'Net Features : survey

Are Return Shipping Fees Scaring Away Your Customers?

Michael Garrity — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:35:00 GMT

Apparently, I’m not the only one who finds return shipping fees kind of annoying, because according to a new survey by ShopRunner, 81 percent of online shoppers are “not likely” to make repeat purchases from retailer that charge for return shipping.

The poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive and was made up of 3,036 adult consumers in the U.S to find out what drives online shopping today.

Not only did ShopRunner uncover that the vast majority of consumers won’t return after being charged for return shipping, but 69 percent of them said that returning items purchased online is “a complicated process” altogether, fees or not.

This data is in line with another study from this past September by Washington and Lee University that found that return shipping policies have a significant impact on customer spending and loyalty over a period of four years. When asked to pay for their own returns, customers decreased their spending with that retailer from between 75 to a complete 100 percent within two years of the return. However, those that were offered free return shipping increased spending with those retailers between 158 and an astounding 457 percent.

ShopRunner’s survey also ventured into other areas of interest for online retailers. For instance, it found that well over half (67 percent) of online consumers said they “would purchase more online” from either their computers or mobile devices if they could use the same secure and simple checkout procedure across all websites. This, of course, opens the door for services like PayPal to step in and ensure greater convenience and comfort for these shoppers.

In addition, and unsurprisingly, ShopRunner and Harris noted that shoppers really value quick delivery, with 77 percent of the respondents saying that they would spend more online, and thus less in stores, if e-commerce sites offered free one-to-two day shipping. But for 65 percent of shoppers, faster free shipping would actually cause them to procrastinate and put off confirming a purchase for longer than usual, as it allows them more time to make informed decisions without greatly adding to the delay in receiving their item(s).

Conveniently, ShopRunner, a shopping services solution provider, recently expanded its line of online shopping services, which already let retailers offer fast, free and unlimited two-day shipping. Now, users can also take advantage of free return shipping with the ReturnRunner solution, and a fast, secure two-click checkout solution called PayRunner.

Upgrade Habits of Everyday Software Users

Michael Garrity — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:00:00 GMT

We’ve all gotten those alerts telling us it’s time to update some of our software. Doing this seems like it should be a no-brainer; after all, the newer version is likely to offer new and improved features that will make the software that much more useful. But alas, we don’t always get around to upgrading our stuff in the most timely manner (my iTunes at home has been asking me for months now).

Recently, a coalition of top-tier tech names, Skype, Symantec, and GPS company TomTom, published an infographic looking at why users do, and don’t, go through with software upgrades.

The companies surveyed consumers in the US, UK, and Germany to learn more about their software upgrading habits. What they found was that on average, 40 percent of adults usually don’t upgrade their software when they receive a prompt. This number is highest in the US at 42 percent, followed by the UK (41 percent) and then Germany (37 percent). It also seems that men are more likely than women to commit to a software upgrade prompt.

For some, this may seem nonsensical, but while three-fourths of the respondents said they had received upgrade notifications in the past, a quarter of them said they don’t “clearly understand” the benefits of upgrading. About 25 percent also said that they need to see a prompt twice before actually doing it, and still one-fourth said they have no idea how to check to see if their software needs to be upgraded on their own.

When asked why they decided to upgrade, the primary reason (76 percent) was in order to keep their computer safe and secure, while 67 percent said it was to make sure the software runs more smoothly and crashes less often, 47 percent said they wanted the latest features, and over half (52 percent) did it because it was free.

Meanwhile, those who didn’t upgrade were also largely motivated by security concerns, as 45 percent said they were actually more worried about it being a threat to their machine. Other reasons were because it takes too long (27 percent), they see no benefit (25 percent), they don’t understand what it will do (26 percent), they fear it will slow down their computer (20 percent), and they think that new versions tend to be too buggy and crash too often (18 percent).

