improving conversion rates & the role of cms

Improving Conversion Rates & the Role of CMS Spring 2006

Nick Stocks – Director

Overview

Generating better conversion rates

Examples

CMS Overview

The role of CMS

Questions

Question

How many members of the audience are content with their website’s conversion rates?

Why don’t websites work?

Contributing Factors

•Poor content

•Lack of required information / detail

•Badly written

•Difficult navigation

•Confusing / misleading titles

•Too many items

•Lack of secondary / tertiary navigation

• Bad design

•Homepage / internal page layout

•Bad use of colour / images / graphics

•Poor Usability

•Disorganised content

•Too Passive

•Lacking compelling calls to action

•Weak contact information

•Can’t be found

•Poorly optimised

•Ineffective offline marketing

Why don’t websites work?

Poor objective setting

What is the primary objective of your website?

•Generate leads?

•Build brand?

•Deliver information?

•Sales support?

•Direct sales?

•Customer support?

•Forum?

•Resource?

Are there any secondary objectives? What are they?

Why don’t websites work?

Poor market segmentation

Who are my main target markets?

•Prospects

•How are they segmented? By product, by need?

•Are they buyers / researchers?

•Regional variations?

•Customers

•Existing / New?

•Feedback? Support?

•Resources?

•Researching / Purchasing?

Why don’t websites work?

An exercise

1 - Write down your websites primary objective.

2 - Now review your website from the perspective of it’s different user groups –

•Is the objective of the company / website immediately clear?

•Are you clearly directed towards fulfilling the primary objective? (is it quick & easy?)

•Are you given the information / guidance required?

•Are there clear benefit statements / calls to action? (What’s in it for me?)

•Can I easily make contact / communicate at any stage, and am I encouraged

to do so?

•Am I engaged?

Improving Website Results

The Importance of Usability

We know what the website’s objectives are

We know who our visitors are, and what they are looking for.

The 3rd main obstacle to conversion is – USABILITY

•Microsoft now has a large team of usability professionals with user experience ‘embedded in multi-disciplinary teams’.

•On average, user experience components account for 8-12% of budget on typical larger projects these days.

Improving Website Results

An Example of poor Usability

The top 20 e-commerce websites were reviewed from a usability perspective.

Mothercare Site

Product: Baby car seat

home>>Safety - This has no car seats.

home>>Travel - This, however, has 39 different car seats.

Insights: A single cross-link from safety to travel could prevent potential loss of sales.

Improving Website Results

The Importance of Usability

Online surveys can be used to understand online customer experience and performance in terms of factors such as:

• Download speed

• Navigation

• Quality of content

• Barriers to action

• Areas of confusion

• Design / Architecture feedback

Online surveys can be good for targeting problem areas.

Usability

Most important requirements

Pre – expanded navigation

Calls to action

Main content within visible window

Target Markets

Tourists

Business people

Businesses

Weddings

Target Markets

Tourists

Business people

Businesses

Weddings

Target Markets

Tourists

Business people

Businesses

Weddings

Target Markets

Tourists

Business people

Businesses

Weddings

Usability

User Requirements catered for

Key items pushed

Clear calls to action

Clear information

Usability

Target markets catered for

Specific calls to action

Clear information

Varied options

Usability

Clear instruction

Use of graphics to highlight required fields

Use of dropdown menu to save time

Privacy information

Usability

Quick selection via radio buttons

Ability to add further comment

Newsletter subscription

Target Markets

Startups

Growing businesses

Businesses requiring support

Target Markets

Startups

Growing businesses

Businesses requiring support

Target Markets

Startups

Growing businesses

Businesses requiring support

Usability

Existing user login

Visitor interest

Prospect info

Signup

News

Usability

Easy navigation

Ordered in logical steps

Clear calls to action

User Feedback

Main nav

Actions

Visible process

Bite sized chunks

User guidance

Clear layout

Clear call to action

Actions

Simple information

Immediate data capture

Easy to complete

Links to secondary services / objectives

Improving Website Results

Usability Tips

Writing text for websites – Jakob Nieilsen

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Eye tracking study of web readers

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000514.htm

Improving Website Results

In a nutshell…

- Clearly understand the objectives of the website

- Monitor and track results / performance

- Ascertain KPI’s (key performance indicators)

- Ensure all results are tracked (including offline)

-Regularly review results and contemplate improvements

-Improve usability

-Improve action / feedback options

Question

How many members of the audience currently utilise a CMS?

Question

What are the benefits?

-To your business?

-To your website visitors?

CMS Overview

What are the benefits of a CMS?

-To your business?

-Control of site

-Admin delegation

-Immediacy

-Makes site management easier

-Control of MetaData

-Implementation of new technologies

-For your website visitors?

-More up-to-date content

-(generally) more content

-Stronger consistency

CMS Overview

Major Website

Investment

SiteDisdain

PainBarrierBroken

Delight FactorPeaks

Company /product

or market change

DecliningSite

Reference

CMS – Improving Conversions

Regularly Changing Content

- Special offers

- Product / service information

- Addition of downloadable documentation

- News updates

- Image library

- Recruitment

- PR area

- Event information

- RSS Feed management

CMS – Improving Conversions

Joomla CMS

Adding content

Easy options

WYSWYG text box

Tabbed page options

CMS

Intergage CMS

Adding content

Easy options

WYSWYG text box

CMS

4T2 4ORCE CMS

Publish & Remove dates

*Also note meta tag control

CMS

4t2 4ORCE CMS

RSS feed

CMS

4t2 4ORCE CMS

RSS feed viewed in the Sage RSS reader

CMS

4t2 4ORCE CMS

RSS feed administration

* Note – control to allow viewers to add comments

What is RSS?

RSS – Where can I find it?

Syndic8.com

Newsisfree.com

CMS Costs?

How Much Should I Spend?

- There are many options available

2k 10k 50k+

- Enterprise CMS systems can manage workflow / deliver multilingual sites etc.

SME Average Expenditure

(development of full CMS

Website)

Simple solutions (e.g. macromedia contribute / CMS modules)

Summary

CMS can greatly improve companies website management / presence

Results are dependent upon clearly understanding website objectives & target markets

Review website architecture / navigation / content from a usability perspective

Design the site to draw visitors towards required actions

Break down data capture / processes into easy chunks

Give clear guidance

Thanks For Listening

Any Questions?

Nick Stocks

Internet-dept Ltd

Office: 08707 513 915

www.internet-dept.com

Email: nick@internet-dept.com

Download this seminar from :

www.businesslinkwessex.co.uk/ict

www.internet-dept.com/resources