Why every brand needs a social media policy

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Ben Potter

Over the last 12 months, as to be expected, there has been further acceleration in the uptake of social media amongst retailers. This is a result of increasing usage amongst a wider demographic, new networks popping up (such as Pinterest), as well as the role social plays in wider search, content and customer experience strategies.

Regardless of the goals you have for your social presence (whether customer acquisition, retention, customer care, brand awareness, etc.) a key foundation for success is a comprehensive social media policy. This should include:

Branding, tone and vocabulary guidelines
Customer service guidelines
Negative interaction protocol
Respectful practice guidelines
Legal practice and copyright awareness

Remember one size doesn’t fit all – a social media policy should be tailored to the brand. Depending on the nature of your organisation, there may be unique factors you need to consider, so don’t be tempted to use a template for your social media policy.

Here are a few important roles a good policy can fulfil:

Branded communication
Use your social media policy to guide branding across channels. We all use social media in our free time; clearly stating key buzz words, brand values and vocabulary to avoid prepares your employees to interact as brand representatives, communicating your values and writing in the correct tone of voice.

Protection for yourself and your employees
Clearly stating procedures within a social policy will help to safeguard you and your employees from negative situations and mistakes. Outlining employee roles (for example, who leads customer service dialogue) reduces confusion around responsibility and optimises time and resource. Highlighting legal practice, platform rules and copyright awareness is vital to ensure you aren’t in breach of the CAP digital remit.

Deliver seamless customer service
A good social media policy will guide the customer service process, ensuring the employees responsible are aware of correct protocol for escalation and importantly, who to notify within the company if a volatile situation occurs. Negative comments are inevitable in every social space – it’s how you deal with them that will set you apart from competitors.

Avoid social faux pas:
We all know how much negative media attention the wrong tweet or post can generate. Remember Urban Outfitters’ ill-considered sales tweet amid the devastation of super storm Sandy in October 2012?

It’s tempting to think that if you have a small social team you’re unlikely to commit a social faux pas. The real time nature of social coupled with human nature can be a recipe for unintentional disaster. Neatly outlining the rules encourages employees to think twice before they tweet.

While it’s important to lay out the rules, make sure your policy isn’t too restrictive. Social media is a leisure space for consumers and interaction should be responsive and flexible; in most cases it should also be fun for all involved, both the brand and the consumer. Therefore, whilst social media policies are necessary don’t let them suffocate the spirit of social media.

What we learnt in 2012 and what we look forward to in 2013

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Ben Potter

At the end of each year, I encourage the Leapfrogg team to take some time out to review what they have learnt from the events of the last 12 months. It’s an opportunity to take a step back and think about what we have witnessed in digital marketing, retail and the luxury sector, as well as the strategies and tactics we have employed for an ever-growing portfolio of high-end retailers.

So here are a few of our main observations from another eventful year, with comments from members of the Leapfrogg team, along with what we look forward to (hopefully) seeing in 2013.

Panda’s and penguins changed the game…for the better

Google’s Panda and Penguin updates dominated the search landscape in 2012. Scores of websites found their search engine rankings negatively impacted by the updates. The techniques they had been using to unnaturally garner search rankings (or that agencies were adopting on their behalf, such as buying links) were hit hard by Google’s aggressive, and very public, attempts to clean up their search results.

As Ben Adam, Senior Natural Search Consultant, comments ‘it seems that Google has finally found a means of taking action against web spam; the kind of action that most search marketers have been asking for, for years.’

Website Optimisation Manager, Suzanne Taylor adds, ‘The search engines have got wiser and duly penalised sites that have been chasing rankings with ‘black hat’ tactics. For some businesses, this re-education has cost them time and money, however businesses that have focused, first and foremost, on creating a good experience for their customers have benefitted.’

These updates have had a significant (and in our view, positive) impact on the discipline of natural search (SEO). As Senior Content and Social Media Consultant, Emma-Jane comments, ‘the updates place greater emphasis and reward on traditional content based and PR-style marketing, making quick-win techniques, such as sharing keyword stuffed articles and mass-submitting to thousands of low quality directories, riskier than ever before. A PR-led approach to building a holistic and sustainable link profile has seen a welcome move towards creating editorially-led, consumer facing content. This not only benefits search, but becomes an important part of the customer journey.’

As natural search is now so closely entwined with other marketing activities, such as content planning and PR, Head of Search, Matt, expects to see search getting greater recognition as a strategic business operation in 2013, commenting ‘successful search engine optimisation requires a sophisticated approach to relationship building meaning companies need to work harder to engage with customers, suppliers, partners, press and commentators. This means that SEO should, for the most forward thinking companies, be at the heart of a business not on the fringes, which can only be a good thing.’

Content marketing is nothing new

What was particularly interesting to witness in 2012, as a result of the Panda update in particular, was the sudden surge in interest for ‘content marketing’ services. I’ve been amazed at the number of agencies suddenly changing tact (and in some cases their straplines) to place content marketing at the core of their offering (as if creating genuinely engaging, useful content has always been their approach to search…when quite frankly, it wasn’t.).

