You have probably heard a lot about website conversion rates and how important they are, but perhaps you have not investigated them more than that. Let's examine some basics about the conversion rate for your website, and how to increase — then maintain — yours.
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Right now, COVID-19 has had a big impact on just about every aspect of American life. A massive portion of Americans are working from home and getting accustomed to video meetings and new workspaces. Newer methods of shopping — like contactless and curbside pickup, mobile payment, and delivery services — have all quickly become normal options. And while in-person sales are down, online sales are up significantly.
Average income is down for almost everybody and demand has quickly shifted. Luxury purchases — with a few exceptions, like skincare, hair care and makeup products — are down, and demand for food items and household goods are way, way up.
These changes are not expected to last forever, but it is likely that things will not ever return to business-as-usual. Instead, we are probably headed for a new normal — a future that is somewhere between the present and the world pre-COVID.
Here is how the crisis is likely to change the American economy, and how companies can prepare for business after the COVID-19 crisis.
Experienced marketers know there is a fine line between engaging a customer and annoying them. Even the most seasoned professionals can make mistakes that cost them potential business, however. Here are 10 marketing tactics to steer clear of as you iron out your plans.
Selling online is a wonderful way for companies, small and large alike, to become more successful. They can appeal to new customers, advertise their products more widely and even cut down on costs. Some owners don't want to create their own website or wish to sell on a more established platform. This is where Amazon comes in to play.
Amazon's Marketplace service is a convenient way for small- and medium-sized businesses to advertise and sell their goods. They can even choose for their orders to be fulfilled by Amazon. When half of all items sold on the website are from third-party sellers, it can seem like a great way to put your name in front of an established consumer base.
While this is certainly true, it seems as though Marketplace has just as many cons as it does pros. Let's take a moment to run through them so you can get an idea of what it's like to sell on Amazon.
If you're anything like me, you find traditional forms of advertising a bit dull. We get exposed to TV ads, promotional sections in magazines and online ad banners so often that tuning them out comes naturally. Marketers have to work harder than ever to make impacts on audiences. Many choose to focus on experiential marketing, which is also called engagement marketing.
Experiential marketing's goal is to create immersive brand experiences for customers that they remember long afterward. Besides increasing a person's ability to recall a brand, experiential marketing typically forges a closer connection between brands and consumers. Here are some examples of why experiential marketing is such a world-changing idea.
You may initially think of nonprofits and businesses on opposite sides of a spectrum. However, the two entities can also mutually benefit each other.
Here's a look at how that can happen.
Think of how many ads you see each day — watching TV, streaming music, playing a mobile game. Could you add them all up? Do you remember what each one was for?
In America, the average person sees 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day. Even if each ad lasted only one second, that’s hours of brand-sponsored posts and messages.
Consumers are bombarded by videos for the latest fashions and social media posts touting lavish lifestyles. The pressure to buy more has led consumers to push back against traditional marketing methods.
Today, marketers must understand their audience to reach them. Modern consumers want authentic voices and personalized recommendations. They want a brand that understands who they are and the values they represent. That’s where people-based marketing comes in.
The rise of the internet makes it easier than ever for people to get the things they want or need simply by going to a website and placing an order — often receiving their merchandise the next day or even in a matter of hours. However, despite the convenience of the on-demand economy, I was curious about whether buying things online is genuinely better than shopping for stuff in a store.
I am an avid shopper and split my time between buying things in stores and online. Not long ago, I needed to buy some specific items and thought the circumstances presented perfect opportunities to figure out the best way to shop.
I decided to pay attention to my experiences with both options and use the outcomes to determine which one I preferred. The news coverage of how many brick-and-mortar stores are shutting down was another factor that sparked my curiosity. Do online stores spell doom for physical stores in all or most cases? Let's find out based on my shopping spree.
One of the most crucial skills a marketing professional can master is segmentation — dividing a potential audience into groups and pinpointing with whom the marketing message is most likely to resonate. In fact, in today's fast-paced world, segmentation proves to be more vital than ever.
Buyers make split-second purchasing decisions, especially when they're shopping online. Segmentation helps the right message reach the right person with plenty of time to spare.
As you continue to hone your marketing skills, make sure segmentation is at the top of the to-do pile.
As far as the subscriber issue "Should a guest author first be a subscriber to be considered?" I get many unsolicited article submissions from people who are not regular readers of my blog. It is very annoying. I wish more would subscribe to my newsletter, rather than dropping by with a guest post and leaving (especially if it's not useful to my audience). But that's not usually how it works.
More often than not, I get emails with article submissions and proposals from people who barely read my blog.
Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day and you don't have enough time to finish everything? If you do, you're not alone. It even has a name that started showing up in scientific studies around the turn of the century: time famine.
What is time famine, and what can you do to hack your schedule and find more time in your day?
