In several conversations over the last few weeks, I’ve run into some puzzled looks when I mention the term “conversion” in relation to measuring website success. “What’s this guy talking about? My website isn’t trying to make proselytes,” their faces seemed to say (they had very expressive faces). Now, among the analytics/web design crowd you won’t run into any confusion on whether you’ve strayed into a theological discussion, but not all analytics terms have gone mainstream. Whether you’re a marketer on the client or agency side of the business who is responsible for a website’s success, understanding the concept of conversion is essential to achieving and measuring that success.

Conversions Defined

Example of a contact form tracked as a conversion activity on jacksonmg.com.

In its most basic sense, conversion in regards to website activity is simply getting visitors to do what you built your site for. Do you have an e-commerce site? Then a site visitor making a purchase is a conversion. Is your site built as informational, supporting other distribution channels? Then a PDF download of a product spec sheet or manual could be a conversion. Maybe your site gives information on your service offering; then a conversion could be an appointment made or an inquiry sent through a web form.

Conversions Selected

So how do you decide what specific conversion activity or activities to track for your site? Well this takes us one step back in your website design process. Ideally, before a site is built, an explicit purpose is laid out and the success measures are defined. This is the point when the key performance indicators (the KPIs term has been borrowed from Six Sigma for all kinds of success measurement, including online) are chosen, and out of those, the determination of which conversion activities to track can be made. For instance, if a KPI for your site was sales inquires made, then as a conversion activity, you would be interested in tracking the number of visits that included a request to be contacted by a salesperson.

If it’s a bit late for planning your website – say your site has been up and running in some form for several years, there is still an opportunity for defining your KPIs and conversion activities. While you may not have stated it when you were building your site, you did have a purpose in mind or you would not have committed a budget to the effort. Look back and determine what those main goals of the site were and define their related conversion activities. If looking back at your site you come to the realization that your site isn’t really providing the conversions you need for your business, then it’s time for a redesign – because a website that isn’t directly contributing to your overall business goals is just a needless drain of company resources.

Each site will vary in how many KPIs and related conversion activities are needed to truly gauge the site’s success. A very simple brochureware site might only have one KPI and conversion activity to track, while a deep corporate site with customer service, product support and e-commerce components could have several conversion activities being tracked in each section. Regardless of the number, tracking conversions is essential to justifying the purpose of any site and providing guidance for needed improvements.

Conversions Measured

Defining the conversions that need to be tracked is the hard part; the actual tracking is usually not that difficult. Any quality web analytics software currently on the market allows access to the data needed to track just about any conversion activity you can define. The only variance between the software offerings is how easy that data is to get out and present in an easily understandable form. Assuming you have access to an analytics professional for your site (and I hope you do), this is a great task to let them work their stat magic on.

Sample of a conversion path visualization from Google Analytics.

When properly programmed to recognize the activities you have defined as conversions, the best analytics programs can not only show you the rate at which visitors are converting, but also show you the path they take on the site before converting so you can determine where most visitors are being lost in the process. For example, say you have a page of information detailing the service your company offers that includes a link to a sign up form. Should a visitor select the link to the form, they are then greeted by a page requesting basic information, followed by another page requesting credit card information. When tracking the conversion rate of visitors who sign up for your service, the web analytics software will allow you to view the three pages as a path to conversion and will show the percentage of visitors who make it through each step in the process. Information like this not only shows how well your site is currently converting visitors, but allows you to test any modifications throughout the conversion process as you seek to improve your conversion rate.

Converted?

So can we agree it’s best to decide on what you want your site’s KPIs and conversion activities are before building the site (saving yourself the trouble of building a site focused on the wrong things)? Can we also agree tracking your site’s conversion rate is worthwhile and truly essential if you want to find ways to improve your site over time? You’re not going to tell me we can’t agree on anything? Did I fail to convert you at all? If so, tell me, and I’ll redesign and give it another try.

I saw an interesting study today on brands mentioned in tweets – one of the big concerns many clients have is that by participating in social media they are going to get a lot of negative feedback or opinions expressed about their brand.  This study provides strong support for something we’ve been saying for a long time – the vast majority of brand mentions are not even expressing opinions.  This review of nearly 150,000 tweets found only about 20% actually expressed an opinion and two-thirds of those were positive opinions.

While your gut may be telling you there’s all kinds of negativism out in social media just waiting to attack your brand if you wade in, the facts just don’t support it.  So now what’s keeping you from taking an active role in social media?

For any stat crunchers out there, here is the full research report.