Clearly, the biggest take away here for software providers and users alike is that transparency is important. Users seem to overwhelmingly desire upgrade prompts that present the benefits and explain the purpose of the update, as well as offering reassurance that it will improve, or at least not threaten, the security of their computers. And it always helps if the upgrade is free.

Check out the infographic below:

Social and Mobile Encourage Optimism in Small Businesses

Michael Garrity — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 22:30:00 GMT

Recently, j2 Global, a provider of cloud-based communications and storage messaging services for businesses, released the results of the j2 Global Small Business Survey, and the results are overwhelmingly optimistic.

According to the report, 76 percent of the small business owners surveyed said they’re optimistic about the growth of their companies through the rest of 2012. Just seven percent said they weren’t optimistic at all. More importantly, however, were insights that the survey provided that detail how these business owners are utilizing mobile and social technology.

Although email and search are still the two primary promotional tools for most online businesses, 39 percent of the respondents said that a quarter of their marketing strategy is now based around social media, and 26 percent said that social was the focus of half (or more) of their marketing efforts.

Facebook was widely considered the most important social platform for business owners at 37 percent (LinkedIn was second, and Google+ came in third); however, the usefulness of each social network varies greatly by industry. Facebook was most popular with restaurants, but LinkedIn was the go-to destination for consultants, and medical professionals love Google+. Most e-commerce businesses utilize Twitter, and tech firms prefer YouTube. Surprisingly, just one percent of the owners said that Pinterest was the most important social network, making it the least valuable of the bunch.

As for mobile, small business owners seem to be embracing the technology in order to keep up with their larger competitors. 38 percent of the respondents said that they currently use at least five mobile apps to run their business, which correlates with a Business Journals study that recognizes iPads as the fastest growing new technology for small and medium-sized businesses.

Popular uses of the Apple tablet include email (the highest reported at 76 percent), Web browsing, document management, product demonstrations and sales, communication (phone and video) and online faxing. Use of these devices is primarily driven by restaurants and other food service industry companies.

Increase Sales with Retail-Integrated E-Commerce

Michael Garrity — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:00:00 GMT

A new study from e-commerce solutions provider Shopatron has found that 73 percent of brands increased their overall sales – both online and in stores – through retail-integrated e-commerce.

A retail-integrated e-commerce model allows branded manufacturers to sell directly to consumers on their websites and then pass those orders to their authorized, local retailers for delivery to the customer. According to the survey results, the model strengthens retailer relationships, boosts retailer stocking and increases sales.

Over half of the 200 surveyed branded manufacturers said their online sales increased since launching retail-integrated e-commerce, with 10 percent stating that their online sales more than doubled.

The benefits of the model are also mutual, as over 65 percent of the 1,300 retailers surveyed noted improved profit numbers and customer acquisition, and 23 percent of them said that the model actually increased both statistics.

Furthermore, 59 percent said that they now stock more brands that send them sales using retail-integrated e-commerce, and 70 percent are prepared to or have already stopped buying from brands that continue to sell direct-to-consumer.

The full results of the survey can be found here.

Calling All Content Marketers: Curb the Sales Pitch

Michael Garrity — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

At the end of the day, no marketing effort in the world can make up for the need to provide good content that is meaningful and relevant to the users you are trying to attract to your brand. This sentiment is just as true for business-to-business marketers as it is for B2C promoters.

Recently, DemandGen Report conducted a survey with business executives tasked with finding and purchasing content solutions to determine their specific needs and preferences in an effort to give B2B organizations more detailed information to improve their content marketing strategies.

The survey, titled The Content Preferences Survey, found that 75 percent of respondents would like solution providers to create content that will curb sales messaging, meaning that these marketers should re-imagine their content strategies so that prospective buyers have a better understanding of their solution’s value. Over half of them agreed that these messages should focus on the actual objective-based value of a solution and less on product specs.

Although email is the most popular way to share content, 53 percent of executives also use LinkedIn for sharing purposes. The vast majority (88 percent) also said that they prefer white papers as the top choice for content-based research, with visual formats such as video (44 percent), infographics (38 percent) and webinars (72 percent) emerging as accepted alternatives.

