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Stuart O'Brien

Benefits of free trials espoused in retail study
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New data shows 30-day free trials are the most effective method of paid customer conversions – almost four times (273%) more likely to convert a customer than 14-day free trials. Findings also show free trials are 28 times more effective than free products.

However, despite its effectiveness, and at no cost to the business, nearly 3 in 4 ecommerce sellers didn’t use the approach in 2023.

Whop conducted the ‘Optimal Free Trial Length for Digital Products’ study to understand how digital retailers can increase customer acquisition and conversion rate by analysing free trials of 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days.

Of the four free trial periods, the 30-day free trials had the highest customer acquisition (32%) and conversion rate (56%). The second highest conversion rate was the 3-day free trial at 35%, however, this approach only had 2% total signups.

The findings also demonstrate that 30-day trials experience more successful signup rates, 16 times more than a 3-day trial and 1.5 times more than 7-day free trials.

While it is tempting to speed up conversion rates by using shorter free trials, the data shows 30-day free trials are the best for engaging and converting customers. This is because customers have more time to see how a product can create value for them. The longer customers use the product, the more they rely on it, and the more likely they will convert into paying customers.

Cameron Zoub, CGO and co-founder of Whop, said: “As it becomes increasingly challenging to get heard as a product or service in a crowded online space, one of the most powerful methods we’ve identified is offering 30-day free trials. By providing potential customers with an extended period to explore and integrate a product, businesses and digital creators can significantly boost engagement and conversion rates. This approach allows users to fully understand the value a product brings to their lives.

“As a platform which gives creators the ability to connect to a global audience, our mission is to empower digital product sellers with the insights and tools they need to succeed. By adopting proven lead generation techniques like extended free trials, creators can drive substantial growth and build lasting relationships with their audience.”

Photo by William White on Unsplash

John Lewis offers brand partners new online campaign management tools
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John Lewis has announced a suite of new retail media capabilities, which it says will help brands connect with customers shopping on its website, enabling them to create and manage their own campaigns, including via banner ads and sponsored product listings.

It also offers users a clear dashboard showing exactly how their campaigns are performing, how customers are engaging, and how many sales are coming through.

Brands can maintain always-on campaigns, and quickly adapt to seasonal trends and sales peaks such as Back to School and Black Friday. In addition, thanks to real-time data and performance metrics, brands can measure the impact of their initiatives right down to the individual product level and search terms.

The options have been delivered in partnership with Epsilon, the global advertising and marketing technology company which recently launched a similar offer for Waitrose.

As well as helping household names connect with millions of customers, the new options can also be particularly helpful for helping customers explore new brands that are relevant to their search and browse activity.

All ads are carefully reviewed by John Lewis’ in-house team to make sure they are suitable, beneficial and relevant for customers.

The investment underscores its dedication to improving the customer experience by better connecting individuals with the brands they care about, at the right time in their purchase journey.

Jemma Haley, Retail Media Business & Proposition Strategy at John Lewis, said: “While retailers have long been advertising on their own websites, we want to improve the experience, and make it even easier for customers to connect with the brands and products that meet their needs.

“As part of this, we’re providing brands with more targeted and relevant ways to connect with customers. Our shoppers are unique in terms of the ways they research, browse and buy, and we need to be ready to meet them in the moments they are ready to purchase or engage with a brand.”

Owen McAdam, Trade Marketing Manager, BSH UK & Ireland, commented, “John Lewis’ sponsored product ads performance is exceptional, driving both awareness and sales. Placing our Bosch and Siemens products in a prestigious setting like John Lewis helps to maintain a premium image and resonates with discerning consumers. The platform’s ease of use, campaign control, and transparency make it an invaluable tool for our marketing strategy.”

Epsilon’s Regional CEO Europe, Alban Villani, added: “John Lewis offers a unique and scaled audience across its online and in-store environments. People visit John Lewis in search of inspiration, to validate their research and to make purchases that often initiate a longer-term brand relationship. It’s a real opportunity for brands to evolve their strategies beyond performance goals to think about how they engage customers in ways that build awareness and loyalty.

“We look forward to supporting John Lewis further as they continue to test and learn across categories and build an even more impactful omni-channel media proposition for brands.”

