One thing is absolutely clear, like it or not, the future is going to be digital. The rise of social media, mobile technology, wearables - digital is everywhere - and so is data. And as GDPR has shown us - data is generated in every keystroke and card swipe.
And while we may all have our own opinions about the good bad and ugly of data, there is no denying that without it our arts organisations we will have a hard time in the future.
In anticipation of next week, today we wanted to take a look at how to improve your online conversions, but looking closely at your data.
Online conversion rates - specifically related to ecommerce - is much talked about in digital marketing circles. But what exactly does it mean, and how (and why) should you increase your conversion rate?
Ecommerce conversion rate refers to the percentage of people that come to your site and book tickets on online. For example, if 100 people came onto your website, and three actually booked tickets, you would have a conversion rate of 3%.
The average conversion rate is around 1.5% to 2.5% but (there is always a but), it is heavily industry dependent, and frankly, there is no “right conversion rate” there are just too many variables. There is always room for improvement, so let’s dive into some ideas.
The first and most important step in targeting conversions, is to get your online ticketing process linked to web analytics. Ticketsolve customers can do this easily as we are fully integrated with Google Analytics. This integration will enable you to see where your customers are coming from, what they do when they are on your site, how long they spend on each page, and much much more (we have a great whitepaper on Analytics - so get in touch to learn more).
A weekly dashboard report can be automatically sent to you so you can analyse what is working and what's not, and make adjustments quickly.
Site sales activity is where you will get your conversion rate (people who come and actually buy something), average weight of purchase (how much they are spending per visit), top selling shows, ticket/seat types etc. With this data you can begin to understanding your customers’ behaviours and actions on your site. With the data on buying behaviour trends, you can start to put together a strategy on how to increase online sales, and really understand what is working and what needs to be strengthened.
With Ticketsolve’s Enhanced Integration, you will be able to see where customers are leaving in the checkout process. While it is of course important to get the analysis on what people are buying and how much, even more telling is why they aren’t.
This newest feature will allow you to create powerful remarketing lists for each step so that you can target the customers who abandoned the cart or checkout. Focused remarketing adverts can entice them back to your website, and ultimately make a purchase. According to Google, remarketing is 22% cheaper than typical adverts, and will increase conversion rates by 300%-400%.
Combining traffic and sales data with abandoned shopping cart data, you begin to get a picture of your customer’s journey online, from their initial research, intent to buy and final purchase.
Did you know humans are much better at processing images than text? There is an oft quoted (but rarely cited) statement that we process images 60,000 times faster than text, whether it is really that fast or not, we really do like images. So at the risk of being named Captain Obvious, images - quality images - are critical to hitting that all important conversion sweet spot. Images, videos and the relating copy needs to be tailored to your target audience. Again in this very digital driven world: content is still king, but quality content is the queen!
Join us tomorrow to see how Leicester Square Theatre has designed their customer page to drive online conversions.
And don't forget to sign up for The Future Now AMA Digital Marketing Day (Glasgow and London) on the 5th of December - we'll see you there!