Maria Wasing

Four tips for using data-driven marketing on the path to conversion

Do you make your decisions based on data or are you among the 89% of marketers that make their customer related decisions based on factors other than analytics?

A recent CEB study of nearly 800 marketers at Fortune 1000 companies found the vast majority of marketers still rely too much on intuition, while the few who do use data aggressively for the most part do it badly.

According to a another recent study, 77% of CEOs have trouble linking marketing efforts to tangible results, such as revenue, shares and conversions.

by Maria Wasing 21 March 2013 12:28pm 2 comments

Effective ecommerce: five tips to improve the after-sales service

Perhaps the biggest drawback of online shopping is the time gap between purchasing and playing with goods.

Retailers need to do everything they can to make this after-sales period informative to build crucial customer loyalty.

by Maria Wasing 07 February 2013 09:00am 1 comment

Effective ecommerce: Tackling the checkout challenge

Over a third of shoppers increased the amount of online shopping they did over the last year, so it is more important than ever for retailers to provide an outstanding ecommerce experience.

When an online shopper clicks ‘checkout’ they generally have the intention to buy, yet drop-off rates at this final stage can be high with three in five abandoning their baskets.

Consumers aren’t afraid to go elsewhere if they encounter issues at any stage in the checkout process though, so it’s vital for retailers to get it right.

by Maria Wasing 11 January 2013 09:43am 1 comment

Effective e-commerce: making the most of your time with the customer

Customer experience is now the real differentiator. Once a visitor arrives at your site, it’s vital to make the most of every moment by delivering a compelling and personalised experience.

Customers are more demanding than ever, so it’s essential to be switched-on to what will tip them from being a browser to a buyer, and how to increase basket value. However, this can seem increasingly daunting.

In a world with multiple channels, devices, customer segments, influencers, languages, and currencies, it seems there is no end of variables confronting every modern e-commerce professional.

by Maria Wasing 06 December 2012 10:41am 2 comments

Effective e-commerce: improving the consumer browsing experience

With an increasing number of retailers turning to the web to grow revenues and acquire customers, e-commerce competition is fiercer than ever before.

When online shoppers are browsing with intent to buy, retailers need to do everything they can to make the process informative and enjoyable, so offering the best possible browsing experience is crucial to keep customers spending.

We recently tested today’s digital highstreet by surveying 1,000 consumers about their attitudes and personal experiences before benchmarking these findings against the performance of the UK’s top 25 retailers.

by Maria Wasing 25 October 2012 09:04am 1 comment

Website investment still key for online retailers despite the rise of social and mobile

Want to know where you should be aiming your e-commerce investment to increase online sales?

We asked 100 senior decision makers from leading global retail brands, who were attending the latest Internet Retailer conference, about what they are planning to invest in over the next 12 months.

by Maria Wasing 03 September 2012 11:25am 4 comments

How to improve customer experience with effective onsite search

Custom sort options

Search optimisation is a well-discussed and documented marketing strategy to increase the visibility of your site and help customers find you.

But when we talk about search, most marketers focus their energy and investment in optimising content keywords, search engine ranking positions (SERP) and often overlook the power of an effective on site search engine.

by Maria Wasing 24 July 2012 11:10am 4 comments

How to use web personalisation to increase sales

In today’s highly competitive market, having engaging online content is fundamental when attracting new and returning customers.

Personalisation is a great way to target your audience and tailor your website to their needs. The travel industry in particular is a perfect example of how to use data to improve overall customer service.

by Maria Wasing 04 July 2012 10:18am 4 comments

Tackling the social media challenge [infographic]

If Facebook’s recent IPO tells us one thing, it is that social media is now big business and is here to stay. And yet we seem to be at a crossroad when it comes to the management of social media.

It’s hardly surprising that, with more and more channels out there, any business looking to capitalise on the social media opportunity faces an increasingly steep challenge.

by Maria Wasing 28 May 2012 09:30am 1 comment

The social media meltdown and how to overcome it

Social media has opened up a huge opportunity: to engage directly with customers, to understand what motivates and interests them, and to increase the size of the audience for your content.

But it’s the very size of the opportunity that’s often the biggest problem. When marketing budget and resources are tight, where do you focus?

And how can you be sure the right message gets out to the right audience via the right channel and that the overall approach is joined-up and consistent?

by Maria Wasing 25 April 2012 09:42am 6 comments