CONVERSION RATE OPTIMISATION MONTH: What should be in every marketer’s toolkit?
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Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) is a data-driven process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action. To achieve this, digital marketers rely on a variety of tools to analyse user behaviour, test different website elements, and ultimately enhance conversions. Here’s our overview of the essentials…

Essential CRO Tool Categories

  1. Analytics Tools:

    • Google Analytics: A cornerstone of digital analytics, providing insights into website traffic, user behaviour,and conversions.
    • Adobe Analytics: Offers advanced analytics features, including predictive analytics and machine learning.
    • Mixpanel: Focuses on product analytics, tracking user interactions and funnels.

  2. A/B Testing Tools:

    • Optimizely: A popular platform for A/B and multivariate testing with advanced targeting and personalisation features.
    • VWO: Offers a wide range of testing options, including split testing, multivariate testing, and personalisation.
    • Google Optimize: Integrated with Google Analytics, allowing for easy setup and analysis of A/B tests.

  3. Heatmapping and Session Recording Tools:

    • Hotjar: Provides heatmaps, session recordings, and user surveys to understand user behaviour.
    • Crazy Egg: Offers similar features to Hotjar, with a focus on visualising user interactions.
    • UserTesting: Enables user testing and feedback collection.

  4. User Feedback Tools:

    • SurveyMonkey: Create surveys to gather user feedback and insights.
    • UsabilityHub: Provides usability testing tools to evaluate website design and user experience.

  5. Personalisation Tools:

    • Dynamic Yield: Offers advanced personalisation capabilities based on user behaviour and preferences.
    • Monetate: Provides real-time personalisation based on user actions and attributes.

Choosing the Right Tools

The choice of CRO tools depends on various factors, including:

  • Business size and budget: Some tools offer free plans, while others require a significant investment.
  • Level of technical expertise: Some tools are more user-friendly than others.
  • Specific CRO goals: Different tools excel in different areas, such as A/B testing, personalisation, or user feedback.

It’s often beneficial to combine multiple tools to get a comprehensive view of user behaviour and optimise your website effectively. For example, you might use Google Analytics for overall website performance, Hotjar for heatmaps and user recordings, and Optimizely for A/B testing.

Integrating CRO Tools into Your Workflow

To maximise the impact of CRO tools, integrate them into your overall digital marketing strategy. Use the insights gained from these tools to inform website design, content creation, and paid advertising campaigns. Continuously test and iterate to improve conversion rates and drive business growth.

By effectively utilising CRO tools, digital marketers can gain a competitive edge and deliver exceptional user experiences that lead to increased conversions and revenue.

Are you searching for Conversation Rate Optimisation solutions for your organisation? The eCommerce Forum can help!

Tech influencers expect big things from SearchGPT
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The recent unveiling of OpenAI’s SearchGPT for an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven search experience, featuring real-time information summarisation, interactive follow-up questions, and visual answers, has garnered widespread attention, sparking considerable discussion among influencers on social media platform ‘X’ in the fourth week of July.

Shreyasee Majumder, Social Media Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Influencers anticipate that SearchGPT may bring about a notable transformation in the search industry, positioning itself as a groundbreaking alternative to conventional search engines. Their enthusiasm is fueled by the belief that SearchGPT can significantly improve the user experience by consolidating diverse sources of information directly within the platform, potentially accelerating and streamlining the search process. They emphasize the benefits of a user-friendly interface and the potential for reduced costs per query compared to traditional search engines.

“The new offering reflects a strategic approach by OpenAI, ultimately positioning SearchGPT as a direct challenge to existing search giants and a catalyst for broader industry evolution, driving advancements in search technology and content presentation. But some influencers are expressing concerns that SearchGPT may struggle with the same issues that have plagued previous attempts to rival Google. They point to the failures of earlier innovations and highlight the persistent challenge of hallucinated AI as a major obstacle.”

Below are a few popular influencer opinions captured by GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics Platform:

  1. Jonathan Siddharth, CEO & Co-founder at Turing.com:

“Excited to try SearchGPT by @OpenAI! When I played with ChatGPT for the first time, it was clear information retrieval as we knew it was over. I’m surprised by how less I use traditional web search today, beyond browser auto-acomplete. I’m not sentimental but having worked on search, I feel a bit of nostalgia for inverted indices, keyword based search, machine learned ranking for query-document pairs with feature engineering and model selection/tuning. But, the future will be more fun.”

