From 1992 to 2007, eCommerce has transformed from a $35.3 billion per year industry to nearly a $200 billion per year industry according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s more than a 500 percent increase total and an average of a 33 percent increase each year!

Email marketing ties in well with eCommerce, and is a popular online marketing channel used to drive sales. However, eCommerce companies need to be aware that gaining and retaining a loyal customer base is a key component to the bottom line, and if you’re customers aren’t happy, expect to see that bottom line plummet.

Here is my experience with one eCommerce company and their email marketing campaign. I was less than pleased with the over-all experience, and will share the pros and cons as they relate to both email marketing best practices and overall customer experience.

The Good

• This company did well in quickly shipping the item I purchased. I had the package in my hands in about two days.
• They were also helpful in recommending what size I should choose, the item of clothing fit just right.

Email Marketing: Room for Improvement

• A promotional email was sent to me for 20% off but never stated when the promotion expired. Tip: Always present the user with all offer details – from promo code to expiration date to any hidden terms.
• I received an error when I went to make my purchase saying the code was invalid. I had to contact the company in order for them to temporarily reactivate the code. Tip: Make sure that Marketing is communicating with Operations. Most customers don’t have the patience to pick up the phone. Online chat is an optional tool to handle these types of requests, but make sure they are trained appropriately.

Web site Usability: Room for Improvement

• Product information was incomplete on the site. They did not have photos showing the complete product I wanted to order. I had to contact them and ask them to add an additional picture to the website. Tip: Always ensure you have photos of every item you are selling on your website. Consumers don’t have the luxury of tangibility online so providing as much information about the product is imperative. Angles shots, videos, and customer reviews are all optimal content assets when selling a product online.
• Part of the fun of ordering online is the anticipation of the package being delivered. Tip: Tie your email marketing in with shipping/operations to create a lifecycle campaign that keeps the customer excited to receive their shipment and notifies them of tracking and delivery.
• Further disappointment came when my package arrived and I discovered I was sent the wrong piece of clothing. I sent it back to the company and received the correct order less than one week later. Tip: Always double-check that you are sending the specific product that the customer ordered. Include easy instructions on how to return the item. Tip: Don’t overlook the details of providing a simple thank you on receipts and shipping invoices. A coupon for their next purchase is also a great way to encourage repeat visits.

While I do love what I ordered, my over-all experience with the eCommerce site left me less-than impressed and I will not be making purchases from them in the future. I hope this first-hand customer experience has given useful insight to new eCommerce businesses looking to engage in email marketing and provide users with a great customer experience. Paying attention to all the details and making sure all departments are working together will ensure you a loyal customer base and an increase in your bottom line.

While reading my dailies, I came across a fabulous article by Cameron Chapman on Smashing Magazine. Its focus was “Best Practices for Non-profit Website Design.”

And while I have no arguments about how helpful and resourceful this article is with regard to Non-profit Website Design, I do believe these best practices can be repurposed for nearly any organization looking to build a new Web site or update their current one.

A listing of Best Practices for Non-Profit Web sites are as follows:

1. Make your site donor-friendly
2. Make Your Site Media-Friendly
3. Make Your Site Volunteer-Friendly
4. Make Sure Your Organization’s Purpose is Immediately Apparent
5. Make Sure Your Content Takes Center Stage
6. Make Sure Your Website is Consistent with Your Other Promotional Materials
7. Know Your Site’s Purpose Up Front
8. Include a News Section or Blog

Find a breakdown for organizations that are not non-profit, on how to utilize these same Website best practices for your own company below.

Read the original and full article here.

If YOU ARE FOR-PROFIT organization, here are some Web site Key Takeaways and Thoughts from this article that can be utilized for your company:

• Make your site donor-friendly

Whether you are collecting donations, selling a product or providing information your site needs to be easy to navigate and checkout. The checkout process can be collecting donations, moving consumers through an actual purchase process, or requiring them to sign up for a webinar, or fill out information to download a whitepaper - you need to make it easy and requiring too many steps and requesting unnecessary information can mean losing that potential customer.

• Make Sure Your Organization’s Purpose is Immediately Apparent and Know Your Site’s Purpose Upfront

If visitors cannot figure out the purpose of your company or what you offer they cannot be turned into prospective customers. A cute logo and clever tagline won’t cut it. Make sure to include clear precise copy on all pages that informs visitors of what you offer, how to get more information and how it all works.

• Make Sure Your Content Takes Center Stage

Content does not equal copy. Content refers to copy, videos, blogs, Flash elements, images, and other types of media. Consider the types of audiences coming to your site and the best forms of content to include on your site that appeal to many types of personas. From researcher to purchaser, focus on the main types of personas interested in your product or service offering and appeal to their purchase process. What key pieces of information need to be present to get them to the desired action (e.g. requesting more information, signing up for a trial or demo, checking out). Different pieces of content appeal to different users and finding the right mix of content while balancing design and creating clear goal/conversion paths is no small challenge. Measure and test everything.

• Make Sure Your Website is Consistent with Your Other Promotional Materials

Take a hard and fast look at all on and offline materials. Cost efficiencies can be saved across the board by picking standard sizes, having image libraries, and all departments working from the same pool of resources. This ensures consistency across the board and that is the number one rule - consistency makes for success. Your brand identity will also be salvaged. In addition, make sure someone is assigned to managing your Web site and that they are made aware of all marketing initiatives both on and offline. There is nothing worse than having a press release sent out over the Internet and then visiting the actual company Web site for more information and there is little to no information on the product or service that was promoted, let alone the press releases hasn’t even been posted to the company site. You miss out on great search engine visibility opportunities by missing on such a simple web update.