And, of course, there’s the mobile trend. Forty percent of respondents said they now access content on mobile phones, with 23 percent using a tablet more frequently. This should signify to B2B marketers the importance of also providing mobile-optimized content whenever they can.

“Solution providers, now more than ever, need to demonstrate a clear understanding of their prospects’ challenges, market trends and objectives,” says DemandGen Report managing editor Amanda Batista.

Email Continues to Drive the Most Purchases

Michael Garrity — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:30:00 GMT

It seems that rumors of email’s demise (or rather, social media’s dominance) have been greatly exaggerated. That is, if we are to believe a new study released by interactive marketing solutions provider ExactTarget.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of online Americans have made a purchase as a result of an email they received, which is nearly twice as many as those who reported purchasing something based on a marketing message delivered either on Facebook (20 percent) or via text messaging (16 percent).

The survey studied 1,481 online consumers to find out just how these shoppers communicate online with brands and friends. The results showed a significant divide among communication preferences with regard to personal and marketing messages.

A whopping 77 percent of the respondents said they would rather get marketing messages in their email, but just 45 percent said they prefer to use that channel for personal communication. On the other hand, only five percent of consumers said they prefer receiving marketing messages on social networking sites.

Email proved itself as the Internet’s continued go-to communications method, with 96 percent of respondents saying they use email at least weekly. Also, 76 percent said that email is preferred for customer service messages.

Although 70 percent of respondents said they use Facebook weekly, just 20 percent use Twitter as frequently. Facebook is also twice as likely to convince teens (ages 15-17) to make a purchase as Twitter, though both pale in comparison to email's ability to drive purchases.

Report Shows Consumers Getting More Personal

Michael Garrity — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Local Corp. has unveiled the preliminary data from its report that shows that the modern consumer takes a highly personalized path to purchase and utilizes a wide variety of devices to do so, including PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Still, 90 percent of the shoppers surveyed said that a physical store was still important in the purchasing process.

However, as evidence of a changing landscape, 60 percent of respondents said they researched products or services several times a month using a mobile device of some sort. Meanwhile, PCs are still a major part of the purchasing process.

The survey’s results were culled from the responses of 1,026 consumers and explored their behavior across an array of mobile devices, including asking about preferences and plans for researching and purchasing multiple types of products. Ultimately, the survey reveals that due to the proliferation of available devices and channels, consumers are more frequently displaying pre-purchase behaviors based on their individually specific needs and interests.

Other interesting highlights from the survey include:

- 28 percent of researchers used two devices at a time to find information

- Over one-third of shoppers have made a purchase on a mobile device in the past six months, with tablet shoppers using their devices to shop more frequently

- 47 percent said they use smartphones to search for local information

- 42 percent of respondents said they use the Web to check inventory prior to shopping at a brick-and-mortar store

- Ratings/reviews and search listings top the list of most influential things to the shopper’s choice of destination at 41 and 37 percent, respectively

- 31 percent of shoppers expect to research products and services more on their smartphones in the next year, while 41 percent plan to use tablets more for research

B2B Metrics Aren't Measuring Up

Michael Garrity — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:30:00 GMT

A survey by marketing automation solution provider Pardot reveals that a significant number of business-to-business (B2B) marketers aren’t actively or accurately tracking the revenue that their campaigns generate, a non-practice that can lead to missed opportunities in establishing B2B marketing’s “essential role” in the growth of a business.

For the survey, Pardot talked with dozens of anonymous B2B marketers about their strategies and how they implement their programs, including what they choose to measure, how they do it and the standards they use for qualifying leads.

According to Pardot, as many as 37 percent of all marketers simply aren’t tracking the revenue they generate. By not measuring the results of their lead management programs, many B2B marketers are not accurately reporting their value to their organizations.

Of those marketers who aren’t tracking and reporting their results, approximately 40 percent said that it was because they lacked the time and/or resources necessary to create and analyze these sometimes complex reports.