  1. Amit Goel, Early Stage Investor, 77 Capital:

“OpenAI’s new AI-powered search engine could give Google a run for its money. but why is no one talking about @perplexity_ai ? Here’s what you need to know first: #SearchGPT will summarize real-time information from various websites, including news sources, w/ cited links Users can ask follow-up Qs, mirroring the interactive experience of ChatGPT…..”

  1. Zoe Kleinman, Technology Editor at BBC:

“So, @OpenAI is officially testing the waters of search with SearchGPT. It will be available inside of ChatGPT, as a trial, and not launched as a standalone product. When you see it – well it does have a search engine type feel about it. It’s ChatGPT in real-time including links to sources which run in a column down the side.….”

  1. Bilawal Sidhu, Future of Creation & Computing at Metaversity LLC:

“Cool demo! Maybe SearchGPT can shake things up in the local search space? Helping you get stuff done in the real world Good data sources, clean widgets and super fast from the looks of it. Wonder how low they can bring down the cost per query vs google?”

  1. Andriy Burkov, Machine Learning Lead at TalentNeuron:

“Look at the “success” of Perplexity and you can imagine the future success of SearchGPT. All wannabe Google killers died miserably. Hallucinative AI (HalAI) is the worst attempt at killing Google I could remember.”

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

CONVERSION RATE OPTIMISATION MONTH: What are the key considerations in 2024?
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Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is a cornerstone of successful digital marketing. For senior digital marketing professionals, understanding the challenges and benefits of CRO is essential for driving business growth…

The Benefits of Conversion Rate Optimisation

  • Increased Revenue: Even small improvements in conversion rates can lead to significant revenue growth.
  • Improved Customer Experience: CRO focuses on understanding and enhancing the customer journey, leading to greater satisfaction.
  • Data-Driven Decision Making: CRO relies on data and analytics, providing valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences.
  • Enhanced Marketing ROI: By improving conversion rates, marketing budgets are utilised more efficiently,delivering a higher return on investment.

The Challenges of Conversion Rate Optimisation

  • Resource Allocation: CRO requires dedicated resources, including time, budget, and personnel.
  • Testing and Iteration: The optimisation process involves continuous testing and experimentation, which can be time-consuming.
  • Data Analysis: Extracting meaningful insights from website data requires analytical skills and tools.
  • Organisational Alignment: Gaining buy-in from different departments (e.g., design, development, marketing) is crucial for successful CRO initiatives.

Key Considerations for CRO Success

  • Customer-Centric Approach: Understand your target audience deeply and tailor your website and marketing messages to their needs and preferences.
  • A/B Testing: Implement rigorous A/B testing to compare different website variations and identify the most effective elements.
  • Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your website is optimised for mobile devices, as a significant portion of traffic comes from smartphones and tablets.
  • Clear and Compelling Calls to Action: Use strong and persuasive calls to action that guide users towards desired actions.
  • Page Speed Optimisation: A slow website can deter visitors. Prioritise page speed improvements to enhance user experience and conversions.
  • User Experience (UX) Design: Focus on creating a seamless and intuitive user journey, minimising friction points and distractions.
  • Data Analysis and Insights: Leverage analytics tools to track key metrics, identify trends, and inform optimisation efforts.
  • Continuous Improvement: CRO is an ongoing process. Regularly analyse performance and make data-driven adjustments to your website.

Overcoming CRO Challenges

  • Prioritise Quick Wins: Focus on low-hanging fruit to generate initial successes and build momentum.
  • Set Realistic Goals: Avoid unrealistic expectations and celebrate small wins along the way.
  • Involve Cross-Functional Teams: Collaborate with design, development, and marketing teams to optimise the entire customer journey.
  • Utilise CRO Tools: Leverage specialised CRO tools to streamline the testing and optimisation process.

By carefully considering these factors and adopting a data-driven approach, senior digital marketing professionals can successfully implement CRO initiatives and drive significant improvements in website performance and revenue.

Are you searching for Conversation Rate Optimisation solutions for your organisation? The eCommerce Forum can help!

Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

Discover the secrets of successful retail marketing at the eCommerce Forum
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London will play host to the next eCommerce Forum on February 4th 2025 at the Hilton London Canary Wharf – It could be the most productive day you spend out of the office next year, so register as a delegate now you want to join us!

