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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Segment, Recommend, Rake It In

I've been playing the segmentation game for years, and unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past ten years and haven’t so much as browsed an eCommerce website, you’ve seen product recommendation and segmentation technologies at work a time or ten. Amazon.com, as you probably know, championed the technology of “collaborative filtering” for product affinity models.

Yep, using product recommendation technology for cross-sell, up-sell and website personalization campaigns is nothing new. But I've seen companies not set up the right strategy for executing a truly successful segmentation strategy. And it's OK, it can be daunting. The challenge is making sense of the wealth of analytics and user information, all of which are based on multiple factors, and gleaned from every type of visitor coming to your website. As desperate as you might be to sink your up-selling claws into their shopping carts, missteps will kill your site’s credibility. So get it right the first time.

There are three essential data methodologies for setting up successful, revenue-driving segmentation and recommendation campaigns, that will ensure you “know before you show”:

1. Click Behavior

Simply counting clicks to understand visitor behavior had its brief fame in the early days of web analytics. But the days of rudimentary analytics are long gone. With the resources available today, it’s time to move on and get a little more personal. It’s a deep analysis of click behaviors that gives a more insightful picture of your consumers.
There are 4 key click behaviors that are essential to understanding your customers and how to reach them:

  • Viewed this, also viewed that
  • Viewed this, bought that
  • Most viewed
  • Rated this, rated that

Not only does click behavior showcase a user’s navigation through your site, but it reveals their product interests and possible segment categories, allowing you to better focus your segmentation and recommendation campaigns based on your users’ interest, product offerings and promotions. You may even discover new segments and behaviors that you didn’t even know existed. A double win!

2. Basket Analysis

There is no better place to plan for and understand your actual consumers than at the check-out process. Analyzing buyer behavior from all your channels (not just the website!) is the most indicative and predictive data set for setting up successful segmentation and recommendations: discover what people actually buy, uncover buying patterns and help influence inventory decisions.

Marrying offline and online data from CRM, web analytics, POS output, call centers and mobile commerce will ensure you have a 360-degree buyer view to begin targeting and tailoring for your consumers. After the all the data nuptials are complete, analyzing behaviors such as “Bought this, Bought That” and “Best Sellers” will have you homing in on the best cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, for all your point-of-sale outlets.

3. Click & Buy

While some users zoom to your site already knowing which product they are going to purchase, there is plenty of data to be had from those who first spend a lot of time clicking around, researching, comparing products, saving items to a wish-list, and finally…finally, making a purchase. Discovering behaviors such as “viewed this, bought that” will reveal both interests and buying behavior. A combination of this click behavior and basket analysis can help you easily pinpoint segments and recommendations to target at the right time in the buyer’s decision-making process, as well as discover which avenue their most likely to complete the sale at.

Hint: Take #1 and #3 and put ‘em together!

I’ll leave you to start gathering and analyzing this goldmine of data you’ve probably been sitting on for quite some time. Brace yourself: it’s going to be an eye-opening discovery session for your entire business. And your customers will (silently) thank you as well, with a lot more loyalty.

Brad Weitz is the Director of Client Services for Maxymiser. Formerly the Vice President of Operations for Autonomy Optimost, Brad has been at the cutting edge of online marketing for over 8 years. Now Brad has joined Maxymiser to develop and oversee all client relationships with a 360-degree digital marketing strategy for improving content optimization, increasing website conversion rates and producing outstanding marketing ROI. Before being acquired by Autonomy, Brad led the Optimost analytics team providing insight and ROI for Fortune 500 clients such as Delta, Bank Of America, Wachovia, and Walmart. Read more about Brad here.



Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Trekking the U.S. with Maxymiser

It's hard to believe that we're in the last month of Q1 2011 already, which inevitebly means that trade show and conference season is well under way. Maxymiser attended our first big show of the year in February at eTail West 2011. I was just thankful that my booth showed up in one piece, while the rest of the Maxymiser attendees enjoyed networking, attending sessions, hosting our private, sponsored luncheon and eating some really great seafood (OK- so I had fun too.)

With the excitement of a successful show still fueling me, I returned back to NYC from a week in Palm Springs (hold your envy right there--I was literally working the entire time) and furiously mapped out the remainder of our speaking, sponsoring, exhibiting activities. We're excited to be attending some of the best shows it the U.S. this year. And hopefully, we'll bump into you along the way.


OMMA Metrics \\ March 23, 2011 \\ NYC

Created to bring together members of the digital measurement ecosystem, the OMMA series allows you to hear from industry experts and senior professionals who can provide their practitioner perspectives to answer your strategic and tactical questions and more. This conference brings together the best and the brightest in digital measurement today -- on-stage and in the audience -- for learning, listening, collaborating, and networking in order to evolve not only our companies and clients, but our entire industry. Maxymiser's Founder and President, Mark Simpson, will be moderating a panel presentation "Optimizing the Digital Experience: Testing Ads, Landing Pages, Content, and Features to Improve Conversion"

Join Us: OMMA Metrics Registration



The Future of Marketing: Technology-Driven Personalization \\ March 29, 2011 \\ eConference

You don't even have to leave your desk for this one. The Future of Marketing, a virtual 'microconference' featuring 60 luminaries each sharing critical trends, cutting-edge approaches, and big ideas in 60 seconds or less. In just one hour, participants will gain a 360-degree view of what's emerging and what will matter in marketing over the next several years. Join us as Maxymiser's Founder and President, Mark Simpson, gives his 60 second take on using technology to create personalized experiences.