The survey also found that 20 percent of marketers don’t measure marketing-sourced leads at all, 30 percent don’t track “advanced” metrics, like marketing-sourced opportunities, 35 percent don’t use lead nurturing for less qualified leads and almost 30 percent lack the tools needed to track leads through the sales cycle.

These are pretty dire numbers for the B2B marketing industry, which does, at least, understand that it needs to adapt its analytics approach to a more data-driven model; as many as 80 percent of the survey’s respondents said that they want to spend more time in the upcoming year focusing on marketing metrics, and 85 percent will be initiating plans that require leads to meet a given set of criteria before they're passed on to sales teams.

In addition, the survey found that one-third of respondents felt that marketing qualified leads (MQLs) are the most important metric for them to measure, while marketing-contributed opportunities came in second. Metrics that were less revenue-driven, like site traffic or page views, were considered the least important.

Report Studies User Experience of Financial Websites

Michael Garrity — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Web-based usability testing tool Usabilla recently conducted a study on the user experience, as well as usability similarities and differences among some of the largest retail banking websites in countries around the world, including the U.S., Germany and the U.K. Though it is focused on sites in the financial sector, many of the takeaways from the study provide insights that can be used to help websites in any industry.

Among the banks included in the report are Bank of America, Barclays, Chase, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo.

In the study, 400 participants were asked to perform simple, everyday tasks on these various websites and then provide feedback about their experiences. They were asked various questions, such as which aspects of the sites made them trust the banks, where they had to click to get information about credit cards, where they had to click to find information about how to meet with someone from their nearest branch of the bank, where to click if they have had a card stolen and what they would change or improve about each site.

Usabilla took the data from this report and gave each site a mean score based on accuracy and the time it took users to locate important information on the site. From there, each site was ranked from best to worst based on its overall performance.

Some of the most important findings from the study include the following:

- Often, many of these sites have a divide between a user's priorities and the priorities of the banks. Most of the "information is often based not on the most frequent actions a user takes . . . but on the services the bank wants to sell."

- A user's trust in a website is based largely on visual factors. Pages that display a padlock icon by their login and sign-in sections are often much more trusted than those who don't. Also, if they have clear banners and links that make reference to their security measures or programs, they appear more trustworthy; on the other hand, sites with many ads and/or offers appear less trustworthy.

- Most banks performed poorly when it came to offering a "Lost Credit Card" button by failing to place one somewhere that was easy for users to access. Many of the participants in the study said that "the experience of losing a credit card could be much less stressful" if banks were to make this button simpler to find on their websites.

- The sites with the cleanest designs on their credit card pages performed the best in the survey, with all participants agreeing that too much information made it difficult to find desired content.

"The retail banking sector occupies a critical corner on the Internet, and consumers place their financial livelihood in these companies every day," says Paul Veugen, Usabilla Founder and CEO. "We decided to test and highlight these leading retail banking websites due to the level of trust that consumers place in them combined with the intrinsic customer-centric nature of the banking sector."

Of course, it should go without saying that much of the information gleaned from this study can be worthwhile for any website. For instance, a common issue on many webpages is that businesses often don't adapt fast enough to meet user needs or wants, and recent trends on many sites are swinging towards customization for users. Likewise, it has long been known that the more cluttered a page is, the less usable it will be for people visiting the site.

Thus, it is good for website owners and designers to pay attention to these kinds of reports because, if nothing else, they show that even major companies can still make mistakes on the Web. The major findings of the study, when broken down to their essentials, are all about having a clean and easy-to-follow design and providing relevant content to users. I think that those concerns should be contemplated by any website.

The Importance of Translating in E-Commerce

Michael Garrity — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:00:00 GMT

Thanks to a recent study by TransPerfect, the important role that language translations play in e-commerce finally has some measurable data to be analyzed.