‘Content is king’ they said again…and again…and again…

Content marketing, even in the online world, is not a new discipline. Neither is it one that should be getting any more, or less, attention just because Google has found a way to combat the poor quality content that for so long could be used to manipulate your way to the top of the rankings.

Managing Director, Rosie, comments ‘content is not king. Instead, the customer’ is king. Regardless of the marketing activity, whether on or offline, single or multichannel, you must put the customer at the heart of it. Good customer insight is the rocket fuel for your content and wider retail strategy…and always has been. Nothing has changed other than Google getting better at separating the wheat from the chaff.’

In 2013, we hope to see the (somewhat artificially inflated) industry furore around content marketing calm down. We’ll continue to apply a back to basics attitude where content is concerned, namely that strategies are driven by a genuine understanding of the customer, as Senior Content and Social Media Consultant, Emily, explains, ‘delving deeper into our clients’ consumer demographics with detailed customer surveys and audits of each touch point in their retail journey will further develop our customer-orientated focus in 2013, which continues to be at the heart of our approach to content strategy.’

Consumer expectations are moving faster than most retailers can keep up

Driven mainly by technology (the growth in smartphones and tablets, for example), there have been significant changes in consumer behaviour in recent years and, in turn, the expectations that consumers have of the retailers they choose to shop with.

As I noted in an Econsultancy article back in November, ‘what is a ‘nice to have’ now will be the expected norm in 2013. As consumers become conditioned to in-store consoles, delivery on their own terms and a more personalised shopping experience (to give just three examples), they will more readily question those retailers not offering the same. In short, consumers won’t put up with average when exceptional becomes the norm.’

As such, we will undoubtedly see more retail casualties in 2013. However, it would be too simplistic to blame economic factors alone for these failing businesses. Instead, there will be some retailers who simply cannot evolve their business models in line with customer expectations and, as such, will disappear from our high streets.

In 2013, the successful retailers will be those who place much greater emphasis on customer insight and ‘big data’ to drive marketing decisions. Gone are the days when retailers can afford to throw money at something on a whim. The customer needs to be at the heart of every decision. As such, we expect to see customer experience become more and more of a focus during 2013 to the extent it occupies board level discussions.

Social media is evolving to become a mind-set, not just a tactic

Alongside Google’s well publicised efforts to clean up their search results, 2012 also saw social media’s influence on search results increase. As Client Services Director, Greg, comments ‘Google+ started to show real signs of traction in 2012 – especially with regards to having an impact on natural search visibility within the search results’.

We still think the jury is out when it comes to the role Google+ plays in meeting wider customer engagement objectives (simply put it hasn’t reached critical mass) but, without question, Google is making a massive push for it to a part of our everyday lives. I just hope consumers, brands and agencies invest in the platform in 2013 because it adds genuine value to their retail strategies, not just because it is a necessary vehicle to improving Google search rankings.

Aside from Google+, in 2012 we saw a definite step change in how clients’ perceive social media and the role it plays at every stage of the customer journey. As Emily notes, ‘across our client portfolio, we’ve seen an increased interest in (and understanding of), the importance of social, both for accessing and expanding their consumer bases, as well as becoming an increasingly important factor in search.’

Greg continues ‘brands have been much more willing to at least ‘have a go’ in social media even if specific objectives and KPIs are unclear at the start.’

Measurement and attribution remains a challenge

Mobile and tablet use exploded during 2012 with Matt commenting ‘adoption of mobile devices was notable last year. Customers of premium brands are more likely to own a smartphone and tablet with some of our clients seeing up to 40% of their website traffic coming from mobile devices.’

As consumers move so freely between channels and devices whilst researching, considering and making their purchase, tracking this journey and attributing revenue to the appropriate channel presented a major challenge in 2012…and it will continue to do so in 2013.

Head of Search, Matt, sees part of the solution in social media. He comments, ‘Social media offers a solution to attribution issues created by multiple devices and cookie deletion. With a billion people on Facebook and other networks such as Twitter and Pinterest growing quickly, people logged in to social media platforms and email services, especially on their mobile devices, could be the solution to the attribution conundrum’.

Watch this space!

Things get better with age

In December, we will be celebrating our tenth birthday. Quite frankly, I don’t know where the years have gone!

One thing I do know is that Leapfrogg is evolving all of the time. Each day, month and year we improve, never satisfied with our approach, processes and knowledge. For me, that is what makes a great agency; the constant desire to be better than you were yesterday.

Therefore, we look forward most to celebrating 10 years in business by continuing to work with some fantastic retail brands, constantly innovating to help them meet their commercial objectives.

Account Manager, Nick, sums this up best; ‘for me, what I’m most looking forward to in 2013 is pushing our fantastic clients to be bold, experimental and ultimately, successful. With the green shoots of an economic recovery beginning to show, 2013 will be the year when forward-thinking and innovative clients can really get the jump of their competitors. I’m looking forward to leading the way with Leapfrogg’s fully integrated approach and setting the standards.’

