CRM - December 2008 - (Page 34)

WEB SITES: BEST AND WORST user registration prior to check out… should reconsider,” says Jason Meugniot, chief executive officer of Guidance, which builds e-commerce Web sites. Especially now, as we enter the heart of the shopping season, retailers need to create opportunities that make it easier for customers to buy. At the old Web site of arts and crafts supplier A.C. Moore, for example, visitors had to become registered members to join the mailing list. Now, the bottom of every page gives them the opportunity to sign up. Over the course of three months, the site saw nearly 100,000 subscribers and an email-to-site clickthrough rate of 23 percent. Personalization remains key to effective marketing in any channel. When you do have personal information, use it. For new visitors, adapt the experience based on the keyword they used in the search that led them to you, the page or product they visited previously, the channel they’re coming from, at what time, etc. Trying to get a solution for a group, Rosenblatt says, will ultimately result in a suboptimal solution for the individual. VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER This year more than any other, Guidance has seen strong client demand for user forums, message boards, and customer ratings and feedback channels. “Getting users and customers to talk amongst themselves is by far the most important thing retailers can be doing today,” Meugniot says. A.C. Moore launched its e-commerce site in October 2007, replacing a site that only provided instructional content and updates about the company. The existing site had 8 million unique visitors a year and the hope was to convert that community into customers. Since the launch of the revamped site, the company has more than doubled its traffic and sales are now expected to exceed original projections by 70 percent. “Personally, I’ve put in a lot of CRM tools,” says Dennis P. Hodgson, the company’s chief information officer. “But I’ll tell you that none of the systems can hold a candle to the insight we gleaned from 34 7 Deadly Sins/7 Heavenly Virtues 4 Lust Don’t be enamored with the latest technology if it doesn’t work for you or the product/service you're trying to sell. Instead of looking cool, it may just be a distraction, especially when it leads visitors away from a more important action. vs Chastity Don’t be too quick to leap on new technology just to be first. Being on the cutting edge has its risks. It’s okay to stick with what's worked. A.C. Moore, for example, transferred instructional videos from its old site to its new one. SOURCE: WWW.ACMOORE.COM Anger SOURCE: INTERWOVEN Alienating your customers by making them feel inferior and therefore in dire need of your product. vs Patience Giving them information that allows them to make the best decision that’s right for them. SOURCE: MORTGAGE.COM 5 [customer] forums.” Good thing, too, since the streamlined email collection required a tradeoff: “The difference between registering and simply adding the email is that the email just requires you to give less information,” Hodgson says. A.C. Moore’s forum launched in mid- July 2008 and within the first 48 hours gained more than 5,000 members. What started as eight categories of project ideas (e.g., scrapbooking, knitting, jewelry) soon expanded to 25, which go beyond just crafts, allowing visitors to enter contests and even interact with each other. www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | DECEMBER 2008 http://WWW.ACMOORE.COM http://www.MORTGAGE.COM http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - December 2008

CRM - December 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Rave Is Over CRM on Twitter Financial Frenzy Will Customer Experience Survive in a ‘Soft’ Economy? Holiday Humbug Empowered Consumers Are Ready to Flip the Switch Required Reading Transparency Spiff Up Your Site! They Aim to Please Mixing In a Little Sugar Sweetens the Deal A Newsletter Employs New Tactics A Site Stops Feeling Overtaxed Make ’Em Laugh—Personally Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - December 2008

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