improving conversion rates & the role of cms
DESCRIPTION
Nick Stocks of Internet-dept., Regularly presents for Business Link on e-marketing topics. Here he presents on improving conversions rates and the role of CMSTRANSCRIPT
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: [email protected]
Download this seminar from :
www.businesslinkwessex.co.uk/ict
www.internet-dept.com/resources