of sales were generated by the Woolerina team travelling all over Australia attending various fields days, wool shows and ag shows to promote awareness of their product. It was exhausting and at times costly work that the team felt could be better spent elsewhere.

Woolerina wanted to reduce their considerable travelling and away time - but ensure that sales continued to improve both online and offline.

We suggested a variety of points to achieve this end and coupled with some funding assistance from State and Regional Development, the following steps were recommended and actioned.

• Extend the online shopping with the introduction of product reviews
• Adding cross selling and upselling opportunities
• Extending the site with social media
• Encouraging more regular email newsletters
• Blogging  (yes we do harp on about this one!)
• Providing shopping discounts
• Creating adwords campaigns targetting new markets
• Extending the depth of keywords and description to better match what the consumer calls the Woolerina product
• Extend connections with likeminded businesses - ie Australian Made, Sporting Groups etc 

The Outcome

• Less travel for the Woolerina team during the busy May buying rush and increased sales!
• Traffic has increased significantly and steadily each month since the start of 2011 - with both increased visits and views.
• Steady increase of new email newsletter subscribers
• Increased Facebook Likers
• Increased online sales and increased online sales as a % of overall sales  

Well Done Woolerina - especially as one of the key principal's had a baby whilst all this was going on!

You can read more about this case study here and see how we might help you to achieve something similar with your business.

Seeing as how it is International Women's Day, I thought we should devote some space to looking specifically at how women use the web.

It's not just that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus - but the 2 sexes do in the main use the web differently, and that difference is going to drive web strategy over the coming short term. 

From how we browse, to what we browse and how we click ( something to do with the male genetic trait related to remotes I think!) - what are the things that make women take notice online.

• Women spend more time than men across the world visiting social networking sites - expect a sizeable number in the facebook area.
• 57% of the world's 400 million Facebook users are women.
• Women are the digital mainstream, a group of savvy Internet explorers who are more engaged than their male counterparts, and are the primary drivers of online and group buying.
• Men and women visit retail sites in practically equal amounts, but women spend 20% more time on those sites. That time equates to more money spent in most retail categories, as women buy more frequently than men do.

Mashable has a great overview of the numbers that this equates to - view the full story here

Another approach is outlined in this blog at Get Elastic - Are men hunters and women browsers online?

I'm not sure about Men being hunters online, but our experience is that men to tend want to click on objects and women tend to like to be able to read, to be guided through a serious of steps to get to the outcome that they want. They are looking for valuable information, a bargain and options.

Men like to get to the point and fast.

"The Web of the immediate future is one that is increasingly visual, empathetic and design-centric. Video and photography are informing the shape and direction of the Web in ways that will encourage more girls than ever before to consider a career with technology and the Internet" - a great statement from Think Big website.

I am not looking to stereotype either sex in how they use the web, but it is clear from all current research that if your demographic is women, particularly mothers with children - then you had better get into your social networks and ensure you have a sale section on your ecommerce store!

How to get your customers to convert

Any sales process has a variety of methods to get the customer to convert, to commit, to open up the wallet!

What should you be doing at your website to trigger the same response?

Know your customer

Many businesses still make the mistake of thinking a website is just a brochure 'on the internet' for products and that it will magically just work!. They create it, leave it, and wonder why it’s not generating any traffic, let alone converting visitors.

It’s impossible to make an entire website relevant to everyone that visits. Instead, businesses should tailor separate sections of the website to what their customers will be interested in.

We are working on a site right now with 2 distinct audiences, teenage girls and their mothers. Our challenge in the design and structure is to meet those 2 different targets and we are guided by what our client tells us about what she undeerstands of her market.

Who are your customers and what are they looking for?

How do you segment them, it could be age, it could be demographic, it could be desires and goals, it could be needs and wants. Your answers will determine the content that will be on key landing pages of your site.

What do you want people to do when they get to a page?

You need to be clear about what it is you want visitors to do when they arrive on a page. Clear Calls to Action are critical for the key pages of your site - in fact all p-ages should have some kind of call to action on them - a point to reading and acting on the information.

