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How might organisations in the construction industry increase sales via e-commerce?

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What is e-commerce?

Financial Times (2016) suggest that e-commerce can be defined as the buying and selling of goods over the internet. This can take the form of business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) or consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions. However, this might be too simplistic and Chaffey (2007) suggests that e-commerce is all electronically mediated transactions by an organisation and any third party it deals with, including non-financial transactions such as a request for information. ‘E-commerce is booming in Britain’, and the British do a greater share of their retail spending online than almost anyone (see chart below). Comparatively, the construction industry is not performing on par with other business sectors in e-commerce (Bhutto, Thorpe & Stephenson 2014). Let’s explore how firms in the construction industry might improve this.

(Economist, 2016).

User-Friendly

Huang & Benyoucef (2013) suggest factors that contribute to the user friendliness of a website include; simplicity of use, the speed of locating an item, the perceived ease of navigating the website, consistent design formats, and the ability of users to control their movement within the system. Having a user friendly site is a key consideration for e-commerce and needs to be high on a firm’s agenda when they are looking to increase e-commerce sales. A good example which follows the above suggestions is http://www.diy.com/. This site might be used as a useful benchmark for smaller construction firms looking to compete with the bigger retailers. It is important to tailor to your customers and Landry (2014), suggests it is important to test with customers before implementing what you feel is user friendly as they are the ones who know!

 

SEO

Pham (2014) suggests that if you want to increase your sales and outpoint your competitors, SEO is a must. Enge, et al (2012) suggest search traffic is among the best quality available on the web, primarily because a search user has expressed a specific goal through the query and when this matches a product or brand the web store carries, conversion rates are often extremely high. Therefore, improving SEO is a useful way to increase e-commerce sales. This could be particularly relevant in the construction industry, as generally customers will be searching for a product in relation to a specific problem – e.g. fixing a fence post. It might be difficult to attract customers in the construction industry with more creative methods used in other industries which could make SEO one of the top priorities for driving traffic. For example, a clothing site might use an Instagram fashion blogger to drive traffic to increase sales. It is unlikely target customers in construction would click through to a site because they notice some ‘beautiful looking cement’ on Instagram. Sorry if I have offended any cement enthusiasts… Back to SEO, Chaffey (2007) outlines a number of considerations for improved SEO including; frequency of occurrence in body copy, number of inbound links (page ranks), Title HTML tag and metatags. SEO is a broad and technical subject and would require a blog on its own! For a useful overview, check out this article by the entrepreneur https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237819. This article specifically focuses on the construction industry http://www.pauleycreative.co.uk/2011/04/seo-for-construction-companies.

 

Paid search

Although Jerkovic (2009) suggests organic search results have typically acquired more trust, which can result in increased conversion and therefore increased sales, Yoast (2016) suggests there is still an argument to utilise PPC alongside SEO in order to increase sales. One benefit is having twice the data to analyse which could enable you to make more informed decisions on how to increase sales (Bunn, 2015).

 

Video Content

Lazazzera (2015) suggests that product videos can have an incredible ability to increase conversions by helping people understand your product and provide customers with as much information as possible about the products you offer. This might be particularly useful in construction as many products may require a demonstration for some users; for example a DIY customer fixing a fence post.

 

Customer reviews

Stats from Smart Insights (2017) demonstrate how important reviews and ratings are for e-commerce sales. It is important not to be concerned about ‘bad reviews’, as in fact offering reviews can not only allow you to improve your product or service but actually directly increase sales. Customer reviews might be even more important in the construction industry as it is often essential that products are effective or it might result in a disastrous piece of building work or even a dangerous situation. Customer reviews, therefore, might reinforce trust for these products. A good example from www.diy.com below!

Avoid surprise!

Smart insights (2016) highlight the importance of avoiding surprise for customers by adding additional costs at shipping which can ruin conversion rate. This might be tempting for construction firms if they are shipping heavy weight as they may feel the rates are expensive. However, price perception is an important part of buying psychology so avoid adding additional costs to boost sales!