While the positive effects for e-commerce stemming from rampant globalization through the Internet are obvious, such as having a larger, worldwide assortment of potential customers, there are some issues that undeniably need to be addressed before the market can reach its fullest potential.

One of those problems is a widespread language barrier that moves from country to country, and sometimes within them, that makes it hard for some e-commerce retailers to market to and reach groups outside of their local region. The survey in question aims to address this problem, with TransPerfect, the world's largest privately held provider of language services and translation-related technologies, comparing the views of both e-tailers and consumers as it relates to their different expectations concerning online translation.

What the results show is a noteworthy disparity between the way that executives and e-tailers, from companies of varying sizes, consider translations, and the way that global consumers weigh them. Just 19 percent of executives surveyed said that translating information online was a high priority. Does that sound like someone in the e-commerce game you might know? Because, if so, you may want to let them know that 63 percent of consumer respondents said that they are more likely to buy from a website available in their native language.

That number is underscored by the fact that 73 percent of surveyed consumers said they encounter e-commerce websites that aren't available in their native languages. What's more, over half of those same consumers said that, when left to their own devices, they will either attempt to translate material on their own, rely on a browser-based translation application to do it for them, or, far worse for e-tailers, will simply end their shopping sessions and move on. This could potentially mean substantial revenue losses for many e-commerce companies because of a lack of translations on their websites.

Also important to note is the fact that almost 68 percent of respondents said that they "sometimes" or "always" encounter website translations that aren't correct or are confusing because the translations lacked an understanding of their culture. This seems to show that it is important to invest in online translations in more than just a superficial way, because it can not only turn off customers, but straight up confuse them if you don't take the time to make sure your translations are done right.

That being said, here's a list of things e-commerce businesses can do that will translate to success (get it?):

- Take notice of local sites
Really understand the different markets that you're trying to reach. It helps to have a design that can appeal to various cultural backgrounds and is accessible to (almost) everyone to visits your site, so follow the lead of Facebook or Amazon when it comes to creating an all-encompassing approach to your website.

- Become local
One thing you can easily do to appeal to a specific overseas market is to create a localized Top Level Domain (TLD) for each country or language.

- Ponder your keyword selection
You need to be sure that your SEO and PPC keywords that you use in copy and tags are properly researched for each target market. Also, it would help you to know what the successful keywords of their local competition are, as well as maybe using some specific, local terms along with your more generic words. And, please, make sure you test and analyze your selected keywords. You won't be sorry.

- Start small
To see both how well your translating skills are working and how your e-commerce business is going over in a new market, start by just offering a limited (and targeted) range of products when first launching your site overseas.

- Human translators work best
We've all seen the hours of mindless fun that can be had copy and pasting between various online translators, but I think you may want a bit more security when translating for your business. Poor grammar and awkward phrasing are off-putting for anyone, so make sure that you're content is translated, or at the very least checked, by a professional, HUMAN translator before your site goes live.

The Best Web Tools for Businesses

Michael Garrity — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Business advice start-up BestVendor released the data from a survey they implemented recently and it provides an interesting picture about the web tools that businesses are using.

Small businesses and start-ups can find it tricky to maneuver their way through the various Web-based tools available to them in areas like communication, productivity, finance, and IT. With new products constantly being launched in all of these areas, BestVendor wanted to aid these companies in their search through a seemingly endless amount of options to find those tools that will work best for them.

The survey was conducted by asking 550 start-up executives and managers (all of whom work in companies with 100 people or less) which tools they preferred for various business and business-related functions. Almost half (45 percent) of the respondents work in Tech companies. As BestVendor's own chart says, after compiling the data, "a few themes clearly emerge."

Google Apps, at only $5 a month, was considered one of the leading service providers when it comes to running a business.

More and more, small businesses seem to be moving away from on-premise software to on-demand Web applications that can be accessed directly from a browser.

Overall, the results weren't spectacularly alarming. Broken down by category, Google Apps was the most popular for company email, Quickbooks won out in accounting, Google Analytics was considered the best for Web analytics, Salesforce was the mostly highly accepted for customer relationship management, Adobe CSS was the best for website design, Dropbox triumphed in the storage/backup/virtualization category, and PayPal came out as the top tool for payment processing.

