leveraging content to address shoppers’ needs … · leveraging content to address shoppers’...

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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

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 know2, 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.3

MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF SELLERS REPORTED THAT THEY WOULD CREATE MORE CONTENT IN 2016 THAN IN 2015

75%

three quarters of purchases

are made with merchant

brands shoppers already know

Kibo White Paper Leveraging Content to Address Shoppers’ Needs Throughout the Customer Lifecycle


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.



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 20114. 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 search6, merchants should develop content

highlighting ways to connect to store staff, such as via personal shopping services.

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.

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.

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.

+75%

More than 75 percent of those

who research shopping near

them visit a store within 24

hours

2/3

When asked what advertising

they trusted

of shoppers said they relied on

recommendations from friends

or family,

percent said they turned to

professionally-written reviews,

and

percent said they consulted

customer reviews.7

55%

48%



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 text-

based 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 products9, 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 email 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 purchases13, 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.



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



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,

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2016_B2C_Research_Final.pdf

2. Deloitte, “2015 Holiday Survey,” October 2015, http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/

us-2015-holiday-survey-results.pdf

3. PowerReviews, “Mapping the Path to Purchase,” June 2016, http://www.powerreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Path-to-

Purchase-Whitepaper061716.pdf

4. Think with Google, “I-Want-to-Go Moments: From Search to Store,” April 2015, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/i-want-to-

go-micro-moments.html

5. Think with Google, “I-Want-to-Buy-It Moments,” July 2016, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/purchase-decision-mobile-

growth.html

6. Forrester Research, “Brief: Attract Customers Through Local Search,” August 2016, https://www.forrester.com/report/Brief+Attract

+Customers+Through+Local+Search/-/E-RES122875#endnote2

7. Forrester Research, “Thriving in a Post-Digital World,” April 2016, https://www.forrester.com/report/

Thriving+In+A+PostDigital+World/-/E-RES128077

8. Forrester Research, “State of Retailing Online,” February 2016, https://www.forrester.com/report/The+State+Of+Retailing+Online+

2016+Key+Metrics+Business+Objectives+And+Mobile/-/E-RES122905

9. Invodo and the E-Tailing Group, “2016 Omnichannel Outlook: Why Online Shoppers Want Video,” May 2016, http://www.invodo.com/

reports/etailing-report-2016/

10. Invodo, “2015 Product Video Benchmarks Report,” February 2016, http://www.invodo.com/reports/2015-product-video-

benchmarks-report/

11. comScore, “State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy in Q3 2015,” https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-

Whitepapers/2015/State-of-the-US-Online-Retail-Economy-in-Q3-2015

12. comScore and UPS, “UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper,” June 2014, http://thenewlogistics.ups.com/retail/comscorestudy/

documents/UPS_comScore_Whitepaper_2014.pdf

13. Business Insider, “ Shopping cart abandonment: online retailers’ biggest headache is actually a huge opportunity,” March 2015,

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-retailers-can-reduce-shopping-cart-abandonment-and-recoup-billions-of-dollars-in-

lost-sales-2014-4

14. Forrester Research, “State of Retailing Online,” February 2016, https://www.forrester.com/report/The+State+Of+Retailing+Online+

2016+Key+Metrics+Business+Objectives+And+Mobile/-/E-RES122905

15. Forrester Research, “Evolve Your Marketing Strategy to Outpace Consumer Behavior,” March 2015, https://www.forrester.com/Evolv

e+Your+Marketing+Strategy+To+Outpace+Consumers+Behavior/fulltext/-/E-RES93061#AST998055

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 877-350-3866

or visit our website at www.kibocommerce.com