With that, we’d like to wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Planning a new website? Don’t forget these five key elements

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Suzanne Taylor

It’s always exciting when clients are developing a new site. It is the perfect chance to sort out any issues and build advanced functionality that will help set their site apart from the competition.

However all too often, crucial elements are not factored into the initial scope which can be costly to re-address after the platform and CMS have been chosen and developers appointed. It is therefore vitally important that you think carefully about what you want, and need the site to achieve first and map your requirements from this.

Below are the top 5 elements you need to consider when getting the project scoped:

1) Analyse your current site to inform the new
What is working well? What needs improving? What are the opportunities? What do your customers think? It’s so important to understand the status of your current site so you can figure out exactly what you need the new site to achieve.

2) Ensure the navigation is search engine friendly
Textual navigation is important for the search engines to be able to easily spider the site. Therefore avoid JavaScript, Flash or image based navigations as these can be problematic the search engines.

3) Plan your site architecture
Having a good site architecture is important as it will ensure the search engines can index and rank all relevant pages on the site. Ensure that the category structure is logical and you have landing pages that match how people search. Make sure product filtering produces unique URLs so that ranking and traffic potential is maximised. (These pages should provide a better conversion rate.)

4) Specify device agnostic design
Responsive web design is the best option to allow the site to render well on different devices. If not, a separate mobile site should definitely be considered to ensure you are providing a seamless experience across devices to help further encourage conversions. Allow your customers to buy where and when they want!

5) Allow for good CMS functionality
It is important to ensure the CMS allows easy optimisation and ongoing management of the site. My colleague, Ben Adam, recently put together a much more exhaustive list of e-commerce features that will be driven by the choice of platform / CMS. Those that are pretty fundamental are as follows:

Logically structured, search engine friendly URLs that follow the structure of the site (avoid dynamic URLs, spaces or symbols in the URL, uppercase letters, etc.)

Ability to add page-by-page 301 redirects (in case your URLs change, which if you are changing platform they almost certainly will)

Ensure HTML tags are customisable to allow for targeted optimisation. The main ones are:
- title tags
- meta descriptions
- h1 headers
- alt tags

Maintain areas for copy on every page and keep this copy integrated into the design (web copy seems to be a dying component but it is still very important to the search engines, particularly if you want non-brand, search term exposure)

Support for the following:
- breadcrumb trail
- editable robots.txt
- instructional meta tags (including rel=canonical, rel=prev / next, rel=author)
- microformats to allow us to mark up the content directly for the search engines (e.g. price, stock, review markup etc.)

Allow for an XML site map, automatically generated would be best case (this means that any changes or additions will automatically populate the XML sitemap)

In most cases, the budget available for a re-build will help determine features and functionality somewhat; however you must plan and be clear about your objectives and requirements from the very beginning. Otherwise you risk spending money on a new site that doesn’t achieve what you want, and need it to.

Content marketing – applying the principle of ‘form follows function’ to deliver great customer experience

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Rosie Freshwater

Content really is the BUZZ word of the moment when it comes to digital marketing. Everyone from PR to search to social marketers are talking about how high quality, relevant and timely content is fast becoming the only way of truly gaining exposure and driving engagement online.

Whilst I couldn’t agree more with this I do think there are rather large variations in the meaning of and use of “content”.

To me “content” is any form of media that serves a purpose. I attended a brilliant talk by Dave Trott at BrightonSEO a few weeks ago and he was talking about the Bauhaus theory of ‘form follows function’ (the principle is that the shape of a building or object should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose).

Content for content’s sake

Dave Trott’s words really rung true with me and couldn’t be more applicable to digital. This is because of the range of different marketers creating content to suit their purposes. Online PR folk are talking about creating content to engage bloggers, usability experts want to create content that helps convert, search marketers want to create content that will attract links, social marketers want to create applications to drive engagement and so on.

With all of this content being created and no doubt serving a purpose for those individual marketing threads I can’t help thinking we are going to end up with a smorgasbord of content for each brand that all tells a slightly different story and makes the customer experience with the brand a little disjointed.

Shouldn’t we all be working together to create threads of content with the customer experience in mind? Shouldn’t the function be to provide the ultimate experience for the customer rather than more granular objectives of “get more links”, “likes”, “conversions”, etc.

Finding the content sweet spot

If we work on truly understanding the customer; their values, needs, requirements and expectations of both the brand itself AND of a good shopping experience then we can use that data to find the content “sweet spots” that communicate the brand story and engage the customer on every level. This theme of content and messaging can then be adapted to suit specific channels, forms, mediums and purposes. With the customer at the heart of content planning and execution you will be more likely to create content that they want to absorb, interact with or engage with at each stage of their buying journey.

Having an effective content strategy that comes from the point of view of the customer first AND THEN the specific marketing functions will create a far stronger brand experience which is reinforced at each touch point.

