E-commerce and Marketing White Papers

Your customers no longer go online; they are online. And their online behaviors have driven a huge increase in online shopping and buying.

So why aren’t they buying from you?

“Research from Google and others suggests that customers view an average of 7-10 sites before making a purchase decision—and climbing. In some industries, those numbers are significantly higher. Why so many?

Simple. Regardless of whether looking for a new car, consultant, contractor, or chiropractor, customers really look to answer only two questions when researching products and services online:

1. Will this product/service meet my needs?
2. Why should I buy from you?

And the reason your customers look at so many sites before making a decision is because so few small business websites (and large business websites, for that matter), do enough to answer those questions.”

“Want More Business From Your Website? 6 Things Your Customers Must Hear You Say” 

Marketing used to be relatively simple. You’d simply buy advertising through TV, radio, or print media and wait for the sales to roll in. Since most customers watched just a handful of shows or read only their local paper, you didn’t have too many options for how to reach them.

Today? Your customers have nothing but choice. Not only are there myriad media channels from which to choose, but your customers consume this media across a range of devices:

“According to recent research, nearly 90% of all media consumption every day occurs across these 4 screens. Televisions, PCs, mobile devices like smart phones, and tablets have replaced newspapers and magazines as many consumers’ go-to source for information and entertainment. Your ability to reach your customers going forward depends on your ability to reach across these 4 screens at the right time to engage and attract potential guests.”

“The Guide to Digital Marketing for Hotels and Resorts in a Multiscreen World”
Learn how to use this changing landscape to your advantage. (Targeted to the hospitality industry, but the lessons apply across many industries).

“…no contemporary marketer ignores the vast array of online channels in his or her marketing plans. And most create those plans by envisioning the traditional purchase funnel: the model that suggests consumers’ progress from awareness, through interest and desire to their purchase action.

While this funnel provides a convenient metaphor, it may mislead marketers into believing only one purchase path exists. However, no one follows the same neat, orderly progression from “I think I’ll take a trip” straight through to “Here’s my credit card,” down the same path, funnel-shaped or otherwise.”

“Engaging Online Travel Shoppers through Integrated Marketing”

Web analytics represent a significant opportunity for marketers to understand their customers’ needs and actions online. However, many struggle to make analytics work for their business. While specifically written for a hotel and resort marketing audience, much of the information applies across industries. For example,

“A data-driven focus, one that relies on clear, consistent, well-understood metrics, shared across the organization, often separates those achieving success online from those struggling to deliver. Wanamaker was right to worry which half of his marketing was wasted, but lacked the tools necessary to find out.

Today, that’s not the case. Web analytics tools can help hotel owners and marketers identify what’s working and what isn’t. But developing the capabilities to get the most from those tools requires a continued commitment to resources, time and training. Results won’t happen overnight. It will take time to gain a comfort level with the methods and mindsets underlying an effective web analytics system.”

“Best Practices for Hotel Website Analytics”

“Every year, some guru suggests that this year, really will be the year of social. Or mobile. Or some other technology that sounds sexy but fails to deliver to your business’ bottom line. Is this year any different? The answer, unequivocally, is yes. Why?”

“The Wall-to-Wall Web is Here: 5 Basics to Guide You”

While no single tool, technique, or technology can improve your customer’s experience by providing a customized offering, drive increased customer loyalty, stimulate favorable reviews and recommendations, gain significant revenue, differentiate the benefits of your company from others in market, encourage direct sales, one tactic offers significant benefits in each of these areas: upselling. While written specifically for an audience of hotel marketers and revenue managers, many of the lessons apply across industries. For example:

“A long-standing market truism states, “People hate to be sold, but they love to buy.” Guest value resides at the core of any upselling program; guests not only won’t purchase what they don’t value, they may resent any upselling attempt that doesn’t offer sufficient value as pushy. By contrast, high- value offers can demonstrate the hotel’s commitment to guest satisfaction, increase guests’ perception of their overall stay, drive increased loyalty, and generate positive reviews and recommendations.

To support guest value, hotel marketers and revenue managers must focus on four key areas:

1. Process
2. Data
3. Technology
4. Personnel

“When More is More: Exploring Upselling as a Sales & Marketing Tactic”