Web Sites That Get the Pricing Process Right

Posted on December 8, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Lots of shoppers explore their favorite Web sites looking for information — and sometimes, even to purchase. The way that prices are presented online can go a long way toward determining whether people or motivated or demotivated to buy an item.
Recently, Lindsay Kolowich, writing for HubSpot, identified 11 online pricing pages that serve as excellent examples for those involved in designing online pricing pages:
“The majority of people who have made it down the funnel far enough to consider buying from you will likely look at your pricing page. It’s a huge opportunity for you to take control of the price conversation and make it even easier for people to buy. What does a great pricing page look like? To help inspire you, we found 11 of the best examples of pricing page design. You’ll notice the best pricing pages have clean layouts, use simple language that speaks to the customer, and aim to inspire trust between the business and the user.”
Click below to access these pages. And go here to read a lot more.
  1. Box
  2. Zendesk
  3. Detectify
  4. Wistia
  5. Casper
  6. Squarespace
  7. Ticketleap
  8. Slack
  9. BombBomb
  10. Pagevamp
  11. Acquia

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Singles’ Day Dwarfs Cyber Monday

Posted on December 7, 2015 by bermanevansretail
China’s online Alibaba is the leader in special events (see this post).  As it notes: “Alibaba.com is the leading platform for global wholesale trade serving millions of buyers and suppliers around the world. Small businesses can sell their products to companies in other countries. Sellers are typically manufacturers and distributors based in China and other countries such as India, Pakistan, the U.S., and Thailand.
Each year, Alibaba runs a Singles’ Day on November 11 (that it created) targeted at final consumers. The revenues generated on Singles’ Day dwarf those on Cyber Monday. This year, Alibaba used Singles’ Day to launch new initiatives in globalization, logistics, and mobile and omni-channel commerce to improve the shopping experience for buyers and sellers.”
Why does Alibaba do so well on Singles’ Day relative to Cyber Monday and U.S. online retailers? As reported by Knowledge@Wharton:
“In just one day — November 11 — Alibaba Group generated a massive $14.3 billion in gross sales for China’s major shopping event, Singles’ Day — a figure equivalent to seven times the volume Cyber Monday generated last year. As Cyber Monday is now here, U.S. online retailers and other E-commerce players are likely turning to Alibaba’s performance on Singles’ Day for lessons learned and takeaways.”
“But, as one expert noted, U.S. online retailers are likely to face some steep challenges in recreating aspects of Alibaba’s success, in which merchants across the board discounted items by 50% or more for Alibaba’s online shopping site Taobao Marketplace and also on its third-party shopping platform Tmall.com.”
“Beyond offering consumers steep discounts for Singles’ Day, Alibaba also instituted an unusual strategy that U.S. retailers, in the end, may want to emulate for Cyber Monday, experts point out. The company unveiled a glitzy, star-studded TV show that aired on the eve of Singles’ Day to prompt viewers to snap up specials via their computer, tablet, smartphone or Internet-enabled TV or set-top box.”

 

 

Posted in Global Retailing, Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Personal Selling Should Be Alive and Well for Many Retailers

Posted on December 4, 2015 by bermanevansretail
A lot of firms have turned to a self-service or online system for selling. In these instances, personal selling is avoided. But that is not always a good idea. Here are just a few instances where personal selling is imperative.
  1. Many consumers like shopping for items such as clothing (to try items on and better comparison shop in person).
  2. Advanced consumer electronics and major appliances.
  3. Items that are not purchased frequently and may be expensive, such as houses, jewelry, and cars.
So, in cases where personal selling is utilized, what steps should be followed?  Here is an infographic on the selling process from HubSpot. [Although some of the following steps are more applicable to outside salespeople, many of them also apply to inside/in-store salespeople.]

 
Sales Process Infographic

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment