The Value of Customizing Website Applications for E-Commerce Websites
Psst… Here's a secret about successful e-commerce… the vast majority of online purchasers like to read! Of the 71% that read four or more product reviews before making an online purchase, half of those people spend over 10 minutes reading. Consumers love product reviews – not just ones with stars or gimmicky sales pitches – but ones written in magazines, on product comparison sites, written by consumers and honest "pros/cons" assessments.
Custom Website Application # 1: The Blog
Blogs are another website application development that hopelessly infatuates consumers. In a 2007 study by RealDialBlog, they found 76% of US Internet users earning over $150,000/year read blogs (up from 57% in 2005). The Daily KoS blog sees 600,000 visitors per day, which trumps traditional newspaper readership by far. For some industries, blogging is their bread-and-butter. Consider that 80% of home buyers use the Internet to search for a home, which prompted 68% of real estate agents to use a real estate blog as their main marketing tool in 2007.
In one highly publicized case, South African wine producer "Stormhoek" doubled their sales in less than a year through the use of a wine blog. Stormhoek's strategy was to offer bloggers free bottles of Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc to try and comment on, which brought sales from 50,000 – 100,000 cases. As a result, the wines earned listings in wine connoisseur clubs and Stormhoek received valuable marketing feedback from consumers.
Studies suggest that thousands of blogs are abandoned within the first month of creation. Why would people run from such a lucrative endeavor? While inexpensive, blogs suck up a lot of time and effort. You need to know what people are looking for, dig up applicable keywords, optimize, promote your blog and retain an audience. If you're running a business, chances are you barely have time to see your family, let alone manage an online family of readers! Therefore, outsourcing another company for your custom website application development is crucial. They can create, write, research and manage your blog for you, allowing you to reap the profits.
Custom Website Application # 2: E-newsletters
Another great tactic involves newsletters and email marketing. This is where you can really connect with an audience and work on retention of consumers by offering relevant industry news, as well as special subscriber-only discounts. According to MarketingProfs.com, targeted e-newsletters see a minimum return of 5%. By adding a "forward to a friend" button, you can also double your subscriber numbers each month! In the US, 39% of American shoppers made 10 or more purchases, which shows the need to retain those repeat customers.
Custom Website Application #3: Social Media Networking
Social media networking is the newest phenomenon to hit the marketing world. In December 2005, a Forrester study indicated that 13% of marketing executives were using social media networking sites at the time but 51% said they planned to adopt the strategy within the next year. Many clothing retailers, online magazines and other niches use sites like Facebook or Myspace to catalog new items, reel in new audiences and update people about sales or services. Social media networking reaches a vast audience (Myspace saw 55 million individual visitors in June) and is an inexpensive platform to start up (although maintenance can be time-consuming). The effectiveness of social media networking sites lies in their natural compatibility with "word of mouth campaigns." According to a Yahoo research report (titled "Engaging Advocates Through Search and Social Media"), brand advocates have a 2-to-1 conversion rate as they spread news of a product to friends and family. With 2/3 Americans actively engaged with social media, you're well-served to add social media networking to your custom website application development agenda. |
