Okay, so there’s nothing at all original about a “marketing stats” blog.
I know.
But, I do follow the digital industry closely and sometimes come across some pretty interesting stats.
And seeing that businesses are gearing up for Q4, the holiday season, and 2016 planning, I figured I’d put together a few stats that might make you think about your marketing plans.
So without further ado…
“97% of Shoppers Don’t Convert on their 1st Visit to an Ecommerce Store”
Yes, according to Ripen, only 3% of online shoppers will make a purchase on their 1st visit to an ecommerce store (I’d like to know how many of the 97% either make a purchase on another site, or return to the original site to purchase).
Whether your business sells products online or not, I can say that this stat goes beyond just ecommerce: the vast majority of visitors to your website aren’t going to convert.
What can I do?
- Consider remarketing and/or retargeting strategies that can help increase conversion rates from 3% to 5-6%.
- Measure key analytics that will help you determine what’s affecting your sites conversion rates.
- Test and optimize your site’s key conversion paths with tracking and split testing tools like Optimizely and Hotjar.
“Businesses are making $6.50 for every $1 spent on Influencer Marketing”
According to a Tomoson study, Influencer Marketing is paying huge dividends. In fact, “marketers rate influencer marketing as their fastest-growing online customer-acquisition channel, outpacing organic search and email marketing.”
Now, I’m skeptical of the findings of this study, especially since it comes from an Influence Marketing platform such as Tomoson.
However, what’s important to understand is that Influence(r) Marketing is an increasingly important digital channel.
What can I do?
- If you’re not familiar with the topic, get your hands on Influence Marketing (the book) by Danny Brown and Sam Fiorella
- Check out the many Influence Marketing & blogger outreach tools available
- Put together your businesses’ own Influence Marketing plan
“Ad blocking has grown by 41% globally in the last 12 months”
Yes, according to PageFair and Adobe, ad blocking is on the rise big time.
That means we can kiss free content goodbye from our favourite publishers and content websites who rely on advertising revenues.
But just like the music industry had to adapt to digital downloading, so will the publishing and content industry.
One thing to note is that ad blockers will NOT block out Google/Bing/Yahoo text ads (at least as far as I know) for when you search for a product or service online.
What can I do?
- The truth is there’s no easy answers to what publishers and advertisers can do about the rise of ad blocking and I, like everyone else, will see how the issue evolves.
- In the meantime, checkout Seth Godin’s 7 Rules for Surviving the Ad Blocking Movement.
“64% of consumers think that businesses should converse with customers more often using SMS”
This one was surprising to me at first (source: Adobe)…people want businesses text messaging them?
But when you think about it, it makes sense. We’re not talking about spam text messages, but when you have a customer’s permission to SMS them.
Here’s some examples of SMS use that I would definitely opt-in for:
- 15 minute heads-up when your gas/telephone/cable/ person will be arriving at your home
- Reminder from your mechanic/car service company that it’s time for an oil change (and hopefully a discount code if redeemed this week)
- An SMS alert that your table is ready at the restaurant
- Getting an SMS message when you enter a store that alerts you to sales or new items based on your previous purchases or profile
- An alert saying your mail has arrived (in Canada, we no longer the door-to-door delivery, but have to run out to community mailboxes).
What can I do?
- Think of ways that you could use SMS that would be valuable to your customer (not annoying), and ensure you get their permission
- Mobile is the now and the future. Don’t just design a mobile-friendly website, design a mobile-friendly experience for your customers.
“10 Million Self-Driving Cars Will Be On The Road By 2020”
So what does this have to do with marketing?
Everything.
Just like mobile and location-based marketing has changed business, so will the self-driving car.
How exactly? I don’t know, but here’s some thoughts about the possibilities of cars that drive themselves:
- Whether it’s picking up milk and bread, a burger and fries, or a pair of shoes – people will be able to shop in transit and expect their goods to be ready upon arrival (or even to be met halfway)
- Cars will be moving offices, complete with wi-fi, laptops, conference (and face-to-face) communications technology
- You won’t be able to just track packages in transit, but people too – where they are, driving routes, precise ETAs, etc.
What can I do?
- Just like mobile phone, just think of your business and how it will become even more mobile – customers, employees, partners, suppliers…how can you take advantage?