Free Registration here.



Digital Hollywood \\ May 2-5, 2011 \\ Marina Del Ray, CA

Panelist Mark Simpson, Maxymiser President & Founder, will join the conversation about Social Media, Brands and Target Markets, The Apps: Dating, Comedy, News, Music, Kids, Teens, The Arts, Women, Sports, Politics, Religion etc. Transforming and Disassembling the World of Traditional Media and Communications

Register Here





Net.Finance \\ May 16-18, 2011 \\ Chicago, IL

Financial services marketers unite! Learn how to thrive in the digital marketplace, now that the economy is rebuilding! Financial marketing teams are looking for new ways to become part of their customers’ daily lives, and many marketers are using the latest digital technologies to give customers the most meaningful experience and to meet the growing demand for mobile financial services. Maxymiser is hosting private luncheon with a Financial Services digital marketing expert!

If you are interested in joining Maxymiser as our complimentary guest to this event, please email marketing@maxymiser.com; or if you'd rather register on your own, go here.



Web Analytics Wednesday \\ May 18, 2011, 6:00PM \\ Chicago, IL

WAW returns to Chicago for a a night of networking, education and fun as digital marketers and web analytics gurus come together to learn from and for each other. Did I mention that Maxymiser is picking up the tab? Hurry and RSVP before your spot is taken.

Vist the Web Analytics Wednesday site.









EyeForTravel: Online Marketing Strategies for 2011 \\ June 6-8, 2011 \\ Miami, FL

It's gonna be hot, hot, hot in Miami. But not quite as hot as our Platinum Sponsorship of this pinnacle travel event! You could spend months researching the latest online marketing trends to affect the travel industry. Or you could attend EyeforTravel’s Online Marketing Strategies for Travel event and get all the answers you need in just 2 days! Look out for Maxymiser as we lead a keynote discussion, a panel, and some oh-so-cool personalized passports for all participants. We're so excited we can hardly contain who the our featured speaker will be. But, we have to (for now!).

Register Here



Shop.Org Annual Summit \\ Sept 12-14, 2011 \\ Boston, MA \\ Booth #551

A hop, skip and a train ride will put the Maxymiser team in Beantown for what's sure to be one of THE biggest events for the online retail world this year. We'll be setting up camp at booth 551, and there are sure to be some more fun surprises from Mayxmiser at this event, but in the meantime, be sure to reserve your spot and register. Last year was record-breaking attendance, can you imagine what this year will hold?


There's more on the way from Maxymiser. Stay posted on events and news on our website, Twitter or Facebook.

Friday, March 04, 2011

They Like Us...They Really Like Us!

During the fun, but busy time at Etail West last week, I was honored to find out that Maxymiser had secured its first award of 2011. Anne Holland's WhichTestWon.com site is widely known in the A/B and multivariate testing community (who doesn't love to guess the winning test on a weekly basis?), and we are proud to be a part of it.

Deciding which great tests to enter was the tough part. I asked my testing teams to carefully think about their favorite tests from 2010 and specifically, which ones they felt had not only great conversion rate increases, but proved to be a stimulating and challenging task for them and the client. Choosing a test from Fragrance Direct was a no-brainer.

Heartbroken after putting a lot of effort (and budget!) into re-launching their website a few years back, only to be met with worse conversion rates, Fragrance Direct came to us in search of a new, data-driven path to customer satisfaction. We've done a lot of testing with this great company to help bring them back to the top of the perfume game, including home page upgrades, product page improvements, and search results optimization. And we've watched their corporate culture really embrace testing and optimization, which has had huge, positive impacts on their marketing and business development.

BEFORE
This recent (now award-winning!) test on their check-out page has proven to be one of the best yet. Specifically, we have been awarded the Best B2c CheckOut Page Test. A 23% increase in order placements resulted from the "winning" check-out page. And honestly, even if this didn't win us an "official" award, that's a huge win anyways in my book. It's what we're here to do for clients, day in and day out. So, congratulations to the real winners of this test, Fragrance Direct.

The Awards Judges were all too kind in their feedback about our testing approach, “We gave this test the Gold Award because the Maxymiser team really thought about buyer psychology. Do customers deep into the checkout process still need to see prominent images and info on
what they’re buying on each page? Or can you take it as a given and focus on the info for each particular page? (in this case shipping address info entered on the prior page.) Turns out maintaining “scent” or buyer excitement by showing the product as prominently as possible won in this case."

WINNING EXPERIENCE
This feedback is so gratifying for me. It really speaks to the approach Maxymiser takes to each client, no matter which industry they sell in. Anyone can turn on a piece of technology and make it work, but turning it into a successful solution, and understanding the process behind it, as well as your target audience and the retail mind-set, is extremely important to getting the most out of A/B and multivariate testing.