Twice a year, the Duke University Fuqua School of Business conducts a survey commissioned by the American Marketing Association.  They sample marketing leaders at Fortune 1000 and Forbes Top 200 companies; nearly three-quarters of participants are at the VP, CMO or higher level.  The February 2009 results were recently released and there was a clear contrast between the perceptions and plans of the B2B marketers and the B2C marketers. 

The B2B CMOs had a more positive outlook on the economy overall and their companies specifically.  Granted, even their outlook wasn’t particularly sunny, but it did show more significant gains from 2008 than the B2C results.  B2B marketers moved from 81% who felt less optimistic about the future in 2008 to 50% who felt less optimistic in 2009, while B2C marketers only moved from 71% to 67% on the same measure.

B2B marketers also reported plans to increase overall marketing spending by 3% in the next twelve months, with the largest percentage increases in Internet marketing activities and new product introductions.  B2C marketers plan to cut overall spending by as much as 4%, but do plan shifts of resources into the same focus areas as B2B marketers. 

B2B marketers also seem to recognize the value of good market intelligence at a time when each marketing dollar has to achieve the maximum possible ROI.  B2B firms reported increasing spending on market research and intelligence by nearly 4% this year, compared to B2C product marketers who are cutting their budgets by approximately that amount.

Across all segments there seems to be a stronger focus on developing and using consumer insights.  The professionals surveyed rated their firms’ performance in this area 35% higher than last year and have set goals even 20% higher for the next twelve months.  Clearly, top marketers are not discontinuing their efforts during the downturn; instead, they are channeling more of their resources towards making highly targeted appeals based on current research.  How does that compare to your strategy for 2009?  

To review the complete study results, check out the CMO Survey site that the Fuqua School of Business has developed.

Remember a time when if you wanted to read a review of a product you had to search through back issues of Consumer Reports?  They would even include a little index in each issue to help you find the month you needed, but if they hadn’t gotten around to toaster ovens in the last year you were just out of luck.  How did we survive in such conditions?  Was there even indoor plumbing back then?

Now if you’re in the market for a great toaster oven (and who isn’t?) you can find three different independent reviews (including Consumer Reports) and hundreds of personal opinions on just about any model after .15 seconds of a Google search.   Product research has become so easy it has forever changed the way we shop and even the way we define shopping.

Mark Penn, the author of Microtrends, recently wrote a Wall Street Journal article highlighting the kind of consumer that he calls the “new info shopper.” This consumer has adapted their shopping behavior to the detailed information available online for just about all products and services.  Before they purchase a product (whether at a brick-and-mortar store or online), they first search online for all the information they can find – including the company’s site, independent review sites and consumer opinion sites.  The more detail they can get, the better.  Gone are the days when they would feel comfortable making the decision on a new car purchase based on some great ads, a brochure from the dealer and Uncle Darrell’s recommendation.  

Penn’s study found that this pre-purchase research by consumers is spreading from big ticket items to the more mundane, such as a new vacuum cleaner or cell phone service.  Items that only the most passionate deal-seekers would once have researched with their well-worn copies of Consumer Reports are now the subjects of thousands of websites and blogs.  The “new info shopper” wants that feeling of getting the best deal on the best product regardless if it is an electric car or an electric toothbrush.

Penn readily admits that the “new info shopper” is much more than a microtrend; it is significant change in the way the majority of consumers look at making a purchasing decision.  He reports, “An astonishing 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions.”  The powerful influence of the customer testimonial has long been accepted, and now it is evolving to touch nearly every product and service available (a kind of Angie’s List of Everything).  A Marketing Sherpa study (2007) found that 58% of Internet users preferred a site that offered customer reviews of their product or service.  And only 5% of users in that same study reported any negative association with sites that showed reviews.

So how can we as marketers use this insight into the consumer’s buying process to sell more product?  Here are two suggestions -

1)  Provide as much detail on your website about your product or service as possible. 

This doesn’t mean you have to give up the well-written sales copy you have on your product pages, but it does mean you should also have real data on the specifications and features of your product or service readily available.  And why not include a comparison chart of your features compared to the competition?  You know your potential customer is creating just such a chart in their head as they review all their options so why not fill in a few of the cells for them?  The more details they can get from your site, the less additional sites they will need to visit before they feel comfortable making their purchase decision.

2)  Post customer testimonials and allow customers to post their product or service reviews.