• Include a News Section or Blog

Don’t miss out on opportunities to become an authority in your area. You don’t always have to be promoting your products or services, think inside your box but with regard to end-user. What problems do they encounter that your product or service might help solve? Blogs and News Sections are opportunities to take advantage of ongoing search engine visibility as well as deliver valuable and relevant information to your audiences. They keep your site current and fresh and provide valuable insight into your companies work ethic and level of service.

photo credit: cogdogblog

These simple recommendations for 2009 will help businesses and organizations kick start or accentuate their online marketing efforts.

1. Do track and monitor visitor behavior.

Studying your Web site visitor’s behaviors will enable you to determine what on the web site works in order to have visitors meet the objectives of your web site. Analyzing your web statistics on a regular basis will give you a better understanding of how to enhance or improve your site. Information such as referring keywords and referring sites can lead to opportunities that will increase your online presence. If you’re unsure how to get started, we recommend talking to your hosting provider to see what Web statistics tracking comes with your account, or use free analytics tools such as Google Analytics or AWStats, No site should be without these, and it is vital to your success online.

2. Do set online goals and objectives for your company or organization.

Ask yourself what goals you want to achieve for your company. It could be increasing sales leads, revenue, awareness, online visibility or trial downloads. Objectives for your company can be as simple as increasing more eyeballs to a specific page on your site, downloading a whitepaper, or making sure visitors can easily navigate their way through your sales process. If you don’t set goals or have an understanding of what your objectives are, your Web site is merely a glorified marketing brochure. Make your Web site accountable and put it to work for your business.

3. Don’t build a new Web site without first understanding what was working and what was not on the existing site.

Before you write that big check for a new site, it may be a good idea to understand the successes and failures of your present site. If your site isn’t performing how you would like, it may just need some improvements and clear paths to goals. If you’ve got an idea that your site should be entirely video, hot pink, or you want to add a multitude of new features, ask why and then ask if these new elements are appropriate for your audience and their needs? Assess your current site and your competitors’ sites. Review your site stats, conversion paths (are visitors having trouble accomplishing tasks or accessing pertinent information), talk with current staff and clients to get a better understanding of how to improve your site.

4. Do build and nurture your customer database. In a down economy, the old adage of “it is less expensive to keep a customer than find a new one” was never more accurate.

Repeat customers are often overlooked while advertising dollars are spent on obtaining new ones. Start at home. Customers who have previously bought from you are saying “We like you.” So why are you ignoring them? Learn about who they are, what they like, and how they like to be communicated with. Learning the reasons why customers continue to work with you can help direct your new customer acquisition strategies. Don’t underestimate the value of a testimonial from a repeat or long-time customer.

5. Do listen and talk to your customers. Your customer is your biggest asset. They will tell you what is working and what isn’t. See #4.

The customer IS always right. This saying has evolved to mean more than just the obvious. Who else is going to tell you where your company is falling short? Certainly not the folks who work for you. Your customers care about you - they do - but they need caring back. Your customer is your biggest asset. They will tell you what they need, how to market to them, where to market to them, and what they like and dislike about your products or services. If you are not willing to listen, plan on having a large advertising budget that continues to attract one-time business. When it comes to your Web site, you may have no trouble navigating because you use it everyday. What about a first-time user? Understanding the obstacles visitors face when visiting your site and addressing them can lead to a higher percentage of repeat business. A pleasant customer experience is worth a thousand words (or more business).

6. Don’t take email marketing for granted – it cannot be commoditized. Put the elbow grease into targeted and personalized email marketing. Track, test and analyze.

Sure, how hard can it be? You send email every day. Email is more than just hitting the send button. Segmenting your customer lists to market directly to their preferences can serve as your number one revenue generator. It seems like a daunting task, but you’ve got to start somewhere. How effective is your email marketing software? If your message is getting to only 80 percent of the folks on your list, that is 20 percent of revenue you may be missing. Make sure your email service provider has relationships with the appropriate ISP to ensure a high deliverability rate. Monitor your email results to understand how visitors are reacting to your messaging – from subject line to layout to copy. Utilize professional email solutions in conjunction with a quality web analytics package to remarket directly to them.

7. Do start a paid-search campaign or continue with one. This is still the most cost-effective advertising medium today. Knowledge gained can be used in other online and offline initiatives.

Paid search (such as Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN adCenter), can get you quick results and visibility within search engines. Statistics show that 20 percent of search engine users click on sponsored listings. You may garner sales from terms that you have no reasonable shot of generating non-paid traffic from. Furthermore, it is believed that visitors from paid listings are generally further along in the buying process, whereas organic visitors are most often gathering information.

8. Do start a blog. But have a plan, and know why and what you want to say.

Blogs are a great way to drive traffic and increase your online presence. But they don’t run themselves. Blogs need to be managed and maintained consistently to prove value. The biggest struggle is finding something valuable to say, especially when thousands of new blogs are created every day. Make sure you are offering something of interest to your target audience. Put yourself through a Q&A to discover your strengths, key areas of expertise, and most frequently asked questions from clients to get ideas on what to post and how you can provide value to your audience on an ongoing basis. Be prepared for negative comments and remember that a blog is not a surefire route to success. It takes hardwork and dedication.

9. Don’t buy blindly into the hype of social media. First understand what your goals are online and understand that social media equals managed media.

Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are merely tools in the toolbox. You can’t build a house with only a hammer and that is the same situation with your brand and your visibility online. Social networking for marketing purposes requires an organization to implement labor, management and planning. If there is no one there to manage or build the relationship, your efforts will fall flat. A clear focus, understanding of your audience, and reasonable expectations will save a lot of money and frustration in the long run.