David Moth

Just 13% of businesses implement personalisation on mobile

Personalisation is widely seen as vital to the success of online businesses, yet new research shows that companies are some way off delivering cross-channel personalised experiences.

The Econsultancy/Monetate Realities of Personalisation Report shows that while 43% of companies currently deliver a personalised experience on desktop this figure falls to just 14% on tablet and 13% on mobile.

For both devices more than half of respondents (54%) stated that they plan to adopt personalisation in the next 12 months, but this needs to be treated with caution as the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

It also means that around a third of businesses have no plans to implement the technology.

by David Moth 30 April 2013 11:02am 0 comments

Seven tips for charities using Twitter

In recent weeks we’ve blogged about how different charities are making use of Pinterest and Facebook, with the aim of highlighting the different ways that non-profits are taking on social.

One of the main challenges I noted was that it can be tricky for charities to come up with interesting content, especially if they are dealing with difficult or sensitive causes.

With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to look at how non-profit organisations can get started on Twitter and use it to raise awareness or funds.

This not meant to be a comprehensive list for defining a social media strategy, but rather a set of tips and talking points to help those that just starting out on Twitter or are looking to improve their social marketing...

by David Moth 29 April 2013 13:39pm 4 comments

Baidu: the opportunity for European businesses

The value of online transactions in China reached $190 billion in 2012 and the country is predicted to overtake the US as the world’s largest ecommerce market at some point this year.

So it’s no surprise that European businesses are eager to try and break into the marketplace.

As with any ecommerce market, search is a vital source of building brand awareness and attracting traffic in China. This means you have to optimise your site for Baidu which has around 83% market share.

Baidu recently signed a deal with CharmClick that gives the company exclusive rights as a resale agent in Europe, which subsequently partnered with Net Media Planet for Baidu ad sales in the UK and Ireland.

by David Moth 29 April 2013 13:38pm 1 comment

Most companies spend less than 5% of marketing budgets on conversion optimization

A majority of companies (53%) spend less than 5% of their total marketing budgets on optimization activities, despite the fact that a small uplift in conversion rates can translate into millions of dollars of extra revenue.

The findings come from a new survey by Adobe which also found that companies spending more on optimization are reaping the benefits.

The Adobe 2013 Digital Marketing Optimization Survey, with analysis carried out by Econsultancy, received global responses from more than 1,800 digital marketers across North America, Europe and Asia.

It explores the key areas in which digital marketers need to excel to ensure success, including mobile, social, personalisation and customer experience.

by David Moth 29 April 2013 16:07pm 5 comments

10 interesting digital marketing stats we've seen this week

Here are some of the most interesting digital marketing stats we've seen this week.

Stats include website personalisation, email marketing, mobile paid search, mobile commerce among young men, online video and Samsung's growing popularity among Europeans.

For more digital marketing stats, check out our Internet Statistics Compendium.

by David Moth 26 April 2013 11:33am 0 comments

This week's finest digital marketing infographic

Regular readers of the Econsultancy blog will be used to seeing our ‘top six infographics’ roundup each Friday, but it is my sad duty to report that it has been discontinued.

The reason for the post’s demise is down to the fact that quality infographics have become increasingly thin on the ground, so finding six each week was a difficult task.

But fear not, because though the ‘top six’ post is gone, in its place we’ll now publish the best infographic of the week every Friday. Unless we only get rubbish infographics, in which case we won’t bother to publish any at all.

by David Moth 26 April 2013 10:51am 11 comments

Aviva and More Than come top in car insurance site usability study

In the competitive world of online car insurance Aviva and More Than offer the best overall user experience, according to a new report from Qubit.

Using a customised tool that scored 10 of the UK’s biggest insurers out of 100%, the two top performers both scored 76% while Admiral was the worst performer with an overall total of 59%.

Qubit’s ‘Find, Choose, Buy’ framework divides the user journey into three stages. ‘Find’ evaluates the customer search, as well as the possible alternatives on offer; the ‘Choose’ stage analyses information available, particularly on the search results and the product page, helping the customer to select the product.

The ‘Buy’ section then examines the checkout process where the customer completes the online transaction.

by David Moth 25 April 2013 13:35pm 0 comments

Premier Inn's simple iPad app is a useful tool for business travellers

Premier Inn recently unveiled a new iPad app alongside a revamped iPhone version as it seeks to increase mobile sales and repeat bookings.

The hotel chain took more than 100,000 bookings through its iPhone app in 2012 and the updated version has already seen average daily sales conversions increase from 3% to 5.9%.

Designed by Grapple, the new apps feature improved navigation, redesigned booking function, Trip Advisor ratings, the ability to add extras such as breakfast, and a simplified process for booking repeat stays.

The iPhone app has been downloaded more than two million times since it was first launched in January 2011, so to find out what the fuss is about I tried out the new iPad version...

by David Moth 25 April 2013 11:06am 0 comments

47% of businesses cite technology issues as the main barrier to website personalisation

Though more than nine out of ten marketers agree that personalisation is critical to their success, almost half of companies lack the necessary technology to properly implement website personalisation.

The findings come from the new Econsultancy/Monetate Realities of Personalisation Report, which found that 47% of companies cite IT roadblocks as a major barrier to adopting or improving website personalisation.

A similar number of respondents (46%) pointed to legacy technology, while 44% cited lack of budget.

In contrast, among respondents from marketing agencies lack of knowledge (54%) and inability to translate data into action (51%) took the first two spots.

Lack of budget and lack of staff are the third and fourth most cited barriers for both companies and agencies surveyed, highlighting the importance of prioritising resources that are often scarce.

by David Moth 25 April 2013 10:02am 0 comments

Poor quality data is the biggest barrier to effective email marketing: report

Poor quality data is the biggest barrier to effective email marketing, according to the new Econsultancy/Adestra Email Marketing Census 2013.

Half (50%) of respondents stated that the quality of their email database caused problems with their email campaigns, meaning that it has been the most common barrier for three years running.

A further 43% cited a lack of strategy as a key problem, followed by lack of time (41%) and poor segmentation (39%).

The Email Marketing Census looks at the amount and type of email marketing carried out by organisations, the way that email marketing is conducted, issues affecting the industry and the effectiveness of email compared to other digital marketing channels.

More 1,300 respondents took part in the 2013 Census, which took the form of an online survey in January and February 2013.

by David Moth 24 April 2013 13:08pm 0 comments