SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR |  RSS | | REPRINT
|
Rich Media, Richer Results
July 14, 2008
Set your brand apart—then sit back and watch sales soar
By Jed Alpert
The Internet has utterly transformed the way consumers conduct product research. As the world's technological sophistication grows, so does consumer demand for a more robust online experience. Today, online shopping is no longer just about the convenience of click-and-buy at home. Consumers now want greater product interaction, greater product detail and a greater sense of the online experience—all before they ever make a decision to buy.
How do manufacturers and online retailers keep up with consumer habits? They have to find innovative ways to drive sales. They need to employ strategies that provide a complete shopping experience with ways and means that justify the ends. In short, they must find a way to "talk" to the consumer and keep him interested in the conversation.
Consumers conduct product research at every point throughout the purchase cycle. No matter what stage of it they're at, they're relying on the Internet for information more than any other medium. And yes, this includes word-of-mouth, in-store cues and traditional advertisements. In fact, studies indicate that consumers are more likely to stay, browse and then purchase at retail Web sites offering comprehensive product marketing information and educational product content in the form of rich media.
Seeking to create a complete shopping and research experience, retailers use the aforementioned rich media—a term encompassing interactive videos, online demos and other informational tools—to deliver product information and differentiate online products.
This is precisely why many online retailers now focus on providing rich online educational content in addition to product-specific interactive information.
Consumers Embrace Rich Media
Rich media marketing serves to increase the actual time spent on a given Web site, as well as overall shopper satisfaction, and it looks to be paying off.
A WebCollage survey conducted during 2007 indicated that 71% of respondents would more likely visit and purchase a product from the physical store of a retailer whose Web site they had used for research purposes. What's more, 91% of the respondents acknowledged it was "important" or "very important" for retailers to provide complete product information to allow them to research products online.
But for many online shoppers, the experience comes up short. Some 44% of the surveyed respondents determined retail Web sites did not have the most complete information on manufacturers' products, and 33% considered retail product content to be out-of-date.
The survey reinforces results from WebCollage testing—completed across millions of consumers on retail Web sites—which found that when consumers access manufacturers' rich media on retail Web sites, conversions increase by more than 80%. Online shoppers require complete, compelling and interactive product marketing content during their online research and shopping processes.
Providing consumers with a superior end-user experience, while they conduct product research and shop online, ensures heightened product knowledge and a compelling experience. An Eyeblaster survey indicated consumers who used rich media while conducting online research had a 35% increase in expansion duration (the time a consumer chooses to spend interacting with an ad in its expanded state). Measuring expansion duration provides a direct link between consumers' proactive interest and perceived relevance of ad content. Rich media has proved to be that direct connection.
In addition, rich media and complete product marketing content is seen as a direct link to an increase in sales. A leading Internet retailer participated in a month-long test to determine the effect of manufacturer-generated rich media on its online sales.
Over a four-week period, 50% of randomly selected online customers were exposed to rich media and product marketing content syndicated to the Internet retailer, and had access to "more info" buttons. The remaining 50% of shoppers were not given access to this information.
A comparison was then made between the number of "add-to-carts" for those customers with access to the "more info" button and those customers who were not. The results demonstrated that exposure to the manufacturer's rich media and complete product marketing content produced a 6% increase in sales for an array of products included in the test.
What's more, the results confirm that when retailers enhance the quality of their Web site information, customers are more prepared to make purchasing decisions without having to go to other sites for additional information.
Far too often, however, dissatisfied customers will turn their loyalty to competitors—those who will supply the rich media information needed to make purchase decisions.
According to a 2007 national survey by Allurent, nearly 70% of consumers surveyed said their expectations about the quality of the online shopping experience had increased since the previous holiday shopping season. In addition, the same survey showed that 80% of shoppers surveyed said they would not return to a retailer's Web site if they had a negative online shopping experience.
Streamlining Content Through Syndication
Until recently, most retail Web sites found it cost-prohibitive to customize and update rich media content for the myriad products offered by manufacturers. Representing the hundreds or thousands of SKUs in rich media literally was impossible.
The solution comes in the form of rich media syndication systems. These systems help prominent manufacturers move marketing content onto the Web sites of leading online retailers. Circuit City, Office Depot, Ritz Camera, Staples, ABT Electronics and many others all receive rich marketing content directly from manufacturers via content syndication. This enables manufacturers to provide and update their diverse marketing initiatives directly into a retailer's existing Web site.
As a result, manufacturers benefit from having the ability to bring their brand's content into retail Web sites and influence consumers considered to be the most qualified, while the retailers benefit from enhanced merchandising capabilities and reduced content development requirements. Streaming rich media is adjusted to match the respective look and feel of each retailer.
Specific Messages Delivered With a Click
For manufacturers, rich media syndication ensures that customers will receive the most current and concise product or brand messaging, and it gives retail business partners the ability to maximize their merchandising capabilities. And because customers can easily access the information and tools they need for a complete shopping experience and an informed purchase, everyone involved wins.
Rich media empowers retailers by establishing their Web sites as important product-research destinations. Information from manufacturers can be delivered to consumers completely and relevantly, helping to attract and retain customers at every stage of their purchase cycle. When retailers establish themselves as trusted sources of product information, customers become inspired to visit those retail Web sites over and over again—and in some cases, visit physical storefronts as well.
Rich media is powerful. It has the capability to increase customer confidence, delivering to retailers and manufacturers the greatest proof of its ability: a measurable number of increased online sales.
Jed Alpert is the vice president of marketing for WebCollage.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
|
|
SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS |
|
|
| Back to Sales Index |
|
|