 

Takeaway

There are numerous techniques that can be implemented to increase e-commerce sales, however it is important to consider the industry when prioritising. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of others on techniques to increase sales via e-commerce? Or possibly examples of companies in the construction industry achieving success via e-commerce?

 

Disclaimer: This is a student blog forming part of a digital marketing business studies module.

 

References

Bhutto, K., Thorpe, T. and Stephenson, P. (2014) E-COMMERCE AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. [Online] Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265117619_E-COMMERCE_AND_THE_CONSTRUCTION_INDUSTRY [Accessed 14 February 2017]

Bunn (2015) 6 Benefits of Running SEO and PPC Campaigns Together. Blue Frontier. 9th February 2015 [Online] https://www.bluefrontier.co.uk/company/blog/item/6-benefits-of-running-seo-and-ppc-campaigns-together [Accessed 17 February 2017]

Chaffey, D. (2007) E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. Pearson Education: Vancouver

(Constructech, 2015) Payment Solutions Provider Offers Extension to Ecommerce. 20th August 2015 [Online] https://constructech.com/payment-solutions-provider-offers-extension-to-ecommerce/ [Accessed 15 February 2017]

Economist (2016) ‘All that is solid melts into air’ The Economist 19th November 2016 [Online] http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21710271-britons-do-more-their-shopping-online-almost-anyone-else-move-cyberspace [Accessed 10 February 2017]

Enge, E., Spencer, S., Fishkin, R. and Stricchiola, J. (2012) The art of SEO.  O’Reilly: Media, Inc.

Financial Times (2016) Definition of Ecommerce [Online] http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=e_commerce [Accessed 10 February 2017]

Huang, Z. and Benyoucef, M. (2013). From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 12(4), pp.246-259.

Jerkovic, J. (2009) SEO warrior: essential techniques for increasing web visibility. O’Reilly: Media, Inc

Landry, J (2014) ‘15 Ways to Make Your E-Commerce Site User-Friendly’ 17th November 2014. [Online] https://www.semrush.com/blog/15-ways-to-make-your-e-commerce-site-user-friendly/ [Accessed 22 February 2017]

Love, P.E. & Irani, Z. (2004) An exploratory study of information technology evaluation and benefits management practices of SMEs in the construction industry. Information & Management, Vol. 42, No.1, pp.227-242.

Lazazzera (2015) ‘How to Use Video to Increase Conversions and Sales in Your Ecommerce Business’. Shopfiy 20th May 2015 [Online]

Pham, X. (2014) ‘The Top 6 Most Important Factors in Building e-commerce Websites’ Woorockets. 1st October 2015 [Online] http://www.woorockets.com/top-6-important-factors-building-e-commerce-websites/ [Accessed 15 February 2017]

Smart Insights (2017) ‘Human Psychology Hacks that Boost Ecommerce Purchases’ February 21st 2017 [Online] http://www.smartinsights.com/marketplace-analysis/consumer-buying-behaviour/human-psychology-hacks-boost-ecommerce-purchases/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter [Accessed 23 February 2017]

Smart Insights (2016) ‘Incredible new stats show just how important reviews and ratings are for ecommerce sites’ 21st November 2016 [Online] http://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/customer-reviews-social-proof/incredible-new-stats-show-just-crucial-reviews-ecommerce-sites/ [Accessed 22 February 2017]

A critique of Groupon’s email marketing, what personalisation lessons might Groupon learn from Wowcher?