Be mindful what the 'conversion' might be  - is it a order, a booking form, email subscription - what is the action you want to see happen?

K.I.S.S - Keep it simple stupid

We also advise our clients against making call's to action too hard - yes, you need to get information and you need to segment details - but don't make it a burden - you have about 10 seconds to get them to respond.  If your form or process is confusing or long winded - you can forget it. Just get the bare facts - you can grab the rest of the information in a more personal follow-up.

Analyse

Finally, pay attention to how your visitors respond to your triggers, review your weekly reports and then collate your monthly data. For more in-depth analysis, talk to us about Google Analytics and how this tool can provide additional information to support your sales methods.

We have quite a few clients who are now using our Pulsar Package coupled with ongoing Customer Care to really understand what is occurring with visits and traffic and assist with getting more clients 'over the line'

What's going on with E-commerce in Australia?

We have been inundated with requests for Ecommerce solutions so far this year - with 4 on the go!  Here are some facts to digest, including trends from HitWise Australia

• While Australia has experienced rapid growth in online shopping, the lack of local big brand retailers selling online is forcing shoppers to buy from overseas competitors  - creating space for local and niche operators to flourish!

 

• Industry commentators say Australia is several years behind the US and UK and Australian consumers are voting with their wallets when it comes to shopping online - there is growth on the way.

 

• Online shopping in Australia is expected to expand its share of the retail market from 2 to 3 percent to 7 to 8 percent - closer to the threshold it already occupies in the U.S. and the U.K

 

• Huge growth in the online House and Garden sector (where consumers browse online and buy in store  - we love to research!)

 

• Growth in the electronics sector - with car audio, games, LCD TVs, DVDs, XBox 360s and CDs all commonly searched

 

• Continued growth in traffic to shopping and classifieds websites

Security remains a key factor for both buyers and sellers. Buyers want to know they can trust the site to get their goods and that the privacy of their credit card details will be preserved. Sellers want to know that they are not being defrauded.

Trends such as these create opportunities for businesses to sell their products online and take advantage of store-pick-up methods of shipping. Or simply to showcase them and publish stock levels. Either option grows business revenue and cuts down on postage costs which are a huge deterrent for both buyers and sellers online.

Providing your customers with an easy-to-use shopping experience, good selection of payment options and a strong security policy to build trust can help online businesses be a success.

Australia is poised for an online shopping explosion.

As a business, how well are you placed to take advantage of it?

Another great article in the Sydney Morning Herald today about ecommerce and online sales - highlighting yet another reason to get selling online!

Soaring Rents quicken online retail revolution.

For quite a few years now Australia has lagged the world in the take up of ecommerce stores, many of the big retailers have dabbled but not really entered into the fray and consequently have seen large slices of market share go offshore, but what is happening locally?

In  2010 we saw a huge leap in requests for online stores - large and small - everything from selling a few items to selling thousands of items online.

Why?

Many of our smaller retailers often can struggle for customers, floods, droughts and slow throughput past a traditional bricks and mortar business can play havoc with cashflow.

Working with us over the last 12 months, many of our clients have taken the leap from simple website to full e-commerce and are now selling all over Australia and overseas.

Don't miss this growth opportunity!

By including a combination of seamless catalogue and shopping cart integration and email marketing coupled with appropriate search engine optimisation techniques and the clever and cost effective use of social media, our clients have seen entire new revenue streams and loyal customers enter their online stores.

Good brands help, good prices of course (because let's face it, all online shoppers are looking for bargains!) but most importantly our successful ecommerce clients take on board the tips we provide and strategies we develop with them to sell more online.

If you believe that 2011 is the year to get selling online - speak to us now, browse our Galaxy package samples, speak to our customers.

We know we can build your online brand and grow your revenue stream through successful selling online!

The follow video is great overview of ecommerce growth in Australia in the past year and the trends for 2011

A great little success story, about how a small idea turns into a big online success by way of a social community, ecommerce and an easy to use system.

