DISCOVERY: CONVEY CREDIBILITY ACROSS TOUCHPOINTS

Transcription

1 LEVERAGING CONTENT TO ADDRESS SHOPPERS NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE Content can be a conundrum for merchants. On the one hand, expanding beyond basic product information can help merchants articulate their unique value. Without the physical confines of store aisles or printed catalogs, and with a variety of formats and outlets available, the content possibilities are endless. But that opportunity carries with it the risk that content efforts might spin out of control and become an expensive investment with little impact on the bottom line. Indeed, merchants report that even as content proliferates, they remain uncertain as to its effectiveness. More than three quarters of sellers reported that they would create more content in 2016 than in 2015, while employing an average of 12 content tactics, from social media to in-person events to videos. At the same time, just 38 percent of merchants rated their content activities as effective. 1 MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF SELLERS REPORTED THAT THEY WOULD CREATE MORE CONTENT IN 2016 THAN IN 2015 The good news is that there are plenty of ways to diversify content offerings without straying from the core aim of driving commerce. By addressing shoppers needs at crucial points in the customer lifecycle, merchants can not only build credibility, sales, and loyalty, but they can reduce costs in areas such as customer service and returns processing. An ecommerce platform that supports a variety of content types, flexibility in presentation and formatting, and social syndication can support merchants core content goals without massive additional investment in technology. Equipped with the right foundation, merchants can drive revenue by focusing on content that supports: Discovery showcasing products and expertise to convince new shoppers to engage beyond the landing page Decision comprehensive content to instill trust and convince shoppers to purchase Return supporting purchase decisions with tailored information and drawing inspiration from community to spur further engagement DISCOVERY: CONVEY CREDIBILITY ACROSS TOUCHPOINTS When it comes to attracting new shoppers, merchants face a steep challenge: three quarters of purchases are made with merchant brands shoppers already know 2, and when searching for products, some 38 percent of consumers head to Amazon.com first making it the Internet s top starting point for shopping research, outranking even Google % three quarters of purchases are made with merchant brands shoppers already know

2 The good news is that social media and mobile shopping have multiplied the pathways shoppers use to identify products and sites relevant to their needs, creating new opportunities to subvert the dominance of mass merchants. Content can support these efforts by demonstrating merchants expertise and credibility when it comes to topics related to the core product offering. To help shoppers discover their offerings, merchants should: Develop shoppable value-added content. As merchants expand content, they should ensure that commerce is never more than a click or tap away. Content and products should be integrated both ways: Product assortments and links to related categories should appear alongside expert buying guides, blog posts, local store pages, and how-to information, and top ecommerce landing pages from the home page to category and search results pages should feature relevant value-added content. When it comes to search, content sections of the merchant site should be searchable using on-site keyword search as well as optimized for discovery by external search engines. Kibo merchant Cost Plus World Market employs a wide range of design templates that fully integrate content and commerce. Content features spotlight related products, and category and index pages include slots for relevant content.

3 Give mobile shoppers localized content hubs. The exponential rise in mobile shopping has created new opportunities for merchants to promote in-store offerings. The number of Google searches for places near me has increased 34 times since More than 75 percent of those who research shopping near them visit a store within 24 hours, and 28 percent of them make a purchase. 5 To boost visibility for these searchers, retailers should enrich localized offerings well beyond a simple store locator. Individual stores should each have their own content pages that prominently feature the basics, such as hours, store events, and local discounts. And given that click-to-chat and click-to-call connections to local store customer service are the features shoppers would most like to access via local search 6, merchants should develop content highlighting ways to connect to store staff, such as via personal shopping services. +75 % More than 75 percent of those who research shopping near them visit a store within 24 hours Use reviews prominently as a means of social proof. When it comes to building credibility, merchants would do well to spotlight the opinions of customers themselves. Endorsements from individuals outrank even natural search engine results as trustworthy sources of information: when asked what advertising they trusted, two-thirds of shoppers said they relied on recommendations from friends or family, 55 percent said they turned to professionally-written reviews, and 48 percent said they consulted customer reviews. 7 To maximize word-of-mouth power, merchants should ensure that customers can easily share reviews they ve written, and also establish routines to seek permission for marketing reuse of review content. Merchants can further boost visibility by incorporating customer reviews and media mentions on-site, on social outposts, and in paid search advertising. When asked what advertising they trusted 2/3 of shoppers said they relied on recommendations from friends or family, 55% DECISION: USE CONTENT TO DRIVE PURCHASES Once shoppers engage with a merchant site beyond the landing page and begin to hone in on products, it s critical for merchants to deliver robust content that proactively addresses shoppers questions and concerns about everything from how items work to how they ll be delivered. percent said they turned to professionally-written reviews, and 48% percent said they consulted customer reviews. 7 To bolster these efforts, merchants ecommerce technology should support rich multi-media product and customer service information within the immediate selling environment, whether on a computer or a mobile device. At the same time, given that single-session conversion rates still hover around 4 percent, 8 merchants reinforce initial content consumption with follow-up details and offers in subsequent interactions across touchpoints.

