Jessica Lorenz says, “I’ve had some pretty terrible online shopping experiences. I’ve dealt with impossible product pages, awkwardly laid-out shopping carts and some sketchy checkout processes. It seemed as if companies were simply allowing customers to shop online, not encouraging it — especially smaller, specialized stores. Then came the rise of sites like Amazon and Zappos. Today, there is no excuse not to optimizing and improvng the customer experience. At IRCE 2014, MarketingSherpa Reporter, Allison Banko, sat down with Lisa Foreman, Marketing Conversion Manager, Nations Photo Lab,... [...]

Erin Hogg says, “In a previous blog post, we detailed how Felix + Iris, a newly launched eyewear ecommerce site, made simple tweaks to its hero unit to improve home try-on conversion 72%. In this blog post, read about how the Felix + Iris marketing team has embraced testing, and how the team shares results throughout the company. Read on to hear more from Jon Corwin, User Experience Lead, One Click Ventures (parent company of Felix + Iris), and how his strategies achieved testing and optimization success Step #1. Integrate testing into company culture At One Click Ventures, the testing function... [...]

Jessica Lorenz says, ““The innovation of how the buying process works really has helped us. Not only to help our existing customers, but really gain those new customers through that process and innovation,” explained Matt Ruggle, Ecommerce Manager, Great Northern Corporation, at IRCE 2014. Linda Taddonio, Co-founder and Ecommerce Strategy Officer, Insite Software, and Matt sat down with MarketingSherpa Reporter Allison Banko to discuss a new phase of site optimization: click tracking”. Web Optimization: How to help customers help themselves MarketingExperiments Blog  [...]

Chris Getman says, “I don’t know about you, but I hate shopping for shampoo. I know roughly what kind of shampoo I need — something that doesn’t dry my hair out — but when I get to the aisle to find it, I freeze up. There are roughly a zillion brands to choose from (Dove! Pantene! Herbal Essences!)and each one has a zillion types (Color Protection! Damaged Hair! Hydro-Recharge!). When the choices get overwhelming, I’ll end up going for the one that sound the most innocuous and least expensive. Too many choices isn’t just something that paralyzes... [...]

Rachel Balik says, “At this point, it’s pretty common knowledge that two-thirds or more of the B2B buying cycle takes place before the buyer reaches out to the vendor. We all know that’s a big deal, but we’re not all in agreement about what exactly that means – or, more specifically, we’re not exactly sure how to integrate this new digital buying behavior into our marketing strategies in a way that will be effective at driving revenue. Although we don’t usually describe it so bluntly, when it comes down it, the digital age has led to a lot more work for marketers and increased... [...]

Verónica Maria Jarski says, “Most B2B marketers (58%) say they use lead scoring as a general way to make their marketing efforts more effective, according to the following infographic by Lead Lizard. Most marketers also say they use just one lead scoring program, and “very few marketers use more than four leading score models,” Lead Lizard states. What criteria are B2B marketers using for lead scoring? Some 32% of respondent marketers say they score leads based on fit and interest. And 24% of respondents say they send everything to sales and let them cherry-pick”. How... [...]

Larry Alton says, “Addressing a B2B customer takes an entirely different strategy than B2C. Just like a teacher would speak differently to a colleague than a student, the same is true in B2B vs. B2C. Here are a few action-based tips when addressing this type of customer. This advice is especially crucial when training a new employee – whether he or she is a marketer, a Web designer, a copywriter or a customer service rep – who may come from a B2C background: 1. FOCUS ON THEIR END RESULTS There are many ways a marketer can address how a product or service may benefit a B2C customer.... [...]

Rachel Balik says, “In its earliest days, advertising meant putting up a billboard or taking out an ad in a newspaper. If sales increased, it was generally declared that an advertising campaign was working. Although remedial and inexact, this type of measurement embodied the true purpose of an ad campaign: drive revenue. The downside is there were lots of X factors, and at the end of the day, you couldn’t really be 100% sure that the advertising had caused the uptick (or that poor sales were the result of poor advertising.) As technology advanced, things like Nielsen ratings gave us more... [...]

Christopher Ratcliff says, “Marketing has had to become less planned and much more reactive. As the consumer lifestyle becomes increasingly ‘always-on’ thanks to our multiple devices and improvements in connectivity, the more we demand rapid and personalised responses from companies we engage with. Those same consumers are also business people; the always-on lifestyle means that for many of us, we’re also ‘always-at-work’. Business purchasers can be connected at any time, and make decisions at any time. This means that ‘real time’ is becoming a practical requirement,... [...]

Allison Banko says, ““Before you can do anything to gain success in your business, you’re going to need the buy-in and support of your team,” said Yaniv Masjedi, Vice President of Marketing, Nextiva. “A team is what grows the business. It’s not the technology; it’s not the computers.” This MarketingSherpa case study features an internal marketing effort, targeting team morale by enhancing company culture. Learn how Nextiva’s company-exclusive weekly video series serves as a fun-filled tool to foster communication, excitement and plenty of... [...]