It is crucial that ALL content stakeholders work to a central plan of themes and messaging that can be adapted to suit specific requirements. One theme of content can cascade out into multiple forms that increases conversion rates, shares, traffic and so on BUT first and foremost engage the customer with the brand and its values.

This sentiment is echoed in an article in a recent “Marketing” magazine where Alan Mitchell argues that consumer service is trumping traditional advertising (subscription only link). He cited a recent Volkswagen GTI launch in the USA where advertising, in its traditional sense, was cast aside. Instead, a racing game app drove an 80% leap in leads, test-drives and quote requests. Yes, this was a piece of great content but what VW did first was to ensure it was interesting and, more importantly, useful to the customer.

The original piece of content was then cascaded out by the customer through social channels, gained exposure via PR and probably a whole load of links to the VW website too.

Form followed function.

Essential e-commerce features & functionality to drive great customer experience – part 2

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Ben Adam

In my last post, I looked at the features and functions of e-commerce platforms that help to drive a positive customer experience at the point at which a prospect has decided they want to purchase a particular product. In part two, I am going to take a look at features that facilitate the actual moment of purchase and the post purchase experience.

Moment of purchase

By removing barriers to conversion, an e-commerce platform can have a big impact on making the purchase process as easy as possible.

Design
Although not necessarily dictated by the e-commerce platform, the design and layout of the site should be customisable to an extent, ideally without the need for development resource.

Category product layout – Product listings in grid or list format should be an option available to the customer and remembered for that user
Flexible module based design – The ability to move certain pieces of content from one area of the page to another, whilst adding and removing landing pages will greatly increase your chance of being able to improve conversion rates through a/b testing, for example
Flexible templates – Ability to assign designs on category and product level (unique design per product/category)
Hero & header images – Carousels and image headers should be specifiable for the homepage, categories and across other areas of the site. JohnLewis.com make excellent use of hero & header images across their categories, highlighting latest ranges and deals, for example:

Product detail
A customer needs to feel as informed as possible about a product before committing to purchase. The layout and information provided at a product level can have a big impact on this.

Multiple images per product – Customers expect to see a large number of high quality product images
Product image zoom-in capability – Images should be high resolution, be ‘zoom-able’ (did I just make that word up?!) by click and through movement of the mouse across the image
Product image 360 degree view – Functionality to allow for products to be viewed from all angles
Product coverage – Where products appear in publications, the ability to highlight this to the customer through thumbnail images/logos
Product stock level tracking and notification – Ensure stock availability is visible and ideally in real-time to to avoid fulfilment frustration. As highlighted in my last post, Made.com make great use of product imagery, offering a number of images from different angles and showing the items in use and on their own:

Checkout
A smooth buying process from basket to checkout to completion will help minimise the customer ‘dropping off’ at any of these stages:

Customisable checkout – A flexible checkout is important as this allows for testing, removing and reposition of form fields and so on
Checkout without account/guest checkout – Probably the biggest mistake made by retailers (and the biggest bugbear for customers) is insisting an account is created in order to make the purchase. Don’t force this on customers up-front, offer it as an option after the sale with an incentive for doing so i.e. money off a next purchase
SSL security support – Both front-end and back-end, secure checkout is vital for customers trust to complete the sale
Saved shopping baskets – Ideally with configurable expiry time. Remembering a user’s product choices will avoid frustration if they accidentally close their browser or press the back button

Delivery
A key factor to conversion is an excellent shipping and delivery process. To achieve this, the e-commerce platform should be highly configurable to allow a multitude of flexible options (assuming the retailer has the processes and systems in place to offer these options of course):

Trackable delivery – Customers expect to be kept up-to-date in terms of where their purchase is in transit or be able to find information on the status of their order on the site
Configurable delivery cost – Free delivery or flat rate delivery per order or item from our experience are the best aids to high conversion rates. Clear information for differing weights, destinations etc, are also essential so all costs are clear up-front
Print invoices and packaging lists from the order screen – Key to offering a smooth and efficient delivery service is to make the background processes simple and automated

Payment
A comprehensive range of payment features will allow customers to transact easily and conveniently.

Payment gateway integration – Offering a broad range of payment gateways will ensure any obstacles to completion are minimised
Discounts codes – The ability to add voucher/discount code at basket/checkout
Credit card details – Securely remember users credit card details (should they wish to) saves time and effort next time they make a purchase

Active selling & dynamic merchandising
This refers to the art of cross-selling a similar or complimentary product to the one a customer has chosen to purchase. This is could be an alternative (before they have added to basket), an item that would complement their purchase or an additional item required for the chosen product to function properly.