(With thanks to Smashing Magazine - for great information about making the most of your product images)

An often neglected part of any website is the calibre of the photography. It is not just a matter of picking up a digital camera and snapping away. Whilst you can get away with this perhaps in the content areas of your site the display of your products inside your online store is critical to the success of your online business.

We have some tips below on

• Preparing your product
• Light
• Getting your camera ready
• Editing your photos &
• Bringing in the professionals!

Why?

"Without the ability to touch, hold, smell, taste or otherwise handle the products they are interested in, potential customers have only images to interact with.

Ultimately, the softer, tastier, flashier an d more attractive your products look to shoppers, the more confident they’ll feel about purchasing from you and the better your conversion rate will be.”

...smashing magazine

While any product can look great on a digital camera or in a frame, it is often harder to match your website’s overall look and feel and your company’s image.

Smashing magazine has pulled together some great examples of how some of the big e-tailers display their products, whilst you may not have the budgets of these organizations, sometimes that investment in either external resources or some great digital camera gear pays for itself!

Have a browse through some of these sites for examples of great photography.

Ties.com – great use of zooms and super clear photography
Made.com – images are shown from multiple angles and perspectives
Harry Winston-  - stripped back design that focuses your eye solely on the array of glittering gems before you!
Louis Vuitton  - Hi-res shots and zooms to highlight detailing.
CuffLinks.com– a great site to demonstrate how to showcase small images

So what are some of the key items to look for when taking your photos or better yet commissioning an external resource to do this for you.

Prepare Product

To take quality photographs, the complexity and time required will depend greatly on the type of product you’re shooting. Solid objects can be very easy to manage, they may just need a good clean!

Clothing and other items that can bend, stretch and wrinkle are much harder to photograph and could require hours of ironing and arranging to get a perfect result. Details, like whether a shirt collar is straight, will determine whether the photographs look like they were shot in a serious studio or by an amateur with a point-and-shoot camera. Are you an online business or just selling online at ebay!

Whatever the product, inspect it carefully for tears, stains, chips and other imperfections before beginning.

Get all your products ready to go, ensure that once have made all your camera settings right that you can easily swap your products around within the setting  - particularly important if you are going to use a professional to take your shots.

Organization will be the key to keeping this a cost effective exercise.

Light

To get a great-looking photo, lighting is crucial. Ensure that you are allowing for shadows and reflections – this is often the hardest part for the amateur and where you may decide you need to bring in the professionals to assist with this process as they can make use of light tents and reflectors to showcase your product in the best possible light.

Get your camera ready

Watch out for noticeable light reflections on shiny surfaces. Even though most product photos look very ‘staged’, you don’t want yours to look too artificial.

Obviously, you’ll need a camera to take pictures, so make sure you have a good one. It doesn’t have to be the best or most expensive on the market, but it should at least have manual focus and shutter and aperture controls. These are all standard on most SLR cameras. So the standard digital camera will not suffice for your product shots!

Do you need a tripod?

Most likely yes as you will need to keep the angles consistent for your shots. Your product photos, in fact your entire website will look much better in the long term if you keep your images consistent. Consistent backgrounds, size and angles all contribute to a smooth customer experience.
Once you’ve arranged the product and lighting equipment, take a few test shots until you get an exposure that isn’t too bright or too dark.

Photo Editing

Keep your photos a consistent size when cropping them – make all images either portrait or landscape – but make all of them the same. Portrait images tend to work best in a online store.

Note the size of both your thumbnails and your large image – as you may be able to run a little script to resize them all at once saving time. Talk to us about some solutions for image management.

Bring in the professionals

I have said it before - you do not have to do this yourself, we can recommend some good photographers in your area that have studios set up ready to go - perfect for staging product shots. If you are organised, then this can be a very worthwhile exercise and worth every cent.

Money spent at this stage could help generate thousands online for your store!

For more information on successful product images please visit Smashing Magazine or talk to us, we are happy to make recommendations or talk through how images can work on your site.

Visit  the online store section of our website to view some recent examples - Mary and Me have some particularly good supplier provided images and Woolerina - also has some great examples of images where the background has been removed to enure consistency

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