To increase sales, either you increase conversions, or increase contacts per day. This book outlines how to design websites for increased conversions. Web design for ROI presents a method of thinking [usability and audience focused] which managers should pursue in order to build and optimize websites for increased return on investment.
The online commerce world is comparable to the old school brick and mortar retailing industry, where stores assumed if the product had demand , the buyer would purchase. Retailers then learned that placement and external variables can affect consumer spending. Similarly, web design is broken [average cart abandonment rate is 59.8%] and needs to be redesigned for increased ROI.
According to web design for ROI, the top design efforts should focus on forms & checkout, landing pages, category pages, and detail pages. This design focus is contrary to much of the current development efforts seen by large corporations where the homepage is the focus.
Taking a new design approach will ensure your website stands out and converts traffic using the desired call to action, [thus increasing ROI].
The in class power point will outline why each section of design is important to creating a website built for ROI.
Book Authors: Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus
Is a cart abandonment rate of 60% really unreasonable? Think of the number of things you consider purchasing in a bricks and mortar store, pick up, and put back on the shelf. Many web site purchasing functions are designed so that a shopper cannot know the full cost of purchase (e.g., tax and shipping) until one goes to checkout. There was not a real intention formed, but still in the search process. If cart abandonment is considered part of search and alternative evaluation, that might be a healthier approach to improving e-commerce marketing, rather than considering abandonment as a failure.
ReplyDeleteTg
The book seems a little techy from the review. Is there another source you would recommend to catch me up on web design?
ReplyDeleteWere there different techniques for ROI optimization that differed from one industry to another?
Tom's presentation last night was a real eye-opener. The recommendation to put more time and effort into forms and check-out and less into home page was new to me. That's why we read and review these books.
ReplyDeleteTg
K.Lazar,
ReplyDeleteThe book is NOT techy at all. If you want to read it, let me know and you can borrow it.
-TC
Great insights on what really matter when doing user interface development for e-commerce sites. I never would have thought the forms & checkout would take precedence over the home page or content; however, looking back I my own "abandoned cart" experiences I can see the credibility in this book. Thanks for a good share.
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