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I’m sure most people are aware of Groupon, but as a brief overview they offer an e-commerce marketplace which connects its subscribers with local merchant’s offerings such as local restaurants, hotels, activity days etc. Although I am also a consumer, this blog will is written by a digital marketing student. The email received below is ‘house marketing’ material and it was a weekly selection of the available deals at Groupon. This blog will explore some of the important concepts of email marketing and critique the effectiveness of Groupon’s email based on these concepts.

groupondigblog

 

Subject line

I guess it makes sense to start with thinking about the first engagement I had with the email: the subject line “Restyle, Blow-Dry and Condition”. Oops, not a great start when you are targeting a twenty-something male with short hair! Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty (2012) highlight that the content of subject line is critical for grabbing attention, clearly Groupon got this very wrong in this instance which meant I was unlikely to open the email and view the other deals that may have been more suited. It might have been more useful to use a subject line that was more generic such as “Today’s deals in Brighton” until they built up a better personal profile.

Design

A positive design factor in the Groupon email was the way in which it made the “links look like links”. The links were clearly in bold and you could use the image relevant to the deal you wish to select to navigate the link for more information. The option to unsubscribe is very clear at the top of the email and it offers an easy to follow link. It is extremely important to provide the opportunity to unsubscribe and to make this clear and simple. This is because if it is not customers may mark the email as ‘spam’ which can affect future deliverability. More information can be found on this along with other important design factors here: https://emailmarketing.comm100.com/email-marketing-ebook/design-emails.aspx.

Images/ branding

Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty. (2012) suggest that pictures help engage the readers and sustain attention in marketing emails. Groupon effectively displayed enticing images of the available experiences, these pictures were very clear and a good size. Another effective part of the imaging in the email was that lots of small images were used, as opposed to one big image which can often have issues with reaching the customer. More information can be found on this here https://emailmarketing.comm100.com/email-marketing-ebook/email-images.aspx. Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty. (2012) cite the importance of positioning the brand logo prominently in marketing emails in which best practice is on the top left. Groupon’s logo was clearly located on the top left of the email so I could immediately recognise the brand.

Personalisation

The email was personalised to an extent, the deals that were offered were focused geographically to my location in Brighton. However, there was no personalisation based on my name which is useful to personalise an email and used in similar emails addressed to me by Wowcher, once of Groupons main competitors (screenshot below). Furthermore, Godin (1999) discusses the limited attention of the audience in email marketing. The first deal that Groupon provided in the email was highly irrelevant as mentioned above. Linking this to the limited attention of the audience, it is unlikely I would continue to read the email which demonstrates the importance of providing relevant content and displaying it at the forefront of the email.

wowcherdigblog

Call to action

Bonini (2013) suggests that calls-to actions are extremely critical components of effective lead generation. Groupon’s call to actions are very easy to follow, you simply click on the picture of the deal you are interested in to find out more information. They also include the original price and discount which might be useful to entice customers. However, Groupon do not create a sense of urgency on the customer. Wowcher, on the other hand often send emails to me which provide a countdown until the deal runs out which effectively creates urgency, an example of this is displayed in the screenshot above. More information  on creating urgency and other techniques for an effective call to action can be found here: https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/design-tips-for-creating-calls-to-action-that-pop-off-the-page.

Key lessons learned:

  • Gain attention with an enticing subject line and make sure it links to the email content!
  • Personalisation- make email marketing as personalised as possible- however only personalise on information you know to be accurate, don’t guess!
  • Call to action- use an enticing call to action that will create urgency on the customer!

Here are a couple of other articles which are slightly more posititve and speak about the success of Groupon’s marketing:

Ok, so clearly Groupon’s email marketing has demonstrated high success rates as mentioned in the above articles, however my experience shows there is room for improvement! I hope you have enjoyed  this post, maybe you have had similar experiences from companies in relation to email marketing? If so, or if you have anything to add I would love to hear from you in the comments section!

References

Bonini, J. (2013) Design Tips for Creating Calls-to-Action that Pop Off the Page [online] https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/design-tips-for-creating-calls-to-action-that-pop-off-the-page [accessed 27 October 2016]

Ellis-Chadwick, F., & Doherty, N. F. (2012). Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. Journal of Business Research, 65(6), 843-848.

Godin, S. (1999). Permission marketing: Turning strangers into friends and friends into customers. Simon & Schuster