4 To convince shoppers to buy, merchants should: Transform product pages into definitive product guides. Merchants should pull out all the stops when it comes to presenting in-depth information on the product detail page. In addition to textbased product descriptions, reviews, customer Q&As, fit guides, and care instructions, merchants should use the tools provided within their ecommerce platform to present multiple images, zoom, 360-degree viewing tools, and swatching. Furthermore, merchants should enhance these offerings with video - fully 84 percent of shoppers report watching videos to research products 9, and video viewers are 1.6 times more likely to purchase than those who do not. 10 Visual elements are especially important for mobile shopping, given that video consumption is a popular mobile pastime and image-centric social networks such as Pinterest and Instagram are mobile-first. Kibo merchant Marc Jacobs Beauty takes advantage of responsive design techniques to display ample product information on the mobile product page, including large product images, color swatches, and videos. Treat fulfillment and service options like top products. While extensive information about the products themselves is central to convincing browsers to buy, there s another category of content that s almost as important, but perennially undervalued: customer service information. Close to two-thirds of shoppers say that order fulfillment options are the most important factor when making purchase decisions, 11 so it s essential for merchants to clearly articulate in-store pickup options along with home delivery costs and speeds. And although promoting returns and exchanges in advance of purchases may seem counter-intuitive, it s essential for merchants to message the options they offer, given that two-thirds of shoppers review merchant return policies before they click buy. 12 To give customer service content the visibility it deserves, merchants ecommerce platforms should support flexible placement and promotion, and should enable access via on-site search. Popular and timely information, such as holiday shipping cutoff dates, should also be syndicated to social touchpoints and via campaigns to proactively message merchants commitment to delivering stellar service. Personalize abandonment messaging to include relevant content. Once merchants have developed the product and service content that drives purchase decisions, they should maximize its persuasive power by using it in targeted communications to shoppers who ve left the site without purchasing. Given that 75 percent of shoppers who leave items behind in the shopping cart intend to return and complete purchases 13, merchants efforts to lure them back can be effective especially when the content of reminders is tailored to reflect their prior browsing. For example, merchants should enrich cart abandonment messaging with how-to videos specific to the product under consideration, excerpts from top reviews, product guarantees, and fulfillment options.

5 RETURN: INSPIRE ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS While content can help convince first-time shoppers to make purchases, it can play an equally important role after orders are placed: content can keep customers connected to merchants and present compelling reasons to become loyal buyers. Increasing the percentage of repeat business is crucial to improving the bottom line: returning buyers account for 38 percent of ecommerce customers, but generate 45 percent of ecommerce revenue, making them a valuable asset. 14 When it comes to earning ongoing engagement, relevance is critical. After all, by the time browsers become buyers, they ve created a data trail of on-site behavior and a purchase record that should inform what kinds of content they encounter in subsequent interactions. Merchants should use whatever insights their ecommerce and analytics platforms yield to serve content that picks up the conversation where the customer last left off. Among the techniques to consider: Find new life for product content in transactional messaging. Merchants can maximize their investment in product-related content by serving it to customers again once they have the items they ordered in hand. Shoppers are receptive to such post-purchase information, with 20 percent saying they want to better understand the full value of their items, and 14 percent seeking information on related products or services. 15 Merchants should use transactional messaging to deliver (or re-deliver) how-to videos and links to setup or assembly manuals and product care instructions. In addition, they should encourage new customers to become active contributors by inviting them to write reviews or answer other shoppers Q and A submissions. Use content to create community. Beyond addressing customers immediate post-purchase needs, content can help merchants forge an ongoing connection with their audience by spotlighting shared interests and concerns. This so-called lifestyle content can convince customers that merchants understand their needs and will reliably serve product and discount offers that are relevant. To foster this trust, merchants should use social media to spotlight external content of interest to their audience, highlight charity contributions to organizations customers are apt to support, and invite participation on multiple levels, from simply sharing photos to providing feedback for future product development. Kibo merchant Title Nine, a women s recreational apparel outfitter, has created an active online community that spotlights women s fitness, health, and athletic achievements. The merchant sponsors footraces with prize categories such as fastest mom with a stroller and