Recently viewed/compared products – The option to include a list of recently viewed products
Active selling – The ability to push items through daily deals and new item promotions
Configurable cross-sells, bundled items, up-sells and related items – All should be customisable, and be able to be added to different areas/templates of the site
Wish lists – The ability to add desired products into a list associated with users account

IKEA make nice use of tabs to include an array of cross selling opportunity, matching and complementary products, similar items and more products from the same range:

Post purchase

Delivering on your promises after the purchase is essential to building trust and brand loyalty. An e-commerce platform can aid this in the following ways:

Customer accounts – Allow customers the option to create an account that remember key details such as address and payment methods
Customer service – Allows customers to make enquiries via their account and linked to the products they have purchased previously
Online chat – Integration into the platform for customer service queries, as well as asking product specific questions
Email marketing – Email marketing fully integrated with the customer database can feed into the retailer’s eCRM program

Conclusion

Whether off the shelf or bespoke, there is a lot to consider in terms of functionality when selecting an e-commerce platform. The above attempts to cover some of the key e-commerce features to ensure your site achieves its true potential and most importantly you deliver the kind of pre- and post-purchase experience needed to win in complex and competitive sectors, such as homewares and fashion.

Can you think of anything additional you might look for in an e-commerce platform?

Essential e-commerce features & functionality to drive great customer experience (part 1)

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Ben Adam

To prosper in a complex, competitive and fast paced market, retailers must deliver a superior and fulfilling customer experience, consistently and seamlessly across all marketing channels. It is a monumental challenge but one that retailers, big and small, need to overcome and marketers, at all levels, need to grasp if they are to win new customers and build valuable, long-term relationships with them.

The choice of e-commerce platform can have a major impact on a retailer’s ability to deliver this experience. The right features and functionality can greatly aid the likelihood of succeeding at each stage of the buying journey, beginning with visibility of the site in search engines (thereby acquiring targeted traffic), helping to convert that traffic and then retaining new customers through a good post purchase experience.

Our Retail Marketing Machine visualises the complex journey consumers make when researching, considering and purchasing products, along with every touch point that shapes and influences their decision.

There are a number of key stages that I will refer to during the course of this post, namely:

The shop window of opportunity
This is the point at which a prospect has decided they want to purchase a particular product or service. Are you in their shop window when they are in research and consideration mode?

Moment of purchase
This is the point at which the prospect is engaged with your brand and is ready to purchase. A wide range of factors will determine whether they progress to sale (or not) with the look and feel, features and functionality of your site playing a key role.

Post purchase experience
Here we refer to both the practical and emotional experience the customer receives once they have made their purchase. The practical involves delivery, for example. The emotional more concerned with how the retailer builds a loyal brand advocate through channels, such as content and social media.

This two part blog post looks at the features and functionality that will aid and improve each of the above stages and therefore what to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform. This is by no means an exhaustive list but more a guide to those features that help drive a superlative experience at each of the key buying stages outlined above.

Shop window of opportunity

For your site to reach and acquire customers during their ‘period of active consideration’, it needs to be found across search engines – that’s pretty much a given. But once they arrive at your site it must also present prospects with access to as much information as possible to evaluate your products sufficiently. With this in mind, let’s take a look at a number of e-commerce features that are essential to meeting this goal:

Categorising products
The ability to categorise products will aid natural search visibility, as well as improve usability. Features associated with product categorising might include:

Unlimited products and categories – Surprising as it might sound, some platforms have a limit to the number of products and categories you can create. Ensure you choose a platform that allows unlimited products and categories
Product option selection – A product should be able to have unlimited options such as size, colour, etc. rather than having to create new product pages for each variation
Grouped product view – Allows products to be grouped together. This works well if you are presenting a number of different products into collections or ranges
Faceted navigation for filtering of products – It should be easy to add new filters and tag products. Filtering should also be search engine friendly i.e. it should create ‘friendly’ URLs and use keyword insertion in page titles, meta descriptions and h1 headers. The Marks and Spencer site is a good example of clear and comprehensive faceted navigation:

Product detail
By creating content over and above that of simple product descriptions, you are creating a more memorable experience should encourage a prospect to return to the site oe perhaps share that content even if they are not quite ready to commit to the purchase at this stage. Content might include:

Product reviews – Usually a score out of 5, the ability to display average customer ratings for a product can help make your site a destination at the consideration stage but also help be a decision trigger
Question and Answers – A Q&A sections take FAQs a step further by allowing customers to ask product specific questions. This level of interaction can significantly increase conversion rates as any doubts the customer has about a product can be dispelled
User Generated Content (UGC) – Allow people not only to review but upload photos and videos of their experiences in using products. In turn, this helps prospects see products in their real world setting used by actual customers
Product comparisons – Where products are complex, the ability to compare side by side is a very powerful feature to aid decision making. Wiggle.c.o.uk uses both a Q&A areas and reviews across their products with many of the customer reviews including images as well

Site search

Configurable search with auto-suggested terms. Many e-commerce systems fall down here. Users expect the search function to be as good as that of Google.

Store pages
More often than not, store pages are dull, un-engaging and lack personality. An e-commerce platform with advanced multichannel availability and logistic capabilities can significantly help with a smooth in-store/online purchase path.

