|
|
Sticky Web site is key to success
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
...as customer loyalty extends to the Internet...
Stickinesss is the goal for Web editors – that
attribute of a site that keeps people coming back for more. Before it
got a trendy name in the Internet world, savvy CEOs and marketers
called it customer loyalty.
"They [CEOs] know, for example,
that a strong customer franchise is critical to business success, and
that doing business with people you trust and understand is more
predictable and efficient, and thus more profitable, than doing
business with uninvested strangers," write Frederick F. Reichheld in
"The Loyalty Effect."
As loyalty extends to the Internet, the
responsibility for keeping customers in the fold logically falls to the
marketing team. "Keeping and growing profitable customers is a key part
of the marketing professional's role, regardless of the medium," said
Laura Patterson, president of VisionEdge Marketing
(www.visionedgemarketing.com). "Customers don't distinguish between
transactions on the Web versus one in the physical environment."
Whether digital or physical, the cost of acquiring a new customer is
high, making turnover rates expensive. "Unless you can get customers to
stick around, profitability will remain elusive," she said.
An old-time (pre-Internet) marketing truism was that word of mouth is
the best advertising. Seems it's true online. eBay reports that 50
percent of its customers come by referral.
Patterson
estimates that, because of the cost of building an e-commerce site,
customers must stay on board at least two or three years to be
profitable. "But research indicates that as many as 50 percent of new
customers defect from an e-commerce site before their third
anniversary."
Wonder how your site stacks up? Patterson said
that on average, 35 to 40 percent of an e-commerce site's sales come
from repeat visitors. To get there, she advises asking these questions;
• What would make me loyal?
• What problems are customers trying to solve, and how does the site solve them?
• Do site design, product/service quality and reliable information foster loyalty?
• Who are my competitors or where can customers turn for similar services?
• How can I build relationships with my customers?
• What is my game plan for building loyalty?
Game plan? Patterson recommends that the first step should be learning
about those customers you most want to serve and most want to be loyal.
Knowing the attributes of this market segment, you can develop goals
and strategies tied to specific overall marketing objectives.
Objectives, of course, must be measured. "You have to have the time and
the discipline to track the numbers," Patterson said. "If you don't
track, you might as well just post 'brochure ware' on your site," she
said. Among the numbers to count in addition to purchases: number of
visitors, frequency of particular visitors, abandonment rates, time on
the site, and return rate.
"Tracking behavior can provide
insight into cross-selling and up-selling opportunities to existing
customers," she said. "It is very easy to track user behavior, yet most
companies don't track retention, regardless of whether it's a physical
or virtual business." Retention – called stickiness or loyalty – is
critical.
She also recommends asking users directly what they
think. "Don't try to infer what they want by site activity," Patterson
said. "Ask them what you can offer that would be of most interest and
how they would like to be notified of new information or services." Ask
if they can find what they need quickly and easily. Ask if navigation
is simple and understandable. "Remember, convenience is one of the key
reasons people use the Internet."
What author Reichheld had
to say isn't old-fashioned: "Loyalty leaders follow two basic precepts.
The first is to nurture a clear sense of company mission based on value
rather than profit. The second is to use the power of partnership to
align, motivate, and manage the members of the business system.
Together, these two principles make up a navigational regime as
dependable as any compass."
© 2001, Sheri Rosen. This article first appeared in Communication World, April-May 2001, published by the International Association of Business Communicators.
|
Location: Home  Articles Current Article
Comments:
Add your comments to this article...
|