6 features blog posts about how to fit workouts into busy lifestyles, thereby demonstrating a keen understanding of the audience s daily lives. Invitations to vote on catalog covers and product descriptions that feature customer quotes show that the merchant is engaged in a two-way conversation with the community. CONCLUSION: FOCUSED CONTENT WINS THE DAY As merchants grapple with the potential behemoth that is ecommerce content, they should build a strategy that focuses on proactively addressing shoppers needs throughout the customer lifecycle. By assisting shoppers as they discover new sites and products, reach decisions through research and comparison, and re-engage to get the most out of their purchases, merchant content can spur immediate sales, reduce overhead costs, and foster long-term loyalty. 1. Content Marketing Institute, B2C Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America, October 2015, 2. Deloitte, 2015 Holiday Survey, October 2015, us-2015-holiday-survey-results.pdf 3. PowerReviews, Mapping the Path to Purchase, June 2016, Purchase-Whitepaper pdf 4. Think with Google, I-Want-to-Go Moments: From Search to Store, April 2015, 5. Think with Google, I-Want-to-Buy-It Moments, July 2016, 6. Forrester Research, Brief: Attract Customers Through Local Search, August 2016, +Customers+Through+Local+Search/-/E-RES122875#endnote2 7. Forrester Research, Thriving in a Post-Digital World, April 2016, Thriving+In+A+PostDigital+World/-/E-RES Forrester Research, State of Retailing Online, February 2016, Key+Metrics+Business+Objectives+And+Mobile/-/E-RES Invodo and the E-Tailing Group, 2016 Omnichannel Outlook: Why Online Shoppers Want Video, May 2016, reports/etailing-report-2016/ 10. Invodo, 2015 Product Video Benchmarks Report, February 2016, comscore, State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy in Q3 2015, Whitepapers/2015/State-of-the-US-Online-Retail-Economy-in-Q comscore and UPS, UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper, June 2014, documents/ups_comscore_whitepaper_2014.pdf 13. Business Insider, Shopping cart abandonment: online retailers biggest headache is actually a huge opportunity, March 2015, Forrester Research, State of Retailing Online, February 2016, Key+Metrics+Business+Objectives+And+Mobile/-/E-RES Forrester Research, Evolve Your Marketing Strategy to Outpace Consumer Behavior, March 2015, e+your+marketing+strategy+to+outpace+consumers+behavior/fulltext/-/e-res93061#ast998055

7 THE UNIFIED OMNICHANNEL COMMERCE SOLUTIONS OF MARKETLIVE, SHOPATRON AND FIVERUN Kibo is the strategic merger of industry leaders, Marketlive, Shopatron, and Fiverun. With a combined 40 years of innovations, we re joining forces to help retailers and branded manufacturers unify the consumer experience. Kibo is a complete omnichannel commerce platform, delivering the lowest total cost of ownership and the fastest time to market. With predictive technologies and enterprise performance, we can help you achieve increased sales. No matter the challenge, Kibo powers your success. ECOMMERCE ORDER MANAGEMENT MOBILE POINT OF COMMERCE Optimized Customer Experience Powerful Merchandising and Analytics B2C and B2B Solutions Intelligent Order Routing Enterprise Available- to- Promise Inventory Configurable Fulfillment Workflows Save the Sale and Endless Aisle Retail Associate Platform Complete Retail Management System To find out more about Kibo call or visit our website at