Store-specific content – Imagery, events, offers, staff biographies and the store manager’s ‘favourite product of the week’ are all methods by which to add relevant content to the page
Store locator/search – Provide advanced search and filtering functionality, as well as a reliable mapping tool and directions
Click and collect – The ability for a customer to select their local store and collect their order is a growing expectation of savvy customers. Obviously, the business needs to support this logistically before offering the service on the site!
Save a store preference – Associate a store with a customer’s account to quickly allow the customer to look at stock availability locally to them

Although not injecting much personality, Mothercare.com do a good job with their store pages in terms of information. By capturing postcode searches from people looking for their nearest store, they can potentially start to join the dots between online and offline.

Technical
Ensuring the e-commerce platform is not going to cause any headaches for search engines will give your business the best possible foundation for natural search visibility.

URL rewrites – Rewriting URLs in a friendly format, using words and not parameters is better for both the user and the search engines
HTML mark-up – Marking up HTML using Schema.org can result in rich snippets in search results and improve click through rates
Sitemaps – Both XML and HTML sitemaps should be generated and auto update
Shopping feed creation – Important for shopping comparison engines, the ability to generate comprehensive feeds that auto update but can also be customised to add or change product attributes
Meta-information – It should be possible to specify page titles and meta descriptions for products and categories both template driven and specified by page
Duplicate content prevention – Advanced canonical functionality across the site can help prevent duplication of products if placed in different categories and also help pagination issues

In part 2 we’ll look at e-commerce platform features that are important at the ‘moment of purpose’ and ‘post purchase’ stages.

Article by senior natural search consultant, Ben Adam

Ten great examples of ecommerce product page functionality

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Ben Adam

Product pages are an extremely important part to any ecommerce site. Often they will be the only view and experience a potential customer has of a product. For high ticket items, such as furniture, it is even more important that a customer feels completely comfortable with the quality of an item before they will commit to purchase.

Product pages are often over looked and fall short of their purpose. They can make or break a sale so not letting your product pages fulfil their potential isn’t giving your products a fair chance.

The following post looks at what you should try and include in your product pages and examples of brands excelling at individual elements:

Product imagery

The quality of product images, and the way in which they are presented can have a big impact on conversions. It is important for images to impart a sense of contact with the product, giving the customer a stronger sense for product specifics and details. Great product imagery should include:

Multiple angles and perspective views
Close ups, showing details of material
Product variations as separate images
Controllable 360 views
Products in isolation and in use

Made.com do this very well, offering a number of images from different angles and different zooms showing the items in use and on their own.

Product copy

Not everything about a product can be conveyed in pictures, for example the quality of craftsmanship and ethical production. If you want someone to commit to spending on a high ticket online, a reassuring, carefully constructed product description should be the least you can do. Great product copy should incorporate the following:

Highlight the unique selling points of each product
Include dimensions
Care instructions
Package measurements
Offer samples where applicable e.g. fabric swatches for sofas

To aid readership, I also recommend using bullet points to structure copy.

Go Modern makes a great effort to talk about the product design and includes some history, important for high cost items. There is arguably too much copy as web users don’t tend to read large blocks of text; this could potentially be overcome through the use of read more expandable text.

Product videos

Short of touching and feeling a product, videos are one of the best ways to help a customer feel connected with a product. There are many examples of online retailers who have seen conversion rates increase dramatically as a result of incorporating videos into their product pages, for example Zappos.com saw an increase in conversions of between 6% and 30%.

It is important that product videos are of high enough quality and that they do the job of both showing the quality of craftsmanship and the product in detail that can’t be conveyed through imagery alone.

As a bonus, product videos can be optimised for search and potentially aid click through rates from search result pages.

Again, Made.com do a good job of including product videos that show the making of and the product in use. This really helps to tell the story behind the product.

Add ‘as featured in’

With home décor publications and TV programs continuing to increase in popularity, it is important to make the most of any coverage specific products receive. By displaying a well know publication logo this may well make people more inclined to make a purchase as it has a “seal of approval” from a trusted publication.

Logos should be added to the product description with links to copies of the publication. The frenchbedroomcompany.co.uk do an excellent job of this:

Made.com also employs this tactic on their product pages:

Cross selling

The art of cross-selling is offering a similar or complementary product to the one a potential customer is looking at. This is generally an alternative model, an item that would complement or is required for the product to function properly.
Using a well-executed cross-selling strategy will likely result in:

Increased transactions as customers find what they want with greater ease
Increased average order values as they add additional items to their basket
Greater exposure of your product range
Greater exposure to higher margin products
Increased customer satisfaction as related products help complete their shopping process quickly

IKEA make nice use of tabs to include an array of cross selling opportunity, matching and complementary products, similar items and more products from the same range.

Whilst Amazon excel in offering complementary items and packages.

And John Lewis makes use of recently viewed across their site

The art to cross selling is relevancy. You will only increase basket values by presenting products that truly complement the core item being purchased. Presenting a list of random products in the hope one might be selected is not the right approach to be taking here.

Q&A Content

Question & Answer content takes FAQs a step further, by letting customers ask product specific questions. This level of interaction, especially where a real time element can be added, can significantly increase conversion rates as any doubts the customer has about a product can be allayed. Q&A content is becoming increasingly popular on more technical ecommerce sites; Wiggle.co.uk is a good example of this in action.

