MADELINE JACOBSON
Content Marketing Manager
Madeline received her BA in English from Whitman College. After graduating, she moved to Austin, TX, where she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer and college prep coach for lower-income high school students. Working with her students to improve their writing was her favorite part of this position and helped her realize that she wanted to continue writing professionally. She joined Leverage as an Online Content Specialist in 2014 and has enjoyed helping clients better communicate with their customers through engaging blog posts, web pages, and other written materials.
The Top 5 Reasons to Use Firefox
/in Uncategorized /by Leverage MarketingOk, so this is a blatant attempt to jump on the “top X reasons” wagon, but something occured to me today as I was compiling some information for my colleagues – most people don’t use Firefox. They just don’t know why it’s useful. So let’s remedy that. 1. It’s not a Microsoft Product. I’m not […]
Top 5 Tips for Winning in Retail Over and Beyond the Festive Period
/in Uncategorized /by Leverage MarketingYes it's that time already!
Following on from Chris' post about the credit crunch, it's time to think about the run up to the holiday season. Although this post is written from a UK perspective, most of the tips are applicable to most markets around the world.
The online UK retail landscape this year has seen steady growth with IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) reporting 15.2% year-on-year market growth to July 2008. Despite there being challenges associated with a slowing economy and the credit crunch, UK shoppers spent over £26.5 billion online in the first six months of 2008, up 38% on the £19.2 billion recorded for the first half of 2007. Online sales accounted for around 17% of the total UK retail market during the first half of the year. (Source: The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index – June 08).
So, challenges aside, early indicators look good for a merry online Christmas, with analysts predicting strong sales as savvy shoppers hit the web instead of the high street and out-of-town shopping centres for Christmas bargains.
1) Be like Red Robin: The Early Bird Catches the Worm
So when do people in the UK start to prepare for the festive season? According to Hitwise, a leading competitive search intelligence company, and Microsoft adCenter’s historical data the first tentative searches for Christmas-related keywords started as early as August! However, the first major rush coincides with when people get paid at the end of October.
The second and final push for the season coincides with when people get paid at the end of November. Searches reach critical mass in the first two weeks of December. Impressions begin to slow and click rates escalate as the postal deadlines for packages and parcels loom between the 17 – 19 December.
2) Christmas Wish Lists: Supply and Demand
Christmas is a time for caring and sharing, and peace to all men on Earth. However, try telling that to the tearful six-year-old on Christmas morning who’s just realised that Santa wasn't able to bring them the latest High School Musical toy they asked for.
Gather insights into what customers will be demanding this festive season and what you should be stocking. If you sell toys, keep an eye on the Toy Retailers Association website for the release of the 2008 Dream Toys on 15 October which is a comprehensive list of what’s hot and not for kids of all ages this Christmas.
Finally, encourage customers to pre-order and buy early to avoid disappointment through your ad copy.
3) Stand and Deliver: Money or Your Brand Reputation
Delivery is everything to Internet customers, and it's even more important to get it right during the festive time of year. Undelivered gifts can spoil Christmas day, which could impact brand equity and even lose customers.
Ensure delivery is a priority in your Christmas copy. Be transparent about delivery costs and delivery deadlines. If you use a third party courier service mention these because they can usually deliver beyond the Royal Mail postal deadlines. If your website offers free delivery on shopping baskets over a certain spend then use this unique selling point to entice buyers.
4) Security Matters: Santa Claus is Coming to Town (And So Are The Credit Card Hackers!)
Christmas is also the time when people are likely to take to shopping online for the first time. However with recurring stories in the media that Internet fraud and identity theft are on the increase, how do you get a nervous first-time Internet customer to shop with you? If your website is accredited by ISIS (Internet Shopping Is Safe) or you use a secure, encrypted payment system such as PayPal or World Pay, mention this in your copy to reassure buyers that you take their security and custom seriously. For more advice on e-commerce security messaging visit: GetSafeOnline.org.
5) Snowballing not Snowball Fights: Forget Christmas Past and look to the New Year Sales
Christmas past: before the web was a mere twinkle in the eye of Tim Berners-Lee, shopping was a 9 – 5 affair and Sunday opening hours a veritable sin. Christmas was the highlight of the shopping year. Small and medium size retailers went into hibernation between the Christmas and New Year lull as the high street giants did a roaring trade.
Christmas present: 24/7 shopping with no real geographic, calendar or time constraints. If you’re a customer, there are always a number of shops open and willing to do business. Christmas is still the highlight of the year, but so are the post-Christmas sales!
So why do a number of retailers still hark back to the methods of Christmas Past by shutting up shop and turning off their PPC ad campaigns? In Jan 2008, IMRG and Hitwise reported that the largest shopping days online were actually post-Christmas dates with 26 December (Boxing Day) and New Year’s Day setting new online traffic records.
See the example below of what happened when an adCenter account was turned off between Christmas and New Year last year versus one of their competitors who remained active for the same period. (Source: Microsoft adCenter Jan 08)
So how do you make your accounts snowball and avoid the fights?
Season's greetings and may your cash registers ring like Christmas bells!
Cheers,
Kate
The Importance of Fully Integrated Analytics and Google Conversion Code
/in PPC, Web Design /by Leverage MarketingThe longer I manage PPC accounts the more I fully realize the importance of Google Analytics. It is of the utmost importance in truly finding the ROI and ROAS that one is looking. This is true regardless if the site is E-Commerce or Lead-Gen. Many of my clients have the base Google Analytics Code installed […]
Organizing Ad Groups for Success – ysm Staff
/in Uncategorized /by Leverage MarketingArrange your keywords and ads properly to help you achieve better results
This is advice taken from Yahoo!’s Smart Start guide, which is packed with helpful content to assist you in making your campaigns as effective as possible. Whether you’re an expert search marketer or just starting out, the tips from Yahoo!’s “Sharon Goodsense” offer practical […]