With that being said, the awards come around again in August. We look forward to entering again and sharing the love with the testing world.




Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Optimizing, Personalizing and Multi-Channel-izing: Insights from eTail 2011


Last week Maxymiser’s NYC team (or at least a lucky few of us) left the snowy cold and headed to the sunshine, palm trees and snow-capped mountains of Palm Desert, CA for eTail West 2011. This was our first trip to one of the biggest shows for online retailers, and though I admit lounging by the pool seemed like a very tempting option, the who’s who of retailers in attendance (Best Buy, eBay, Kohls, Officemax, Williams-Sonoma, etc.) made it easy—or at least easier—to stay focused on work.


The highlight of the event (for me, at least) was a private luncheon for eCommerce and Marketing VP's that I hosted along with one of our top Hospitality clients...who shall remain unnamed, at least for the time being. Together we spoke on the importance of multivariate testing and website personalization to increase conversion rates, revenue and customer loyalty—topics of high importance for these online retailers.

I also had time to attend several keynotes and sessions, as well as to chat with delegates to get the inside scoop on new challenges for e-tailers. As with any event, it didn’t take long for some key themes to emerge, and I thought I’d share them with you—along with my thoughts.


1. Multi-Channel Marketing Requires a Multi-Channel Culture

The first keynote session “Moving Beyond Internal Challenges to Create Effective Multi-Channel Experiences” featured Brookstone and Boston Proper, and it was obvious that this is a big topic (and challenge) for retailers. How do they break down internal silos to ensure a seamless experience for the consumer across marketing platforms?

It starts with creating a multi-channel culture. Boston Proper has ONE Creative Director, ONE Head of Marketing, ONE Merchandising Director, etc., all of whom work together to ensure consistency in positioning and messaging across the website, brick-and-mortar stores, direct marketing, email marketing, mobile, and any other marketing channel they utilize.

I couldn’t agree more with this culture shift, and my sense is it’s one that will allow some retailers to thrive while others fall behind—in the short term and long term. Though we may not be inside our clients’ teams, we’ve developed a real focus on helping our clients achieve this. Our new Director of Client Services Brad Weitz is rabidly passionate about helping marketing teams understand the value of this.

Perhaps the best quote I heard regarding the multi-channel experience was: “The consumer expectation is that they receive a seamless experience across channels. It’s mindless to them. The only time they notice it is when it breaks down.” So, aside from using advanced technologies to mine and marry your data, don’t let your internal multichannel strategy break-down due to poor culture and structure—lest your customers notice and run elsewhere.

2. Personalization Is King
I hear the term "personalization" being used more and more in the digital marketing world, and its definitions run the gamut from “placing the receivers name in a mass email” to targeting the next best action/content/product for an individual user on the website. It’s clear that no matter which line of traditional or digital marketing you play in, offering personalized content is becoming a total must-have.

A panel discussion with marketers from ESPN, BestBuy.com and Forsee Results offered some great insights in what can be done today to offer this tailored approach to consumers.

From Forsee Results President Larry Freed: “True conversion rates are from those visitors who came to the site with an intent to buy.” In other words, while marketers all have their own goals and definitions for what defines a conversion, website and mobile personalization solutions can really play a key role in targeting these types of converting (paying!) visitors.

BestBuy.com’s Director of Analytics, Lynn Lanphier, warned that being too personalized may cause consumers to feel like they’ve missed an offer or product. So how do you find that solution that’s “just riiiiight”? By using personalization tools to target the next best action/content that individual is likely to take or buy. When you make a connection with a consumer who feels like you know and understand them, it’s a win-win. They aren’t missing out, but getting just what [maybe even didn’t know] they wanted.

The major takeaway? There is no room for a one-size-fits-all approach in the online marketplace. Ever. Again.

3. Mobile Is the Commerce Hub of the Future. And the Future Is Now…
I don’t even really have to say it. We all know it’s a big, huge, giant opportunity for this year. But with most marketers in unchartered waters with this new ecommerce platform, marketing strategies are going to have to shift. Most retailers at eTail were concerned with the decisions to develop a mobile site vs. app, slow page-load times on mobile sites (which lead to a frustrated—rather than satisfied—consumer) and how their customers are going to use mobile for their brand (to buy, to search and location, or to just see if they have the product for the cheapest price).

I was more than a little surprised that there were no presentations or chatter about how improving website experiences and conversion rates should be applied to mobile commerce.

Yes, marketers are moving their ecommerce sites to a smaller screen with an aim to please the on-the-go, hurried site user—but they’re still approaching the experience as if the consumer were using a laptop or PC. Big mistake. Mobile commerce is a different planet. Sure, brands might attract the same users, but don't assume that mobile interaction mirrors desktop/laptop interaction.

Clearly, the retail industry needs to perk up and start paying more attention to consumer behaviors and conversion management for mobile. What’s the point of spending a lot of time and budget on developing these applications and sites, if there’s no eye to the maximizing ROI for the new medium? Mobile consumer spend has nowhere to go but up, but launching a strategy without mobile optimization and personalization strategies will make you more irrelevant than Zach Morris’s cell phone.