Don’t forget multichannel

Keeping multichannel in mind, Dwell link to the stores where you can go and see the product, helping drive footfall and potentially securing a sale.

A nice feature that few brands are currently employing.

The challenge of course is measuring the impact of online activity on store footfall and attributing sales accordingly.

Conclusion

The ultimate product page would be a hybrid of all these great examples. But the specific functionality you require for your website is likely to depend on your product, its complexity, the length of the consideration period and so on.

What is clear is that product pages need to work harder than ever if you are turn interested browsers into customers.

What great examples of product pages have you seen?

A great example of a premium shopping experience

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Lucy Freeborn

With the imminent arrival of our first baby, myself and my husband have been finally getting round to decorating the house we moved into more than a year ago. Without a car, him commuting up to London every day and me getting bigger and bigger, we have been reliant on online suppliers and home delivery services to help us source what we need, which has been a fascinating exercise for me in how different sectors approach their online customer service, delivery and post purchase engagement.

At Leapfrogg, we believe that securing sales isn’t just about having a great product and a good website; it is concerned with understanding your prospects and customers at every stage of their buying journey from reach through to advocacy.

There are lots of different elements of the digital marketing mix that an online brand can do to tap into their customers as they move through these different stages of this buying cycle, which I will highlight with a recent personal experience.

One of the most impressive online services I used to help get the house decorated is Wallpaper Direct. Not immediately a site that screams ‘premium retail’ at you, but everything about the online service they offer is slick, easy and jammed packed with added value.

Acquisition & conversion:

The first gold star I mentally awarded to them was making it easy for me to find what I was looking for. For those uninitiated, unless you’ve seen a design you really like, looking for wallpaper can be a nightmare. Wallpaper Direct enables you to search in a variety of ways: colour, brand, type of design and features of the wallpaper. While searching, you can save ones you like in a wish-list. At the end of a search, you can very easily order A4 sized samples to be sent to you. Unlike many other sites, there is no limit on the number of samples you order. You can only get a limited number for free each time, but you can order as many as you like in one go.

They further impressed me when it came to ordering the correct number of rolls. I can’t lie to you, reader, I can plumb in a toilet and put up shelves, but the patience you need to match up patterns to wallpaper is beyond my capabilities – so I’ve never even tried it. Having the tool within the site to input the size of your walls / area to be wallpapered is really useful and enables you to order the right number of rolls first time. Should you require “talking down” from any wallpaper induced hysteria, they have excellent telephone support to double check you’re making the right purchases and to handle any queries or returns.

The delivery service was also excellent. From ordering, the wallpaper arrived quickly and my expectations were managed beautifully by both emails and texts detailing the date and time of delivery and very easy steps to follow should I want to change delivery options.

I was also thrilled with how the wallpaper arrived. It was boxed up with a handle on top of the package to enable me to carry it home easily. One of the brands of wallpaper I ordered was also gift wrapped with stickers and tissue paper!

Wallpaper Direct may not have the brand presence of a luxury interiors brand, but if one of the hallmarks of a premium brand is an ability to understand a customer’s pain points and offer quality service and user experience, then for me, they score very highly indeed. They made what could have been a real chore, a pleasure and I would have no hesitation in using their services again and indeed recommending them to others.

Advocacy:

If making the actual process of searching for and ordering wallpaper fun and easy wasn’t enough to convert new users to a sale, there is a lot of added value throughout the site all designed to win your trust and encourage you to buy. The news and reviews section, although not third party generated, is clearly visible from the home page:

Reach:

The brand also generates it own content to help inspire users – some thing Leapfrogg believes vital to help brand build with new customers in their ‘reach and research’ phase of the buying cycle. Producing a stand-alone and brand neutral online magazine to help customers make decisions about the products and services you sell is a great way of exposing your expertise in a field and inspire purchase.

All in all, a great service that has ultimately secured the best accolade you can from a happy customer – advocacy!

What a multichannel retailer should include in a search marketing brief

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ben Potter

Back in November 2010, I wrote about the importance of, and what to include in a brief when looking to appoint a search agency. Whilst much of the advice remains the same, an awful lot has changed in the last couple of years, which in turn impacts how a retailer needs to brief prospective agencies.

Firstly, search has continued to evolve. It is far from the stand-alone discipline it perhaps once was. Social media, content strategy and online PR are now all critical components of a successful natural search strategy (also known as organic search or SEO).

Furthermore, retailers are operating in a complex multichannel environment where increasingly savvy customers expect a consistent and seamless experience as they move between different channels, such as desktop PC, mobile, store and catalogue.

The winners will ultimately be those who can effectively integrate their search, social media, content and online PR strategies, whilst also ensuring that their online and offline operations work in unison.

As such, when multichannel retailers are looking to source a search agency they need to provide access to information, which on the surface, may appear irrelevant. However, in the context of an evolving search landscape and multichannel environment, such information is integral to the delivery of an effective search strategy.