The chart also includes a few "hidden gems" to help the office run a bit more smoothly, such as IdeaPaint, HipChat, and Pandora or Turntable.

The study also breaks down some of the categories further. More detailed results from productivity, finance & accounting, development & IT, design, and Web operations can be found in BestVendor's offical chart below.

Firms at Risk; Web Professionals Take Note

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:46:00 GMT

A new Fasthosts Internet Ltd survey released earlier this month found that many firms do not have arrangements in place to retain basic control or in some cases even legal ownership of their website and domains because of over-reliance on the IT or web consultants who look after their website.

Ever broadening consumer expectations for the web has led more firms than ever (43%) to opt for using the services of skilled web professionals to help create and maintain their website. 92% of these companies rate their external web consultants positively, with 38% reporting a 'good' return on investment. However, the Fasthosts 'SME & the Web' study found that many UK companies may be risking revenue and reputation as a result of weaknesses in their workflows with such third parties.

Additional insights from the study include:

- During the past 2 years, 1 in 4 firms paying for an external web professional have had their website off-line as a result of a problem related to the other party.

- 1 in 5 businesses incurred delays to projects caused by their external partner, and 17% reported losses of both staff time and sales revenue over £1000 as a result. For 14% of respondents, an external advisor or agency had gone out of business.

- In the event of an issue with their external partner, 56% of firms have no way of making any changes or additions to their website themselves and 80% have no facility for switching their website on/off independently. For these businesses, the link to their external web professional is a single point of failure in their online presence.

- Whilst UK firms invest millions in professional web design each year, 70% of those using a web designer do not retain a back-up copy of their website themselves.

"For many firms, using external web professionals is a very sensible and rewarding option. However, as external parties can come and go, it is vital that businesses protect themselves from the potential disruption, losses and reputation damage that an off-line or out-of-date website can cause,” said Steve Holford, Marketing Director, Fasthosts Internet Ltd.

Website Magazine's 2010 Social Media Survey!

Mike Phillips — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:54:00 GMT

Website Magazine's March, 2010 cover story is about social media for business. And, as we have the most educated audience of Web professionals in the industry, we want your input! Please take just a couple of minutes to take our 2010 Social Media Initiatives survey. We want to know how social media is affecting your business, and what some of your objectives might be in 2010. The survey is very brief, and we will share responses (anonymously, in aggregate) with all of our readers in the upcoming issue of Website Magazine.

Thank you, and don't miss the March 2010 issue to see how your peers are planning on using social media for their businesses now and in the future.

Take the survey now.

Stay up to date on the latest Internet trends:
Request a professional subscription to Website Magazine,
the most popular print publication on Web success.

Tag Open-Ended Response Feature at Zoomerang

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:37:00 GMT

Survey provider Zoomerang announced the release of Tag Open-Ended Respsonses, an analysis tool that enables users to analyze respondents' written feedback.

Unlike survey providers that make open-ended responses viewable but not quantifiable, the new Zoomerang feature illustrates the most frequently used words and phrases in responses, creates tag lists that group the phrases into common themes (by tag cloud, frequency and response) and "features a drag and drop experience that enables users to easily turn an open-ended response into a closed-ended one that is tied to a clear percentage." That's pretty cool.

Results can be added to PowerPoint presentations or PDFs and integrated into the analytics functionality of the Zoomerange survey app, so users can cross tabulate results, apply filters, graphs, and even create a widget to post it online.

Rob Glickman, director of e-commerce for Zoomerang explains, "The ability to analyze and share survey results effectively is fundamental to our subscribers' success. This feature enhances that ability in a powerful, innovative way."

__________

Looking for practical advice on how to succeed in Web business?
Request a professional-level membership from Website Magazine and receive bright ideas each month to shorten your road to profitability.