Don’t delay! Register today.

You’ll have the opportunity to:-

• Meet with innovative suppliers for a series of face-to-face, pre-arranged meetings based on your own requirements.
• Network with like-minded peers.
• Attend a series of insightful seminar sessions.
• Enjoy complimentary lunch and refreshments.

Would you like to join us? Register today!

February 4th 2025 at the Hilton London Canary Wharf.

Don’t delay! Register here.

It could be the most productive day you spend out of the office next year, so act swiftly if you want to join us.

You’ll have the opportunity to:-

• Meet with innovative suppliers for a series of face-to-face, pre-arranged meetings based on your own requirements.
• Network with like-minded peers.
• Attend a series of insightful seminar sessions.
• Enjoy complimentary lunch and refreshments.

Would you like to join us? Register today!

ANALYTICS MONTH: Make the best data-driven solutions by choosing the best solutions
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Data-driven decision making is paramount. For senior digital marketing professionals, selecting the right analytics solution provider is crucial for gaining valuable insights into audience behaviour, campaign performance, and overall business success. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the market and choose the ideal partner…

Define Your Analytics Needs

  • Identify Key Metrics: Determine the specific data points you need to track, such as website traffic, user behaviour, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs.
  • Consider Integration: Evaluate the need for integration with existing marketing tools (e.g., CRM, email marketing platforms) for a holistic view of the customer journey.
  • Scalability: Consider your organisation’s growth plans and select a solution that can adapt to increasing data volumes and complexity.

Prioritise Data Accuracy and Reliability

  • Data Quality: Ensure the provider offers robust data collection and processing methods to guarantee data accuracy and reliability.
  • Data Governance: Understand the provider’s data security and privacy practices to protect sensitive customer information.
  • Data Validation: Look for solutions with built-in data validation and cleaning capabilities to minimize errors and inconsistencies.

Evaluate Features and Functionality

  • Advanced Analytics: Seek solutions that offer advanced features like predictive analytics, machine learning, and AI-powered insights for uncovering hidden patterns and trends.
  • Customisation Options: A flexible platform that can be tailored to your specific business needs and industry is essential.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Choose a solution with a user-friendly interface that allows both technical and non-technical users to access and understand data effectively.

Build Strong Partnerships

  • Vendor Reputation: Research the provider’s reputation, experience, and customer reviews to assess their reliability and expertise.
  • Implementation Support: Evaluate the vendor’s ability to provide seamless implementation, training, and ongoing support.
  • Data Ownership: Understand the terms of data ownership and access to ensure you retain control over your valuable insights.

Embrace the Future of Analytics

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: Look for solutions that leverage AI to automate data analysis,identify trends, and generate actionable insights.
  • Customer Data Platform (CDP):: Consider integrating a CDP with your analytics solution for a unified view of customer data across channels.
  • Privacy and Compliance: Stay updated on data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR) and choose solutions that comply with these standards.

By following these guidelines, senior digital marketing professionals can make informed decisions when selecting analytics solution providers. A trusted partner can empower your organisation to make data-driven decisions, optimise marketing campaigns, and ultimately drive business growth.

Are you searching for Analytics solutions for your organisation? The Digital Marketing Solutions Summit can help!

Photo by Melanie Deziel on Unsplash

Personalised promotions are ‘twice as likely’ to convert UK shoppers
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While discount codes top UK consumers preferred promotions, offers that are personalised and tailored to a specific product a consumer has viewed are almost twice as likely to prompt a sale compared to general ‘range-wide’ discounts, according to a survey of over 1,500 shoppers.

Original research by AI-driven performance marketing solution Wunderkind, published in its 2024 Consumer Insights Report, revealed that demand for personalised promotions remains critical to re-engaging consumers in the online buying journey, with 83% more likely to purchase from brand messages that highlight exact products they have recently browsed.

And, according to the poll, almost half (49%) of UK consumers are more likely to make a purchase when they are offered personalised, product specific discounts for items they had already viewed, compared to a quarter (26%) who would be influenced to buy after receiving general, brand-wide promotions.