No need to yell at your screen, I know what you are thinking: “But what if customers post negative reviews?”  Well, first of all, fix the issue that they had so their voice does not go unheard, and if you’re getting a great deal of negative reviews, you have bigger problems than which site they are being posted on.  But wouldn’t you rather hear the criticism directly and in a forum where you can address it than have a “YourProductSucks.com” site built for you? 

Even if you do feel the need to sanitize some of the criticism, you are still better off allowing the customer reviews.  Reviews on a company’s site are likely already seen as having a positive bias, but that doesn’t seem to negate their effectiveness; they just turn into mini-testimonials.

Have a better idea for capitalizing on the “new info shopper,” or just want to review my blog post?  Feel free to comment below; I promise not to screen it if it’s negative.

As each new year approaches, Nielsen analysts examine market trends and make projections about what will be popular (and unpopular) with the American consumer in the coming year.  Some of their predictions affect the marketing industry directly (e.g., ad spending and coupon redemption) while others could greatly affect clients’ businesses.  It’s worth five minutes of your time to see what it takes Nielsen months of research and analysis to develop.

http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/ci_story1.html

Finding a way to market a product or service as environmentally friendly seems to be a requirement of late.  It appears no category of products is off limits – a green appeal for an electric toothbrush is likely already under development.  There is growing evidence, however, that the actual impact of green appeals and green corporate behavior is less than originally thought.

Several recent studies have shown consumers reporting a greater willingness to purchase green products than their behaviors indicate, the exception being when a direct cost savings will be experienced by using a green product.  For example, in a 2008 NAHB study of homeowners, over half said they would be willing to pay $5,000 – $11,000 more upfront for green features on a house if those features would reduce their annual utilities.  However, interest was limited in green home features that had no efficiency advantage.

Similarly, consumers regularly report that a company’s environmental record is important to their purchase decision.  However, the Shelton Group’s 2008 Eco Pulse study found that only 7% of consumers could actually name a recent purchase where the manufacturer’s environmental record played a part in their purchase decision.  Being thought of as considering the environment in purchases may be important to consumers, but not important enough to drive a purchase decision on its own.

So do the green products that are actually selling owe their success to the environmental concern of the consumer or just the desire to save money over the life of the product?  How should this shape our marketing strategy decisions?  If 70% of American consumers feel that calling a product “green” is usually just a marketing tactic (Ipsos Reid, 2007), would the better strategy be a focus on a product’s efficiency message while leaving the environmental message to a sub point?

A little while back, I finally got down to Blue Ocean Strategy in my ever-renewing stack of new books. Any book based not in opinion but in research gets my attention. In this case W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne spent a decade formulating their ideas based on analysis of 150 strategic moves across a variety of industries and eras (comparable to a lite version of a Jim Collins project).

Kim and Mauborgne came to the conclusion that most current industries are already overcrowded with quality competitors who are fighting over a limited number of potential customers (i.e., Red Oceans). They contend that in order for companies to experience significant growth in the future they need to look for uncontested market space (i.e., a Blue Ocean) outside of what they may consider their current market.

The authors provide an excellent systematic approach for a Blue Ocean search, but the big idea behind the book doesn’t feel that new. Almost 50 years ago, father of modern marketing Theodore Levitt spelled out these same essential elements in his most famous article, “Marketing Myopia”.

Putting the example Levitt famously used into Blue Ocean terms, the problem with the railroad companies of the early 20^th century was their determination to continue competition in the Red Ocean of railroad transportation while neglecting to look for a Blue Ocean in the larger transportation market. The focus of Levitt’s article was more on the barriers that keep companies in Red Oceans, while Kim and Mauborgne focus on strategies for finding Blue Oceans, but they share the same premise.

My issue with the book does not discount Kim and Mauborgne’s work; they have provided some valuable tools strategists would do well to employ as we plan our companies’ futures – a type of corrective lenses for our collective marketing myopia.

However, I do wish they had given credit to their distinguished predecessor who first so eloquently conveyed these ideas. And I particularly take issue with those who extolled the book as “breakthrough” and “original” as this does a serious disservice to those unaware of the rich provenance of the subject, perpetuating the idea that areas of strategic thought have somehow been overlooked and new strategies are the only thing relevant in a 21^st century world moving at broadband speeds.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The principals of marketing strategy are not being written (or rewritten) in the 21^st century. Adaptations in strategic implementation are made as new mediums and tactics become available (i.e., Web 2.0), but this is nothing new. Just as Blue Ocean Strategy is nothing new, only an expansion on a well-established idea – which is always welcome, let’s just give our “founding fathers” their due.