B2C Conversion Behaviour

From: Chris Charlwood <chris_at_charlwood.com>
Date: Sun 18 Nov 2001 22:18:05 -0500

Not to detract from the ongoing CPM vs CPA debate
(of which I am very interested in also), but I have a
comment and then a question on maximizing conversion
rates in pre-Holiday or other email marketing
campaigns. I have been dealing with many clients who
ask to include a "buy now" or "download now" button
or link in their email promotions, which to me is in
the same vein as "Can we make our logo bigger?".

In my experience, and from lots of research and data
that I've read, the average person who receives a
promotional email and decides to click-through
to the destination landing page will rarely, if ever,
decide to go directly to the shopping cart page to
make a purchase, or immediately begin downloading
software which they have no further information about.
In fact, I have read research that states that for
B2C purchases under $50, the average person visits,
leaves and then returns to a website between 4 and 5
times before making a purchase or registering/
downloading a trial version of software. For items
above $50 and B2B purchase decisions, the number of
visits is even higher (often well over 10 visits)
given the amount of fact finding and further research
required before making a commitment to the product or
service.

My question is then, has anyone done any specific
research on where people go for those 4 or 5 visits
for a B2C offer? Specifically, I know that FAQs
are key, and the "About Us" section of a website is
important, as well as customer testimonials, product
awards and further detailed product specs, but for a
particular industry segment, has anyone prioritized
or quantified which pages are most important for
converting prospective buyers who are in a "pre-
purchase mode"? Case study examples, hard numbers
and research appreciated.
__________________
Chris Charlwood
President, Charlwood eMarketing
t: 416.413.9196
e: chris_at_charlwood.com
w: http://www.charlwood.com
Specializing in opt-in email marketing, eCRM,
search engine placement & performance promotions.





Received on Sun Nov 18 2001 - 21:18:05 CST