While discount codes remained the most effective promotional lever for 54% of UK consumers, the poll highlighted the role of personalisation and product-specific offers in promotional effectiveness.  Over a quarter (27%) would be prompted to convert by reminders or low stock warnings about items they had put in their online shopping baskets, while 22% said they would be persuaded to buy after receiving a ‘back in stock’ message about an item they had previously viewed.  Meanwhile, a further fifth (19%) of shoppers would be influenced by offers on new products promoted to them that were similar to products they had looked at previously.

Wulfric Light-Wilkinson, International General Manager of Wunderkind, said: “Despite falling inflation, consumers continue to display high-consideration buying behaviours, often taking longer to validate where and when to spend.  In this context, bringing customers back to the products they’ve shown the highest interest and intent towards becomes all the more important.  To do this effectively, retailers need to be able to identify that individual shopper – regardless of device or cookie status – and then retarget them with highly personalised triggered messages, at the right time and via the right channels.”

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Marketing execs ‘unprepared for future of personalisation’
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97% of digital marketing executives report they feel unprepared for this foundational shift in how companies will learn about consumers’ preferences and behaviour, and while 75% of consumers more likely to consider buying products from brands that personalise, 86% of executives believe their ability to run personalised marketing campaigns is inadequate.

That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Optimizely, which includes respondents from 1,000 marketing, eCommerce and IT executives in six markets – the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia/New Zealand and Singapore. It comes at a pivotal moment for marketers as Google phases out cookies, AI emerges and regulatory threats grow.

“This report makes clear that brands are ill-prepared to navigate the emerging, generational shifts in the ways they can reach customers,” said Shafqat Islam, CMO at Optimizely. “While executives know that investing in personalisation and experimentation is key to survive in the new reality of digital experiences, they too often feel they don’t have a streamlined, intuitive toolkit to implement effective campaigns at scale. Accessing marketing solutions that create personalised digital platforms without third-party data will be key to thriving in the coming decades.”

Executives broadly agree that personalisation is key to an effective marketing strategy – 62% of respondents increased their personalisation budget since last year. They also recognise the specific benefits of experimentation within these efforts, including its ability to identify mistakes, (40%), allow for data-driven decisions (40%), test strategies before they’re employed (39%), personalise customer experiences (39%), and discover which personalisation strategies work (39%).

However, companies are still widely struggling to implement an effective personalisation strategy

  • Executives implementing real-time personalisation experiences face numerous challenges, including a lack of focused analytics (43%), difficulty scaling personalisation programmes (40%), and difficulty activating experiences in real-time (39%).
    • While 64% have begun implementing real-time personalisation strategies, just 9% have reached full implementation.
    • Many also face process-oriented obstacles: over a third (36%) cite disjointed workflows as a top challenge.
  • Just 26% of executives report having a unified definition of personalisation throughout their organisation.
    • While virtually all executives surveyed with a personalisation strategy are measuring their ROI, no single metric is used by even half of respondents, suggesting a broad uncertainty on how to understand and track success for these efforts.
  • 43% fear an ineffective personalisation campaign will result in reduced future marketing budgets.

Google’s phaseout will leave companies hard-pressed for the data they rely on. To succeed in the upcoming era digital marketing, brands will need to stop relying on third-party data, and instead focus on creative ways to develop campaigns based on data they can discern from consumers directly.

Read the full report here: https://www.optimizely.com/how-digital-leaders-are-thinking-about-personalization/.

Photo by Amélie Mourichon on Unsplash

If you specialise in Conversion Rate Optimisation we want to hear from you!
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Each month on Digital Marketing Briefing we’re shining the spotlight on different parts of the print and marketing sectors – and in August we’ll be focussing on Conversion Rate Optimisation solutions. It’s all part of our ‘Recommended’ editorial feature, designed to help marketing industry professionals find the best products and services available today. So, if you specialise in Conversion Rate Optimisation and would like to be included as part of this exciting new shop window, we’d love to hear from you – for more info, contact Kerry Naumburger on k.naumburger@forumevents.co.uk. Here’s our features list in full:- Aug 2024 – Conversion Rate Optimisation Sept 2024 – Digital Signage Oct 2024 – Brochure Printing Nov 2024 – Creative & Design Dec 2024 – Online Strategy Jan 2025 – Content Management Feb 2025 – Lead Generation & Tracking Mar 2025 – Email Marketing April 2025 – Digital Printing May 2024 – Social Media June 2024 – Brand Monitoring July 2024 – Website Analytic