Why is a brief important?

Ultimately, developing a brief is to the benefit of both parties. The agency can build a strong understanding of the business, which leads to the most appropriate solution being presented. The retailer benefits for the very same reason; a solution is developed which is most appropriate to their objectives, internal resource and budget, whilst being aligned to other marketing channels.

What should be included in a search marketing brief?

With the above in mind, multichannel retailers should include the following information in a search marketing brief. Please note; it is not unusual for an NDA to be signed at pitch stage bearing in mind the sensitive nature of some of the information required

Company background

It is useful for the agency to understand the context of why you are looking to engage them. This starts with an understanding of where you’ve come from before we explore where you want to go. Therefore, this section should include a brief history of the business, recent market trends, how the company has performed and the challenges you are facing (both internal and external).

Products

There should be a particular emphasis on your most profitable and popular product lines. For the purposes of forecasting be open to sharing average order values and margins, as well as an overview of your product strategy i.e. innovations, new launches and so on.

Competition

The agency will be looking to assess potential keyword targets (based on the product lines you have cited above). This will involve identifying your competition in search results, as well as researching other marketing activity they are undertaking. It is worth noting that often your competition in search results is very different to your competition across other channels. A small retailer selling black dresses, for example, may find themselves competing in search results with major players, such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, which in turn may make related keyword targets unrealistic.

Target audience

Describe your target audience (sex, age, geography, for example), whilst also outlining what your insight is based on. For example, have you got an active database of customers where you have conducted surveys or focus groups? Ultimately, if an agency is going to help you acquire more customers they need to have an acute understanding of who you are trying to reach.

Also consider why this audience should listen to you. Why are you better than the competition? For example, do you position yourself on price, quality or service? Drawing out your USPs and key benefits will be critical to shaping a content-driven, search strategy to increase customer acquisition.

Your commercial objectives

I cannot stress enough the importance of sharing your overriding commercial objectives, ideally for the next 2 – 3 years. If an agency is to deliver an effective search strategy they need to understand the context of how it is expected to contribute to overall business goals.

At Leapfrogg, we work on the premise that objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound) and based on reliable market data.

At this stage, you should also explain your wider business and marketing plans. Reiterating the point that search does not operate in a silo, it is important that the agency understands what other marketing channels you will be investing in to meet your objectives and in turn, how search might support them, for example new store openings and your mobile strategy.

Current activity and performance

To develop a top line strategy and tactical plan at pitch stage, the agency need to understand the investment you have already made in the channels under discussion, as well as having access to data via tools such as Google Analytics.

Therefore, an overview of the tactics that you are currently employing or have employed in recent months, such as natural search, paid search, social media, content and so on, will be useful. This is a chance to outline other partners or agencies that you employ and that your search agency will be expected to work alongside, for example web developers and offline PR.

Understanding your in-house resource is also essential in the spirit of developing a collaborative partnership with an agency. You should not be looking to ‘outsource’ your search marketing in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, you should seek to partner with your agency, sharing roles and responsibilities where applicable. As such, the agency needs to understand the skill, experience and desire of in-house staff to work on certain aspects of the strategy and tactical execution.

Timescales and budget

All too often, time and resource is wasted during the pitch process (on both sides) because important matters such as timescales for moving ahead and budget are not discussed openly and honestly upfront. An agency will invest many hours, perhaps days, in putting together a proposal. Therefore, to avoid time being wasted, which also includes your time in sourcing and supplying information, it is helpful to know when you intend to start the project, whether you are in contract with an existing agency and any notice clauses.

When it comes to budgets, avoid a situation where you give no indication of what you have to play with. Have in mind a budget and be prepared to share it so that the agency can shape a solution that is appropriate. Essentially, ensure there is a correlation between your commercial objectives and the amount of budget you are prepared to invest in meeting them.

Finally, outline the stages you will be working through in making a decision; how many agencies are you inviting to pitch, who will be involved and who will make the ultimate decision, as well as any particular conditions an agency has to meet. This might include specific sector experience or preferred payment models, for example.

Conclusion

Without establishing a brief you run the risk of making a potentially costly decision when it comes to your search strategy. The briefing process should involve intense questioning by the agency and a willingness on the part of the retailer to share required information.

Anything less than this and you are likely to fall into the trap of buying an off-the-shelf, packaged solution…the polar opposite of a search strategy that is aligned to your business objectives and in tune with your wider retail strategy. The latter can only be achieved with a properly defined brief.

Yes, the process takes time but in the long-run will ultimately deliver far greater returns.

Leapfrogg

The digital marketing agency for premium brands and retailers

Category Archives: Content

Planning a new website? Don’t forget these five key elements

Content marketing – applying the principle of ‘form follows function’ to deliver great customer experience

Essential e-commerce features & functionality to drive great customer experience – part 2

Essential e-commerce features & functionality to drive great customer experience (part 1)

Ten great examples of ecommerce product page functionality

A great example of a premium shopping experience